Job Discussion Forums

[ellamarie]

Hi all. I am planning on teaching overseas by early next summer. Unfortunately, my plan to go to South Korea may not work out so I am researching other alternatives. Taiwan sounds interesting and I just have a few questions.

Is it possible to find a job before I get there?

How much money will I need to start out?

Is it possible to save money on a teacher's salary and how much could I save?

I am female, single, 28, and I have a B.A. in English. I also have about 7 years experience teaching preschool. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[BigWally]

I'll try to get this one for all you veterans who want to save a few minutes typing out answers to questions that I was asking a few months back!

Answers to most (if not all) of these questions can be easily answered by doing a quick search of the 1st two pages of posts...or by using the search link at the top.

In short...

1. Yes, by using agencies or applying thru chain schools (ie. Hess, Reach to Teach, etc) it is possible to secure employment from overseas. Some will say this is a bad option, others will not, check previous posts for more opinions.

2. The general concensus ranges between $1000-$2000. This of course depends on what is & isnt included in your contract. For example if your school provides a place to stay you may need less. (Although this isnt very common in Taiwan from the job offers I've seen). Again, look into previous posts for more detailed opinions.

3. Everything that I have heard, yes it is possible to save quite a bit of money due to the decreased cost of living. Again, this is very dependant on the lifestyle you lead, and the location that you are living. (Living in Taipei for example, is much more expensive than say Kaohsiung.) I'm sure there is a post somewhere with more info on this subject too.

4. It sounds like you have similar qualifications to my girlfriend, who will be travelling with me to Taiwan. Along with a B.A. in English, she also has her B.Ed & a few more years of experience. None the less, from what you're saying it sounds as though you should have no problem finding a job. The biggest factor will be the time of year that you are applying, although this isnt a huge factor, as there is always jobs being posted.

Not to beat a dead horse, but a lot of these answers I have found from searching and lurking on this site for many months.

I'm now less than a month before I arrive in Taiwan, and getting quite anxious/excited. I hope this helps you out a bit, god knows i need(ed) it!

Good luck with the search!

Cheers

[Aristotle]

If you have a teaching credential apply to the international schools.

1000US$ is the generally accepted amount that people will need to start out on Taiwan.

Saving money is not as easy as it used to be. The local economy is no where near what it was a few years ago and until Taiwan opens up to free trade with the PRC, it it not going to dramatically improve.
Another factor is the decreasing number of students / children on Taiwan. Pollution and poor social conditions as well as a declining standard of living have led to dramatic decline in births over the last decade. Infertility on Taiwan is suspected in a significant percentage of the population and the lack of disposable income has discouraged even more people from having children.
Regardless of the cause, the number of students is expected to decrease by up to half over the coming years which means salaries are not going up for teachers and there is currently a surplus of English language teachers on Taiwan.

If you are looking for a cultural experience or want to learn Chinese, Taipei is a very good place to experience a very different culture ( for better or worse). If you are looking to get an easy job that pays really well, those days have been over for a few years now.
Good luck!
A.

[matchstick_man]

[trukesehammer]

Actually, Aristotle is right.

If you watch as much Taiwanese TV as I do and listen to the locals fuss about it (even my physician friends here have expressed worry), it does appear fertility rates are going down.

As for the other questions about saving money in Taiwan, ummmmm, yeah. People always tell you to come here with a $1000 to $2000 but if you're crazy like me, show up with 47 bucks and an overnight bag. That's what I did back in 1997. And now I have enough money saved up for retirement!

--Oh, almost forgot. If you really are serious about saving money, listen to Fr. Truk and stay out of the bars.

[Jamer]

[kuberkat]

Thank you, Big Wally, for answering new questions with the answers you've been finding in the past months.

As to saving, from what I saw in my time in Taiwan it all depends on what you do with your money. The essentials should costs you no more than half your basic buxiban salary. Limit expenses and up your earnings, and you can leave with a fortune. On the other hand, you could simply up your expenses and leave empty-handed. Up to you.

Oh, one more thing. You may be hard-pressed to find lucrative investment opportunities that cater to English teachers in Taiwan. We are quite near the bottom of the foreign food chain. Setting up a viable savings plan in your home country, or better yet, offshore, may be a great help. Then use it.

A dear friend of mine is leaving Taiwan this fall, having paid off a few thousand dollars of debt, saved more than that in cash and bought three properties, one of which she has just sold at five times the price she bought it for. And she certainly didn't deprive herself to do so. Look and learn.

[I_is_teach_English]

I came to Taiwan three years ago with �20,000 (US$37,500) of debt - I'm six months away from making my last payment. In order to do this, how have I been living would be the next obvious question?

I live on the outskirts of Taichung in a four-bed apartment - well it's two bedrooms, a study and cinema room (all to myself!). I have bought kitesurfing equipment, a top of the range road bicycle, as well as a new 150cc scooter and been travelling to Australia, Malaysia and Thailand. I eat well, mixture of local and foreign dinners, but I'm not a big drinker - I socialise, but I don't get hammered every weekend (this is where a lot of people's cash goes as drinking out in the bars is not cheap!).

Well, I must be working an incredible number of hours to afford all that? I do work more than average, but not a lot more. Most people have a 25 teaching-hour week, mine is 30, but I only work Mon - Fri. I have built up good pay rises over the years I have been here, but I have always sent the same amount of money home, all that's happened is that my lifestyle here has expanded (more expensive toys!) as my pay has increased.

Is it possible to save money? Need I say more ... I send NT$40,000 (�700 / US$1,200) home every month, sometimes a bit more if it is a long month (I get paid by the hour, so as March, July, August and October have more days, so they have more hours) or I have done a few extra hours subbing someone else's class.

