Job Discussion Forums

The Boz · Joined: 13 Jun 2004 Posts: 37 Location: Here and There

I'm currently working on my final thesis for an MA in the Humanities (English Lit.), and I plan to submit it around December but won't receive my degree until around May of 2011 as my thesis has to go through an approval process, etc. Is there any chance that I would be able to get a job at a university in Taiwan without my diploma in hand in the initial interviewing stages? Also, would I have a good chance of finding a decent university position with this type of degree? (If it makes any difference, I also received an BA in English from a good school in the U.S.)

Seymour Glass · Joined: 18 Jul 2010 Posts: 35

Yes it does make a difference, schools cannot hire you without a degree in hand...

forest1979 · Joined: 10 Jun 2007 Posts: 507 Location: SE Asia

I would add that as a new graduate you would strugle to find work as a university instructor. I'm not saying it's impossible but you'd be against fellow MA holders in the job market who would have more teaching experience, have arguably taught in Taiwan before as well at university level, and maybe have a conference presentation or small publication or two, etc. I'd put your chances at near zero for a "decent university position", i.e a national university job, regardless of whether you graduated from a "good school" in the US or not. Sorry. The competition for university jobs is extremely tough in Taiwan.

The Boz · Joined: 13 Jun 2004 Posts: 37 Location: Here and There

Thank you both for your replies. Good to know where I stand so that I can start looking at other possibilities.

Shimokitazawa · Joined: 16 Aug 2009 Posts: 458 Location: Saigon, Vietnam

forest1979 · Joined: 10 Jun 2007 Posts: 507 Location: SE Asia

Take the previous posting with a pinch of salt.

Special projects? Yes, usually paid for by a small grant that offers work on a very strict time basis. One year often. These jobs often require an ability in Chinese too. Hence locals with MAs not newly graduated foreigners take them, and furthermore they are employed on staff not faculty contracts. The pay is much less - mid 40,000s rather than mid-50,000s for a faculty instructor. No MoE teaching certificate given too. When the project ends so does the job.

Are private universities in Taipei really firing MA holders, or "mainly" hiring such people? I'd like evidence for this as traditional employers of foreigners, eg Ming Chuan, which had the biggest language centre in Taiwan, is not replacing instructors who leave, and instead is looking to employ people with PhDs in hand. MA holders there are being 'encouraged' to enrol on the uni's own PhD programme. At the same time it is common knowledge that at Ming Chuan there are shifts in management attitudes and consequently there's a lot of nervous staff in the ELC.

Some truthful points raised in the previous post