Job Discussion Forums

[blateson]

Hmmm one of my threads got deleted. Well, let's try with this. On my job search seems like majority of schools offering the slimmest of part time hrs, like 4:30p to 6p, M-F. Yet they want 1 year commitments and contract agreements. Also how well can I believe every one of them making the comment "more hours available later." How about I sign the contract later, then? Is this really all ok? Then most teachers have to work at 2 to 3 schools and use the subway everyday to actually make an income? As a new person I don't know the real ins and outs of Taiwan yet but would imagine everyday transportation to add up as well as eat your time up (?), or just a normal thing?

I can't help but ask, is the reason Taiwan is rumored to need ESL teachers strongly because most schools want to hire for similar time slots at minimal hours?

[SanChong]

[blateson]

come on dude don't try to play internet games by asking rhetorical questions to make things fuzzier. Besides it wasn't a really important point I was making, really just making a joke and the point is, it seems many if not the great majority of schools are hiring for closely similar time slots, and are they not really cutting down the hours(?). therefore the joking question is maybe the reason there are so many schools needing teachers is because they are all competing to hire for minimal hours around the same times, apparently leaving me the teacher in a bind. as a newcomer it does seem rather inconvenient to work at a school M,W,F for 1.5 hours which unfortunately cross over into most other schools or give little time in between the next classes for another school. Am I wrong? Does it work alot smoother than that? If so it doesn't quite look so when reading the ads.

i.e. school one is M,T,TH,FR 2pm to 4pm. Another school you're really interested in has same days but is 3:45 pm to 6pm, overlap. School 3, similar days but maybe 6:45pm - 8:XX, that leaves 45 mins to get across town AND prep time, how about dinner? I hope you get my point. So my question is, does it really work out alot smoother?

[Dr_Zoidberg]

The time slots are similar because those are the hours the students are generally available.

[SanChong]

It does take some time for teachers to find an optimal schedule. For your first job, you may not have a perfect situation, particularly if you are already in Taiwan and there aren't a lot of options left available to you. The longer you are here, the more you will be able to mold your schedule to your specific wishes.

Find what works best for you and come as close to that schedule as you can.

By the way, this is a perfect example of what we often discuss in this forum:

It's not so simple and easy anymore to simply land in Taiwan and find a job on the ground. More and more schools are planning ahead and hiring teachers well ahead of time through high quality agents/recruiters. Many times the people just arriving will be left with scraps and partial schedules, like the poster.

[Ki]

There are schools like that which offer only minimal hours and no ARC yet want your commitment, penalty clauses and all. Then there are schools which are more reasonable. I have never had any contracts with part time work.

I don't know what the current stress in recruiter work is all about. Sure some schools elect to find teachers through recruiters good and bad. Other schools find teachers through word of mouth, newspaper or internet sites such as this one. I wouldn't say one way is necessarily better or worse for either the school or the teacher. You can land a good/bad job via any method just as a school can land a good/bad teacher.

Blateson, don't settle for the crappy job. Bide your time and get something better. Also try to get paid per hour. Most schools have cut out the benefits that made salary jobs worth getting, like holidays and typhoon days.