Hi everyone,
I’ve just been offered a job at TamKang Junior School and was wondering if anyone would be willing to share their experiences teaching there? Or about the district of Tamsui / Danshui in NTC? Is their offer of $68000 the best I can expect at this time of the year? I have a PgDip in Secondary Teaching, TESOL, qualified teacher status and two years teaching experience in New Zealand.
Thanks in advance!
68k is decent. What are your hours?
I’ve visited it before and my spouse does some stuff at the adjoining college. We knew a Canadian woman that worked in their archives post-retirement. I think the elementary school (Chun-teh or Sun-tek) is fully bilingual with two teachers in each room, but the junior high is probably more Chinese speaking. I’ve known folk who went there as students and like it. That said, I don’t know the work environment there. If you take the job, spouse would love to get coffee with you. Danshui is a pretty awesome city, and super busy on weekends. Lots of excursions and things to do. I think this is a school that Lee Teng-Hui attended.
OK, thanks for your reply. Per my contract: 16-20 hours of teaching. Need to be on school grounds between 8am - 4pm.
Thank you so much for replying. I will most likely take up the offer! Do love a good coffee and would appreciate getting one with a local 
Will be sure to PM once I get to Danshui!
Not bad.
Tamkang is fine, it’s not bilingual, event though they like to say it is. They have a team of 12-16 foreign teachers there, I hear the head guy is nice.
That’s the best you can expect in July.
However, a PgDip + bachelors + 2 years of experience (in a school) in NZ can land you a job at the European School. Salaries start at above $100000.
tips hat
Thanks for your insights!
This.
Even working part-time in a bushiban would net you NT$70,000. You’d have half the responsibilities, have the same hours of teaching and half the total hours and probably get paid under the table and avoid taxes.
Go for a European school or a good paying bushiban instead.
I hate to bring this up, but she would need to do a bit of hunting to find a buxiban willing to hire a highly qualified ethnic Chinese to teach English. Tamkang is actually quite good in this regard, they hire people regardless of ethnicity, as does TES, TAS and all the other international schools.
And she has QTS.
What buxiban will get you more than 70k NTD on part-time hours?
some teachers may prefer more responsibility.
Any of the chains, especially in the areas with lots of rich kids. 24 hours x $750 x 4 weeks = $72,000/mo. I know a lot of teachers earning a good bit more than $750/hr, too.
Being ethnic Chinese will be a big problem though.
Sure. I would too if I were still a teacher, but having all that free time is great. Or having time to add a morning job and getting another $50,000/mo.
24 hours isn’t part-time. That’s full time.
40 hours is full-time
I’m talking part-time/ full time differences within the context of teaching ESL in Taiwan. Any amount of hours that’s enough to get you a work permit (and thus an ARC) at a job is considered “full time.” I think the cut-off is either 14 or 16 hours. Anything below is “part time” and paid by the hour and anything above is full time. I teach between 16-18 hours (depending on my semester workload) and it’s considered a full-time contract and thus my ARC is sponsored by my school.
Ok. I think most people consider 40+ full-time and less than 40 hours part-time, but Taiwan is getting lazier every year. I understand where you are coming from. Private tutoring is the only way to get 70K by those definitions.
You teach at a university, correct? You probably have considerable office hours and take home work. When you consider that, is your hourly pay still better than the people who just show up, teach four to six hours and go home with no other responsibilities?
I don’t know. I indeed work hard on grades, class preparation, and I’m involved in committees, collaborating on research and journal papers. But I get three months off in summer and and one month off for Chinese New Year, all paid, so I can’t complain… too much. Is it perfect? No. But I find the teaching fulfilling for the most part. The buxiban-style “desk warming” and strict by-the-book lesson plans would drive me nuts. I could never go back to that.
Not that much part time these days probably more like 50 grand