Great forum. I’m a brand newbie and my brain is pretty much shot to hell after surfing around in different forums from all the conflicting information. I hope you don’t mind if I add yet another plea for assistance to mirror the other five million. Here’s my situation:
I’m a senior in college and I decided I’d like to teach overseas for one year before I go to grad school. I was attracted to Taiwan because it pays well and I could learn Mandarin. Originally, I thought I would get a job before I went over there–especially since I don’t have a lot of spare cash lying around for a plane ticket and a ho(s)tel stay of indeterminate length. But after reading that I could get stuck in a ghastly situation, I’m considering saving up and going over jobless. How long should it take me to be able to find a job? I’m considering leaving in mid-August. Should I worry? Because I am.
Another thing is that I’m interested in human rights work, specifically with Amnesty International. I see that they have an office in Kaohsiung that I might try to volunteer at, but then I’ve read that I should probably aim to teach in Taipei since it has public transport and… some other reasons that I can’t remember.
I’m very conflicted since I would like the security of knowing I have a job before I left but I don’t really want to work for HESS or another chain where I have to give up any personality I’d like to put into the work. (Teaching is such a human activity that it’s hard to imagine just reading from a prepared lesson plan the whole time–I’ll probably get slammed for overgeneralizing now )
So my posting is pretty holistic–I’m just asking for general pointers from you veterans out there.
Sandbar,
Are you a trained teacher? How much teaching experience do you have? The surest way to NOT get a job here is to turn up at a buxiban and start telling the school that you want to teach your way, not the school’s way, and that you won’t compromise your “personality.”
The manager will want to hear your ideas about teaching (to check that you’ve actually thought about it and to make sure you are not a wacko) but the sweetest words for a manager’s ears are “I’m very flexible and I’m happy to teach the way you want me to.”
Back to your question. Yes, you can turn up here and find work. However, it would be smart to arrange some job interviews through www.tealit.com before arriving.
I’ll give you some gold here. Never, NEVER, tell a school you’ll only be here for 1 year. I’ve been in Taiwan for 5 years now and the only job I missed was the one that I told I’d only be living in Taiwan for a year before going home. Naive? yes, stupid? yes.
If you don’t have any teaching experience, I would suggest you set up a job with one of the big chain schools before coming here. They do make at least some effort to train you.
If you have anything wrong with you at all, set up a job with a chain school before you get here. By ‘wrong’ I mean: if you are not white, if you are fat, if you are too old, if you are white but don’t fit the Taiwanese stereotype of what a white person should look like, if you are a male with long hair or a beard, if you have a strange accent, or if your native language is not in fact English. These kinds of people can get jobs here, but it will take longer to find one.
If you don’t have much money, set up a job with a big chain school before you get here. Looking for work takes time and money. Most schools will pick you up at the airport and give you free accomodation for a week or two, plus you’ll get your first pay a month or so after you arrive.
Keep in mind that for some reason it seems to be harder to find a job right now than it used to be. There used to be lots of ads every day in every newspaper; now there aren’t. Tealit.com has lots of ads, but I’ve heard complaints that more and more people are applying for each job.
Taipei seems to have more jobs and is the easiest to get around with minimal Mandarin since there tends to be more English speakers up here than down south. I always recommend sending your resume to schools advertising online either here or on tealit.com to line up interviews before you arrive so you will have less legwork to do when you come (plus most schools will be done with their hiring by mid-August so you get a headstart on the other newbies coming at the same time). If you don’t mind, though, I have a few suggestions based on what you have said so far in your post.
If you can, move your arrival date to before July 1. If you have to work or finish courses for your degree, then by all means, don’t come short on money or paperwork, but since you will be here for only one year you might as well take advantage of getting a lower tax rate than you would if you came after July 1. If you have been in Taiwan for less than 6 months/183 days by December 31, 2004, then you will have to pay 20% in taxes, provided you work legally. If you come before 7/1, however, you will only have to pay somewhere around 6% in tax on your income here. Note that this is from the day you arrive, not the day you work so even if it takes three months for your ARC and work permit to get processed, as long as you arrived before July 1st, you will get that 6% tax bracket as a teacher.
Why wait to come to Taiwan to learn Mandarin? You can start now. Every major university has international students and most schools have programs for American students to pair up with them and show them ropes of living in the US. If not, you can visit the Asian student groups, the language department, or the ESL department and they’ll be able to point you in the right direction. It’s a good opportunity for you to learn more about Taiwanese culture and language or at least Asian culture if there is not a Taiwanese student available. If it’s not too late, enroll in a Mandarin class. Even having the basics down will make your segue into living in Taiwan that much smoother.
