Job Discussion Forums

[yanksrock1]

Did you spend a year or two in Taiwan and then went "home" to just want to go back again?

Maybe the first year you went through a chain school to learn the ropes. You spent a solid year with them, had a good time, decided to go home to start "really" working. After some time in the rat race, (non-teaching environment) you got up and hopped on a plane back to formosa. This time around you worked for a couple different schools, had a few privates, knew the city a little better, made better money and lived happily ever after???



Just wondering if anyone out there went back to TW? If you started TEFLing somewhere else and ended up coming back to Asia to teach I'd like to hear your thoughts as well...

[flapjack]

I have always been drawn back to asia, I have taught in Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia. I truly loved teaching in Indonesia and Thailand, but I am just keeping my head above water here in Taiwan. I guess it's because of the tolerance factor.

In Thailand and Indonesia people are generally very tolerant of foreigners as long as you are not the openly angry type, most people will be very forgiving of your shortcomings and very much appreciate your hard work.

Taiwan is a lot more complex. Especially in Taipei, where most of the better paying jobs are. Here one could be a very decent person, work hard and still get unnessary complaints from people who understand almost nothing about your job.

Mostly it's because a few malcontented parents want things done their way and feel they have a right to express that opinion because they pay the money, and more often than not they can be quite rude about it. On the bright side MOST parents don't say anything at all as they are very busy working hard.

I have woken up many a day and thought of returning to Thailand or Spain, (Barcelona). Or trying some place new, like Poland or Madagascar. I've already done the US, Mexico and traveled in South America. I have never woken up in my home country and thought about hopping on a plane back to formosa.

[Toe Save]

Good topic.

I my first foray into Taiwan was cut short due to circumstances mostly beyond my control. I had to go back to Canada and begin another (fruitless) job search. The entire year I was getting turned down, I kept wishing I was back here. Finally the opportunity presented itself and I hopped the next plane back. I am happy, healthy, wealthy(ish) and quite in control of my destiny now.

And I will always have work, thanks to Confucious.

What I reallly missed the most was Taiwan Beer. Strange, coming from the land of Big Rock, Sleamans and Granville Island, but dem's the way the ball bounces.

[Dr_Zoidberg]

I've been here two years, and I'm taking my first trip back home at the end of December. I am returning to Taiwan, the trip home is merely a vacation.

If there's one thing I'll miss it's mangoes. Hell, I'm missing them already now that they're going out of season. After mangoes, apples just don't do it for me.




mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....mangoes.

[yanksrock1]

Thanks for the replies...

Another question to those who intend to make TEFLing their career..

If you were rightfully in possession of a Bachelor's degree and you went home to your native (maybe) Western country with aspirations of advancing your degree to benefit your International TEFL career, what would you study?

MA in TESOL?
MA in TESOL and certification for US schools..
MA in Education..
CELTA or DELTA?

What degree could prepare you best for the top positions out there?
(Granted experience is a huge part of the equation as well..)

[flapjack]

About TEFLing as a Career.
I had a freind who started out young with his Master in TESOL. He spent one year in Japan and then one in TW. After that he and his wife went to United Arab Emirates, they were each paid 40,000usd tax free and had great benifits like travel and housing allowance, so most of that money they just tucked away in the bank. After four years they had saved over a quarter million dollars, then they moved to Australia,his wifes home country and opened up their own scuba diving company.

Masters in TESOL - good for making boatloads of cash in the middle east.

Also good for Jobs in universities and colleges all over america and other English speaking countries. These jobs used to be few and far between but there is becoming and increasing job market in this sector. pays about 35,000usd a year but you lose in taxes and other expenses that would be paid in the middle east.

I have also considered getting a teaching license and a degree in education, then making the rounds of the international schools. Those are some cushy jobs that pay well and have lots of benefits. And once you get accepted into one and have that on your resume it would be easy to pick and choose the countries you would like to work in.

[SanChong]

Very interesting topic.

As most posters can tell you, I'm generally extremely positive on this forum.

However, my opinion is that coming back is dangerous.
You have to be an extremely patient and easy going person to make Asia work for the long run.

I'm not sure why this is, but my observation is this: Most people who stay for the long term aren't happy here. For whatever reason, they become bitter and unhappy. This isn't ALWAYS the case, but I can tell you that it has happened in the majority of cases I've observed- and it's not a small sample size!

You have to have your long term goals in the forefront of your mind. Why are you comign back? How long will you be here? If you come up with satisfactory answers to those questions, then come back. But, be careful.

By the way, this opinion entirely changes for those who choose to get a Bachelor's/ Master's in Education and work at an International school or University.

[Toe Save]

How long is long before bitterness sets in. I've just begun my 6th year with no end in sight and remain quite content in the day to day. Now you've got me worried that curmudgeonyness is just around the corner.

I would rather have a master's degree that would allow me to teach in a Uni however. Summers off, tenure,... sounds sweet to me.

[dangerousapple]

I've been here more than a decade, and although I enjoy heading "home" for a couple of weeks, by the end of the trip I am definitely ready to get back to Taiwan. Once it gets into your system, you're hooked!

[Ki]

That's what I did. Went to get my MA then came back to Taiwan. I was looking into other countries but Taiwan was where I knew and I wanted to continue my Chinese.

Yes, bitterness can be a problem even in my few short years. That can happen where ever you are though. I think it comes down to how you look at life.

Big money in the UAE sounds tempting but not for me yet.

[trukesehammer]

Heck! The only reason I went back to that Bush-Infested Hell Hole was for the PhD. As soon as my last class was over, I was back on a plane headed straight for Taiwan!

[yanksrock1]

Flapjack - One of the reason's I'd be getting the advanced degree would be for the money. Money is important whether we like it or not. I spent a year in Taiwan barely making any money at all. That time around it was for the experience. Now at 27, things are looking a little different. The international schools have been looking quite good to me. The only problem I see so far, is that you have to have 2 years teaching experience, so I'd have to do the degree and then teach in the states for 2 years (which i dont really want to do). There might be a way around that which I'm going to search out today.. Feel free to post if you know the answer to this one..

Sanchong - Yes, long-term goals are important. Maybe that's why people get bitter, because they get stuck. Say if I had a MA in TESOL and was certified to teach in American public schools, then maybe went abroad for some years to teach (international schools) and live and then finally maybe coming home to get PhD or University job. Very vague, I know, but I have thought about it. At this stage in the game I dont want to make a move until I know for sure it's the right one.

Toe Save/DA - I wish you good luck on your TEFL journey. What kinda gnawed at me when I was abroad was that I wasn't qualified. In a way I didnt respect myself as a teacher. Maybe because I wasn't recognized as one outside of Taiwan. In any event, I just want to get myself into something I can take anywhere, even home and excel at it..

Ki - I think you hit it dead on. Bitterness can happen to you anywhere in life. Life is what you make of it. You only get one and that's why this whole post started, as I sit behind a cube contemplating the next move.

Thanks for all of your insights. It puts my mind in the right place.

PEace
G

[Serious_Fun]

[flapjack]

Yanksrock
dont know a way around that, but its good you are thinking long term at the young age of 27 rather than 47. Some international schools can have a lot of really stuck up people to work with, so it might not be that fun. I have found out that you can work in the uni's in TW with a Masters at 55,000 a month which is low but you get 3 months off (paid), during those three months you could go teach a summer course elsewhere on the planet and stretch your earnings, get a break from TW and Travel. I think thats what I am going to aim for. Take care

[Toe Save]