Job Discussion Forums

[yossarian]

Hey all,
The topic heading pretty much says it all. Job offers (so far as I've been told... sorry if I'm off on this) don't mention 6 month contracts, but I've heard from several people who've taught in Korea (where they also never mention the option) that they haggled a deal with their bosses for a renegotiable 6 month deal. It's been a bit illegal, but perhaps it's not in Taiwan. In any case, the people I knew never ran into legal problems with this situation. If it is illegal in Taiwan, is it strictly enforced or passed over discretely?
I'm actually investigating for a friend who is interested in going but has future plans (grad school) and I said I'd check it out for her. She doesn't want to burn an employer by promising a one year deal then cutting out. However, she would like to see Taiwan. Is this feasible?
Thanks in advance.

[TaoyuanSteve]

Some places will take you for that long. Others may not. 6 months makes it almost worth it for some places to go through the hassles of securing an ARC.

[clark.w.griswald]

Theoretically it is possible to get a fully legal six month contract, but in practice I doubt that you would ever get one.

Firstly, as many posts here have suggested, there are a lot of foreigners looking for teaching work, many of whom would be willing to sign up for the standard one year contract.

Secondly, in order to persuade a school to offer you this short term contract legally, you would need to be bringing something very special to the table. Bear in mind that the competitors for the positions you would be seeking are likely to be a mixed bag of education majors, teachers with lengthy teaching experience in Taiwan, and even some Chinese speakers. I am not sure if your friend feels that he or she can out compete these, but if he or she could then I guess that there is a possibility.

Then you need to consider that as most schools are probably unaware of the fine details of the laws that govern the issuance of work permits and ARC's, that they may not be fully aware of their rights under the law in this regard. Even if you attempted to educate them in this regard I am not so sure that they would be willing to comply.

The simple fact is that most schools want teachers long term. Given the choice between a less qualified teacher who wanted to sign a standard one year contract, and your friend (assuming them to be more qualified) who wants a six month, the majority, if not all schools would go for the one year contract.

In years gone by it may have been a possibility to negotiate this, but in the current climate I wouldn't recommend trying. I think teaching in Taiwan should be seen as being at least a one year comittment. There are jobs here, but schools are getting more and more selective. People who don't fit the profile of what schools want seem to be getting pushed to the fringes of the industry, and I am not sure that this is what your friend would want.

Then again, your friend could get lucky and just walk into a position here that meets his or her every needs! You never know.

[Ki]

I am loathe to suggest it but anyway....... you may be able to get a six month contract through a recruiter. They will be hesitant at first so try to provide some kind of excuse as to why you cannot stay for the full year. Work, family, or school commitments back home should qualify. There are also a couple of recruiters here that only provide short term, casual work. This is bound to be illegal but you might be working illegally anyway even if you do have an ARC, ie kindergarten English teaching. It is really just different degrees of illegality.

I cannot recommend to you any good recruiters. Sorry. I can tell you a couple to stay away from though. For the rest you should search particular names on different websites, or just try your luck.