HI
I am in Bangkok right now. tomorrow i will get a visa for Taiwan and later take a flight. I don’t have a definite job offer in Taiwan so am wondering how long it might take before i get my first salary check. If it takes too long i could be in trouble. In China it doesn’t take long to find work but most of it is badly paid. It might be worth me hanging around bangkok aplying to jobs over the internet or just go and start looking. What experiences did you have? Any ideas or toughts welcome.
Thanks to everybody who wrote in on my last post about getting to Taiwan. Good advice. Bangkok is a cheap option and i had funlast time i was here also at the airport you can change RMB to Bahts.
I could be wrong, but getting a visa for a decent length of time from a southeast Asian country is a bit pointless. In Bangkok, you might pay the fees and stand in line and wind up with a 30-day NON-EXTENDABLE, which is the same as getting stamped for 30 days once you arrive at the Taiwan airport. (It used to be only 14 days, but after SARS they raised it to 30 for tourist visits).
If in Bangkok you want to try for an EXTENDABLE visa (one that allows you to apply for extra time in Taiwan for a fee, without having to leave Taiwan), then you need some compelling reason, like studying Chinese, and proof of enrollment. Otherwise, getting your Taiwan visa from Thailand might be a waste of time. You can get a longer-length visa if you apply from your western home country.
As long as you have a legitimate degree and are flexible as to the age levels you will teach, you should be working within one to 1 1/2 weeks. Just come here, buy a newspaper to check the ads, go to www.tealit.com and start booking interviews. Hope you have the original of your degree, too.
As for getting paid, it really depends on when the school pays you. Most pay monthly and the actual day varies from school to school. Many are willing to advance you some money to help you get started. If not, do you have parents who can wire you some or an account back home to access?
You can crash at a hostel. There are many in Taipei and there are lots of apts to share with others when you’re ready to move on from the hostel. For some shared rentals, you won’t even need to put up a deposit.
