Finding Work in TW as a Diesel Mechanic?

Hello everyone,

My husband and I are thinking about moving back to Taiwan for a while. I am Taiwanese and he’s an American who speak no Chinese at all (but I’m trying to teach him little by little everyday). I think I can find a job in Taiwan fairly easy ( I work as an accountant and have my CPA license). He is a diesel mechanic. He would like to move to Taiwan for a bit but the problem is that he would also like to continue working as a diesel mechanic. I haven’t had any idea of the chances of him getting a job in the same industry in TW since I left Taiwan at an early age. Any opinion is greatly appreciated!

I don’t know any details or have any special information about that field but from what I know in general about Taiwan I can tell you this:

Not speaking Chinese or Taiwanese will be a huge deal. How can you work if you can’t communicate with your bosses, co-workers or customers? And he won’t be able to read any work orders or documents or anything. Even if he could speak the language, the working conditions/environment would be considerably worse than what he is accustomed to. Coming from the US where workers have a lot more power and organization than they do in Taiwan will be a real culture shock. Additionally, the pay would be lower and the hours would be longer and you have less ability to tell your boss that you don’t want to do something or it’s not in your contract.

I think the only foreigners who can find nice working conditions in Taiwan are those who have highly valued professional skills such as engineers and executives.

Sorry if it sounds negative but it’s better to know before you get over here.

Another hard thing would be just learning the names of all the parts and terms. Think of the every day terms he would use that you might not even be familiar with:
–compression ratio
–glow plugs
–cam shaft
(And those aren’t even the really technical terms).

I wonder if he might make more $$ having a part time job that he puts up with and using his mechanical skills to set up a network of people that are willing to have him fix their cars and scooters at a reasonable price. Sometimes, it is hard to find a competent mechanic in Taiwan that speaks English.

Plus, would he willing to work for mechanic’s wages here? You’re talking not much more than minimum wage, which is like around NT$90/hour, and he’ll be working 12-14 hours a day, six or seven days a week. Teaching English would get him around NT$600/hour.

Maybe he can open his own garage?

The bureau of employment and vocational training has programs for teaching foreigners technical skills including automotive. They use Chinese to English interpreters in some programs so there might be opportunities for an instructor who could speak English directly.

Yeah I thought about all of those obstacles he might encounter if he moved to TW. The idea of teaching is good but he doesn’t want to give up what he’s already been working on for so long. and yes i doubt he would like the longer working hours and less pay than what he’s used to here. Here at the States, he makes good money as diesel mechanic but i doubt it is the same standard over there.