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Bec_Bop
Joined: 06 Jul 2009
Posts: 2
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 Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 2:40 pm Post subject: Newbie needs your help! |
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Hi,
So i have decided to take up teaching in Taiwan, as i've always wanted to go to the far east and work and travel.
I have done my TEFL course, i have a degree and have been working in the not so relevent fashion/textile industry. Due to being laid off i'm looking to get out there asap!
I have been going through the internet for info on what to do, who's good, who to avoid etc....but i have some direction questions regarding me!
*I'm intouch with several recruiters out in Taiwan footprints, reach to teach and John Dewey....can anyone else recommend any other peeps?
*What is the average wage for a 1 year contract?
*On recruiter has requested i get my degree notorised and a police check? How do i go about this? I checked out the Chinese embassey, but with no luck and the CRB looks like your employer must request it on your behalf.
*What jabs are good to have?
*I'm looking at going to Taipei, but from blogs/forums etc it looks to be quite polluted, what other cities as good, but not as heavy on the pollution?
*How easy is it to makes friends? As i'm going alone
*How easy is it to travel around Asia to say Thailand or Vietnam from Taiwan?
Thankyou  |
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Dr_Zoidberg
Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 406
Location: Not posting on Forumosa.
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:40 pm Post subject: Re: Newbie needs your help! |
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| Bec_Bop wrote: |
*I'm intouch with several recruiters out in Taiwan footprints, reach to teach and John Dewey....can anyone else recommend any other peeps?
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I can recommend one you stay away from: Andrew Lin.
| Bec_Bop wrote: |
*What is the average wage for a 1 year contract?
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Start with 600 as your base. Take more if you can get it. Accept less if you have to, but stay as close to 600 as possible. Walk away from anyone who offers less than 550 per hour.
| Bec_Bop wrote: |
*On recruiter has requested i get my degree notorised and a police check? How do i go about this? I checked out the Chinese embassey, but with no luck and the CRB looks like your employer must request it on your behalf.
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None of that is necessary. This is how the Taiwanese work: If they mistakenly say something is so no matter how much proof you have to show them otherwise, they can never - EVER - do a mea culpa. To do so would cause them to lose face. Face is so important to them that if it came down to a choice between losing face and saving the universe....well, kiss the universe good-bye.
| Bec_Bop wrote: |
*What jabs are good to have?
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I know it's the Internet and people make typing errors, but honestly! You're asking to be taken seriously as an English teacher. Make sure your grammar and spelling are up to par - especially grammar. You never know when a Taiwanese coworker will corner you with questions about some obscure grammar point.
| Bec_Bop wrote: |
*I'm looking at going to Taipei, but from blogs/forums etc it looks to be quite polluted, what other cities as good, but not as heavy on the pollution?
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Every city, town, and village in Taiwan is a noisy, overcrowded, toxic shit hole. Take your pick.
| Bec_Bop wrote: |
*How easy is it to makes friends? As i'm going alone
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That depends. Do you want to be part of a clique? Are you a young woman who likes every white guy she meets trying to get into her pants? Are you an alcohol / drug abuser?
If you answered yes to any of the above, congratulations. You'll fit right in with 99% of the foreigners I've met here in the last 5 years.
| Bec_Bop wrote: |
*How easy is it to travel around Asia to say Thailand or Vietnam from Taiwan?
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That's the best thing about Taiwan, it's a good base for traveling around Asia. |
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tomintaipei
Joined: 07 Aug 2009
Posts: 18
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 5:47 pm Post subject: Re: Newbie needs your help! |
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Hi Bec Bop, hopefully the following will answer your questions (it's not as bad as Dr_Zoidberg makes it out to be.
| Bec_Bop wrote: |
| *I'm intouch with several recruiters out in Taiwan footprints, reach to teach and John Dewey....can anyone else recommend any other peeps? |
My advice: Abandon recruiters entirely. Most take a chunk out of your monthly salary (whether you know it or not - they already have a deal with your prospective boss). I've only met one recruiter who never did that - he was paid a sum upon finding a teacher rather than getting a percentage of your salary.
Go to http://www.tealit.com and look for a job there. That is your direct connection to schools in Taiwan.
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| *What is the average wage for a 1 year contract? |
Most teachers in Taiwan make 55-70,000 NT a month. A few pay less, and even less pay more. I was lucky enough to be making $100,000 a month, but at a horrible school and ended up not being paid for my last three months there (but that's a different story entirely).
| Quote: |
| *On recruiter has requested i get my degree notorised and a police check? How do i go about this? I checked out the Chinese embassey, but with no luck and the CRB looks like your employer must request it on your behalf. |
You shouldn't be going to the Chinese embassy at all. You should be going to the Taiwanese Economic and Cultural Office. Where are you from? They are called different names in different countries, but most are TECOs. They weren't doing police checks when I first went to Taiwan, but they may be following Korea's recent example to make sure you are a pedo or something. You will have to get your degree notarized, however.
