Competitive Salary is Expected

Work Teaching English in Taiwan
1

[quote]Jordan’s Language School

We’re a well-organized school. We provide different kinds of curriculmn, professional
working environment, a lot of teaching aids and resources for teachers. If you are the right person, a competitive salary is expected.
(For full-time teachers, about NTD50,000 or more)
Don’t hestitate to send us your resume, if you can meet the following conditions: [/quote]

What a joke!
I have been working there for the past 3 years. Let me give you my take on this.
They hired me to take care of the beginner classes and told me that I’d teach them 2 out of 4 hours per week.
They started out with two of those beginner classes with about 8 to 10 students each. The other hours were bigger kids.
So 4 hours per week the youngsters and 6 hours the bigger kids. I had one out of four hours for the bigger kids.

Last semester I asked for a 100 NT$ salary increase and they agreed to give me 50NT$.
After that, however, they had me teach the smaller kids only one hour per week cutting my weekly hours down to 8 hours.
There are 4 beginner classes now and they are full. I teach each class only one hour per week. So I complained about this practice and I asked them to find some kind of solution.
Nothing happened I just got a stupid grin.
By the way, they shifted these hours around from Monday to Friday quite frequently and I always played along.
I managed to make only 18 000 to 23 000 NT$ in the afternoons per month.
I payed about 250 NT$ per week for gifts to motivate the bigger students which are difficult to handle.
I digitalized all their books sounds and lessons, set up two electronic white-boards. This alone made a 20 minutes increase in teaching efficiency alone.
When I started teaching there, they only provided me with some terribly lousy copied black and white papers instead of the books, like I wasn’t worth it.
No desk no cubbyhole.

I started with 10 hours per week 600 Per hour about 24000 to 2600 per month
After my 50 NT$increase, I got 8 hours per week which actually should be 12 hours teaching 8 different classes.
This should be like 31 000NT$ per month and at ten hours 26000 to 28 000 per month.
However, at 8hours I only made 20800 to 22 000 per month.

Yesterday, I got my new schedule for the next month so I discussed my salary expectations.
I told them that for this kind of unstable arrangement, and me being there for so long, 800NT$ would be a fair salary.
The response was that they needed to have me do evaluation classes. My response was like, "no bullshitting 800NT$ per hour or I go.

Today, they told me that I was asking for too much, so… I threw in the towel.

If you are desperate, it’s ok taking that job.
If you,however, expect to have a stable income, and make some progress, plus, being treated equally as a human, which means you are invited for Chinese New Years dinner inclusive address, at least. .
Take the job and start looking right away.

Oh yeah, I don’t mind if you use my digital teaching material so you don’t need their books, only an ipad or so.
Anny sucker starting there below 700 should be banned by the community.

2

Unfortunate but not surprising.

That’s the attitude of most schools. One of the schools I work at pays really well.

The other recently gave me a NT 10 increase!!!!! I was wow, a whole NT 1000 per month. Told them not to insult me and keep the NT $ 10.

The only things the schools care about is how much money they can get from the lies they tell to unsuspecting parents.

My expectations are always low,so no disappointment…

3

3 years? That seems a long time to figure things out.

4

[quote=“bigduke6”]Unfortunate but not surprising.

That’s the attitude of most schools. One of the schools I work at pays really well.

The other recently gave me a NT 10 increase!!!!! I was wow, a whole NT 1000 per month. Told them not to insult me and keep the NT $ 10.

The only things the schools care about is how much money they can get from the lies they tell to unsuspecting parents.

My expectations are always low,so no disappointment…[/quote]

No offense dude, but that 10 NT raise was a pat on the back, Taiwan style. Maybe you should have gratefully accepted it, instead of insulting them by refusing it. Loss of face and all that, old chap, in these foreign parts eh wot?

5

[quote=“BigJohn”][quote=“bigduke6”]Unfortunate but not surprising.

That’s the attitude of most schools. One of the schools I work at pays really well.

The other recently gave me a NT 10 increase!!!!! I was wow, a whole NT 1000 per month. Told them not to insult me and keep the NT $ 10.

The only things the schools care about is how much money they can get from the lies they tell to unsuspecting parents.

My expectations are always low,so no disappointment…[/quote]

No offense dude, but that 10 NT raise was a pat on the back, Taiwan style. Maybe you should have gratefully accepted it, instead of insulting them by refusing it. Loss of face and all that, old chap, in these foreign parts eh wot?[/quote]
Green apples cost 8-10 NT$ about 3 years ago. I haven’t seen any green apples for less than 15 NT$ for over a year now. I know this for sure because I told my wife that I won’t buy any unless they come down to 10 NT$ again.
The same price hikes apply to electricity, water, gas and the lunch-box places around our house.
If we keep getting 10NT$ more every year, we’ll all be eating shit by the time we retire.

