I am an American looking for a job

Hey guys, where should I go to find a non teaching job? I have a bachelors from a decently known uni in the states. I am willing to take anywhere from 25k to 35k as long as it is not teaching english. I do not want to be known as an English teacher. Will companies be willing to hire me? I am fluent in Mandarin but my reading and writing need work. I have a hard time reading 104. I heard that for foreigners the minimum is 47k, is that true? If I give some money back to the boss under the table will they offer me a job at 47k?

1 Like

Not likely. Never say never, but you’ll need to work legally and you are trying to play fast and loose with the law.

If you have any performer/artist experience and want to take a crack at self-producing, I can help you with the legalities of that. But straight up jobs need straight up contracts to get an ARC.

Good luck though.

If you don’t have 2 years relevant experience you can’t really get hired with only a Bachelors. I’d look for internship-type jobs, that’d be your way forward. Forget about some sort of low-balling, pay back the salary scam, that’s lose-lose-lose for everyone.

1 Like

Companies generally hire people with skills needed to accomplish specific corporate functions. A BA degree is NOT a skill! There are 100sss of overseas Chinese in TW with quality foreign degrees, speak English, can read, write, & speak Chinese AND have a local passport - this is your competition.

What skills do you have that will set you apart from the above?? If you really don’t have any - better to do a rethink and develop some. In fact, you might be better off in the States where you could capitalize on your Mandarin language skills.

Nothing wrong with being an English teacher. I have substituted as one when between engineering jobs, but I am certainly not cut out for teaching. The biggest problem in Taiwan is that the employment permit rules really favor English teachers and the salaries as an English teacher can be better than local people get for engineering. Many folks work part-time as English teachers and pursue their passions in their free time.

I’m sure there are some, but I hardly know any foreigners that came here on their own to find a job and found a job other than teaching unless they started their own business or went into the arts.

Most foreigners with good jobs were sent here by their company or recruited from outside of Taiwan.

1 Like

I know plenty who did a bit of teaching and then transitioned to other jobs. Most are not here anymore though. :frowning:

1 Like

Actually, I’m one of those…been here over 10,000 days…came here on a one way ticket…had financial skills up the butt, and it still took me 6 months teaching English to land a gig.

Hey guys, just some information. I have 3 years of working experience under my belt in the states as sales. My competitive edge is that I am willing to work for less cash than them. I do not want to live in the states.

Dude…definately the wrong way to go - if you agree to work cheaper - your perceived value will be zero - therefore why should they hire you. Do you have any digital marketing skills, SEO, blog, email marketing skills?

1 Like

It’s almost impossible to “work for less cash than” someone here. Income here is very low already averaging somewhere around NT$30000 (less than US$1000) per month. Lots of working people live with their family, or even live in apartment where they share a bathroom with other people in the building.

Established English teachers can make more which is why many people go into or continue to work in the industry.

What he said. Apart from the fact that it’s a bad idea to undersell yourself, to apply for a work permit the employer must demonstrate that you have exceptional skills at something the locals can’t provide (you can stop sniggering at the back there). If you don’t have something moderately useful on your CV, you’ll have to either get up to speed with something new, or fake it until you make it.

If you really just want to live in Taiwan and don’t actually need to earn money, there’s a thread or two about that.

If you do need to earn money, the 48k ($47,9-- something) minimum is there to stop you from taking jobs away from locals, but it’s also for your benefit. Who would actually want to earn minimum wage in Taiwan? (It’s currently $21,009 for full-time work i.e. 40 hours per week or $133 hourly for part-time work.)

Some foreigners, including English teachers, are exempt from the 48k rule.

2 Likes

YYY, can you link to the 2 threads? I want to earn money but I don’t need to earn like 48K to support myself.

Tango42 I don’t care that English teachers earn more. I don’t want to be labeled as an english teacher.

Woooo…OK, how about developing a useful personal brand and label yourself as a Intercultural Communications Consultant (ICC). BTW, what is your label now???

Isn’t teaching supposed to be a noble profession? You’re saying that earning 25K a month would cause you less loss of face than helping people in Taiwan improve their English (which they’re in desperate need of)? Making poverty wages would be better than being branded with the scarlet letter of English teaching? And why, exactly. don’t you want to live in the U.S.?

Also, it would be helpful if you told us a little more about your background. Are you an ABC? Do you have dual US/ROC citizenship? Are you a native English speaker, or did you begin learning it as a child? What did you get your degree in?

If your writing skills are up to scratch, you may be able to find work as an editor or writer of ESL materials, or a technical writer at a technology company.

4 Likes

I’m not sure if there are actually two, but here’s one:

You must be pretty young. Please remember that Taiwan offers you a pitiful pension. You may not think you need it now… the sooner you strat, the better.

Unless you have family here that takes you in for free, you have to pay for decent lodgings. I know what indecent abode costs, let alone what something healthy goes for now. If you have lived in the West, you may have certain needs, be used to certain conditions. Heck, I come from the 4th world, but there is a line I draw. That is why I pay my rent.

You need money for NHI – which will be deducted as per your reported pay, not actual pay – and also pay separate private insurance. Why? because if you live here with no family and fall ill/are run down by a blue truck, you are going to need it.

You will feel the need to escape the Island that has now become your shelter. Happens to all of us now and then. That is why we save money and take a brief trip abroad. It is cheaper than traveling in Taiwan.

You say you can live on 25k. Sure. I lived as a student on 15k… 20 years ago. Cost of living in Taiwan has been climbing steadily. It will keep on being more and more expensive.

Those are just examples on why it is better to have a 40k something salary than 25k. I think ICDF students get 25k… and they complain. Heck, see how locals live on 22k salaries. Now that is sad.

The thing is that it shouldn’t be like that. Don’t get desperate to stay or the bosses will use that against you. You want a visa at any cost, right? They will keep that carrot as far away from you just because they can. They have the power. The work visa is theirs, not yours.

That doesn’t mean you should put yourself out like a mat. We Spanish speakers started a price war among ourselves because people wanted and needed income. Charging NT$ 300 or less an hour. Now, if Spanish speakers are a rarity, shouldn’t Spanish lessons be more expensive? At least NT$ 600 per tutorial. But no. The price war meant losses for everyone. You start this, it may be contagious. And it is unnecessary.

As said, this will backfire and ruin your hopes for a longer stay. Do not stay at any cost. Sometimes, life solves itself if you relax. Others, it may be a way to tell you it is not meant to be. Or it can be a test of your resolve. But play fair. Follow the rules. From experience, if you break the rules to gain time, you will regret it a lot later.

You are getting

3 Likes

That’s hardly considered a competitive edge.

If that’s your competitive edge, think about it this way. A company has to hire you, go through the process of getting you an ARC and break laws to pay you less than legally required.

Why don’t they just pay a local Taiwanese the wage in which what you’re willing to work for? There’s possibly hundreds and thousands of unemployed workers here with similar work experience, but the company doesn’t have to apply for an ARC for them.

Unless you have amazing guanxi (connections), not many companies will be willing to jump through hoops of fire lined with venom from the mouth of a Komodo dragon to hire you.

I won’t suggest going into teaching if you’re deadset on not taking on that profession. However, in short, you need a better competitive edge.

I don’t want to answer some of these questions cause I don’t want to upset people here.

I do want to ask though why do you think Taiwanese are in desperate need of better English? Do you think people from Spain need better Chinese? But that’s besides the point.

People usually don’t ask how much you make. Its a faux pas.

Why don’t I want to live in the US? People told me to go back to my own country, so I did.

My parents are Taiwanese. I only have US citizenship. Native Speaker. Degree in communications.