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razorhideki
Joined: 19 Jan 2010
Posts: 78
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scobo
Joined: 19 Nov 2008
Posts: 19
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 Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:32 am Post subject: Re: Why Taiwan? |
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| Suburban_Andy wrote: |
Like the topic title says, why Taiwan? I've enjoyed what I've seen of the place so far and it looks like it'd be a great place to spend some time, but the situation for ESL teachers is awful compared to other places. So what is it about this place that makes you put yourself through it?
I arrived here about a month ago looking for work and it's been one headache after another. I've applied for many places online and either get ignored or demo for them and then told that the position has been moved back 2 months or that the position is in fact part time. I've been offered two part time positions so far (12 hours a week) and both wanted me to sign a 12 month contract to get my work visa. 12 hours just isn't going to cut it, money-wise. I've been door to door handing out cv's and they either chuckle or politely take my cv telling me they'll get back to me in a few months. Which will be past my 3 month visa limit.
It's maddening. Add on to this the fact that when (if) I get a full time job I'll have to pay 20% tax for the first 6 months according to what I've read on this site.
I'm not sure why you put yourselves through it when the prospects are so much better in Korea etc. I'm not bothered about the fact that they don't pay for your apartment, flights etc- but it's the fact that finding a full time job is so hard makes me wander why people bother. I know some people aren't crazy about Korea but I spent a year there myself and had a great time. Having done some subbing here already the teaching in cram schools doesn't seem a whole lot different either.
Before you say 'well, go elsewhere then' you should know that my girlfriend is here and I do really like Taiwan in a lot of ways, but coming to another country to teach English is stressful enough without all these other layers of sh*t.
I haven't went down the recruiter route as yet, but I think that'll be my next step despite hearing pretty terrible things about them, I don't know what else to do.
Oh and could someone help dispel/add to another one of my worries? I'm a UK citizen who has came here on a 3 month visa. I don't have a visa as such, just a flight booked in and out (my all else fails flight) as I was told this would be all I need. Is it? Or do I need an actual physical visa? |
The fact that you've been offered a work Visa for part-time positions means you're way ahead of where I was. After all the headaches and having a visa for all of maybe a week, I went back to the states instead of spending more money on a terrible sounding visa run and no solid possibility of a decent job or acceptable lifestyle. Best choice I ever made. Just cut your losses. |
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scobo
Joined: 19 Nov 2008
Posts: 19
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| Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:39 am Post subject: |
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| Daphne wrote: |
Well, Andy; your experience is shared by nearly all who arrive nowadays on the island without a contract looking for a full-time ESL gig. A recruiter is very likely to set you up with one of the part-time gigs you already described, or even worse a full-time gig at a buxiban that has had many teachers abscond recently.
Surely the woeful US and UK economies have had a huge impact on the ESL job market. Taiwan is one of the best examples of how saturated and competitive some of the locations with the best prospects before the economic crisis have become. Look at how many applicants a school with a rather shoddy reputation like Hess gets for each opening on the island.
In Japan nowadays the great majority of ESL jobs advertised are open only to applicants already in the country. Coming there now with a limited budget in hopes of landing a full-time teaching contract in a matter of days or even weeks would pretty much be career suicide. If you choose to do this with Taiwan, your window of opportunity is a bit wider thanks to the living expenses on the island being considerably lower than those of Japan.
Even a country like Thailand where the salaries are at least half of what one makes in Taiwan, Japan or SK, is nowadays flooded with native speakers looking for jobs.
Well, both the love/hate relationship of current and former teachers with SK, and the comparisons of it with Taiwan are very well-documented on these forums. SK on the surface still seems to have a large number of full-time jobs to choose from, but a large part of that is likely due to how much of a headache getting an E-2 has become in recent years. |
If I knew this before coming to Taiwan, I'd be $5,000 richer. |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 2:33 pm Post subject: Re: Why Taiwan? |
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| scobo wrote: |
| Suburban_Andy wrote: |
Like the topic title says, why Taiwan? I've enjoyed what I've seen of the place so far and it looks like it'd be a great place to spend some time, but the situation for ESL teachers is awful compared to other places. So what is it about this place that makes you put yourself through it?
