Job Discussion Forums

[Ferfichkin]

I guess I could have inserted this question at the end of my last post (Are there jobs?), but I figured more people would see it this way.

From what I've been able to patch together, based on information provided to me by other people, it seems that the majority of jobs available in Taiwan are part time and that I will most likely be forced to work several part time jobs in order to earn the equivalent of a full time position.

My question is this. According to ramakentesh, who responded to my last post, part time workers are not eligible to apply for an ARC. Is this true, and if so, am I going to have to work illegally? What happens if you have several jobs and have full time hours, does that count?

Basically I just want to know if, since most jobs are part time, and since part time workers can't legally apply for an ARC, does that mean that myself and most other teachers in Taiwan right now are ARCless and illegal workers?

Thanks in advance for any information,
fich

[Pop Fly]

See what happens when people with agendas reply with their emotions instead of facts.

Come on man, give your helmet a shake. Of course most of us (most likely 98%) have ARCs.

Take a job with Koen or Hess if you are so worried about the (mis)information you are being fed.

Jeez Lake Louise....

[Ferfichkin]

What do I know? The sum total of my knowledge of Taiwan comes from this website and from the TV show English teachers. I know next to nothing. On the TV show English teachers almost none of the teachers were legal as far as I could tell, most of them had jobs within a few days and were gone within a month ot two. Several of the people on the show admitted on camera to being illegal workers, one of them was confronted by a parent about his status and another ran out of an interview fearing it was a set-up. The point I'm trying to make however is that whether the percentage of teachers with ARC's is at 98% or 89% or at 19%, how am I supposed to know that? Everyone says that most people looking for work today will be accepting part-time positions, and according to ramakentesh part-time workers are ineligible for the ARC. I was just trying to figure out the truth. It seems to me that the blame should fall on ramakentesh if what he said was untrue. I don't think that the moderators should allow people who use this board to lie to one another. Now I'm not talking about opinion, I'm talking about people who mislead other people about objective facts, like part-time workers are ineligible for an ARC, if that isn't true you shouldn't be able to say it, the moderators should remove it and PM them saying, "What you said was completely untrue and we are removing your post."

I think I might take your advice about the chain schools though, that doesn't seem too bad to me.

fich

[TaoyuanSteve]

This one's just begging for a reply...

One of the biggest contradictions in terms is "reality television." Television, by its very nature, is not reality. "English Teachers," like any other show on television has to have some entertainment value, so they seek it out and show it to you. You are not seeing reality, as much as the name "reality TV" suggests that you are. Showing degree holding candidates arriving, getting legally employed in short order and other wise settling in with little hassle would make for a very boring show indeed. So, what they show you instead are the people with more problems and, hence, better drama for TV. What I remember about that show (I'm surprised it's still around, actually) is that it doesn't represent the experiences of the majority of teachers I know. You would be well advised not to look to television for a sense of what it's like in Taiwan.

The vast majority of teachers I know who can be legal are. Most people who are illegal, when pressed, will inevitably reveal that they are unable to work legally (no degree, overstay, unlicensed employer etc). Jobs for as few as 16 teaching hours a week will provide you with legal residence and health insurance. Too good of a deal to pass up, IMO.

I think mods here have a tough job on this site. So much of what is discussed here are impressions and opinions. Rules change and sometimes what is a written rule may turn out to be different from what is actually occuring. Add to that the fact that mods may not reside in Taiwan or be all-knowing about this place, and it you may come to see why it is better to simply prune off posts that break rules for reasons other than factual inaccuracy. Discussion forums may be a more reliable source for information than television, but should also be taken with a grain of salt.

[Ki]

People work without an ARC (illegally) for various reasons but generally because they are not elligable for one. Schools can sometimes fail to provide teachers with an ARC. Maybe they have already filled their quota of foreign teachers or maybe they only opperate a kindergarten, which are illegal to work at anyway.

It should be easy enough to find the 14 hours needed to obtain an ARC.

[Ferfichkin]

Absolutely, of course not. I am certainly not claiming that a TV show is a reliable source of accurate information. I'm just saying that it is one of the few sources that I had avaliable to me. I definately took the show with a grain of salt, but at the same time I figured that any information was better than no information, maybe I was wrong in that assumption. It's just that where does one get accurate and reliable information about life in Taiwan, I had no idea at the time, and to be honest with you, I still don't today. Dave's is the best thing I've come up with so far, but even in here there is a lot of contradictory advice and misinformation. So how does someone who knows nothing about Taiwan get information that he can rely on? Beats me, this website and that TV show seemed as good as the alternatives to me. What are the alternatives? Where should someone thinking of coming to Taiwan get his information? I'm not talking about 'Lonely Planet' tourist type information, but the real things that a perspective teacher to Taiwan needs to know? The TV show, Dave's, and a few other websites like it are all I've come up with. If you could tell me where else to look I would be grateful.

As far as the moderators go, I don't know, would it really be that difficult to keep information that everyone knows is untrue off the website? It seems to me that Dave must be able to find one person who in familiar with Taiwanese labour laws. I mean, you can probably get that information off the internet. Now I realise that the law and its application are not always the same, but there must be a way to keep information that violates both of the forums. A lot of people rely on this website for the information they need about Taiwan. Where else are they going to look? They are in their home country and they are just trying to peace together the facts before they leave. If someone lies to them or misleads them it kind of violates the spirit and the puropse of this website. For example, if I were to say that Black and Asian Americans are ineligible for legal work in Taiwan I would be lying, it may be more difficult for them, but it isn't illegal. Something like that, in my opinion, should be removed by the moderators. Whether that statment becomes true in time is irrelevant, it's a lie right now and if it stays on the board some unsuspecting Asian American may think it's true and, if only for a short time, be mislead about an objective fact in relation to Taiwan. That isn't necessary, if the comment is more than just a stupid opinion, but rather a lie about an objective truth, it should be removed in my opinion. Why not? It would be easy to spot by an informed and impartial moderator, and I don't think it's unreasonable to expect at least one moderator from each county in the cafe to know about the country in which he is moderating.

I don't know, what do you guys think?
fich

[teacha]

[Pop Fly]