I have never met an English teacher in Taiwan -in 5 years- who ever made anywhere near NT$200,000 per month. Never. And the people I was in contact with were not all a bunch of unmotivated slobs. The (close to) NT200,000 salaried teachers you know -how do they do it? Charge NT$3,000 per hour? Why would a Taiwanese pay that kind of money for an English lesson?
Making 200,000 NT$ a month in Taiwan and than doing a side job? Dream on boy …
I have never met an English teacher in Taiwan -in 5 years- who ever made anywhere near NT$200,000 per month. Never. And the people I was in contact with were not all a bunch of unmotivated slobs. The (close to) NT200,000 salaried teachers you know -how do they do it? Charge NT$3,000 per hour? Why would a Taiwanese pay that kind of money for an English lesson?[/quote]
To make that kind of money you need to be very good. End of story. Doing 1000NT/hour kindies won’t do it for you.
Try a FT jr high school job or a University gig; private classes of kids in a rented appartment three times a week, and a high paying kick ass editting/translation job. 200k is not so farfetched.
I believe people have said they make NTD200,000 a month. They’re a lot of pathological liars in Taiwan. I think most that say they make 100,000 (working regular hours) are full of shit too or it’s very short lived.
I get more than 100k a month but I have to work like a dog to get it. Not teaching, though. Just long, boring deskbound hours.
I have one friend teaching who commands (I think) NT$2,500/hour for teaching, but its very high-level stuff and its all word of mouth and personal connections built up over many years. He turns down more clients than he accepts and his schedule is full into 2008. They’re mostly high-ranking govermnet officials, but by no means all – you’d be surprised at how much some people are prepared to pay for guaranteed results.
Most people still in the teaching biz in my age group are on NT1200-NT$1800, lucky sods. I wish I could teach!
Sandman wrote: “people are prepared to pay for guaranteed results”
When so much of the learning process resides with the students in studying on their own time, doing homework, wanting to learn, and their previous schooling, how can a teacher “guarantee” results (even if the students are ‘high level’ government officials)?
I have absolutely no idea. D’you seriously think I’d be working as a hack if I knew the answer to that? 
That’s what he sells though. Very successfully, too.
I would venture to guess “government” is the key word here. Probably have to be a bo-nay-fide teacher with a track record then add a little bit of luck and guanxi. Human beings are too unpredictable but large bureaucracies can be a gold mine if you play it right. Still think 95% of teachers that say they’re making 100k a month (consistently) and not breaking a sweat are full of shit.
Most teachers in Taiwan ought to be making more than 100,000 a month. I don’t think that would be very hard. @ 800 nt/hr it is only 32hrs a week in the classroom. @ 2500 it is only 10.
So because either the people you associate with are pathological liars, or you suspect people you don’t know of being pathological liars, it must be true that anyone who claims to make NT$200,000 a month is a pathological liar?
Further, because you think that most people who say they make NT$100,000 a month are full of shit, it must be so?
Well, I can’t argue with that stellar display of rock-solid argumentation. I concede.
Here are a couple of examples for those of you are interested in how the magic NT$100,000 is accomplished.
Teacher A
-Works as a business English teacher or as an adult English teacher.
-Gets paid NT$850/hour plus NT$8,000 a month in travel reimbursements.
-Works 28 hours a week actually teaching, with an additional 12 hours in prep and travel.
Monthly gross income: NT$107,960*.
*I assumed 4.2 weeks in a month.
Teacher B
-Works in test preparation.
-Publishes a new book every three to six months.
-Gets paid NT$1000 per hour, plus 10% royalty on each book printing.
-Works 21 hours a week, plus 15 hours in travel and prep time.
Monthly Gross Income, teaching: NT$88,200*
Average Monthly Gross Income, writing: NT$19,933**
Total Monthly Gross Income: NT108,133
*I assumed 4.2 weeks in a month.
**Assumes four books in publication, selling at an average price of NT$299, and selling 2,000 copies per year. These books can be revised every year or two and reissued. The books can be assigned as class texts.
I have not included any “extras” here, such as holiday bonuses, fees for essay grading, course book royalties, and the like.
Either of these teachers can supplement income by taking on private students at NT$1000 or more per hour. There are dozens of specialties in this area, from basic ESL training to business communication skills to admissions consulting. Some people hire themselves out as free-lance editors.
Most people around the world have to work far more than 40 hours a week to earn an above-average income.
