Hey y’all,
I was recently accepted for an unpaid summer internship at the American Institute in Taiwan. I’m still debating my options but as of now, the internship is high on my priorities list. I have a few questions I wanna get answered about it before I commit, so has anyone ever gone through that internship or know anyone who has?
[quote=“Focus”]Hey y’all,
I was recently accepted for an unpaid summer internship at AIT. I’m still debating my options but as of now, the internship is high on my priorities list. I have a few questions I wanna get answered about it before I commit, so has anyone ever gone through that internship or know anyone who has?[/quote]
For some nationalities (no third world countries obviously), you could apply for “working holiday”, which means you could do internship in many Taiwanese companies with meagre salary (I’d say around minimum wage), for up to 6 months.
In my current company, since last year, a German and a Spanish nationals already did this.
roc-taiwan.org/CA/ct.asp?xIt … =165&mp=77
Not sure what you might actually gain, though.
Some requirements for Taiwan Working Holiday Visa:
Citizens of the following countries are eligible for a working holiday visa for Taiwan: New Zealand, Australia, Belgium, Japan, Canada, Germany, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom and Ireland. (Slovakia added in 2015)
Qualifications for Visa Applicants:
Nationality: Applicants shall be citizens of contracting countries and shall have not been a previous recipient of an ROC working holiday visa.
Applicants must prove to the ROC Embassy, Consulate and overseas missions issuing the visas that their primary intention is to holiday in the ROC, with employment being an incidental rather than a primary reason for the visit and will leave the ROC before the visa expires.
The age of applicants shall between 18 and 30 years, both inclusive, at the time of application.
Family members of working holiday visa holders, including spouse and children, shall not apply for visas as dependents to come along.
Validity of passport: When submitting an application, the applicants’ passport should be valid for more than 12 months upon planned arrival in the ROC.
Valid flight ticket: Applicants must hold a round trip flight ticket or have financial proof of the capability to purchase it.
Living expenses: Applicants shall be required to have at least NT$ 100,000 or an equivalent amount of foreign currency as their living expenses during their stay in the ROC.
Medical insurance: Applicants shall have full medical and hospitalization insurance during their stay in the ROC.
If the OP is already in Taiwan, a working holiday visa would mean going back to his/her country of origin to get the visa.
Also, that visa is not available to Americans, in case the OP is an American (which I assume so, given the interest in the AIT).
Yeah, thanks for your attention. I’m a US American and I’m not concerned about my Visa. By AIT, I should have written American Institute in Taiwan. I edited my top post to match that.
Also, after some serious YouTube and Facebook stalking, I’ve gotten in contact with a previois AIT intern to get my questions answered. Thanks.
Idk if I’m too late to the gates, but I’ve gone through that program with the Commercial Section and it was awesome.
However, some things to consider are you do not have any financial issues with not getting paid. My manager at the time made it very clear that she would not give me the offer unless I was ok with not getting paid for the three months I was there.
In what you don’t get monetarily, you’ll get in contacts in every sector, so it pays in networking and learning new things about Taiwan and American trade relations.
The people you’ll work with are awesome people. All of them are very laid back (bc they get paid a buttload of money to do so). At the start, they’ll feel bad for asking you to do things because you’re unpaid, but make sure you tell them you’re there to help and learn.
Make sure you make friends with Jeffrey, the IT guy, he’s been there longer than almost anyone in the office and is very knowledgeable about how all of it works.
Feel free to PM me with any questions you got. It’s a great opportunity and definitely worth considering if you do not have to worry about paying for the airfare, housing, food and everything in between.
That’s a super good contribution to the threat, thanks. Thankfully, there are so many scholarships available, money shouldn’t be an issue for this kind of opportunity. I’ll PM you if I have any more questions, thanks!
@Focus @ranlee Hey guys I’m a current university student who just received a chance interview with the AIT commercial section. Mind if I PM you guys some questions?
Not sure if new members can PM.
If you can’t, leave a message here and I’ll PM you.
@ranlee Wow amazing reply speed! Thanks for helping me out. Does this count as a message you can PM?
Hi, I may be kind of late to this but I have an interview with the AIT commercial section and was wondering if you could answer some questions for me. @ranlee @Focus
Did you ever work with (hear of) a somewhat tall white American, who once worked early/mid-90s as a helper in the office of 師大 Mandarin Training Center on Heping E. Rd., who then got job at AIT?
Ask away
Yes.
I was wondering what the interview process was like and what exactly they are looking for.
I did one phone interview with my two managers. One in English and the other in Chinese. Take note that they do not require you to speak Chinese, but it’s always a plus. It is easier to communicate with the employees there because English may be their second language, but that does not mean they have bad English.
Other than that, it’s pretty much a basic interview. Talk about education, your work experience, why you want the job and why they should pick you.
@ranlee and @focus, or anyone else who knows about AIT internships: I know a young woman who is planning to do a gap year between high school and college and would like to spend it in Taiwan, studying Mandarin and doing an internship at AIT. Currently in the US, and would seek a student visa to study Mandarin. She has been accepted to a great international affairs program in the US, and the college allows students to defer a year.
Does anyone know if AIT ever accepts people who have enrolled in college but not yet started? The website suggests they prefer juniors or seniors.
Thanks!
I’m going to piggyback off what I said in another post: STOP DOING UNPAID WORK PEOPLE! Tell her to apply for the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship or the Taiwan Scholarship. Both will allow her to study Chinese while being given money to do so. Any unpaid internship (since that’s what OP posted about) at a place like AIT is going to be you fulfilling the job that someone else would be being paid a very good salary to do.
Thanks for the feedback! Looks like she is too late for the Hauyu enrichment scholarship this year, and I think that the Taiwan scholarship is for people who want to go to college in Taiwan (but I don’t know much about it). Unpaid internships can be useful if the primary beneficiary is the intern, not the employer. Since this one aligns with her career goals and would look good on her resume, it would definitely be of interest to her even though unpaid.
It’s been over a decade since I took that internship, so I can’t say much about what they do or don’t accept. What I can say is, “suggests” doesnt mean required and it never hurts to give it a try.
Thanks!