You did some research about Hess and you still want to work for them? :loco:
Thank you for the info. I’m well aware of “outside” classroom work since I come from a family of teachers. I’m guessing 20 teaching hours + 20 outside to start and then the outside hours should begin to dwindle after a few weeks to a month.
I’ve read all the negative things about Hess as well as the positive. The supervisors there cannot be any worse than the ones I’ve dealt with here. The excitement of sharing my culture, teaching, learning Mandarin and studying karate far out weigh the bad.
BTW…thank you for posting a positive e-mail instead of just negativity. 
First things first, you’re going to be doing your B.A. online? So you don’t currently have a B.A.? Do you have any kind of university degree? Hess isn’t going to accept you if you don’t. One of the basic requirements is a degree.
If you do have a degree already, then oh boy! You’re in for a rude awakening.
Once you get your class timetable, you will have fairly set hours. You will have set classes that will meet at set times each week. Those shouldn’t change too much or too often. They’ll be in the afternoons and evenings.
However…
There will be a whole lot of office hours where you have to do marking and preparation and that really depends partly on you, but more on what annoying fuckers your supervisors are. This is a major beef for a lot of Hess employees or former Hess employees (like me). You may end up being required to spend a lot of time doing unpaid office hours outside of your paid teaching hours.
Also, there will occasionally be other events that you will not be able to get out of (and may or may not be paid for, or may be paid at a lesser hourly rate to your normal rate) such as open houses for prospective parents and students, performance or sports days, speech or writing competitions, training sessions, etc.
Forget the concept of semesters, normal holidays, etc. also. Different programmes they run have different running times, and they may not all start or finish at the same time. For instance, one of your classes might finish the level they’re on next week, but another of your classes might finish a month after that and another might finish two weeks after the second one. The start and finish dates are to do with when they could get enough students to open a class (it’s a private business, remember), not to do with any kind of official government school year. Kids will go to Hess during their government school holidays. This should tell you a lot about the difference between school in Taiwan and the U.S., which should tell you a lot about the difference in work between Taiwan and the U.S.
In terms of your holidays, if I remember correctly, you get two weeks of holidays per year, plus an additional four weeks off between finishing your contract and starting a subsequent contract. All of these holidays, along with national holidays, typhoon days, etc. are unpaid and you will need to find your own substitute teachers (which isn’t a problem usually if you live in a major city, but could be if you don’t). Basically, if you don’t work, you don’t get paid. Also, it’s not unheard of for Hess to call a training session on a public holiday just before your pay evaluation. It’s also not unheard of for them to try to get you to make up classes for free that some of your students have missed for personal reasons. They have a whole bag of tricks for screwing you over. If you think it’s going to be anything like the education system in the U.S., then you’re in for a very rude awakening.[/quote]
The difference between being a teacher in an educational system in the West and one at Hess is that you’re on a salary in the West, and you have all sorts of other benefits. At Hess, you’re on a wage, and you don’t get any pay for time off (even if you’re sick). They pay you only for hours you teach, yet they expect to get free time out of you, and they can call these things at the last minute and they can be for unspecified time lengths. Their obligations to you are very carefully documented, but what they can expect of you is extremely nebulus. It’s a massive double standard, and quite exploitative.
Also, regarding sharing your culture, I’d have to say that you’ll be disappointed there. Cram schools (including Hess) are not called cram schools for no reason. Every lesson is fast-paced and strictly controlled in terms of content. There’s virtually no time to go wandering off into cultural explorations or explanations. It stems from the very common view here that English is completely de-contextualised and can be learnt as great lists of vocabulary or grammar points. It’s also why so few of the students (at Hess and more broadly) can actually speak well.
[quote=“GuyInTaiwan”]The difference between being a teacher in an educational system in the West and one at Hess is that you’re on a salary in the West, and you have all sorts of other benefits. At Hess, you’re on a wage, and you don’t get any pay for time off (even if you’re sick). They pay you only for hours you teach, yet they expect to get free time out of you, and they can call these things at the last minute and they can be for unspecified time lengths. Their obligations to you are very carefully documented, but what they can expect of you is extremely nebulus. It’s a massive double standard, and quite exploitative.
Also, regarding sharing your culture, I’d have to say that you’ll be disappointed there. Cram schools (including Hess) are not called cram schools for no reason. Every lesson is fast-paced and strictly controlled in terms of content. There’s virtually no time to go wandering off into cultural explorations or explanations. It stems from the very common view here that English is completely de-contextualised and can be learnt as great lists of vocabulary or grammar points. It’s also why so few of the students (at Hess and more broadly) can actually speak well.[/quote]
Let’s not forget the abysmal pay…
Does Hess know you have no degree? That’s the standard requirement for a work permit. Without a degree, no work permit. Also, are you aware that the government here does not recognize distance learning qualifications? You online degree will NOT be enough to get a work permit.
