Job Discussion Forums

[Charmer]

Hello, I'm interested in teaching in Taiwan next year, most specifically a big city like Taipei and I was hoping for some advice.

Some information about me: I'm a Chinese-Canadian male, 25 and I will be finishing university this December graduating with a BA in psychology. I also have a 2 year college diploma in Animation. I have no official teaching experience, but i do have experience working as a manager running a summer camp program for kids, and I do have volunteer experience tutoring as well. I don't have a tesol certificate, and I would rather not have to do one since I already have a lot of school loans.

My main concern with Taipei is I only speak Cantonese and I don't understand Mandarin, so I'm afraid I would have a hard time getting around. I just have a few questions:

Is it easy getting around and interacting with people over there with English only?

How is the social and night life there? Are people open to Asian foreigners?

How much will my Chinese background affect my job opportunities?

Would you recommend me doing a Trinity certificate in order to have a better chance of landing a job and a get a higher salary, or is a BA enough? I just don't want to waste extra money

Lastly, what kind of salaries and contract benefits should I expect given my current qualifications?


Any advice or feedback would be really appreciated

Cheers,

Alex