Legally, (correct me if I am wrong, you all) you cannot do volunteer work here unless you have a work permit to do so. Ridiculous, yes, but rules are rules and I don’t think any organization is willing to break the law, despite how much they would appreciate your help. It’s a nice gesture, but not possible here.
Most of the info you can get while you’re still in the States. Stop by one of your local public schools and spend some time chatting with a few teachers who work in ESL education. Once arriving in Taiwan you will find that there is a great shortage of real teachers. Real teachers are at Taipei American school or the British school.
Thanks so much for your great advice, guys. To answer your questions (and ask more of my own):
I have no experience to speak of, except having conversational “tutoring” sessions with some foreigners to help them with their English. And I don’t think I’m god’s gift to English teaching or anything; I’m willing to learn the “correct” ways to teach. What I mean is that there will be times when I might want to diverge from the lesson plans and have some fun, and from what I’ve heard about organizations like HESS (nothing against them, specifically) is that you might be observed and very strictly controlled. So basically I want some guidance, and training perhaps (or should I try to get TESOL cert. beforehand?) but I also want some control to do what I’d like. I’m pretty reasonable, I like to think.
I’m okay then–nothing “wrong” with me–though it’s a bit sad to say the least that this is the state of affairs. Oh, well. Anyway, back to the subject: since I’m the perfect candidate (lol) would you not recommend that I go with a chain school before I go? I will probably have enough money to get by for a few weeks, though I’m not sure after that. yikes!
[quote=“ImaniOU”]If you can, move your arrival date to before July 1. [/quote] Thanks for the advice. The tax system perplexes me, but I’ll see what I can do. My original plan was to have an internship until mid-August (I graduate in May) and then go over, but maybe I should reconsider.
Yuck. That sucks, though it doesn’t surprise me.
[quote=“drum_session”]Stop by one of your local public schools and spend some time chatting with a few teachers who work in ESL education.[/quote] I’m not a “real” teacher, unfortunately. I was thinking about getting a certificate to teach, but from what I’ve read there’s no “return on investment” for those. I’m really busy this semester so I have no time to do it anyway.
Imaniou wrote [quote]If you have been in Taiwan for less than 6 months/183 days by December 31, 2004, then you will have to pay 20% in taxes, provided you work legally. If you come before 7/1, however, you will only have to pay somewhere around 6% in tax on your income here. Note that this is from the day you arrive, not the day you work so even if it takes three months for your ARC and work permit to get processed, as long as you arrived before July 1st, you will get that 6% tax bracket as a teacher. [/quote]
What Imaniou said is right but the 6% rate is just the starting rate. The more you earn, the more you drink… er. … I mean, the more tax you pay. I only work part-time and I’m paying about 10%. If I were working fulltime, I’d probably be paying about 13% tax. The July 1st cut off date is well worth considering but not quite as important as it first seems.
Sandbar,
When will you get your degree certificate; a month or two after your final exams? You’ll need it to apply for a work permit.
Good to know… It did seem kind of weird that you could arrive one day later and have to pay 14% more tax! When you say part time/full time, what do you mean? How much to you have to make to have the 13% tax?
Ugh… That sucks. It should arrive about 2 months after finals, which would be just after July 1. Does it take a long time to get the permit?
I came here in August, but knew I was going to spend two years in Taiwan(that was two and a half years ago and I just signed for another year), so missing the tax break my first year wasn’t extremely important, although since you only plan to spend one year, you might want to make the most of what you earn here. I was in the same boat as you are now, just graduated. I think your school can give you a certificate that proves you attended school there and that your degree is pending for your employers to see, just for situations like this…I am not completely sure, though, so you might want to check. You can apply for your ARC when your degree arrives. As for getting TESOL certification or completing the CELTA, it’s up to you. I had a specialization in TESOL as a part of my linguistics degree, and I still felt that the CELTA was still helpful to me. Schools here won’t care much, especially when they are negotiating your pay, but I think even with teaching children, it gives you some insight into English language learning. It’s up to you, though, on how motivated you feel. It’s very intensive so be prepared to work your tail off if you choose to do this course.
Some people can get $1000/hr. teaching privates, although I feel that only people who have lots of professional training and experience should be asking for that kind of money (even I don’t ask for that much). Just my personal opinion. If you are looking for full-time work, though, I’d suggest sussing out your regular job first and see how you can handle the workload before you start accepting private students because it does take a lot of energy to plan for both.
