Job situation for inexperienced teachers?

Hi, Im coming to Taiwan very soon and i wonder if anyone could give me a little advice on a couple of things that are worrying me.

Firstly, despite the fact that i have the usual prerequisites…native english speaker, degree etc, i have little or no actual experience. Now, from what i have read, english teaching work in Taiwan is plentiful, and new arrivals shouldnt have any problem quickly sorting out some work…will this also be true for little old inexperienced me? or will i have problems

Secondly, i read in one of the threads that the compusory medical exam has now been made optional. Can anyone confirm this?.. have schools (in general) scrapped this annoying requirement?

id appreciate any help you people could give me. im coming anyway:), but id be nice to realistically know what to expect.

thanks in advance

You may want to consider changing your nick. A lot of foreigners here would appreciate more positve connotations associated with the word. Sorry can’t help you with the other stuff.

foreignahole wrote: [quote]Firstly, despite the fact that I have the usual prerequisites…native English speaker, degree etc, I have little or no actual experience. Now, from what I have read, English teaching work in Taiwan is plentiful, and new arrivals shouldnt have any problem quickly sorting out some work…will this also be true for little old inexperienced me? or will I have problems[/quote]
It’s not that easy, but you’ll be able to find something. In general, the more remote the place, and the younger the kids, the easier it is to find work. For an inexperienced teacher it might take about 3 weeks to find a school, and perhaps another 3-4 weeks to build up hours to a reasonable level.
Or you could sign up straight away with a rip off agent.

The health exam is still required. At least it’s easier these days - no stool or urine sample required.

Where are you planning on heading?

Note: Bob is right. We have so many foreignaholes here already, you really should change your name. It ain’t funny.

Some times of the year are better than others for job searching; now is not such a great time. It also seems there are fewer jobs available than there used to be, or maybe just more potential teachers. However, a white person who is young or youngish and reasonably attractive will have no trouble at all finding a job. The last time I stayed at a hostel (February this year), the newbies all found jobs in about a week.
For jobs teaching at cram schools, teachers still need a health check. Don’t worry about it - they don’t actually examine very much. They’ll weigh you and get your height, check if you are color blind, take blood and urine and give you a chest x-ray. The doctor will ask you if you are sick - say no. They’re checking for HIV, syphilis and drugs, basically. Don’t take any cold medication containing codeine before the test, or you’ll test positive for opiates. If you’re HIV positive, you’ll be deported, so go teach in Korea or Japan instead.

Yeah, bad name. If you want a new name (highly recommended), just PM me and I can change it for you. :sunglasses:

Maoman
Forumosa Admin

But what’s so bad about naming oneself after a Hawaiian fish?