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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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 Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 10:57 am Post subject: School Year and Best Time to Look for a Job |
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I've been searching and searching and finding the answer has been tough. Here are my questions:
1. From what month to what month does the Taiwanese school year run?
2. When is the best time to look for English teaching work?
3. If I come at a suboptimal time, would it still be pretty feasible to find a job? |
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surrealia
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
Posts: 241
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 8:50 am Post subject: |
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| When you say "school year", are you referring to grade school, high school or university? I don't think language schools in Taiwan have school years. |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:22 pm Post subject: |
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| surrealia wrote: |
| When you say "school year", are you referring to grade school, high school or university? I don't think language schools in Taiwan have school years. |
Okay, well, I'm pretty much looking for anything. I have a CELTA and I will have an associate's degree as of June 30. While this meets the minimum theoretical requirement for a work visa, I doubt I can be too picky with where I go. Do you think it's possible for someone with the above qualifications to go to Taiwan and, within a month or so, be working at Hess or another such school? |
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scarab1169
Joined: 07 Jun 2007
Posts: 42
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:10 pm Post subject: |
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First of all - if you have a CELTA and getting a masters, don't go work for HESS. You'll be bored out of your mind, and not find it very enjoyable. Their material and curriculum is REALLY, REALLY bad and you will be a "monkey say, monkey do " type teacher. Not sure about the other chains though-if they have better materials etc, but I've not heard many good things about most of the big chains.
To answer your questions :
Taiwanese school usually runs from September to August, with breaks inbetween : before September and usaully just before Chinese New Year.
Generally work is available all year round, but the optimal seasons are : summer time(July-August) and after Chinsese New year. You usually see more job postings from less well know schools at that time.
Well - I think you can always find work. Depends what you are looking for.
If you want a job secured before you arrive - the big chains are the best, but believe me - you won't have any job satisfaction at all-not with your qualifications. If you're looking for something more challenging and having a say how your lessons go : come to Taiwan with some money in hand and then look for a job.
As I've said - jobs are always available! So, yes you can find work in off season.
Pm me if you want more info.
Good luck with the search! |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 8:41 am Post subject: |
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| scarab1169 wrote: |
First of all - if you have a CELTA and getting a masters, don't go work for HESS. You'll be bored out of your mind, and not find it very enjoyable. Their material and curriculum is REALLY, REALLY bad and you will be a "monkey say, monkey do " type teacher. Not sure about the other chains though-if they have better materials etc, but I've not heard many good things about most of the big chains.
To answer your questions :
Taiwanese school usually runs from September to August, with breaks inbetween : before September and usaully just before Chinese New Year.
Generally work is available all year round, but the optimal seasons are : summer time(July-August) and after Chinsese New year. You usually see more job postings from less well know schools at that time.
Well - I think you can always find work. Depends what you are looking for.
If you want a job secured before you arrive - the big chains are the best, but believe me - you won't have any job satisfaction at all-not with your qualifications. If you're looking for something more challenging and having a say how your lessons go : come to Taiwan with some money in hand and then look for a job.
As I've said - jobs are always available! So, yes you can find work in off season.
Pm me if you want more info.
Good luck with the search! |
Haha, thanks for the reply. However, I don't know where you got it from that I'm going to be getting my master's degree anytime soon! I'm soon to get my associate's degree, which is a two-year degree. According to my research on Hess postings and by asking on Dave's message boards, the minimum theoretical requirement to get the teaching visa is a combination of an associate's degree and a TEFL certificate. Since I will just barely meet the minimum requirements (except for teaching experience, which I have a little bit of), that changes a few things, doesn't it. 
