Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nicam]

what are you sacrificing by leaving Korea? Vacation? Can you at least get 2 weeks of holiday in addition to nationals in Taiwan? Money? Is the salary much lower given the conversion rate and the falling won? Free apartment? Savings potential? Stability?

With the won being what it is do you think Korea is still the most profitable place, or is Taiwan now on the same level? I know the won could somewhat recover by summer, but...

I really want to head to Taiwan in August, mainly because i REALLY hate the winters here among other things, but my boyfriend is all about saving money, and I don't really want to take a substantial pay and vacation cut.

How have you all justified making the move, and what is bugging you about it? Any perspective would be greatly appreciated.

[Tobias]

[losing_touch]

I think I will be heading there myself in September. The weather is big part of my decision. Having a Thai wife, the winters here are painful. Also, the proximity to Thailand is better for short holidays. Looking over the jobs, there is more money to be had in Taiwan given the exchange rate. Some jobs offer free accommodation. Many don't! I don't really care. Korea is alright, and it will always be here. I am out to explore another area. I justify this with a burning desire to see and absorb as much as possible.

[Tobias]

[asams]

i hate to be all about money, but what kind of pay are we talking about in Taiwan? I've only been in Korea for 3 months, but I'm really worried I'm not even gonna be able to pay bills back home, and I desperately want to get rid of my student debt.

[D.D.]

Taiwan is not that great for cash and you won't get into university or PS without a proper teaching degree. Tax is also quite high and it's rare to get a free place.

I also heard they can be picky about looks so that Ken and Barbie types do well but older teachers can struggle. Same crap that happens in hogwans here with the added stress of the global crisis.

Positive things are living in a better climate with friendly people and you can do privates. Getting a scooter is essential to drive between jobs and privates.

[call_the_shots]

Taiwan's currency may be heading down as well.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601083&sid=aU42vKCcxKRs

[Morgen]

When I was thinking about bailing to Taiwan I read much more dire predictions for their dollar than that article mentions, in the range of NT$40:US$1 (down from the average NT$30:US$1) by the end of the year. Of course no one knows for certain, but Asia's probably not the place to be for the next year or two if you're tired of falling currencies.

Anyway, to get a really rough and probably not strictly accurate idea of how much you could earn or save, try this calculator: http://www.hess.com.tw/careers/english/nstcalculator/index.shtml from Hess, the largest (or one of) language school chain in Taiwan.

[nicam]

Yeah, I am still undecided as well, and would probably just stay here another year out of sheer laziness if it wasn't for the brutality of winter.

Although Taiwan is an export economy like Korea (I think everything I've ever bought back home was made there), it's currency doesn't seem to be as unstable. It ranked MUCH lower than Korea on the Economist's recent individual nation global crisis risk assessment, whatever the hell that means. My boyfriend majored in economics, so I constantly bombard him with annoying questions about the predicted future performance of the won, and he seems to think it might inch up a bit by summer but full recovery will take a long a** time. I think Taiwan is about even with Korea at the moment as far as earning potential goes.

When I first started researching Taiwan, deep in the middle of winter while stuck in the house immobilized by the cold, I built it up in my head as the paradise that would save us from ever having to endure another miserable winter without even having access to psychiatric drugs, or those heat lamp thingies, or a local Hollywood Tans. I figured it wasn't perfect, but for some reason I imagined it to be like Florida, only with Chinese people instead of old Jews and exiled New Yorkers, and I felt like I was 10 again, looking forward to unpacking my shorts for a trip to Disney World, destination of the morbidly obese of middle America. This was comforting despite its obvious inaccuracy.

I no longer think Taiwan is the answer to all of my problems, but for people who are sick of Korea, and/or prefer a sub-tropical climate, why not go there now that the won is in the crapper?

[Morgen]

I feel the same way, except it's not the weather that's the issue -- I really don't care for heat and the winter on the east coast has been about as mild as I could possibly imagine. I remember winters in New Orleans when I was colder. It's more just Korea's non-weather-related chill that I want to flee, and my SE Asia Disneyland fantasies are based around perpetually smiling Pollyannas, in cartoon character costumes if possible.

I expect to find myself in Vietnam or Laos by the end of the year...Taiwan is an outside chance, but Mandarin makes me grind my teeth.

[losing_touch]

[Robot_Teacher]

I was reading up on this recently and they're talking the job market is gettin' tight as a rats ass, becuase the level of manufactured exports are dropping like a hot rock. They make a lot of electronic items, but orders are sharply decreasing, layoffs are mounting, and number of working hours fewer so parents are cutting down on private education. I understand Taiwan English teaching is more private academy based than it is public school in that the jobs are for hagwon like schools; not government public schools. Where it's not so easy to just get a PS job providing a good remuneration package like in Korea though there are good jobs if you're qualified, according to the experts.

My advice is to research, but the experts just say it's best to just go down there if you're prospecting for a job and living there. Some experts advised not to take a job over the internet, but to just go there and try in person. They also said, you'll need to front about $1000 for your moto scooter and pay your way until a job pays.

[nicam]

I hear you about the Mandarin thing. I heard it's nearly impossible to survive outside of Taipei without speaking Mandarin.

I wanted to ask about it on the Taiwan forum but I am mildly afraid of the posters there. They seem to prefer to rudely direct new posters to the useless search function (which is cool if you are interested in posts circa 2003) or some useless info on the web that could only be discovered by googling some obscure word combination instead of utilizing the same amount of time to simply answer the question. Like, Duh idiot, you could have just googled 'tealit.com beach kitlers in Autumn Summer' instead of wasting our precious time.

I wonder if the menus in Taiwan have pictures like the ones in Korea.

[D.D.]

I am the worlds most pathetic language learner and I survived being plunked down in the middle of China. I don't think Taiwan could be worse than a small town in China.

Northern Italy is the only place I have had problems as they don't seam to understand my gestures. Five minutes away in Switzerland they understand body languange and gestures but in Italy they just look at me like wtf is he on about.

With mobiles phones and one friend that can translate you are always just a call away from help.

[Morgen]