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What to expect, where to go, what to bring.
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romanworld



Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 388

PostPosted: Sun Nov 22, 2015 7:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mattyko40 wrote:
If you work a ton maybe you can get 100k a month, and if you have high certs or connections you could make more.


Really? Which planet you from???
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markcmc



Joined: 18 Jan 2010
Posts: 262
Location: Taiwan

PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 12:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

romanworld wrote:


No responses for 2 reasons: 1. It's difficult to argue with the facts, ie, my posts tend to be the last word on the subject; and 2. all the serious English teachers, myself included, have left because the pay sucks big time in Taiwan!


All serious teachers have not left Taiwan. That is a fact.

The pay in pretty much all countries is bad and getting worse, and ELT has never been the best. Taiwan is better than many countries for ELT jobs, and it does have a job market. Just because some countries offer better pay (and they do) does not mean Taiwan is at the bottom.

Some teachers earn a lot of money here. If that's what you want it's possible, although it might take more than a year to set up that kind of situation.
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markcmc



Joined: 18 Jan 2010
Posts: 262
Location: Taiwan

PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 12:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MattyKo40 is right that it's possible to earn NT$100,000 a month. This is not a typical salary, in fact it's probably not a salary, but a result of working hard getting all kinds of private jobs.
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romanworld



Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 388

PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 3:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

markcmc wrote:
MattyKo40 is right that it's possible to earn NT$100,000 a month. This is not a typical salary, in fact it's probably not a salary, but a result of working hard getting all kinds of private jobs.


Most universities would pay no more than NT$60,000 per month and your visa would not allow moonlighting, so how do you figure this? If you are teaching outside a university, and it hasn't been agreed by your superiors, then you are working illegally. I suppose you could do it all under the radar but it's risky. Buxibans are another answer but they tend to work you long hours so there's no time for privates . . . and to be honest I don't think they'd be too happy about you teaching privates if they are providing sponsorship. The only way around all this is to become a resident and then you can do what you like.
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markcmc



Joined: 18 Jan 2010
Posts: 262
Location: Taiwan

PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

romanworld wrote:
The only way around all this is to become a resident and then you can do what you like.


It's not the only way, but it's the easiest way. Most of the teachers I know earning around NT$100,000 hold an APRC.

Universities usually have restrictions on working elsewhere in the first year, but after that they're freer. Getting permission isn't hard, at least at my university, and they often pass telephone numbers of local schools that are looking for part-time teachers.

Not all buxibans have a lot of hours to give. Some teachers don't like this, but it makes it easier if you want free time to find extra work. You're right that some buxibans don't like their teachers to work anywhere else; others are less controlling and don't care, especially the ones that can't provide so many hours.
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romanworld



Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 388

PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 11:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

markcmc wrote:
It's not the only way, but it's the easiest way. Most of the teachers I know earning around NT$100,000 hold an APRC.


But it isn't easy to get an APRC, right? I had one years ago when I was in Taiwan but it took 7 years of continuous service at the university where I was working to get it. My manager at my particular university forbid English teachers from moonlighting, but some did it anyway because the university didn't pay enough. Earning NT$100,000 is possible but you're gonna be working like a Trojan to get it and have no real quality of life.
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markcmc



Joined: 18 Jan 2010
Posts: 262
Location: Taiwan

PostPosted: Tue Nov 24, 2015 8:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Getting an APRC not very easy, but it's easier than it used to be. Now it's 5 years in the country, and the requirement for a police check from your home country has gone, provided you've spent most of the 5 years living in Taiwan.

Yes, it would mean working a lot of hours (and choosing high paying jobs). Most teachers don't earn this much, but I know several who do; some of them have other ways of making money: editing, online teaching or running their own classes. Classes in elementary and high schools can pay well, but are tiring, and some people do well specialising in IELTS or other exams and also organising study trips abroad (and therefore taking a commission on this).

As I said, this is not the usual income of teachers in Taiwan – I don't want to mislead anyone interested in coming here – but I do know some very organised people who have lived here a while who do fairly well financially.
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romanworld



Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 388

PostPosted: Tue Nov 24, 2015 1:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

markcmc wrote:
As I said, this is not the usual income of teachers in Taiwan – I don't want to mislead anyone interested in coming here – but I do know some very organised people who have lived here a while who do fairly well financially.