I arrived here about a month ago looking for work and it's been one headache after another. I've applied for many places online and either get ignored or demo for them and then told that the position has been moved back 2 months or that the position is in fact part time. I've been offered two part time positions so far (12 hours a week) and both wanted me to sign a 12 month contract to get my work visa. 12 hours just isn't going to cut it, money-wise. I've been door to door handing out cv's and they either chuckle or politely take my cv telling me they'll get back to me in a few months. Which will be past my 3 month visa limit.
It's maddening. Add on to this the fact that when (if) I get a full time job I'll have to pay 20% tax for the first 6 months according to what I've read on this site.
I'm not sure why you put yourselves through it when the prospects are so much better in Korea etc. I'm not bothered about the fact that they don't pay for your apartment, flights etc- but it's the fact that finding a full time job is so hard makes me wander why people bother. I know some people aren't crazy about Korea but I spent a year there myself and had a great time. Having done some subbing here already the teaching in cram schools doesn't seem a whole lot different either.
Before you say 'well, go elsewhere then' you should know that my girlfriend is here and I do really like Taiwan in a lot of ways, but coming to another country to teach English is stressful enough without all these other layers of sh*t.
I haven't went down the recruiter route as yet, but I think that'll be my next step despite hearing pretty terrible things about them, I don't know what else to do.
Oh and could someone help dispel/add to another one of my worries? I'm a UK citizen who has came here on a 3 month visa. I don't have a visa as such, just a flight booked in and out (my all else fails flight) as I was told this would be all I need. Is it? Or do I need an actual physical visa? |
The fact that you've been offered a work Visa for part-time positions means you're way ahead of where I was. After all the headaches and having a visa for all of maybe a week, I went back to the states instead of spending more money on a terrible sounding visa run and no solid possibility of a decent job or acceptable lifestyle. Best choice I ever made. Just cut your losses. |
Whoa, whoa, whoa!!! You gave up after a WEEK?
I mean, I agree the situation is awful and I might have "cut my losses" too after a month or two months, but A WEEK?
I finally found a decent job. This job took a month or two of fairly diligent hunting (and 12 interviews) to find. I would have had to be extraordinarily lucky to find something in a week! Had I failed to find a decent job in Taiwan, I just would've gone to China (same culture, roughly the same pay) and found a job there, no problem.
Honestly, if you quit after a week, it sounds like you weren't very keen on teaching in Taiwan in the first place. Sorry if that sounds mean. |
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scobo
Joined: 19 Nov 2008
Posts: 19
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| Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 9:50 pm Post subject: Re: Why Taiwan? |
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| Rooster_2006 wrote: |
| scobo wrote: |
| Suburban_Andy wrote: |
Like the topic title says, why Taiwan? I've enjoyed what I've seen of the place so far and it looks like it'd be a great place to spend some time, but the situation for ESL teachers is awful compared to other places. So what is it about this place that makes you put yourself through it?
I arrived here about a month ago looking for work and it's been one headache after another. I've applied for many places online and either get ignored or demo for them and then told that the position has been moved back 2 months or that the position is in fact part time. I've been offered two part time positions so far (12 hours a week) and both wanted me to sign a 12 month contract to get my work visa. 12 hours just isn't going to cut it, money-wise. I've been door to door handing out cv's and they either chuckle or politely take my cv telling me they'll get back to me in a few months. Which will be past my 3 month visa limit.
It's maddening. Add on to this the fact that when (if) I get a full time job I'll have to pay 20% tax for the first 6 months according to what I've read on this site.
I'm not sure why you put yourselves through it when the prospects are so much better in Korea etc. I'm not bothered about the fact that they don't pay for your apartment, flights etc- but it's the fact that finding a full time job is so hard makes me wander why people bother. I know some people aren't crazy about Korea but I spent a year there myself and had a great time. Having done some subbing here already the teaching in cram schools doesn't seem a whole lot different either.
Before you say 'well, go elsewhere then' you should know that my girlfriend is here and I do really like Taiwan in a lot of ways, but coming to another country to teach English is stressful enough without all these other layers of sh*t.
I haven't went down the recruiter route as yet, but I think that'll be my next step despite hearing pretty terrible things about them, I don't know what else to do.
