Any advice for someone who wants to stop teaching and start working in the
investment/banking industry in Taiwan.
Import/Export
Anything
Thanks
PS I am a long time member of forumosa.com and must protect my identity because eveyone at my school uses this website.
Grass is always greener in another career.
You might want to try moonlighting in your new career before you make a formal switch.
[quote=“ac_dropout”]Grass is always greener in another career.
You might want to try moonlighting in your new career before you make a formal switch.[/quote]
Whatever that means.
My advice is network, network, network… get along to AmCham functions, attend your home country’s National Day celebrations or their versions of business luncheons/seminars etc. Put the word out amongst your friends… word travels quickly.
OR… start your own company. 
Sounds like a good advice.
Is it easy to change your profession?
It’s easy enough to get a job teaching. But in the business community must be harder. Fewer jobs available and higher qualifications I would guess.
Ski
Depends on your qualifications. I was surprised at how much opportunity there is here, as Mother Theresa alluded to in another thread in the past day or two. If you have a background or degrees in business, you should have no problem. If you don’t, I’m not sure where you’d begin – probably by going back to college for a while first.
The writing and editing field is wide open, though. There’s always that. And it’s something you can take anywhere. I had a neighbor who lost her previous career rather suddenly due to a medical disqualification (you can’t be an airline pilot if you have diabetes), and who started writing magazine articles from her apartment, mostly cooking and ladies’ journals type stuff. She did ok. Another person I knew wrote some of the “true confessions” drivel for teen-girl magazines – he was the one who penned a “firsthand” account of being born without a vagina. 
i havent taught in taiwan but i no heaps of people that took their teaching experience, moved into editing at a finance house and then were offered jobs in the field.
taiwan is full of opp’s… and i still think netowrking is the key.
I think so, as well. Unfortunetly, what other options are there if I have absolutely no networking skills?
I think so, as well. Unfortunetly, what other options are there if I have absolutely no networking skills?[/quote]
Here here…Im in the same boat. Wise advice anyone…
Other options? If it’s a lack of skills, you don’t want other options, you want to aquire the skill set. Start with book like Networking for Dummies. Google on networking skills. Maybe try reading “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” Bottom line on skills - aquire them. Now, if you don’t have the capability to network then you need other options. That is seldom the case.
AC_Dropout hit the nail on the head - try moonlightling in the occupation you want to move into. Work for little or next to nothing. Offer to work in exchange for mentoring and do it as a part time affair. Between your job now and the moonlighing, you’ll quickly discover if you really have a passion for the new ‘calling’ or if it’s just an escape clause from the present grind. Oh, and in the mean time with all the part time effort, you’ll be building your new network.
OOC
[quote]Any advice for someone who wants to stop teaching and start working in the
investment/banking industry in Taiwan.
Import/Export
[/quote]
As for the investment/banking industry in Taiwan, you must for sure know people. I have tons of experience in all aspects of the investment/banking industry from the states, but since arriving in Taiwan I have found that there is not much of a need for foreigners here in that field, and the jobs here are given to friends or relocated expats. I have networked my ass off, going as far as hitting up the bars starting chats to bugging fellow forumosians (big thanks guys). I have came close a couple of times, but nothing yet.
[/quote]You might want to try moonlighting in your new career before you make a formal switch.[/quote]
I would say this is a definite in the above field. The sky is the limit when it comes to compensation, if you do OK you will make much more money than most, but if you want the sky you must be willing to handle an extreme amount of pressure and stress. It can take over your life. I am actually glad I have had a break for the past year, but I am starting to itch for that fix again.
Other options? If it’s a lack of skills, you don’t want other options, you want to aquire the skill set. Start with book like Networking for Dummies. Google on networking skills. Maybe try reading “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” Bottom line on skills - aquire them. Now, if you don’t have the capability to network then you need other options. That is seldom the case.
AC_Dropout hit the nail on the head - try moonlightling in the occupation you want to move into. Work for little or next to nothing. Offer to work in exchange for mentoring and do it as a part time affair. Between your job now and the moonlighing, you’ll quickly discover if you really have a passion for the new ‘calling’ or if it’s just an escape clause from the present grind. Oh, and in the mean time with all the part time effort, you’ll be building your new network.
OOC[/quote]
Sage advice here. If you can’t network, you have to learn to network. There is no way around it.
