I am considering moving back to Taiwan in a year or 2 for the long term. I’ve taught in Taiwan at GVO and some smaller cram schools for almost 4 years. I really enjoyed life in Taiwan, even though I am making more $ back in the states the cost of everything is so ridiculous I actually had more savings left over every month in Taiwan, much less free time, etc. Taiwan was great except the dead-end jobs I had at those cram schools.
My question is would it be worth it to get a M.TESOL in terms of working and getting a better job? If anyone has one what kind of jobs are available to you that were not with just a BA?
The jobs here are as dead end as they get it seems to me. Even being over qualified most jobs are 12-14 hours a week at best. You are forced to work two or three jobs, running around around all over the city just to make peanuts. That is the reality here at the moment.
A master’s degree doesn’t get you full-time work in a university here, and part-time university teaching pays under 600 NT per hour. Buxiban work pays more.
I know about the situation with Universities. What I’m trying to find out is how would having a higher degree change the job market for an individual? I’m sure “Ah-gong’s english fun time” would not be where I’d looking for a job.
I’m trying to make a plan going forward. I don’t want to come back and get the same job I left. Right now I’m in the states and the lifestyle is not very satisfying. My job is much better but everything else sucks.
I think it can get you full-time work, but I believe the chances are you’ll have a hard time finding a position without at least putting in a year or two doing part-time gigs OR you will have to enroll in a PhD program as a condition of getting the full-time job. With just an MA you are going to have trouble landing a university job out of the country, and even being in the country will mean most would probably want to start you off part-time to see how you go. I met someone who had to enroll in a PhD program if she wanted to keep working full-time at the university where she was teaching. I have also been asked three times by the head of the department if I am going to continue studying after graduating. It’s pretty clear, at least to me, that there’s a good chance I’ll be offered a much better position than the current part-time madness I am doing IF I continue studying and work towards getting a PhD. I’d recommend you look at becoming a certified teacher, because then you’ll find it much easier to get work and will probably be treated with a little more respect, plus you’ll probably earn the same or even more than what an MA holder would. If you wanted to stay long term in Taiwan and work at a university, I honestly think it would be in your best interest to get that MA in TESOL then get a PhD, otherwise you’ll probably be stuck working two or three part-time gigs at different universities or land a full-time job but run the risk of losing it if you stay too long and never “upgrade” yourself to a PhD. However, don’t think university jobs are any less dead end than cram school ones. An MA will definitely see you teaching English oral classes or English tourism classes to mostly uninterested students. Things are only going to get worse as universities are forced to scale back or downsize due to the population problem.
I would list income increasing factors in the following order:
open work rights - APRC/JFRV
examiner certification TOEFL/IELTS/BULATS etc
DELTA or equivalent
Masters
If you’re looking for income increasing professional development I would recommend taking a DELTA. It probably won’t give much of a return on investment for quite a while, though.
[quote=“tomthorne”]I would list income increasing factors in the following order:
open work rights - APRC/JFRV
examiner certification TOEFL/IELTS/BULATS etc
DELTA or equivalent
Masters
If you’re looking for income increasing professional development I would recommend taking a DELTA. It probably won’t give much of a return on investment for quite a while, though.[/quote]
Your list is missing post-graduate teaching licenses?
[quote=“KPSeventy”][quote=“tomthorne”]I would list income increasing factors in the following order:
open work rights - APRC/JFRV
examiner certification TOEFL/IELTS/BULATS etc
DELTA or equivalent
Masters
If you’re looking for income increasing professional development I would recommend taking a DELTA. It probably won’t give much of a return on investment for quite a while, though.[/quote]
Your list is missing post-graduate teaching licenses?[/quote]
Good point. My mistake. They’d come near the top if the OP had one with a couple of years teaching experience in the UK or USA and landed a job with one of the international schools. Otherwise I don’t think they really make a big improvement to earning potential. Jobs in the public school system don’t seem to pay all that much. Still, having one would be more useful that having an MA.
Raw earning potential in the public system is similar, or worse, than with a buxiban job, but its all about the value of the experience, the work environment, and the benefits!