Oh and could someone help dispel/add to another one of my worries? I'm a UK citizen who has came here on a 3 month visa. I don't have a visa as such, just a flight booked in and out (my all else fails flight) as I was told this would be all I need. Is it? Or do I need an actual physical visa? |
The fact that you've been offered a work Visa for part-time positions means you're way ahead of where I was. After all the headaches and having a visa for all of maybe a week, I went back to the states instead of spending more money on a terrible sounding visa run and no solid possibility of a decent job or acceptable lifestyle. Best choice I ever made. Just cut your losses. |
Whoa, whoa, whoa!!! You gave up after a WEEK?
I mean, I agree the situation is awful and I might have "cut my losses" too after a month or two months, but A WEEK?
I finally found a decent job. This job took a month or two of fairly diligent hunting (and 12 interviews) to find. I would have had to be extraordinarily lucky to find something in a week! Had I failed to find a decent job in Taiwan, I just would've gone to China (same culture, roughly the same pay) and found a job there, no problem.
Honestly, if you quit after a week, it sounds like you weren't very keen on teaching in Taiwan in the first place. Sorry if that sounds mean. |
No, I left when my visitor visa was up. I had an ARC for almost a week. |
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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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| Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 10:34 pm Post subject: |
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| scobo wrote: |
| Daphne wrote: |
Well, Andy; your experience is shared by nearly all who arrive nowadays on the island without a contract looking for a full-time ESL gig. A recruiter is very likely to set you up with one of the part-time gigs you already described, or even worse a full-time gig at a buxiban that has had many teachers abscond recently.
Surely the woeful US and UK economies have had a huge impact on the ESL job market. Taiwan is one of the best examples of how saturated and competitive some of the locations with the best prospects before the economic crisis have become. Look at how many applicants a school with a rather shoddy reputation like Hess gets for each opening on the island.
In Japan nowadays the great majority of ESL jobs advertised are open only to applicants already in the country. Coming there now with a limited budget in hopes of landing a full-time teaching contract in a matter of days or even weeks would pretty much be career suicide. If you choose to do this with Taiwan, your window of opportunity is a bit wider thanks to the living expenses on the island being considerably lower than those of Japan.
Even a country like Thailand where the salaries are at least half of what one makes in Taiwan, Japan or SK, is nowadays flooded with native speakers looking for jobs.
Well, both the love/hate relationship of current and former teachers with SK, and the comparisons of it with Taiwan are very well-documented on these forums. SK on the surface still seems to have a large number of full-time jobs to choose from, but a large part of that is likely due to how much of a headache getting an E-2 has become in recent years. |
If I knew this before coming to Taiwan, I'd be $5,000 richer. |
I would love to quote on this but I do not want to jinx myself. |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 11:02 pm Post subject: |
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Are people seriously flooding into Thailand as well?
Are communist rebels, massive riots, unstable government, impossible but mandatory government teacher licensing programs, and $900 a month not enough to keep desperate prospective EFLers out?
Wow. We are truly the new Indonesian/Filipino migrant laborers.
Pretty soon, at this rate, Americans, Brits, Kiwis, etc. will be flooding into the most undesirable EFL markets in the world, pleading:
"I'm going to hike up my suspenders, work 12 hours a day for $300 a month, and use my first paycheck to buy my employer a gold-plated baton so he can beat me when I don't work hard enough!" |
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razorhideki
Joined: 19 Jan 2010
Posts: 78
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| Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 6:10 am Post subject: |
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Good post, Rooster.
Does the message sound familiar?  |
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Solar Strength
Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 557
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
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| Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 8:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Rooster_2006 wrote: |
Pretty soon, at this rate, Americans, Brits, Kiwis, etc. will be flooding into the most undesirable EFL markets in the world, pleading:
"I'm going to hike up my suspenders, work 12 hours a day for $300 a month, and use my first paycheck to buy my employer a gold-plated baton so he can beat me when I don't work hard enough!" |
Rooster,
Hall of Fame!
I laughed at this because, while dramatic, it speaks to a trend that is a reality here in Asian EFL. Kids are coming over and working for peanuts and it's showing.
Stay out of EFL as a career here. Things are getting cut throat. |
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