Anyways, thanks for your reply, and I'm glad to hear that July is a good season. I plan to arrive around the end of June, and from what I hear, I get two months to find a job provided that I apply for a tourist visa in advance. Getting psyched!  |
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craigzy
Joined: 20 Mar 2006
Posts: 87
Location: taichung
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| Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 8:58 am Post subject: |
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| Rooster_2006 wrote: |
| Since I will just barely meet the minimum requirements (except for teaching experience, which I have a little bit of), that changes a few things, doesn't it. |
not really. any experience is considered a plus here. unless youre applying at public schools or universities, ive found that many employers dont really care about the requirements. a CELTA + experience looks better on a resume than just a bachelors, so dont worry too much. youll be fine. |
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Mangosteen
Joined: 12 Oct 2007
Posts: 13
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| Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 3:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I plan to arrive around the end of June, and from what I hear, I get two months to find a job provided that I apply for a tourist visa in advance. Getting psyched |
Although you will need to get the 60-day tourist visa, you cannot afford to spend the whole two months looking for a job. The process of getting a work visa and ARC takes about a month. Mine took longer than a month. Also, the process can't begin until you have cleared your health check. Results take about a week.
I recommend that you go in for your health check within a few days of your arrival and try to have a job within your first two weeks. That should not be too difficult if you do the work to get out there and float your resume around at the ubiquitous cram schools. If it takes longer than 2 weeks for you to find a job, you will still have some leeway, given that you have already done your health check.
Also, is June 30 your graduation date or the day you will actually receive your diploma? You should check with your school to make sure, because you will absolutely need your original diploma. I was told I would get my diploma 8-10 weeks after graduating, and so I bought my plane ticket for about 12 weeks after my graduation date. It arrived just in time.
Best of luck! |
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BigWally
Joined: 07 Jun 2006
Posts: 765
Location: Ottawa, CAN (prev. Kaohsiung "the Dirty South")
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| Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:21 am Post subject: |
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| you can also look into options of larger chain schools which offer hiring from abroad, which may help expedite the job search....chain schools aren't for everyone, but they do offer secure hours, and pay...just another option |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Mangosteen wrote: |
| Quote: |
| I plan to arrive around the end of June, and from what I hear, I get two months to find a job provided that I apply for a tourist visa in advance. Getting psyched |
Although you will need to get the 60-day tourist visa, you cannot afford to spend the whole two months looking for a job. The process of getting a work visa and ARC takes about a month. Mine took longer than a month. Also, the process can't begin until you have cleared your health check. Results take about a week.
I recommend that you go in for your health check within a few days of your arrival and try to have a job within your first two weeks. That should not be too difficult if you do the work to get out there and float your resume around at the ubiquitous cram schools. If it takes longer than 2 weeks for you to find a job, you will still have some leeway, given that you have already done your health check.
Also, is June 30 your graduation date or the day you will actually receive your diploma? You should check with your school to make sure, because you will absolutely need your original diploma. I was told I would get my diploma 8-10 weeks after graduating, and so I bought my plane ticket for about 12 weeks after my graduation date. It arrived just in time.
Best of luck! |
Thanks for that advice. Anyone else had any experience getting the work visa and ARC in-country? Does it seriously take over a month for everyone, or was this an exceptional case? |
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dangerousapple
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 292
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| Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:06 pm Post subject: |
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1. Health check - up to 10 working days
2. Work permit processed and issued - up to 10 working days
3. Resident visa processed and issued - up to 10 working days
4. ARC processed and issued - up to 10 working days
I've heard of people getting it done in less than a month, but ~ 5 weeks is the standard amount of time needed (I hesitate using the term "standard" however). |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 12:43 pm Post subject: |
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| dangerousapple wrote: |
1. Health check - up to 10 working days
2. Work permit processed and issued - up to 10 working days
3. Resident visa processed and issued - up to 10 working days
4. ARC processed and issued - up to 10 working days
I've heard of people getting it done in less than a month, but ~ 5 weeks is the standard amount of time needed (I hesitate using the term "standard" however). |
Can you do your first day of class before applying for the ARC? The ARC just needs to be applied for within 15 days, right? |
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