6

[quote=“BigJohn”][quote=“bigduke6”]Unfortunate but not surprising.

That’s the attitude of most schools. One of the schools I work at pays really well.

The other recently gave me a NT 10 increase!!!!! I was wow, a whole NT 1000 per month. Told them not to insult me and keep the NT $ 10.

The only things the schools care about is how much money they can get from the lies they tell to unsuspecting parents.

My expectations are always low,so no disappointment…[/quote]

No offense dude, but that 10 NT raise was a pat on the back, Taiwan style. Maybe you should have gratefully accepted it, instead of insulting them by refusing it. Loss of face and all that, old chap, in these foreign parts eh wot?[/quote]

No offense taken, but a ten NT raise is insulting to anyone with a bit of self respect. I don’t want pats on the back, I work for money.

7

[quote=“bigduke6”][quote=“BigJohn”][quote=“bigduke6”]Unfortunate but not surprising.

That’s the attitude of most schools. One of the schools I work at pays really well.

The other recently gave me a NT 10 increase!!!!! I was wow, a whole NT 1000 per month. Told them not to insult me and keep the NT $ 10.

The only things the schools care about is how much money they can get from the lies they tell to unsuspecting parents.

My expectations are always low,so no disappointment…[/quote]

No offense dude, but that 10 NT raise was a pat on the back, Taiwan style. Maybe you should have gratefully accepted it, instead of insulting them by refusing it. Loss of face and all that, old chap, in these foreign parts eh wot?[/quote]

No offense taken, but a ten NT raise is insulting to anyone with a bit of self respect. I don’t want pats on the back, I work for money.[/quote]

Yeah! It’s almost as bad as talking in a past conditional. Why didn’t you say anything I could have …
Oh, you are so generous, thank you so much.

You were forced to say thank you for getting effectively less pay. 610 NT$ today is 20% less than 600 a year ago.

8

[quote=“bigduke6”]
No offense taken, but a ten NT raise is insulting to anyone with a bit of self respect. I don’t want pats on the back, I work for money.[/quote]

I fully understand, from a Western point of view. But from a Taiwanese point of view, it could be viewed as rude. I don’t see how you could possibly benefit from refusing a small increase in pay and possibly pissing off your employer.

9

Your take it and start Looking for another job if you want more money.

10

I can’t see the employer feeling any loss of face that you turned down a raise. They just figure its your loss, no skin off their nose.

But yes 10nt more an hour is insulting and I wouldn’t accept it either.

As far as being rude to the boss goes, he is the one being rude by offering a pittance like that.

11

That sounds pretty standard for me. NT$1,000 extra a month would be, for most Taiwanese salaryeaters, a welcome raise.

Of course, it’s a very small amount, but something is better than nothing. When I was at Hess ages ago, the performance-based raise was up to NT$25 an hour (as I recall) if you were an exceptional teacher. The rest of us usually got the NT$10 raise when renewing the contract.

I didn’t renew mine, so I got no raise at all.

12

And now what?
I got my interviews lined up, same money 650 an hour, more hours and closer to home.
I put a lot of effort to make all the kids like me while insisting on a steady learning progress.

Now, everything is down to nothing for me and, most importantly, for the kids.
I asked for salary increase instead of the hours that they gave to the Chinese teacher.
Asking for someone else’s hours is not the kind of thing I would do and to be more concrete on this one, I feel disgusted by people who do.

The new teacher will get less money and more hours (14 per week) since they will have to sponsor his/her ARC.
So, who else is going to lose?

13

[quote=“Hokwongwei”]That sounds pretty standard for me. NT$1,000 extra a month would be, for most Taiwanese salaryeaters, a welcome raise.

Of course, it’s a very small amount, but something is better than nothing. When I was at Hess ages ago, the performance-based raise was up to NT$25 an hour (as I recall) if you were an exceptional teacher. The rest of us usually got the NT$10 raise when renewing the contract.

I didn’t renew mine, so I got no raise at all.[/quote]
Ages ago, the inflation rate was minute.
Hess should not be the standard same as MC Donalds, both, shouldn’t be around anymore.

14

“Ages ago” is four years, if we’re counting.

Perhaps you don’t think Hess should be the standard, but the market has selected as such.

15

Six months into working for one company, I begin hunting for another job. If someone is willing to pay me more to do similar work, that’s all the negotiating power that I need.