[quote=“ckhcornell”]Ho Ho Ho Mr. Mao ZeDong, well I got lots of opinions and I have been thinking a lot about my life goals, society, and culture ever since I came here. I don’t really need to ‘reconcile’ anything~
I just don’t have a goal of coming to Taiwan to teach English like some foreigners. If it happens to be that I don’t have a job here and need some way to support myself, that would be an option. I can do that until a ‘real’ job comes around the corner, and I am limiting myself to a few months for waiting. I wouldn’t want to waste my time.
Mr. ZeDong- What kind of occupation are you in? Forum administration?[/quote]
ckhcornell, is it your habit to go into a bar or a restaurant and insult the manager and many of the patrons? I think it is healthy to form opinions about things, but you might want to learn a little bit about the things you are commenting on before firing those opinions off into the crowd.
There are lots of people here willing to offer assistance to newcomers, if those newcomers appear to be worthy of such assistance.
I don’t think Mr. ckh will last long in any kind of job, be it real, virtual, or anything else. Certain very basic interpersonal skills are pretty much de rigeur wherever one works, and it’s evident from his posts so far (in this thread and elsewhere) that he falls well short of a passing grade in that department.
I’m also in the midst of finding a marketing position, but it seems like a lot require a certain level of reading/writing Chinese (whether it be documentation, contracts, etc). Unless you’ve had a lot of experience in those fields, it will be hard to find a job without mandarin knowledge - speaking,listening, writing, everything.
Since you’d want to market products to Taiwanese consumers, there would be no point in using English whatsoever, unless its an American product, and for a special reason needs english to explain what it means. Sales on the other hand you can manage cause there are Taiwanese companies such as the one I am in now, who deal with mostly foreign companies. There are a lot in the HsiZhi and Neihu area. I would suggest 104, and maybe even stopping by some of the companies there to hand in resumes. Good luck though, its a tough market…
I had a “real” job here, years ago. No thanks…the only thing worse than working for a Taiwanese company is working for an American company (I R not the corporate type).
I did it by contracting in illegally for a while, then talking my way into a job…wish I hadn’t .
If I wanted “real” job (which really means, “some square corporate ratrace cubicle sweating 50+ hours a week to keep up with the Jones”), I would have stayed in America where I could have made 3x as much money. Any North American or Western European who comes to Taiwan to do a “real” job they could do back home for 3-4x the $$$ is a moron or an incompetent who couldn’t get a “real” job back home. For all your scoffing at English teachers, I make more - factoring in cost of living - than I could teaching highschool at home, and definitely more than anyone (aside from those engineers working on the highspeed railway) working at a “real” job in Taiwan. Why would I want a “real” job in Taiwan? I’m already making more per hour.
:shock: So what about those people living in a house in Yangminshan with a driver and maids at their beck and call? I always wondered who those people were
There is one thing to be said about having a “real” job…it sure comes in handy in a pissing contest. “Me? A teacher? Oh, heavens no! I’m in the corporate world.”
Actually, I like my “real” job. Not only am I making pretty good money, and saving more than I would in the states, but I find the work interesting. I enjoy my daily routine. And sometimes they fly to me to exotic locations, all expenses paid. So I guess it just depends on what type of “real” job one has. . . and the personality of the person doing it.
Some people are never happy in any situation.
I also liked teaching, but I disliked spending so many hours sitting at polluted bus stops in the summer heat transporting between schools. Now I sit in the comfort of aircon all day and don’t waste hours in transit.
I don’t think teaching is lesser work. I’m just not doing that now. And I don’t think a “real” job is better work. I just feel like I screwed around for long enough, so now it’s time to build up a career for a while and save up some money to enable lots of good traveling, fun toys and a nice retirement eventually. I guess it just depends on where one is, has been and is going in ones life.
To find my “real” job I put up my resume on 104 and I got a few phone calls. Luckly one of the jobs was a good fit for me. I guess I could get paid a lot more teaching, but I want to eventually get my MBA, so I think international trade would be better on my resume. And, I enjoy what I’m doing.
I do speak Chinese almost fluently and went to a pretty good college, so I think my resume may have stood out a bit more despite the fact I had zero work experience.
I get along pretty well with my coworkers, but after work we all go our separate ways. It may be good for my resume, but not my social life.
ckhcornell, given that you just graduated and don’t speak Chinese very well, please allow me to give you some advice. It’s important to learn as much as you can in whatever job you have. Right now it’s best to concentrate on learning Chinese and trying your hardest at doing your job well. Hard work is rewarded. You just need to build some experience.
My sister is a marketing manager at Yahoo. One of the subsidiaries, Overture, is looking to fill a position in Taipei. I sent this out to my personal network, but I’ll also post it here. If you’re interested, please send me an e-mail. This was a couple of weeks ago, so I don’t know if it’s filled yet. She’s also looking for a manager of International Sales and Client Development (I believe based in California though). Please let me know if you’re interested in that.
Marketing Director / Manager - Taiwan
Job Description:
Overture is seeking a Marketing Manager for its Taiwan marketplace. This position will be responsible for leading the company’s marketing efforts in launching the Overture business model in Taiwan including preparing the Company
Well, for once I would not start to diss on the english teachers here… I would like to teach English, but as I am not a native speaker, I have stayed away from that route.
Advice 1. teach part time and learn Mandarin nearly full time. If you don’t speak mandarin, you are screwed. Moreover, if you are committed to the place, then learning the language is a pretty good start.
Advice 2. build a good network. my first job here was landed thru my sister-in-law, and that was as a financial analyst. However, noone in that industry would employ you unless you have a reasonable grasp of mandarin. When it comes ot landing a position in a MMC, then think again, at least unless you have good connections. The buying office of HP is a mandarin/taiwanese speaking place, I think that they have 1-2 expats left. (They used to have 10-20 times that number in the good old days). Nike’s merchandising office has one left. You need mandarin there too if you are to be employed.
You might find a taiwanese boss willing to take you on. However, they only think about foreigners, if the cheaper locals can’t do the job, and that usually means problems. Moreover, a Taiwanese company is short-term only, as you will grow sick and tiredof the place really fast.
Even though you don’t want to teach, you probably struggle for a while to find a job being an ABC anyway (disclaimer - market opinion). So staying clear of the teaching thing sounds sweet but with not being able to speak Mandarin, unless you get lucky like Rascal and co, you’re pushing shit uphill.
I agree completely with Mr. He’s “Advice 1.” But there’s also a corollary that’s equally true.
Advice 2. Find full-time employment and don’t spend too much energy working on Chinese. One can live in Taipei perfectly easily with only survival level Mandarin, if you’ll eventually return to the West you’ll probably speak Chinese rarely there, your ability will deteriorate, and if you can find good employment here it may promote your career more than basic Chinese skills.
.