Job Discussion Forums

forest1979 · Joined: 10 Jun 2007 Posts: 507 Location: SE Asia

JZer - Thanks for your research on the tax issue.

SEndrigo · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Posts: 437

Well not only that, JZer, but in almost all parts of North America, you can't get around without a car. So it's not like you really have a choice in the matter.

But yes, I'd say that the lifestyle is different for sure, and if you want to live in a 2,500 square foot house in Taiwan then you will have to pay for it, and maybe an English teacher's salary wouldn't be enough to afford that kind of lifestyle.

Overall, strangely enough, despite not having a car and living in a significantly smaller apartment, I found that living in Japan, in many ways, was a lot more enjoyable and exciting than living in Los Angeles.

yamahuh · Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 1033 Location: Karaoke Hell

Saving $1000 month should be no problem if you are making a reasonably competitive wage / salary.
My situation is that my wife and I are making a lot less than we were expecting to but still managed to save a good amount of money. We are working for an hourly wage, pretty standard, of $600 NT per hour. Unfortunately the hours that we were promised have pretty much failed to materialize (we have been averaging about 18 per week).
The math on that works out to about $43000 a month each.
By no means a king's ransom and yet we managed to save $8,000 Canadian in just over 5 months.
You can save if you really put your mind to it but if you AREN'T making good coin to begin with there will have to be sacrifices made.
We rarely hit the bars or clubs.
Bare in mind that a beer in a bar will cost you on average NT$150 and you can get the same beer for about NT$30 at 7-11 and you can see how having friends over instead of hitting the pub can make for an entertaining and affordable night.

yamahuh · Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 1033 Location: Karaoke Hell

[quote="SEndrigo"]

SEndrigo · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Posts: 437

I think that's the experience for most people, actually.

I know guys who make six figure incomes in LA but can't save any money. It's pretty insane, ha ha ha.

I think it's all about what you are willing to give up and willing to get in return. If having a bigger house, more space, and driving a car are what you want, then North America is pretty good, but you'll have to pay for that.

If on the other hand, you want convenience, good public transportation, and having things closer together, then I suppose places like Taiwan and Japan are pretty good.

rmarqua2921 · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 21

I have been in Taiwan for a little more than a year now, and last year made about 90,000 NT, this year I make 95,000 (one full time, one partime). The public school jobs are great, but you need a teaching certificate to teach for the government. I work 50 hours a week (in both schools combined), have a co-teacher, and all the benefits, health insurance, travel expenses, etc. The great benefit of working in Taiwan is that you pay no income taxes when you teach elementary. That figure is free and clear. I save much more than $1000 US per month. My housing is about 275 per month for everything (furnished, utilities, wireless, phone), and it is a very nice place near downtown Hsinchu. Hsinchu is a professional city, with a huge science park...

forest1979 · Joined: 10 Jun 2007 Posts: 507 Location: SE Asia

Good on ya! Always nice to hear success stories.

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

In regards to salaries, I just wanted to say that I should make 98,000 NT next month. I have to say that it is probably quicker to get to 100,000 than to have your documents processed by the Taiwan Immigration Office.

SEndrigo · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Posts: 437

Hey JZer, congrats man!

Would you say that 98,000 is pretty good money if one lives in Taipei?

Just trying to get an idea here, I've spent lots of time in Tokyo and LA, two of the world's most expensive cities Smile

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

I guess that it depends what you do. You can get a meal for 60-100 NT. You can eat out and spend about 2100NT a month. You can get a room for as low as 5000 but you may want something better.

forest1979 · Joined: 10 Jun 2007 Posts: 507 Location: SE Asia

The point to Taiwan is you live in anyway you want on a TEFL wage. If you want to eat out, hit the clubs, live in a decent place, you can but you wont save much. On the other hand it's pretty easy to save cash although as JZer says you may have to live a little cheaply in terms of food and rent. How cheap, or what quality of life you want will depend on individual choice, but Taiwan is very good in giving you that opportunity.

JZer - short question! You're scoring NT$98,000 a month, which is what US$35,000 a year - what hours are you working? It's pretty obvious that you're doing overtime somewhere but how many hours a week are you teaching? (just so that newbies get an idea of what input is needed to score a decent salary)

SEndrigo · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Posts: 437

A question for you guys here...now, I know this forum is focused mostly on teaching English, but I remember reading a thread some time ago on editing work in Taiwan, where a Welsh guy claimed that it was possible to earn NT$150,000 a month doing editing work in Taipei (though that seems to be the upper range).

Then, some others said that the average pay for an editor is somewhere around NT$50,000, which is lower than the standard English-teaching job.

My question is somewhat related to that - what would you honestly say would be the average pay for a copywriting/advertising job in Taipei, say, at an advertising firm or in the advertising department of a large company?

Because I've got some interest from a company doing that sort of work, but have no idea what kind of salaries they pay in Taipei for that kind of work.

Also, I've not found any websites, at least in English, that have any such information, and my Chinese reading level is still at an upper beginner/lower intermediate level.

Would appreciate any advice on this...thanks in advance!

TaoyuanSteve · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 1028 Location: Taoyuan

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

Well, I work about 35 hours a week. Well, if you count actually teaching time, I work 20 hours and 15 minutes a week at my primary job. Then I teach 8 more hours a week. I guess my actually teaching time is around 28 hours and 15 minutes.

Luckly, I get paid per 45 minute class where I work. So I teach 27, 45 minute classes which comes to 20 hours and 15 minutes.