Long time lurker first time poster here. I have been thoroughly reading Forumosa and Daves ESL to get an idea of the job situation in Taiwan and Korea. My preference is Taiwan for a few different reasons but it sounds like it might prove to be a difficult transition into the TESL world without any related work experience. I am 26 and have 5 years of work experience in the nonprofit medical research industry. My question is, how difficult will it be to find work that will sponsor my ARC in Taipei without any teaching experience?
I am also a bit apprehensive about pulling off a solid teaching demo. I have never been asked to do such a thing and feel as though the learning curve is not in my favor. From what i have been reading, typical jobs in Taipei officer 16-20 hrs/wk have 10-20 applicants. Most of these applicants have previous teaching experience. In that case, i feel as though i wouldn’t even have a shot. Thus, i am debating whether to go to Korea for a year to gain experience before heading over the Taiwan or just going straight for my goal of Taiwan and roughing it.
Long time lurker first time poster here. I have been thoroughly reading Forumosa and Daves ESL to get an idea of the job situation in Taiwan and Korea. My preference is Taiwan for a few different reasons but it sounds like it might prove to be a difficult transition into the TESL world without any related work experience. I am 26 and have 5 years of work experience in the nonprofit medical research industry. My question is, how difficult will it be to find work that will sponsor my ARC in Taipei without any teaching experience?
I am also a bit apprehensive about pulling off a solid teaching demo. I have never been asked to do such a thing and feel as though the learning curve is not in my favor. From what I have been reading, typical jobs in Taipei officer 16-20 hrs/wk have 10-20 applicants. Most of these applicants have previous teaching experience. In that case, i feel as though I wouldn’t even have a shot. Thus, I am debating whether to go to Korea for a year to gain experience before heading over the Taiwan or just going straight for my goal of Taiwan and roughing it.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks Forumosa![/quote]
I may not be able to offer the best advice as I’m flying out to Taiwan for the very first time this week but I know from my own job search that it is not impossible to get a job without any experience. I recently accepted a job with Shane English & will be working anywhere from 22-25 hours a week, without any teaching experience. I have my college degree & a TEFL certification (not sure if that helped me much or not) but they still hired me. I, like you, am taking a job to earn experience for my first year then deciding what I want to do after that. Most of the chain schools (Hess, Kojen, Shane) will hire you without any teaching experience but the pay will not be as much as what other places may pay you. If you’re really nervous about a teaching demo & don’t have any experience then you should look at these schools - you can even hammer out a contract & secure a job before you go there!