First Job in Taiwan

Work Teaching English in Taiwan
1

Hello everyone. I am very new to this forum but hope you can answer some of my questions.

I’ve been teaching English in Bangkok for the last 2 1/2 years. I am a 23 year old American. I have a CELTA and an AA. I would like to move to Taiwan to teach, and have recently been applying for jobs. So, not surprisingly I have many questions. Sorry if they’ve been done to death, but here goes:

  1. Is it legal to teach with an AA + CELTA, but no BA?

  2. Is 60k per month the best I can expect for my first job?

  3. Is Hsin Chu a nice city?

  4. Is it a good idea to use a recruiter? I would like to secure a job before I come.

  5. How easy/difficult is it for Thai people to visit Taiwan? I’d like to bring my g/f, if possible.

Thanks in advance for any replies. I am looking to come in July/August, so any information I can get before than will be greatly appreciated.

2

Here goes:

  1. Is it legal to teach with an AA + CELTA, but no BA?

    No, you have to have a university degree from a university recognized by the Taiwanese government to be legal.

  2. Is 60k per month the best I can expect for my first job?

No, you can earn quite a bit more. But 60K is a nice start.

  1. Is Hsinchu (Xinzhu) a nice city?

Yes, but a little less developed and rural compared to Taipei.

  1. Is it a good idea to use a recruiter? I would like to secure a job before I come.

Sometimes, but most places having openings all the time. Teachers come and go all the time.

  1. How easy/difficult is it for Thai people to visit Taiwan? I’d like to bring my g/f, if possible.

There shouldn’t be any difficultly.

3

[quote=“MotorcycleRider”]Here goes:

  1. Is it legal to teach with an AA + CELTA, but no BA?

    No, you have to have a university degree from a university recognized by the Taiwanese government to be legal.
    [/quote]

Actually, you can get a work permit with an AA and tesl. Some places may not hire you and/ or may not be aware that they can sponsor you, but it’s possible to get a work permit all the same.

4

[quote]Actually, you can get a work permit with an AA and tesl. Some places may not hire you and/ or may not be aware that they can sponsor you, but it’s possible to get a work permit all the same.
[/quote]
Wow! You learn something new everyday on this site.

5

[quote=“MotorcycleRider”]Here goes:

  1. How easy/difficult is it for Thai people to visit Taiwan? I’d like to bring my g/f, if possible.

There shouldn’t be any difficultly.[/quote]

Probably more difficult than you’d expect …

6

Please enlighten us why you think it would be difficult for someone living Thailand to visit Taiwan BP. Do you know something we don’t know? Last I recall, Taiwan and Thailand do not have any political tension. I know two Thais who study Chinese here, they had no difficulties coming into Taiwan.

7

Most people from Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand e.o. countries have more problems to get a Taiwan visa … they need sponsors, bank documents etc …
I’m not saying it’s impossible, just more difficult … be prepared

8

Thanks for all the replies. I should specify that I don’t want to live in Taipei. 2+ years in Bangkok have put me off big cities for the moment. I’d like to go somewhere in a smaller city.

Is 60k a good salary for outside of Taipei?

Thanks again for the help.

9

60K generally goes a lot further outside Taipei, although I believe that Hsinchu is not much cheaper due to the large amount of engineers, IT people etc who work at the science park. Most of the foreigners there are on expat packages, so rents tend to be higher. At least that’s what I’ve heard.

Taichung might be a place to consider. Bigger than Hsinchu, smaller than Taipei but there’s some nice hiking close by, and the central mountain range is right at your doorstep. Plus it tends to have the best weather in Taiwan. And it’s roughly halfway between the north (Taipei) and south (Kaohsiung), so it makes travel anywhere on the west coast easy to do for a weekend trip.

For your Thai g/f, visiting shouldn’t be a problem for a short trip - she could always arrange something with a Thai tour group, and then not do the tour. But longer term (longer than 1-2 weeks say) might be difficult.

10

Forgot to say.

If you hang out in expat bars, eat western food all the time etc then 60K won’t last long. If you eat Taiwanese/Chinese food and don’t party every day, you’ll do fine. (And if you’re teaching, you shouldn’t be partying everyday anyway).

11

Thanks for that advice, cfimages. I don’t drink very often, so that won’t be a problem.

Taichung sounds fantastic. I used to do a lot of hiking before I got stranded in Bangkok. I spent more than one year in the Himalayas of India, Nepal and Tibet. It will be nice to see mountains again!

Is it common for a school (outside of Taipei) to provide free/discounted accommodation?

12

Ooh, I love the Himalayas, been there a few times. I was just thinking of planning a trip back to Nepal in Sept/Oct this year - it’s been 6 years since I was last there.

Free/discounted accom is more likely in small towns, but it’s often pretty crappy. I live in Changhua city, which is 15 mins south of Taichung, and pay my 2 TW roommates and I pay $14K for a 6 bedroom/2 living room/3 bathroom apartment. Not bad for 3 people - I pay $5K (including all utilities except cell-phone) of that, but I have an office in one room and bedroom in another. If I just had one room (and both are quite big) I’d only pay $3K.

13

14k for a six bedroom house? That’s excellent. Roughly how much would a one/two bedroom apartment cost?

Are there a lot of jobs available in Taichung? What would you say is the best way to go about getting a job in Taichung prior to actually arriving there?

Sorry to ask so many questions, but your advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks again.