Job Discussion Forums

[haoleboy]

Can anyone recommend reputable and well paying corporate English trainer/ business english companies/schools in Taiwan? (ones that sponsor visas from abroad) Online I could only find Lado and Wall Street Institute. With an MBA from a top 20 school would it be better to try university positions? My chinese is still rough so probably can't work outside of ESL. (which is my eventual goal) Thank you!

[MomCat]

Doesn't pay well, but you might look at ITI http://www.iti.org.tw/
Cat

[forest1979]

Although Taiwanese universities incorporate elements of business language in their General English courses you'll be hard stuck to find an institution that exclusively teaches business language on a scale wide enough to have large pools of business-background staff. Your best bet would be to find somewhere that is principally a business college within which English is taught, or somewhere like Ming Chuan University which has an international college and teaches business studies for 4 years in English. MCU has a growing reputation in this area, and as you state your Chinese is rusty being at somewhere like MCU would negate that issue. But, like many Taiwanese universities their newer campuses are out of town so be prepared to commute an hour or so each way and also work your life to the bus timetable offered to staff members.

Also having a MBA is not going to be especially useful if you want to teach in a Taiwanese university, and by this again I am referring to somewhere that has General English programs. A M.Ed or a MA in TEFL is far more advantageous, as is a list of publications. You got any? However, one exception to the rule is a business college of some kind, although I have to be honest and say that as someone with a qualification from a top 20 school you're going to find college teaching in Taiwan extremely frustrating. Large classes, largely unmotivated individuals, and generally low academic standards are common in the tertiary sector, and a top 20 MBA degree would be overkill.

[haoleboy]

Thank you for the advice! A Taiwanese friend pointed to sites like 104.com.tw 111.com.tw. I'll try those as well.

[SEndrigo]

Yes I'll agree with forest1979...a top 20 MBA would probably be overkill.

I knew a 25 year old guy in Japan who had graduated from a top 10 law school in the US, had passed the bar exam, and had started working for a very prestigious law firm when he realized that he hated being a lawyer!

So he quit his job, went to Japan, and got a job at an English conversation school which paid him at least 4-5 times less than what he was making as a lawyer in the US.

But you know what...he seemed to be happy, and didn't regret his decision to quit being a lawyer!

[tedkarma]

My experience was that private agents did most of the business English work - at least in Taipei.

I taught at Standard Chartered Bank and Roche Pharmaceuticals - and was paid quite well for rather enjoyable work with great people.

But - no work permit on offer - that came from my "day job".