Job Discussion Forums

[Tornado2080]

Hello,

My name is Frank and I was born in Ilan Taiwan. My parents and I moved to the US 11 years ago and I attended middle, high school, as well as college in America.

I recently graduated from college and currently I don't have a job, I've apply to almost 100 companies and job is just too competitive here because so many new college grads every year.

I thought about the idea of teach English in Taiwan because I have family in Ilan, Chiayi and some long distance relative in Hualien and Taipei. I speak fluently in English, Mandarin, and Taiwanese (Southern Min dialect)

However, I'm a naturalized American citizen, and the law is that I can't go back to Taiwan for more than 6 months without returning US, because if I do, I'll lose the US citizenship forever as I cannot apply again and go through the naturalization process.

So if anyone can help me and recommend me to couple school in Taiwan who's interested to hire part time teachers (3 months), I'm very interested to go back to Taiwan and teach English.

Thanks
Frank

[Sheep-Goats]

The market here wants native speakers as that's what parents want for their kids -- this means that it may be hard for you to find a job that'll pay you a native speaker salary (about double what the Taiwanese make?). Also, the Taipei Times ran a story perhaps a week ago about how there were far too many qualified Taiwanese teachers for the positions available in the schools right now, so you might have some pretty stiff native competition, some of whom probably speak English pretty well. The standard of English that I see from the Chinese teachers running around in my school is pretty low, though, so you can take some solace in that (there were a few typically Chinese errors in your message, but the general level is worlds better than what I see on the ground here).

Anyway, many of the schools I talked to here were happy to point out that they offerd unpaid leave periods on a case-by-case basis. They generally pointed this out when I started complaining about the horrible vacation time offered teachers here (I was used to at least a month of paid holiday time in Thailand) but apparently it's available. This would mean you would have to pay for your flights to and from America on your own dime -- maybe 450USD round trip on EVA -- and lose a bit of salary due to not being able to work on the airplane. Try emailing a few schools and explaining your situation before you drop by Taiwan -- you may get better results than I anticipate. Also, you've already asked your relatives if they have any friends who run English schools, right?

If you're looking for employers to email try www.tealit.com.

[clark.w.griswald]

I agree that you are already behind the eight ball as far as not being a native speaker. Add to that your short term requirements, and I doubt that you will have much luck.

My suggestion would be to approach the chain schools and offer your services as a sub teacher. It won't be regular work, but if you are good at what you are doing, once you are in you may find an offer of something more permanent.

[taikibansei]

[Ki]

I don't know anything at all about the six month rule to return to the US. If you do find a job, don't tell the school anything about having to return to the US. Just get that job. Talking about vacation time in your job interview hinders any job. Wait until a month or two before you need to leave to tell them. They should be fine with a week anyway.
Not sure if you are too late but this is the beginning of Summer. Which means Summer camps are hiring. This might be a good option for you to at least start out in Taiwan. Maybe not, depends on what you want. I probably should point out that these positions are illegal but then again, so are a lot of the other English teachers here.

[Aristotle]

Citizenship in countries with rule of law can not be revoked without a court order. That means you have to be charged, offered an attorney and be found guilty.
I suspect you are confusing permanent residency with citizenship.
You won't have much touble fining a job, finding a job that actually pays a wage you can live on may be a problem.
Good luck!
A.