50k TWD job offer in Neihu, Taipei

Work Working in Taiwan
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1

Hello,

I’m a long term asia expat who previously was in quality & sourcing for manufacturing industry. My previous China salary at one US company was about 150k TWD per month (after tax), on top of housing, meals, flights back home and international insurance. I was managing a department of ~20 ppl. I left that position in Mainland China.

During my job hunt in Taiwan I got an offer from one of big mainland IT firms who has their office in Neihu, Taipei.

They offer 50k TWD per month (before tax) and the contract itself would need to be singed through a 3rd party recruitment company. It’s a lowest level IT position: software testing engineer.

Pros:

  • breaking into IT industry. Could switch companies after 1-2 years for something better. Could learn a lot.

  • Big name mainland china company

Cons:

  • Neihu rent will be ~20-25k. Food is ~15k. No savings for foreseeable future.

  • Need to sign the contract through the 3rd party. Seems to be sleazy.

  • Making less than English teachers… basically starting my career from 0.

About me:

  • finishing up my part time engineering masters soon. Speak Chinese.

Some questions:

  • what are the salary levels for start up jobs in Taipei for foreigners?

  • How much does an English teacher make in Taipei?

  • How likely it is for me to develop IT career in Taipei after some years?

  • Does a career switch from engineering/management to IT make any sense? I was getting paid quite well, and not sure how long will it take to get to same levels within IT…

2

Why did you leave the last job?

3

no room for development… rigid structure in the office. Could have stayed at my previous job and easily do the same thing for next X years… without much career progression.

4

foreigners basically should get more than 48k for white collar jobs by law.

1 Like
5

It’s very low especially given your experience level , why bother coming to Taiwan with that offer ? Barely enough to live on in my opinion. What’s your motivation to move to Taiwan?

You could move to Taiwan and float your CV around, do a bunch of interviews and possibly get some better offers.

For some of your Q’s you should really search the forums.

6

well, it means they give really low salary

7

In your case Taiwan is only an advantage with regards to life standard as in better pollution levels, safety, freedom etc. career wise you will regre this so much. I would try to go to another continent, Europe for example, get hired by a Chinese company or a company related to China that would appreciate your Chinese level and skills in the Chinese market meanwhile not hiring you locally in China or Taiwan.