Job Discussion Forums

[Drizzt]

Hello to everyone in the Taiwan board.

I plan to finish a master�s in the next couple of years, and after which I would like to come work in Taiwanese college. �

I worked in China for a year and a half (currently in Mexico) and although I enjoyed my time there, there were a few Chinese habits that were difficult for me to adjust to. Below I will mention a few of these. I would appreciate it if you could comment on whether or not these are present in Taiwanese society and if so, is it as extreme as it is in mainland China (that is if you have been to mainland China and experienced it yourself).

Habits in mainland China that I found difficult to adjust to:

1. Cutting in line

2. Obsessed with money, making money, talking about how much they paid for their house, car, dog, etc.

3. Over-dramatization over who pays the bill (in mainland China it�s very important that you argue over the bill, insisting to pay so that you don�t lose face)

4. Deeply conservative (i.e. -- it�s frowned upon when a woman is in a bar drinking, or it�s carved in rock that you must be married before age 30, etc.).

I thank you for taking your time to respond. I really would like to have a clearer idea of what it�s like there before I start making long-term plans.

[dangerousapple]

It's the same, except for number 4. Definitely conservative, but not as much as what you said.

[trukesehammer]

Did somebody say "cutting in line?"

Umm, yeah. It's pretty bad here but getting better. To avoid these unpleasantries, businesses and government agencies often put up those newfangled take-a-number contraptions.

As for obsessions with money, there is a tiny but growing underground rebelling against this. I think this Asian-style antimaterialist movement began in Japan and is slowly spreading. Stay tuned.

Conservative values are still strong in smaller villages and in the South, but nothing like what you said. And the bill-paying theatrics --lots of fun to watch, as long as I'm on the outside looking in.

[SanChong]

All are true, but to a much lesser degree here than in the Mainland.

All a matter of perspective, of course.

[Drizzt]

Well, at least it�s good to know that it�s not as bad as mainland China and things are still changing for the better.

Anyway, thanks for the tips everyone.

[ghost]

[Drizzt]

Sure Ghost,

I�ll be more than happy to give you the run down.

In general, I feel that the saving potential between Mexico and China is almost the same, although China is probably a bit higher. Of course, it depends on where you work as well...

In Mexico the "best" ESL jobs are university positions, because they not only pay the best but also offer the best benefits. In China, the public universities tend to pay the least, although you work very few hours.

In Mexico for a university position expect between 10,000 and 14,000 pesos per month (around 10,000 with a BA but higher with an MA) which is about 900- 1,250 bucks per month. Sounds good right? Well Mexico has a much higher cost of living than China...also from what I�ve seen the language institutes here in Mexico pay survival salaries with little or no saving potential.

At a public university in China expect maybe 3000 to 6000 RMB per month (400- 750 bucks a month) depending where you are and number of teaching hours per week but free accommodation is almost standard in China, whereas in Mexico you usually have to pay our of your own pocket for an apartment. In China language institutes tend to pay more so you can probably make closer to 1,000 bucks a month or even more in bigger cities (but this is working many more hours as well).

Overall I�d say your saving potential in Mexico is pretty modest, from maybe 100 - 400 dollars a month. In China it varies a bit more, but anywhere from 100 - 600 dollars a month. (if you take on part time work you can expect quite a bit more if you work in a big city like Shanghai. I had two jobs and I was banking about 800 bucks a month for a semester, but that was teaching 28 classes a week).

Just to re-cap, everything in Mexico cost more than in China, EXCEPT for three things: beer, the cinema, and the metro (if you live in DF).

I haven�t been in Mexico long enough to comment on working conditions, but I will say that in China you don�t usually have mandatory office hours at the university level, but you generally do in Mexico. In Mexico, however, I think ESL is treated more professionally if you�re genuinely interested in professional development.

I hope this helps; if you have more specific questions feel free to PM me

[markholmes]

[Drizzt]

Yeah, a Corona in the city where I live cost 13-15 pesos in a bar or a club, which is around a 1 dollar and 25 cents.

In China beers in bars or clubs usually usually about 20 to 25 RMB for a beer (around 3 bucks).

Entertainment is expensive in China, but everything else is dirt cheap.

[markholmes]

Oh, you mean in bars. I used to live in Guilin in Guangxi and beer in the restaurants on the street (0.6 litre bottle of local stuff) were RMB2.5 (US$0.27) or RMB2 (US$0.21) if you bought from a store. By volume it was cheaper than bottled water.

In a fancier place it cost about RMB5 (US$0.54) or in the Sheraton and Holiday Inn about RMB30 to 35 (US$3 to 4 dollars). We rarely frequented those places as you can imagine.

[Double Clutcher]

I just have to ask this question since the Mainland Vs. Taiwan thing has been brought up. I worked there in 2001-2002. And I swear that not everyone was a freaking Robot. Now I'm in Hunan and the robotic habits of the folks here are constantly in my face. Stuff like, "It's twelve noon why are you exercising? It's time to eat." I usually want to answer with something like, "Im not Chinese, Im a foreigner, therefore I am not a robot and can exercise anytime I want." But I haven't said that yet.

Do you get, "Why did you come to Taiwan?" "Can you use chopsticks?" "You're tall so I think that you must like to play basketball. Everyone in America likes basketball." "My father has told me I should not have a boyfriend while I am in college." And so on the same stuff over and over again usually spoken in robotic monotone.

I taught adolescents in Ilan and maybe as a newbie I wasn't really in touch with folks there. I'm thinking about coming back, but not if the Collective Borg thing there is as bad as it is here.

[markholmes]

'Ni hui yong kuaizi ma' is is just as popular in Taiwan as the mainland.

The other points you made are not nearly as severe in Taiwan.

I remember a friend on Guilin telling me that she knew westerners don't do house work because they all have robots to do it!!!

[Dr_Zoidberg]

Yesterday, a woman with a full shopping cart let me with my one item go ahead of her.

[ghost]

"

[trukesehammer]