I talked to my dean today and they said they can give me a letter saying that I graduated. Will that work? And will I eventually need to show my actual diploma? If so, how’s the mail system in Taiwan?
I have a minor in Linguistics but I assume that won’t help much. (It was all theory and not any applied stuff.) I don’t really want to spend money on CELTA since I’m saving every penny right now.
So would you recommend going with a chain school or trying to find a better paying job on my own? Money is somewhat of a priority on this trip since I need to save up.
I’m not sure about this. I know my friend had a lot of trouble and had to go on a visa run to Hong Kong while waiting for his degree certificate to come through.
Is there really such a need for hurry? Couldn’t you get a job in your home country for a few months then come to Taiwan in the autumn or winter? Having a bit more money when you arrived would make your life easier and give you more choices.
I was just concerned about the 20% tax, which I would like to avoid. But if I went in late June, would there be job openings anyway? Do the jobs follow the semester schedule or are they just year-round?
I was just concerned about the 20% tax, which I would like to avoid. But if I went in late June, would there be job openings anyway? Do the jobs follow the semester schedule or are they just year-round?
Thanks[/quote]
I think that jobs are available all year round. If you went later in the year, you’d pay the 20% tax for each month left of this year. So if you went at the beginning of November, you’d pay 20% for two months. Then next year, you’d still pay 20% tax for a while but then later (the following year) you could claim a lot of that back as a rebate.
I do think that the more money you can bring to Taiwan, the softer your ‘landing’ will be and you will be better able to cope with unforseen circumstances. Of course if you had a job lined up with a reputable chain school, they would help you find accomodation and possibly even lend you some money, but things are still easier the more money you can bring.
Point taken, joesax. There seems to be less job turnover in the winter before Chinese New Year, but I guess from a different perspective, one could get part-time work, take Chinese classes for a little while and then pick up full-time work from the teachers who will have left after Chinese New Year from the school at which one is employed.
A good landing with money is always helpful. I take back what I said. For the goals you have (learning Chinese and working), I think coming later in the year would be better for you. You could always pick up a private student or two to help make ends meet. You should still start lining up interviews before you come. Even if you don’t take the jobs, you’ll get a better feel for the job market and the hiring process.
I just want to add that unless you have had your graduation ceremony and have your degree in hand, do not come to Taiwan. You will not be able to get an ARC.
I know because I came over before graduation with a letter from my dean stating that although I had completed my degree, the uni. could not release my degree prior to the ceremony due to university regulations. :raspberry: So, with that letter in hand plus my transcripts and the assurances of a chain school here in Taipei that this would be suffecient, I came over.
It was not okay. The school was not able to obtain an ARC without a copy of an actual degree.
These are the regulations in Taipei for a fact.
Thanks so much, Nunfay! That’s exactly what I needed to know. (Sorry that happened to you, though ) So I guess I’ll come mid-August as originally planned.
Just to make sure, I could still get the rebate if I only taught a year and then went back to the US, right?
Do any of you know each other “in real life”? Is there a spot in Taipei where English speakers come together to gossip and complain? It would be cool to meet you guys.
Just to make sure, I could still get the rebate if I only taught a year and then went back to the US, right?[/quote]
If you came in mid-August, you would pay 20% tax from then until the end of the year and you would not be able to claim that back. Next year, you’d pay 20% tax until the end of June (183 days), then start paying a lower rate; maybe around 10% depending on your earnings.
When the time came to file tax returns for 2005 (that’s in spring 2006), you’d have to do that or somebody here would have to do that for you. If you were getting somebody here to do it for you, you’d have to sign something to give the tax office to tell them it was OK for this other person to deal with your tax. Later, maybe around mid-2006, the tax office would give that person a check for the rebate amount. That person would have to put it in their own bank account then get the money to you by electronic bank transfer or some other way.
If money is really a problem, set up a job with one of the big chain schools before you get here. I say this because you have to keep in mind this: you arrive here with no place to stay, start looking for a job, one (or two, or three, or four) weeks later you get a job, but then you have to wait up to five weeks for your first pay! If you don’t have enough money for two months when you first get here, go with one of the chain schools. You might not have to wait two months for your first pay, but I wouldn’t count on it.
Thanks bababa. Can you recommend any specific chain schools? I’m not interested in Hess, but some of the other ones look promising. I know they can vary widely in quality from school to school (within one company), though. I guess I’ll just ask for the contact info for some of the teachers who work there and ask how they like it.
)
) So I guess I’ll come mid-August as originally planned.