Job Discussion Forums

[00Scott]

I'm looking for advice on applying to university ESL positions in Taiwan. I've lived in the country before and have some idea of the expected requirements, but I would like to learn more about the practicalities of landing a university job.

(1) Is it worth applying for advertised positions from outside of Taiwan?
(2) Is it worth sending a resume and cover letter unsolicited to schools?
(3) For those with university jobs who applied from within Taiwan, did you work in a university-sponsored language center before you got a faculty job?
(4) How many years of experience did you and your coworkers have before being hired on at your university?
(5) How much is age a factor (I'll be 25)?
(6) Were connections necessary to get your job?
(7) Are publications and presentations a weighty factor?

If these questions aren't too much, I'd also be interested in leaning what I might expect in a standard contract wrt/ salary and benefits.

Many thanks.

[Taylor]

Dear 00Scott,

You realize that teaching in a university and 'teaching adults' are not the same....right? That's why you hear the term 'college kids'. While many (junior) colleges have upgraded to university status, there is still a big difference between these two types of schools in Taiwan. Universities would generally hire master's degree holders to work part-time only.

If you only have a Master's degree and teach at a (junior) college, your salary will be around NT$55K per month--with an extra month for New Year's bonus, usually. Some schools may demand office hours and extra projects. Some try to prohibit you from working night jobs at language schools. PhDs were earning about 68K a few years ago. Any updated info would be appreciated, but I can tell you that the government regulates salaries to prevent private schools from paying higher salaries.

Since you are only 25, I would consider age to work against you. To put it bluntly, the administration might be worried that you will be dating your students.

Lots of universities are located far from the urban areas. Are you sure you would want to commute so far....or live out there???

It really all depends on your future plans. If you want to get a PhD later on, then it would indeed look good to have some college teaching on your resume. However, if cash is the priority, you can earn much more teaching children. At 25, you should still have plenty of energy for this!

Best wishes,

Taylor

[wombat]

If you haven't already done so I would advise you to check out Scott Sommers Weblog. He teaches within a university and has always been very forthcoming with advice for those seeking work in such institutions. He also posts university job vacancies on his site.

http://scottsommers.blogs.com/

Scott also posts on this forum so you could send him a PM here.

[Rice Paddy Daddy]

(1) Is it worth applying for advertised positions from outside of Taiwan?
Yes, but you should come to Taiwan first and look around and talk to schools, both language schools and university language departments.

(2) Is it worth sending a resume and cover letter unsolicited to schools?
Yes, if you have the contact info, send in a resume.

(3) For those with university jobs who applied from within Taiwan, did you work in a university-sponsored language center before you got a faculty job?
No, I don't think many people teaching in universities have worked in the university language school (if they have one) before getting hired.

(4) How many years of experience did you and your coworkers have before being hired on at your university?
Some people have no experience (or very little or no related EFL / TESOL training) to many years of related experience.

(5) How much is age a factor (I'll be 25)?
Not a factor. My friend was 25 when he was hired.

(6) Were connections necessary to get your job?
Most people who get hired don't have any previous relationships or 'connections' with the department before getting hired.

(7) Are publications and presentations a weighty factor?
If you are an M.A. holder in a big school with lots of teachers - not really. Other things are more important - school clubs, activities. Getting involved with these will give you points at many schools.

The Ph.D holders seem to get more pressure from the department to publish than the M.A. holders do. teachers should try to publish something every 2 - 3 years .

Publishing is a bit of a joke in Taiwan, though, since many of the universities have as many as 2 or 3 of their own 'rags' so that their teachers can get published. Even though the academic quality of these journals is very low, if your paper is published in one of these local journals you get credit for it.

New teachers are generally given first dibs on getting something published in the school journal.

Anytime is the best time to apply for a university position in Taiwan.

Make sure all your documents (degrees, transcripts, passport, etc) are all stamped by the Taiwanese pseudo-embassy in Vancouver - very important that you do this.

There are always 1 or 2 teachers that are hired and then don't show up for some reason or another.

[surrealia]

You should also check out Michael Turton's page on teaching at universities in Taiwan:

http://users2.ev1.net/~turton/college_intro.html

[daily chai]

Rice Paddy Daddy, AFAIK the MOE regs state that university teaching candidates must have at least 2 years of full-time teaching experience.

[00Scott]

Many thanks, all of you. Has been useful to hear your opinions.