Your goals are somewhat vague (that is fine–most of us have vague goals at first), which tells me you need to learn from experience what you’re most interested in doing.
ac_dropout and OOC are right in that you should do everything you can to familiarize yourself with the field and build contacts in it right now, while you have your current source of income. If you can get part-time work in the field, go for it. Attend seminars and professional association meetings. Ask everyone you know about the possible field; you’ll eventually get a hot lead, and a road in.
I walked into a finance job by chance, not knowing what i was getting myself into untill it was too late - but I was very FOB back then, so I can be excused, I believe.
If you are a teacher, and you want to move into finance, then start looking for editing jobs. They need editors, and a few of them get promoted up the chain, leaving holes for newcomers to fill.
I have seen those jobs advertised in Taipei Times, forumosa, and a few other places as well. The better ones are occupied by networking, but well… Not all are, and they prefer experienced editors in those, where networking and headhunting is used to get in.
A friend of mine recently got an entry level, no experience required finance job off a newspaper, and… well… he’s well paid indeed. Hours are long though.
They would love for you to have a finance background, but well… Not needed, actually.
Also, it’s best if you know some Chinese. It’s very important for moving away from the editing job, and I guess that you don’t want to be stuck in a 14 hour correction typo job for the rest of your days. Also, once your chinese is up to shape, you should consider a CFA.
The bad news is that finance tends to ne a men’s world.
Sounds like sound advice. All of the above options. Hoevever, EXPENSIVE, are they not. AMCHAM, ECCT are pretty pricy. I wouldn’t want to fork over that much cash.
Ski
Thanks all.
How much is the AMCHAM? Is it worth joining?
Does it have any benfits or help job seekers?
Guest
I would certainly check what qualifications are necessary to get the job (government qualifications) if you plan on getting your ARC through that job. I can say from experience that the government is much stricter when it comes to business jobs. I was turned down twice. The main thing seems to be relevent experience. They want proof that you worked in a similar field for at least 2 years (if you have bachelors degree) AFTER you’ve graduated. You’ll need some letter from your old job(s), certified by the nearest TECO office in your home country, your degree/diploma certified, as well as all the rest of the documents needed when applying for an ARC. If you’ve got a Masters, then it’s 1 year relevent experience, and PHD, I think no experience is necessary.
Now, that’s what I had to go through and it wasn’t for banking, so the requirments may be different. Definately check up on this before trying and DON’T take someone else’s word for it. Check everything yourself and BE SURE.
If you’re not planning on this being your ARC job, then no problem, teach somewhere for 4 hours a week and you’re set.
And this is just info from personal experience. I’m no expert.
oZzo
I am coming from the Software business in Germany and am now Product Manager in a Taiwanese Hardware company. I do not speak Chinese yet. But if you come from country X and the company is interested in strengthening their marketing activities in country X, that may help.
Or English native speakers can write English texts for them. Even I do that in my pigeon English:
“Turn the bloody screw rechts herum and press the Knopf or the Macht is off.”
If you are below the age of 35, you can get an amcham youth membership for NT$10k for 1 year. That’s NT$833 per month for career development.
Forumosa can also be a source for a career change:
The guy who got this job started this week
It’s 2-3 years of editing, and with luck on to analysis or sales.
Errm, do I need to mention that it ended up being a “more than part-time” job?
Salaries as editors in stock brokerages (even as a part timer) compares well with all - but the most demanding - teaching jobs.
And it’s a great stepping stone for greater things.
Someone told me that it’s a good idea to send your cv to the Editing Department in the Stock Exchange. Where that is, I don’t know but might be worth a try if you want to get into Stockbroking.
Editing department of the stock exchange… looking from their English, native English speakers are not considered for employment there.
There are some 10-15 foreign stock brokers here in Taiwan. Every single will need an editor, some will have more than 1. An editor will on average stay in his job for say 3 years. that gives 5 positions open per year.
OK, most of those will want experienced editors - they get them from local stock brokerages, such as Masterlink, Entrust, Capital, perhaps Yuanta and the like. You can call up on them and hear, and with luck also get in and see them and hear about the job. It never hurts to drop your name and resume around.
then you will start at some NT$60k and up, and once you get friends working in foreign brokerages and such (hang out with the other editors), you can them move up to become an editor at a foreign house.
Another route is that you if your chinese is excellent start working as an analyst at a local house and then move up to take the same job in a foreign house, maybe starting out as research assistant there.
There are jobs in that field being posted in different places from time to time, and well… once you start knowing people, you will hear where they need people, and you can then move on that info, and build yourself a career in the madhouse called Taiwanese finance.
Note: i walked away from my big salary, my big company SUV and my long hours and miserable existence in Taiwanese finance a year ago and have not looked back.