If Hess has intimated otherwise to you, they’re lying.
It wouldn’t be the first time they hired a teacher, and said “Everything’s fine, don’t worry, your application’s being processed” right up until immigration come knocking on your door telling you you have two days to pack your bags and leave the country.
[quote=“funkymonkey”][quote=“GuyInTaiwan”]The difference between being a teacher in an educational system in the West and one at Hess is that you’re on a salary in the West, and you have all sorts of other benefits. At Hess, you’re on a wage, and you don’t get any pay for time off (even if you’re sick). They pay you only for hours you teach, yet they expect to get free time out of you, and they can call these things at the last minute and they can be for unspecified time lengths. Their obligations to you are very carefully documented, but what they can expect of you is extremely nebulus. It’s a massive double standard, and quite exploitative.
Also, regarding sharing your culture, I’d have to say that you’ll be disappointed there. Cram schools (including Hess) are not called cram schools for no reason. Every lesson is fast-paced and strictly controlled in terms of content. There’s virtually no time to go wandering off into cultural explorations or explanations. It stems from the very common view here that English is completely de-contextualised and can be learnt as great lists of vocabulary or grammar points. It’s also why so few of the students (at Hess and more broadly) can actually speak well.[/quote]
Let’s not forget the abysmal pay…[/quote]
The pay for teachers in the West or at Hess? I’ve heard it’s not great in America. In Australia, it’s average, though good as a starting salary (though it goes nowhere). At Hess it’s really low, especially once one factors in unpaid time, and it’s capped at a very average rate. I have two friends who both left Hess straight after we got here (one was kicked out of training). Both went on to higher paying, less stressful jobs with a lower workload immediately.
Hess is aware that I have an A.A. and will have T.E.F.L. by 12/10. I think Hess will be the best starting point for me. It’s my goal to find a teaching situation that will allow me to pursue my B.A. @ my own pace.
[quote=“sandman”]Does Hess know you have no degree? That’s the standard requirement for a work permit. Without a degree, no work permit. Also, are you aware that the government here does not recognize distance learning qualifications? You online degree will NOT be enough to get a work permit.
If Hess has intimated otherwise to you, they’re lying.[/quote]
It seems you don’t like Hess much. Would you be able to reccomend any language schools in Taiwan that you like??? 
I’m not coming to Taiwan w/o having something in place. I’m sure I’ll pass the training.
[quote=“GuyInTaiwan”]The difference between being a teacher in an educational system in the West and one at Hess is that you’re on a salary in the West, and you have all sorts of other benefits. At Hess, you’re on a wage, and you don’t get any pay for time off (even if you’re sick). They pay you only for hours you teach, yet they expect to get free time out of you, and they can call these things at the last minute and they can be for unspecified time lengths. Their obligations to you are very carefully documented, but what they can expect of you is extremely nebulus. It’s a massive double standard, and quite exploitative.
Also, regarding sharing your culture, I’d have to say that you’ll be disappointed there. Cram schools (including Hess) are not called cram schools for no reason. Every lesson is fast-paced and strictly controlled in terms of content. There’s virtually no time to go wandering off into cultural explorations or explanations. It stems from the very common view here that English is completely de-contextualised and can be learnt as great lists of vocabulary or grammar points. It’s also why so few of the students (at Hess and more broadly) can actually speak well.[/quote]
Supposedly HESS are able to secure work visas for people with Associate degrees combined with a TEFL qualification. Some guys have previously posted on the Visa & Residency Issues section that HESS got them jobs without bachelor degrees. I don’t understand quite how HESS are able to do this, but my gut feeling is that smaller chains of schools will find this very difficult to do.
If I were you, OP, I’d make very sure that an AA will be enough before coming. It might be worth doing a search on the Visa & Residency section and maybe contacting some guys directly.
Thank you. It seems quite a few people on this forum are teaching in Taiwan with an A.A.+T.E.F.L. certification. The Taiwanese embassy in Washington D.C. assured that I will be able to procure employment. I’ve read that the smaller chains schools aren’t aware of this.
I believe having a B.A. doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be a good teacher unless it’s in education.