But by suggesting that $NT100,000 is possible you are giving newbies(or FOB's) a false promise. Salaries typically aren't that high and, before you can start talking about salaries, you have to get a job first! And as we know from my many posts . . . jobs are not easy to come by with the falling birth rate and the scarcity of new students coming online.
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markcmc



Joined: 18 Jan 2010
Posts: 262
Location: Taiwan

PostPosted: Tue Nov 24, 2015 8:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm not giving a false promise – I'm being honest. The situation for new teachers and established teachers is not the same. I think most readers will be able to understand that.

Jobs are not that hard to come by, there is work here. It's not like China for finding work, but it's here. University jobs are hard to come by, and they're still suffering from the dip in the birth rate – which has started to reverse. But it will still be several years before that reaches the universities.
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romanworld



Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 388

PostPosted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 11:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

markcmc wrote:
University jobs are hard to come by, and they're still suffering from the dip in the birth rate – which has started to reverse.


Where's your evidence for a reversal in the falling birth rate? Don't you know that this idea is all government spin cooked up by the worried mandarins on high?

http://www.dw.com/en/why-taiwans-single-people-are-a-national-security-threat/a-18617944
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phdinfunk



Joined: 30 May 2008
Posts: 69

PostPosted: Wed Dec 02, 2015 2:45 pm    Post subject: Ahem, to answer the OP Reply with quote

I would still say stay out of Taipei, but that's just me.

I have an APRC, which is a permanent Alien Residency card. So I can work almost anywhere picking up whichever hours I would want. It's also a bit easier for me to get hired. I've been hunting a job to replace my job in Puli, Central Taiwan.

Again, I'm finding it very easy to locate jobs for around 70k NTD, but not really in Taipei. When you're outside of that place, where most foreigners seem to want to live, then its definitely a worker friendly market.

What to bring? Well, no one is actually going to check your college transcripts or anything like that. Sometimes the government asks to see a university degree, but that hasn't happened at any job I've been at since my first year here.

If you're planning on job hunting, bring cash for three or four months and be as picky as you want to be. Again, just me. I could always take a job but you know, if you're going to be there awhile it's good to cherry pick it.

You can save money (I'd say 1K USD a month is a cinch once you get into a swing of things here), and you can have fun on this island. The people are nice. If you already speak Mandarin, it will be easier.
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bule_boy69



Joined: 05 Mar 2007
Posts: 158
Location: Jakarta

PostPosted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 7:33 am    Post subject: Re: Ahem, to answer the OP Reply with quote

phdinfunk wrote:
What to bring? Well, no one is actually going to check your college transcripts or anything like that. Sometimes the government asks to see a university degree, but that hasn't happened at any job I've been at since my first year here.



Really? No need to get stuff notarised/apostilled? stamped by Taiwan's representatives in home country?

Is a criminal record check from home required for a work permit application?


Thanks
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phdinfunk



Joined: 30 May 2008
Posts: 69

PostPosted: Sun Feb 14, 2016 3:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Definitely no need for any of that. I walked around with transcripts in a sealed envelope for a long time. Official stamped transcripts notorized at the university. Never once did I ever open that envelope until just a couple of years ago when I wanted to reminisce about my wasted years at university.

This is a country where I have physically observed more than one business owner actually keeping two different sets of accounting books. The receipt lottery is to encourage businesses to report their incomes to the government by getting people to ask for official lottery receipts.


Let's just say, so far is "checking things" --- Taiwan doesn't work ANYTHING like what you are used to in a Western country. I didn't know that when I left, so I brought everything legit and proper. But it's definitely not needed if you're going to be working at a buxiban.... Honest to god, I doubt you would even need it at some of the universities here.

But this is one of the nicest things about living here. The island has very low violent crime rates, yet the government is extremely hands-off about pretty much everything.
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Spelunker



Joined: 03 Nov 2013
Posts: 392

PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 7:34 am    Post subject: re: visa troubles?ye Reply with quote

Quote:
Definitely no need for any of that. I walked around with transcripts in a sealed envelope for a long time.


Sounds interesting. Would it be possible to hear from people who have successfully obtained a work visa in Taiwan? The confounded things are like gold dust in Hong Kong, applied for one, and the cockwomble in Immigration had said he closed my file on my application case! My employer spoke to him, but to no avail, he said I needed proof of my TEFL cert....which I could not get Rolling Eyes So I'd want a few reassurances for the work visa re: Taiwan, is there much in the way of red tape to get a visa, and I presume one has to go to Hong Kong/Seoul for a visa run?
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