Job Discussion Forums

[outoftowner08]

Hi all. My boyfriend and have each been offered positions at an international school in Taipei, Taiwan. We are thrilled to have an offer to teach at the same school, in the same city.

I'm seeking opinions to determine whether or not this is a good deal for us and where we have room to negotiate.

I would teach English classes (to teach writing-all students speak English); he would teach Social Studies. We would also each coach a sports team.

The contract specifies 25 teaching hours a week, not including the coaching. They offered him 75,000 TWD per month - me, 70,000 TWD. In return, we each requested 75,000 to 80,000 on the official applications but have not yet signed a contract. The job includes health insurance, but not flight or housing. Is this a good deal? I have heard that schools in Taiwan don't pay for housing and flight too often, so I expected that. But I'd like to negotiate for flights if I can.

The contract is for 12 months, (Aug. 1 to July 31) but indicates we are paid 10 times with a bonus at the end. June and July are vacation months. But why the extra month if we are only to receive 10 paychecks and a one-month bonus? 11 paychecks for a year-long contract caught my eye. Is this common?

They have indicated this is a local hire package, though I suspect other teachers at the school receive better, foreign-hire packages if they get their jobs through placement agencies for international schools. We worked directly with the school.

We're not in it for the money, but I do want to make sure we're fairly compensated and able to pay lingering bills back home.

Also, I would suspect it is fair to get some kind of stipend in the contract for coaching. I'd like this to be spelled out. It currently isn't.

Any thoughts/relative experiences/opinions would be greatly appreciated.

[markholmes]

What school are you refering to? For an ESL school its a good deal. For an international school I would say that it is not good at all.

If it truly is an international school then you should be posting on www.internationalschoolsreview.com or www.tes.co.uk(which is currently down, but I'm hoping will be back shortly).

I have been researching international schools for while now and most, if not all offer housing or extra funds to cover rent. Almost all pay for flights. Most international schools provide global healthcare (such as BUPA). What are you being offered?

Why are you local hire? Are you already in Taiwan?

To my knowledge there are only two international schools in Taipei;

Taipei American School, which is considered one of the top international schools in the world and Taipei European School. There maybe others, but be aware that some schools will use the word 'international' in their name, but not actually be international. What are the nationalities of the students?

[markholmes]

Actually, take a look here;
www.shambles.net/allschools/#taiwan
It has a comprehensive list of international schools all over Asia. There maybe more than I thought, but note that many of those in Taipei have dead links or there is a suspicious lack of 'international' faces in the photos.

[outoftowner08]

Hello Mark. Thanks for writing back!

I posed a few of your questions, along with some of my own, to the school and am awaiting answers. I e-mailed the same questions-plus a few more- to the teacher currently holding my position at the school.

For yes, why ARE we being offered local hire deals when we reside in Chicago, IL. And do the students all hold foreign passports? I wonder, how much am I entitled to ask for in general?

Sigh. There is so much out there about teaching ESL, but I have trouble getting a real deal on the international school scene. I've read on a random blog that you shouldn't agree to less than 80,000 TWD per month.

I am being vague about the school due to general paranoia about being low-balled by some desperate rogue, and out of respect for confidentiality of this particular school's contract. But the school was listed on the Shambles site, so I hope that site is reputable. I've gone to the school review site before, only to find you have to pay $30 to use it. And the other site, like you said, is down.

If you've got any other words of wisdom send them my way!

-Juliana

[markholmes]

Using the forum on International Schools Review is free. It's just the reviews and other stuff you have to pay for.

They have reviews of the following schools in Taiwan;

American Montessori School
American School in Taichung
Dominican International School
Kaoshiung American School
Hsinchu American School
Hsinchu (Holland) International School
Taipei American School
Taipei European School Taipei

If your school is amongst those I think $30 is a pretty cheap price to avoid two years of pain.

Another thing is, does the contract include 12 months of medical cover or only 10? If you intend to stay there you need year round medical coverage.

[outoftowner08]

Hi again. Thanks for pointing that out! I've just registered to be able to post over in that forum. I didn't even notice the link.

Thanks for the tip about health insurance. The 12-month coverage guarantee is something I didn't even think about asking.

[markholmes]

I see you are getting similar responses to mine over on the other forum.

TES is running again, so you might want to post there. They have far more posters than these two forums.

[Aristotle]

Working for any one of the international schools in Taiwan is considered to be the best teaching job on the island, even better than most universities under the the ROC.
However it is not a good deal. My part time job in Korea, in which I worked 3 to 4 hours a night after my day job, paid me more money than the monthly salary you have described above.
If you want to get paid go to Korea or Japan. If you want to learn real Chinese, go Shanghai and make more money teaching English than you will anywhere on Taiwan. If you want to have a pleasant experience teaching overseas go to Thailand.
Good luck!
A.

[outoftowner08]

What is considered a good monthly salary for a Taiwan international school? Give me a range. I know TAS pays astronomical amounts.

[Solar Strength]

Scott Sommers (Google for his blog address) reports that he's heard they make about $200,000 per-month at TAS.

[markholmes]

Somebody mentioned (on another site) that they were earning NT$140,000 a month at the end of the nineties.