[quote=“tomthorne”]Supposedly HESS are able to secure work visas for people with Associate degrees combined with a TEFL qualification. Some guys have previously posted on the Visa & Residency Issues section that HESS got them jobs without bachelor degrees. I don’t understand quite how HESS are able to do this, but my gut feeling is that smaller chains of schools will find this very difficult to do.
If I were you, OP, I’d make very sure that an AA will be enough before coming. It might be worth doing a search on the Visa & Residency section and maybe contacting some guys directly.[/quote]
That’s very true. 
I’d stick with HESS for the time being, especially if they can get you an ARC. Have a look around for better gigs once you get to Taiwan.
Good luck!
You don’t issue Taiwanese work permits, though, so your opinion is irrelevant. What’s an A.A.?
You still might run into problems in the future because an online B.A. is not acceptable to the Taiwanese govt. Unless you’re happy to stay in an underpaid, overworked position.
Okay…so what you’re basically saying is that everyone on this forum with an A.A. degee and T.E.F.L. certification worknig in Taiwan are stuck in miserable jobs?
Thank you for your concern over my online B.A., but it will be fine. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but there are quite a few respectable universites in the U.S. that offer busy profesionals the choice of completing their degree online.
I sincerely thank everyone for your advice, but I’m somewhat pissed. I asked if anyone could recommend any schools in Taiwan that they liked and I received no response. Everyone was very quick to put down joining Hess, but couldn’t give any reccomendations.
Quite interesting…
When I searched the forums I found quite a few positive things said about Hess.
Anyway thanks. I think I’m done with Forumosa.
[quote]Thank you for your concern over my online B.A., but it will be fine. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but there are quite a few respectable universites in the U.S. that offer busy profesionals the choice of completing their degree online.
[/quote]
Dude, its not us you need to convince. We won 't be the ones issuing your documents. Most of us are very aware that respectable US universities offer online degrees. The Taiwanese government, however, doesn’t accept them, and THAT is the bottom line, as far as work permits here are concerned. Sorry to burst your bubble. Lighten up.
I don’t think anyone was having a go. The point is getting an ARC is quite a complicated process, and many of the regulations are a little open to interpretation. The better schools tend to be the smaller independents and these could well find it more difficult to process an associate degree than a big chain like HESS, in which case you’re probably better off starting with HESS then looking elsewhere once you’re here. Once you have an ARC then the process of transferring it to another school isn’t that complicated.
If you want an example of a good school, I had no major complaints about Shane English Schools when I worked there. They’re a smallish chain. However, I’m pretty sure they won’t employ anyone without a bachelor’s, but contact them and ask the question. HESS clearly can and will take employees with less than a bachelor’s, other schools either can’t or won’t.
EDIT: Once you are here and applying to do your online BA, contact the Ministry of Education and make sure it is on their list of acceptable degrees. Otherwise you may find you have a certificate that isn’t recognised in Taiwan.
Great advice!!! Thank you very much. I contacted Shane and I’ll need a B.A. ugh. It’s good to know that once I have my ARC, I can transfer it to another school.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! 
[quote=“tomthorne”]I don’t think anyone was having a go. The point is getting an ARC is quite a complicated process, and many of the regulations are a little open to interpretation. The better schools tend to be the smaller independents and these could well find it more difficult to process an associate degree than a big chain like HESS, in which case you’re probably better off starting with HESS then looking elsewhere once you’re here. Once you have an ARC then the process of transferring it to another school isn’t that complicated.
If you want an example of a good school, I had no major complaints about Shane English Schools when I worked there. They’re a smallish chain. However, I’m pretty sure they won’t employ anyone without a bachelor’s, but contact them and ask the question. HESS clearly can and will take employees with less than a bachelor’s, other schools either can’t or won’t.
EDIT: Once you are here and applying to do your online BA, contact the Ministry of Education and make sure it is on their list of acceptable degrees. Otherwise you may find you have a certificate that isn’t recognised in Taiwan.[/quote]
Well, you can transfer it if and only if your new school is successful in applying for a work permit for you. I’m reasonably sure your qualifications are enough by law, but then again, hah hah! Law!
The word on the street re. online degrees is that some online degrees say “online degree” on the final bit of paper thing, and others don’t. The latter is fine, the former, not so much. Find out!
[quote=“ord2tpe2011”]
I’m going to apply for Contract A with Hess. I’m trying to get an idea of the working hours since I will be pursuing my B.A. online. I understand that mornings are off (except Wed. & Sat.), but do you have set hours (i.e. 12 p.m.-9 p.m.)? [/quote]
To answer your question, the hours with Contract A (usually weekday evenings 5-9 and Saturdays) will be insufficient for anything resembling a life unless you have another income stream.