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| *What jabs are good to have? |
The best jobs are at the international schools in the northern Tien (tian) Mu section of Taipei
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| *I'm looking at going to Taipei, but from blogs/forums etc it looks to be quite polluted, what other cities as good, but not as heavy on the pollution? |
Taipei is polluted just like any other city. There are some pretty clean areas (Tien Mu is a prime example of a really pretty and clean section of Taipei right next to the moutains with easy access to high altitude, clean air hiking trails).
| Quote: |
| *How easy is it to makes friends? As i'm going alone |
Very easy. You'll make friends pretty easily with the people you work with, and Taiwanese people will be falling at your feet to make friends with you so they can practice their English with you. Also, tealit.com is a great place to meet other likeminded people, or even a potential girlfriend/boyfriend. There's a running joke in Taiwan that most western guys find a Taiwanese girlfriend through a "language exchange" partner they found on tealit.
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| *How easy is it to travel around Asia to say Thailand or Vietnam from Taiwan? |
It's easy in the sense that it won't take you as long to fly, but the prices aren't cheap enough to warrant any other plus in this area. Remember, Taiwan is an island....you can't take a bus to the Thai border. Getting to Japan is really expensive, but you can find some really cheap flights to the Philippines.
If you have any other questions, shoot em my way. |
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cwellens
Joined: 24 Aug 2009
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 9:23 pm Post subject: |
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Dr_Zoidberg,
Could you please expand on your suggestion to stay away from Andrew Liu? I recently contacted Deway about teaching positions and was forwarded onto him. Thus far, I have been impressed with him, but obviously e-mail interactions can be quite deceiving. What was your experience with him and Dewey?
Thank you! |
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markholmes
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 661
Location: Wengehua
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| Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 3:19 am Post subject: |
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'Jabs' is not a misspelling of jobs. He means what injections/innoculations/immunisations does he need.
We say jabs in the UK, but not here in Canada. |
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Dr_Zoidberg
Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 406
Location: Not posting on Forumosa.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 4:59 am Post subject: |
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| cwellens wrote: |
Dr_Zoidberg,
Could you please expand on your suggestion to stay away from Andrew Liu? I recently contacted Deway about teaching positions and was forwarded onto him. Thus far, I have been impressed with him, but obviously e-mail interactions can be quite deceiving. What was your experience with him and Dewey?
Thank you! |
I didn't say Andrew Liu, I said stay away from Andrew Lin. Lin does not work for any company and is a freelance recruiter. |
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Dr_Zoidberg
Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 406
Location: Not posting on Forumosa.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 5:00 am Post subject: |
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| markholmes wrote: |
'Jabs' is not a misspelling of jobs. He means what injections/innoculations/immunisations does he need.
We say jabs in the UK, but not here in Canada. |
Ah, I see. Even so, my remarks do stand on their own, even if not actually related to the OP's question. |
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aahz
Joined: 13 Mar 2010
Posts: 38
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| Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 11:46 am Post subject: Re: Newbie needs your help! |
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| Bec_Bop wrote: |
*On recruiter has requested i get my degree notorised and a police check? How do i go about this? I checked out the Chinese embassey, but with no luck and the CRB looks like your employer must request it on your behalf.
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First of all, here's a link to the Tapei Economic and Cultural Exchange.
http://www.taiwanembassy.org/dept.asp?mp=1&codemeta=locationIDE
Here is the form you must download.
http://www.taiwanembassy.org/public/Data/681819293471.pdf
You print the form, and you bring in a copy of your diploma (or the real thing if you want, I did). You will have to pay a fee ($15 for me), and make sure you keep the receipt. Tell them you will mail them the transcript. You then have your school send transcripts to the address of the same consulate you went to. It will take a few days for the transcripts to arrive. Then you can either phone them or go in again. Tell them that you mailed your transcript and they should have received it. They will probably tell you that it arrived and that the processing has begun, or it may even be done by then. If it hasn't, you wait a few days then phone or come again. Then, voila, your transcript will be authenticated with the office. You will need to come back and pick up the authenticated document with the receipt, and that is what you will scan and mail to your prospective schools, making sure that you also show the back with the watermark of the Taipei Exchange. |
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aahz
Joined: 13 Mar 2010
Posts: 38
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| Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 11:47 am Post subject: |
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| Oh, and make sure you bring in your passport when you get it authenticated... |
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