Job Discussion Forums

[chaz47]

Hi, I haven't posted on the Taiwan board in a long long time but have thought about working there for the past 3 years.

I was most recently employed at a university in Busan, South Korea but there was a new uni president who took over a couple years ago and he decided to "clean house" and opted to not renew the contracts of our EFL department. They wanted MAs and had to wash out the old BAs who had been entrenched for several years. By and large they were fairly successful, they filled 7 of the 9 slots with MAs. But, I digress, the long and the short is that the university situation in Korea has gotten VERY competitive with the recent economic downturn.

So, at the end of that contract I went back to the US to perhaps pursue an online MA in TESOL or do some writing. Now, 4 months into my unemployment/sabbatical, I find myself bored to tears and sick of the US. The TESOL programs I want to get into don't seem to accept fresh enrollments until March and my writing enthusiasm is nil.

I want to go abroad again, especially before I eat too far into my savings from the 4 years I worked in Korea.

Ideally I would want to find a university position in one of the big cities but I'm pretty sure that my qualifications are too low. With that in mind I would be happy with an adult school in Taipei. I want to begin to learn test prep for IELTS, TOEFL, etc.

I'm willing to fly over and look for work. Is this necessary advisable? What documents should I have prepared? Are their immigration policies as backwards/draconian as Korea's?

What sort of salary/wages should I expect?

Is private teaching illegal in Taiwan?

I have a BA or a BS (my diploma says BFA but the university's system says I have a BS now). A 120 hour TESOL certification backed by the University of Anaheim and 3 other universities in English-speaking nations. And, I have 4.5 years of experience, 2 at university, 1 at an adult private school, 1 at a public middle school and 1/2 a year at a children's private school.

Thanks hugely in advance for your advice.

[FoundWaldo]

With only a four year degree, I think you are going to find it very hard to find a job teaching English to adults or even high schoolers. You will need a Masters degree for that.

That leaves working for one of the Buxibans, which I did for two years. I really enjoyed it, but I also really enjoy teaching kids.

As far as salary, expect to take home $NT45-55,000/month to start, $NT60,000 if you are lucky. After a year or two though you can bump this up to $NT70,000.

Yes, private teaching is technically illegal, but everyone does it (this fact also makes it a little difficult to find good clients)

If you want to secure a job prior to arriving I would recommend the recruiting company Reach To Teach. I found my job through them and there are quite a few posts about them in these forums.
www.reachtoteachrecruiting.com
www.goteachabroad.com (another website that posts a lot of teaching positions in Taiwan)

Good luck!