Oh cool, which university? I recently got a university job as well. It actually was advertised on a public site though. I think I got lucky and had enough qualifications to get me through to the interview, which I took very seriously.
I donāt like to discuss private information like place of employment publicly, but Iāll PM you the university.
Yeah when I arrived 14 years ago I did not need a bachelorās degree. I had a two year diploma and TESOL certificate and worked legally for seven years until finally finishing my degree.
Oh wow, interesting to know! I did not know that was how it went in the past. Iām newer to Taiwan.
Afaik itās still that way. (This only applies to buxibans, btw.)
At least Buxibans are a good place to start if youāre in Taiwan. You can keep moving up if you find a good one.
Any other people willing to share their story of finding a teaching job in Taiwan?
Are laws actually enforced here? I hear of many people saying this or that, but I have never seen it myself.
My first employer would not offer me health insurance and never reported my actual wage (more later). When I complained to the appropriate agencies, I was told to just find another job.
No school, as far as I can tell, will report your actual wages. This is no big deal for you to avoid paying taxes here, and possibly your home country. But, if you want to get an APRC, then that would cause trouble. I was told to file an amended return, and submit my bank info to the NIA. But, the tax bureau said that would be unnecessary and to not do that. The NIA said they want tax information, not bank info.
As for kindergarten, many foreign teachers teach kindergarten, part time on the side. It is an open secret and no one seems interested in doing anything about it. I guess it IS something to keep in mind, but like riding without a helmet, nothing much may come of it. (this does not apply in Taipei, where I have heard laws are actually enforced)
It happens, but yes, the overall situation is pathetic.
Iāve heard of people that go around from school to school or whatever and look for illegal teachers. Then they report it the local authorities and if they do happen to catch the illegal teacher, the tipster will get some kind of monetary reward. Although, I have never seen it in person. I havenāt heard of anyone getting deported lately either. I guess it depends on the weight of the offense. Teaching your kid a little younger in life, so they can get a head start (kindergarten) doesnāt seem to be high on the radar for the police, especially when their children are enrolled in these kinds of schools.
This I have seen happen. My school gets a āvisitā about 2 times a year, and my previous school would get a āvisitā every other month. They wanted to see the foreign teachersā ARCs. My first school, on occasion, would simply tell me to come in ālaterā or to go ārun an errandā for them.
My old school would usually be warned about the āsurprise inspectionā that will happen on X date.
Once, a lady came in asking how many hours everyone works. You need to work 14 hours to have an arc sponsored legally, so if you have 10 hours and 10/15 kindy hours, youāre actually only working 10 hours a week because the kindy doesnāt count. Something to be aware of.
Hi! Nice article, super helpful 
I am considering teaching english here, but the thing is that I am not a native english speaker (Iām French). Iād like to obtain the TESOL certificate, but I am still not sure if it would significantly help or not, and if it would be legal for me to teach english (with the TESOL certificate and my master degree, I think it should be legal).
My english is quite good, I have an american accent when speaking english.
So regarding all of that, does anyone of you know if I could get a job here?
Thanks a lot
Ams, I teach at a university that also has a French department staffed with your fellow countrymen and women. With a Masterās, why not try to get a job teaching French at a Uni?
Heard that the pay isnāt good, and that you need to speak chinese in order to teach there 
Iām studying chinese at Shida, but my chinese is definitely not good enough in order to communicate properly with the students. Also, they usually ask for a master degree related to french teaching, but Iām a holder of an engineering master degree. But hey, I might be wrong haha
Order to teach whereā¦? Iām not sure where youāre getting your info from. But Different unis probably have differing requirements. Other non-English European language departments are not exactly overflowing with competition. A Masterās can at least get your foot in the door. Pay isnāt great, but itās on par or better than most cram schools, plus you get about 4 months off a year in vacation, only teach about 14 hours a week, no desk warming, and teach (mostly) mature college students. So definitely better in all those regards. Anyway, just a suggestion.
Iāll definitely check it out then, thanks for the tip! also, do you know if unis provide ARC?
The law doesnāt actually care what your native language is, just where your passport is from.
They provide work-visas which is the essential ingredient for an ARC.
Even if Iām a holder of a TESOL certificate?