YES, you can save money on a teacher's salary! You don't have to live like a monk/nun, but you do have to think about your budget. Here are some of my monthly expenses as a guide :

Rent : NT$12,000 (this includes my apartment's security fee. You can also reduce this expense if you're willing to share.)
Phone & Internet : NT$1,500 (using Skype or any other voice over IP service will dramatically reduce your overseas call costs)
Gas, water & electricity : NT$1,000 (if you're someone who doesn't cope with heat very well and have your air conditioners running 24/7 then your electric bill will be a lot more. I have A/C but rarely use it - fans do me fine!)
Groceries : NT$8,000 (again this will depend on your eating habits. If you have to have imported western foods then they are more expensive. I do buy cheese, wine and other items from time to time, but the local markets offer such a wide range of fresh meat and vegetables, you can eat well and cheaply.)
Weekends : NT$8,000 (Dinner for two, movie and a few beers - NT$2,000. As I said before, this is the area where you can really blow your hard earned cash!)
Petrol (for a scooter) : NT$1,000

All that comes to NT$31,500 and that's living comfortably. You can reduce your groceries and weekends if you really want scrimp and save, but then you're not going to enjoy life as much! This is also costs for living in Taichung, Taipei is much more expensive! Average starting salaries are around NT$60,000 - 65,000 so you can save around NT$30,000 a month. I shared my rent and bills, worked 35 hours a week and went out less in my first year here in order to send NT$40,000 home.

People will give you all sorts of weird and wonderful reasons for why they came to Taiwan. Although learning about a new culture, learning Chinese, trying something new for employment etc. are all great reasons for being here, anyone who is really honest with themselves will admit that they are here because they can save money.

So next summer, pack your bags and come for the experience! (and of course, the CA$H!)

[blateson]

hi sorry haven't read through all of the posts because I am at a PC cafe and don't have the time for now... but I saw the idea that $1000 USD would just about cut it to start out in Taiwan. Unfortunately, maybe it's just my situation, but I am a bit above that and to tell the truth, I am sweating it. Especially the possibility that the consulate will want to see bank statements when I get to HK. Also, considering apartment rental, you have to pay first month, plus two ADDITIONAL months of rent as deposit, so that's basically 3 months. Also I will have to foot the flight to HK, hotels. How about health check, how much does that cost? Again do I have to pay?

I see lots of reasons to have more like $2500+ USD. Don't think I'm debating it, I'm just saying unless one of the above I've overestimated I see myself realistically, possibly leaving Taiwan and heading to Cambodia which will still take me on my minimal savings that remains.

[dangerousapple]

Nothing down south? K-Town is where it's at! Salaries on par with Taipei, better working conditions, and a way cheaper cost of living.

Ok, feel free now to start the rant...

[KaiFeng]

You can save money in Taiwan depending on your lifestyle. Most people sign on with a franchise, like Hess or ELSI, to get hours and experience.

Teaching privately is more productive; when I left Taiwan in 1998 I was making NT$1500/hour, ten or so hours a day, working the corporate gig. Plus editing. Plus translations. Plus speechwriting. You get the idea.

My mortgage payments were US$3300 a month, I was the sole breadwinner for my wife and two kids, and I scarcely felt the pain.

Working in pu-hsi-pans is okay to get started in the market, but you're nuts to stay in them any longer than necessary. IMHO!

[SanChong]

[BigWally]

[KaiFeng]

I'll share some thoughts tonight (I'm in a VMware class all day). Basically, I'll comment on five things (eventually):

1. Change how you view yourself
2. Be aware and aggressive about opportunities
3. Read and prepare yourself appropriately
4. Plan your rhetoric
5. Plan your business development.
5.1 Recruitment
5.2 Expansion
5.3 Physical colsolidation
5.4 Hunt and defend

I'll elaborate as soon as work and family permit.

[KaiFeng]

In a sporadic series, I'll be posting some comments about how I was able to build a strong income in Taiwan over a 19-year period in the ESL business. I'll be posting these also in my blog, the-esl-life.blogspot.com.

1. Change how you see yourself

Why mention this first? Because if you don't do this, nothing else I say will work for you.

It works like this. If you think of yourself as "an English teacher", that is what you will always be: an interchangeable commodity. Instead, you have to think of yourself in a more distinct, high-end, less commoditized fashion. Over the years, I identified myself as:

- Language consultant (my favorite, and the one I put on my business cards, English on one side and Chinese on the other)
- Language trainer
- Executive coach
- Corporate trainer

This is important for three reasons:

1. If you think of yourself in terms of a higher professional identification, you will grow into that role. This is extremely important for your success. Mark my words: you will grow into what you describe yourself as. So aim high.

2. It makes you stand out from everyone else. For example, when you go to American Chamber of Commerce networking events (and you _do_ attend these, right?), you introduce yourself as a "staff development specialist", and explain that you "help business professionals communicate better for their bosses". This presents you entirely from saying "Oh, I teach English at LTTC/ELSI/Hess/Gramm/whatever".

3. I save the best for last. When you are talking to a prospective client, and you say "I'm an English teacher", the prospect immediately pegs you at NT$500-NT$700 an hour. You're pigeon-holed. You have to negotiate upwards. However, on the other hand, when you say, as I always did, "I'm a language consultant", the client has no fixed expectation. Then, when I said, "This is very specialized training you're talking about, and usually I charge NT$1500 an hour for work like this", you make it easier for him or her to say yes. Because (and forgive me for repeating the obvious), they're not thinking of paying for an English teacher, and this frees you to charge more.

That's my point for today. And next time you are talking about some training for a new prospect, try this approach out. It worked for me 85% to 90% of the time. It helped me book more than 10 billable hours a day.