I don’t know about Taipei, but outside of Taipei they’re looking for teachers.
OP has the academic credentials. Contact hours I don’t know
I’ve been student teaching English at high school throughout the 2024-2025 academic year (ESOL students are in my workload). I’ve also taught a semester long class to my undergrad peers during my time in undergrad. That’s 1.5 years. I’ve also tutored for a year at my university writing center. Additionally, I’ve been a Teaching Assistant for various classes (arts program, creative writing) for 3 years. I would hope FT would want me hahaha.
Is Illinois the only state they accept sub licenses from? I’m currently asking around my local area about sub licenses for my state and through my teacher training program as well in case there’s like. Any way I could get a sub license through those methods as well.
Some states don’t have sub licenses. The rules are all different for each state. Illinois sub license is just the easiest. You will need a background check. If I remember correctly, an FBI background check. This can take a month or two.
Cool, is this where I can find information on how to get that substitute teacher license from Illinois? https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Short-Term-Sub-Teach.aspx
No you don’t need an Illinois drivers license. I got mine while I was living in Wisconsin
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Of course not, but it Is the easiest. Another easy option in Florida
If that’s true, that’s going to cost you another $50.
I know non US citizens not educated in the USA who got them.
Could they use them to teach in Taiwan at a public school?
Also another loophole is that you only need a licence to be employed full-time at a public school. You can ‘substitute’ with a full time schedule with no qualifications at a public school. Although those jobs are harder to find and it’s even harder to find a school with an admin who will do it but they do exist. If you decided on this route the school could not sponsor your work permit so you would need the right to work another way.
I have worked at cram schools, private schools, and public schools. I also think public schools are the best of the options available.
Also in Taiwan they say ‘substitute’ but what they really mean is ‘part-time’ or ‘casual’. You don’t substitute other people’s classes. Took me a while to realise that
This is not necessarily true. Establishing residence in a state requires physical presence and the intent to remain. If you are a resident in State X and you go live overseas for a few years but intend all along to return to State X, you remain a resident of State X. One common example of this is college students who study in another state. They often remain residents of their home state the whole time.
There is no such thing as “official legal state residency” in the US. Most states go by your driver’s license for most intents and purposes. Other organizations such as the IRS go by your tax residency. State universities often have additional length-of-residency requirements you need to meet before they consider you an in-state resident.
In terms of driver’s licenses, legally you are supposed to obtain a new driver’s license within 30 days of moving to a new state if you take up employment or schooling there. College students often illegally ignore this law.
Once you live in Taiwan and exchange your old US drivers license for a Taiwan one, then your old state will no longer recognize you as a resident for all intents and purposes.
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You have three types of schools mixed together that are quite different.
Shane English School, for example, is what is known as a buxiban/cram school. It is a private for-profit business often on a franchise model that teaches children after school and on weekends. This used to be where most foreign teachers taught. In the mid 2000s, there were nearly 7,000 foreign nationals employed by Buxibans. Now there are only 3,500. It seems to be a dying industry.
Wego Private School is as the name suggests a private school. It has an elementary school, middle school, and high school. My understanding is that the pay is better than at either Buxibans or public schools. Many of these schools including Wego have a reputation for being very strict and pushing students hard. They may not take kindly to any fancy new ideas about education even if they use all the buzzwords.
There are many of these schools and some claim to be ‘international schools’ that teach in English. Off the top of my head, Kang Chiao International School one with several locations. Washington High School in Taichung is yet another. My understanding is that these schools do not require a teaching license and will welcome your degree.
Then there are the public schools that you already know about through the FET program.
There are currently 7,664 foreign nationals with work permits teaching in private and public schools. There are quite a few more who do not need a work permit because they are married to a citizen or are permanent residents.
My sense is that the public and private schools must be better employers since foreign nationals obviously prefer to teach there.
Must you live in Taipei? It does have many, many advantages but it is expensive, the weather is bad, and the housing quality is poor. You need to make NT$80-90k per month to be able to afford to enjoy what the city has to offer. Also, Taipei is a city of the old. About 23% of the population is 65+.
The hot spots in Taiwan for jobs are unquestionably Taoyuan and Hsinchu where the tech industry is (especially Hsinchu). There are many private schools there that should pay well by Taiwan standards. Taipei is 37 minutes away on the high speed rail if you want to spend weekends in the city. Taoyuan in only 17% 65+. It makes a big difference.
I would also look at Tainan. It is quickly becoming Taiwan’s second tech center and Tainan city proper is hipster central.
Taichung has great weather and is a very large city by American standards with plenty to do. Long-time American residents tend to prefer it to Taipei.
Good luck and make sure you enroll in Chinese classes at a Mandarin training Center right away after you arrive. Otherwise you will almost certainly never learn Mandarin/Chinese and you will miss out on a lot.
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There is a whole body of law around this. It is complex. The status of being a resident or not is a very real thing but most folks do not understand it.
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Thank you for the advice! I’ve been told Taoyuan is like “the New Jersey” of Taiwan but to be honest- I’m ok with whatever as long as it’s livable and I can go visit different areas around the country in my spare time. I will definitely look into Mandarin center learning- I have 10 years of Chinese school experience and roughly 2 years of self studying (I am at about an HSK 5-6). I am conversational at speaking and can keep up with native speakers at a speaking and listening level, but reading is where I have a bit of trouble. I’ve been told I can make it around most places in Taiwan with my Mandarin level (it’s not quite native, but I can finesse things with Pleco if there’s like 1-2 words I don’t know.) I’m a Chinese-American person who’s been learning traditional Chinese since 2021. I still need to learn bopomofo, but I figure if I can type traditional already I’m more advanced than the average American person trying to apply.
Things I would like to do in Taiwan for fun are:
explore bookstores, learn martial arts, learn calligraphy, and learn Classical Chinese. Maybe go hiking up a nice, easy trail somewhere scenic as well.
I don’t think this indicates a dying industry. The industry is alive and well, from what I understand. They just can’t find enough teachers to fill the positions.
Regardless, the important part of my comment was that your “official” state residency depends on your driver’s license, and most states require you to obtain a new driver’s license within 30 days of moving there if you take up employment or schooling there. That means you will no longer be considered a resident of your old state once you do that. They don’t care if the move was permanent or temporary, because those are subjective terms.
That means that OP will no longer be a resident of their old state once they move to Taiwan and exchange their driver’s license for a Taiwan one (which I suggest the OP does as soon as they arrive, if they don’t wish be associated with any specific US state).
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If so, it’s hard to understand why the pay is basically the same as it was 30 years ago. That was a good deal back then. NT60k per month was something like 5X the median wage at the time so you could live pretty big, travel frequently, eat out all the time, afford Chinese classes, and have lots of free time.
Now I see Reddit threads where Buxiban teachers trying to live in Taipei exchange tips on how to survive on rice and beans or find a room in a shared apartment for less than NT$15k. I don’t understand why they do it. It’s no fun living in a big city you can’t afford.
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Cut the “hahaha” part and I think you’re good!
Guy
As you indicated, there are clear problems with the for-profit buxiban industry, which is chasing after fewer and fewer students due to Taiwan’s demography.
Given the original poster’s clear qualifications, I don’t think he should get involved in that industry at this time. There will be other opportunities for him.
Guy
Depends on for what (you’ll have things like a voting residence).