Job Discussion Forums

[vallillo1983]

Hey guys, I was wondering if you could help me again! Lol!
As you are aware from my previous posts that I graduate in 2007 with a degree in ESL teaching, I am wanting to come to Taiwan, but I am hearing stories that jobs especially in Taipei (where I want to be) are decreasing and over the next few years there will no longer be a demand for ESL teachers in TW and TPE and jobs will be difficult to come by!!!?!?!

For all you out there now, is this true, or is there hope fort me?? If it is I will probably have to go to Shanghai, but lets face it it's not the same!!!

Also, as I am aware it looks like 99% of jobs are teaching kids! Whats that like? I've had no experience at teaching kids as my degree is focused on students from secondary school (high school for all you Americans!) and up! How hard is it to get a job teaching 16 yr olds and up?

Cheers!

Luigi

[vallillo1983]

Hey sorry! forgot to add! most jobs are teaching 6 days a week!?! Is one day off really enough? Do teachers ever get 2 days off? How hard is it to find a job working just 5 days??

Cheers

[DirtGuy]

Dude, you stress way too much! Ya know the Nike slogan? It applies here. I met many teachers while working over there in January and they had no trouble finding jobs. One guy even got two job offers DURING Chinese New Year which, according to postings here, is next to impossible.

My sense of things is schools want both professional teachers and people with "upbeat" personalities. I am a lot older than you but I do not look it and have tons of energy. The bosses seem to like this. Most of the kids did not like their English classes as their teachers were Taiwanese and the classes sounded boring. If you keep the kids engaged they will be happy and word will get back to the bosses. If the kids and parents are happy then the bosses are happy and will treat you accordingly.

Read the negative posts on this board but take them with a grain of salt. Some teachers are just plain losers and will be dismal performers no matter where they go. The same is true for people who say the market is drying up. Work is out there. Knock on doors until you find it. As an example, I got offered a job in Puli!! Tiny town in the middle of nowhere yet I still got a legit job offer with an ARC and everything.

As for kids, well, it's different. I had never taught kids before and yet I managed. Actually, I had nothing but 13-17 year old girls and honestly had a good time. Takes a while to draw them out but, once over the initial shyness, class was a lot of fun. I had to follow the curriculum given to me but it's still up to you how to present it and you set the tone for the type of classroom atmosphere you want to have.

One thing that will, IMHO, help you is your personal appearance. Many teachers look like slobs. Part of this is the weather but there really isn't any excuse for the way many teachers looked. You don't need to wear a suit and tie. Clean pants/shorts, decent shirt, clean-shaven, decent shoes and socks and you will be way ahead of your competition. Given the variety of new fabrics available (check out TravelSmith.com) it is pretty easy to maintain a clean appearance and stay as comfortable as possible in that weather.

Good luck.

DirtGuy