Raw earning potential in the public system is similar, or worse, than with a buxiban job, but its all about the value of the experience, the work environment, and the benefits![/quote]
The third of those I’ll definitely agree with. As for the other two - I’ve never worked in the public sector so I can’t really comment. The posters on forumosa who do work in the public system don’t seem to be too positive about the value of the experience or the work environment. Is it really good?
I actually stumbled upon an MA thesis someone in Taiwan wrote on the experiences of several teachers in the public school system in Taiwan. I wish I could find it again because it gave some insight into what it was like. Long story made short, overall they seemed OK but some had complaints about having no control over the kids and some local Taiwanese teachers questioning their English ability due to a heavy South African accent. One teacher did a runner and she did so because she believed she was a professional and shouldn’t be lectured on what to do and what not to do in terms of teaching. If anyone has read it or has this file sitting on your hard drive, please share. It was a good read. On a side note, I believe the public school system HAS to be better than 90% of cram schools out there, but having never taught in one I don’t know. Of course there are some good cram schools, but deep down I believe they would pale in comparison to a public school job.
[quote=“jesse.falkner”]I am considering moving back to Taiwan in a year or 2 for the long term. I’ve taught in Taiwan at GVO and some smaller cram schools for almost 4 years. I really enjoyed life in Taiwan, even though I am making more $ back in the states the cost of everything is so ridiculous I actually had more savings left over every month in Taiwan, much less free time, etc. Taiwan was great except the dead-end jobs I had at those cram schools.
My question is would it be worth it to get a M.TESOL in terms of working and getting a better job? If anyone has one what kind of jobs are available to you that were not with just a BA?[/quote]
Yes. I got my MS in TESOL before I came over in 1994. I did it in 1.5 years. I got every single job I applied for an really wanted. Having the Masters will bump you up the line in nearly every case. What you are able to do in the classroom though will determine whether or not they’ll want to keep you on.
Uni gigs and high schools suck because there are too many mixed level students in one class, but the expectations are SO low that it all evens out. PT for 800NT/hr. Hell yeah.
If you’re going to come with full qualifications and make a career of teaching, I’d strongly suggest trying to get onto Hong Kong’s NET scheme rather than work in Taiwan. Housing is more expensive, but the pay increase is more than worth it. The only reasons I can think of for wanting to choose TW over HK are to improve your Mandarin or if there’s someone in Taiwan you want to live near. Teaching license + degree in education/TESOL will net you a much bigger increase than it can in Taiwan.
edb.gov.hk/index.aspx?nodeID=1300&langno=1
Minimum monthly base salary for a HK NET: HK$21,175. On top of that, all foreign based NETs get an additional HK$16,859 for a total of HK$38,034 minimum. (That’s around US$4,900 or NT$145,000). And that’s not talking about gratuity and retention bonuses, plus an annual raise. Rent will be around HK$10,000, but still, you’ll come out way ahead.
I know quite a few people who earn a lot more than that a month teaching in Taiwan.[/quote]
I’m sure there are. But that’s not exactly typical. Most teaching jobs in Taiwan range from 55k-80k/month.
What I quoted above is the bottom pay for a NET. With experience, that goes up. This is working for a public school 8am-5pm on salary with paid holidays (including summer vacation). Of course, there are plenty of ways to make more than that here as well, like running your own school, working two jobs, or getting a position at a private school. Some of the “famous” tutors here are millionaires.
But I wasn’t talking about something like that, I was suggesting a relatively safe way to do better than the typical or even above average English teaching job in Taiwan, if you’ve got the right qualifications.
Anyway, though, the OP has a good reason to choose Taiwan. Taiwan is a nice place to live. Good luck to you on that.
I agree that it’s highly unlikely most people would be pulling in 145k a month teaching in Taiwan. I won’t get into this but the devil is in the details.
Is an MA worth it in Taiwan? As I said above, probably not, unless you were happy with just holding down the trenches teaching in the classroom (however, how does this really differ from other teaching jobs? ) with the possibility of one day being told to get a PhD or get out.
) with the possibility of one day being told to get a PhD or get out.