If you’ve already done your undergrad degree why not do a Master’s degree instead? It’s a shorter time commitment and at least you’ll have a goal to work towards. You can try applying for a scholarship as well, and even if you don’t get a full scholarship for the whole duration of the programme, you might still be able to get a partial scholarship to cover a decent amount of your tuition fees.
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Those exams are only for Taiwanese citizens. Foreigner don’t need to, just an interview!
@Taiwan_Luthiers isn’t a foreigner.
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Oh, my bad. I didn’t know that. I read he attended UT-Austin so I assumed he was a foreigner.
Do you still have a US passport?
Never had one to begin with.
I’m going to be straight up with you. Unfortunately, being a luthier isn’t a sustainable business in Taiwan it seems.
You are good with your hands. You are a craftsman and tradesman. An artisan. You just need to find something else.
Try looking outside of Taiwan. You speak English, so you can look at Europe. I’ve told you before, lots of Japanese go to Italy to apprentice as artisans. Some of them become masters. Some of the best bespoke shoe makers in Italy and in the world are now Japanese. Italians pay thousands of dollars for Japanese artisans to make Italian dress shoes for them.
There’s a bunch of these things like furniture making or whatever else you can think of. I don’t think being a luthier is working in Taiwan.
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Nah. More school isn’t always the answer. He would work best as some sort of tradesman/artisan.
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Yup, not many Taiwanese would be willing to pay 60K+ for a hand made guitar.
I can only think that he could apprentice under someone else in Europe or North America. You won’t make much, but artisans are respected in Europe and there’s usually some guild they belong to. I know France have this kind of thing. They pay won’t be great but they usually provide you with things you to live until you become “good enough”
Might have to be willing to learn some European language.
Perhaps consider consulting a career counsellor or life coach?
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He isn’t good with people. Why would he do a job that requires strong interpersonal skills?
Oh my bad. You mean ask for help. I read it wrong.
Maybe he can try woodcarving here in Taiwan? I see Taiwanese spending butt-loads of money on carved wood. also, woodcarving wouldn’t be so different than woodcarving a guitar so the skills are there already.
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This.
We’ve finally got there. This is the answer.
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There’s already a lot of highly skilled wood carvers in Taiwan though. I’d think something in the trades would make sense: plumber, electrician, etc.
Or some kind of jewelry setting/making. I see lots of these jewelry shops, surely there’s a demand for people that can work with precious metals and set gems? Or carve out things in jade.
OLD wood carvers, they need to pass their trade on to someone else. He would definitely need to pay the newbie price but its something he likes.
There’s definitely money to be made there…
He might have the same probrem. How to find customers.
A former buxiban boss of mine sold his school and is now making a very good living making wooden stuff/carpentry/whatever.
Yeah, that’s the way forward.
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