I did not write that most teachers in Taiwan are making more than NT$100,000 a month. I wrote that most of the teachers I know make more than that, and that many of them make closer to $200,000 a month. Granted, making that sort of an income takes more than 40 hours a week.
Most of the teachers I know are high energy and ambitious, and have been teaching for at least 3-5 years. Many of them have degrees in ESL or graduate degrees.
There is no easy road to making this happen. It requires hard work and street smarts. But plenty of people do it.
And for the more sensitive among you: I am not saying that people who don’t make NT$100,000 are lazy. Saying that you need energy and ambition to earn that much is not tantamount to saying that those who don’t make that sort of money lack energy and ambition.
[quote]So because either the people you associate with are pathological liars, or you suspect people you don’t know of being pathological liars, it must be true that anyone who claims to make NT$200,000 a month is a pathological liar?
Further, because you think that most people who say they make NT$100,000 a month are full of shit, it must be so? [/quote]
Sorry Tomas, I should clarify. I know many people that make 200+ a month but they’re not English Teachers. Its simple economics; there is “so called” English Teachers/Consultants falling out of trees here and there is no shortage of buxibans. Why would someone pay a high salary when they can get another clown tomorrow to do the same thing for half the price? So unless you have a real skill or your company sent you here there is no way in hell your making that kind of money. And here’s a tip, if someone is actually making that kind of money they’re probably not going to be running around telling everybody.
[quote=“Tomas”]
And for the more sensitive among you: I am not saying that people who don’t make NT$100,000 are lazy. Saying that you need energy and ambition to earn that much is not tantamount to saying that those who don’t make that sort of money lack energy and ambition.[/quote]
It’s not that there are people who are more sensitive but there is and has been arrogance in your posts when it comes to discussing how much money can be made in the ESL industry in Taiwan. Up until this post, I’ve never seen you discuss ways it could be done. Yet, even in this post, you’re still a bit defensive and judgmental.
You’re blessed. That’s obvious.
You would need lots of energy to do what you’re talking about. Most of it coming from the genki drinks at 7-11. And as for ambition, sure that helps with any career. But knowing how to ply those two is all together a different subject, especially when you’re doing it an a foriegn culture.
What would help is a realistic discussion of what someone could do to achieve financial success in the ESL industry in Taiwan. Let’s hope this comes soon.
Nama,
Basically, it’s as I’ve posted in another thread on f.com recently.
You first solve your legally-staying-in-Taiwan problem by a) marrying, b) getting a PARC or c) getting an ARC through an employer.
If it’s c), you pick the job with the least possible number of hours that will give you that ARC plus health insurance.
Then, it’s off to the races. Gradual networking yields more and ever-higher-paying privates. A bit of personal research into marketing is also good, because essentially you are selling yourself as a business or a professional service. If you’re pulling down 40K in your “visa job”, you only need $60K to make that magical $100K mark. Divide by four weeks (you can have the leftover days off 
) and that’s $15K per week “extra” to be made – 15 hours at $1000 per hour, so many hours at $750, etc. etc.
The other important point is that you are a business while you’re doing this (at least psychologically). You are providing a service, not trying to become everyone’s best friend. Therefore, you implement serious cancellation and pre-payment policies for your students. You get various qualifications because they are good for marketing if nothing else (you can get much more money with “Ph.D.” after your name even if it’s in basket weaving). You set up a Web site. Whatever it takes to stay under the radar while maximizing profit. And another important way of maximizing profit is to provide results – which means preparing classes and teaching responsibly. Naturally after a few years you will have some lines of instruction that are more common or more popular than others, and which are pretty much ready to go at any time, but you still take care to personalize them to some extent. Encourage group classes and don’t be afraid to raise your prices (keeping in mind the unit cost to the students). You teach extra classes in “related” areas such as interpreting (there are opportunities in the interpreting “buxibans” even for those who do not interpret or who can’t speak a word of Chinese! and the pay is high as these are cash cow operations), flight attendant training classes, etc. etc.
Professionalize. Diversify. Be selective. Deliver (at least perceived) quality and qualifications.
At least that’s a start, and that’s how I see it.
100% right.
[quote=“ironlady”]Nama,
Basically, it’s as I’ve posted in another thread on f.com recently.
You first solve your legally-staying-in-Taiwan problem by a) marrying, b) getting a PARC or c) getting an ARC through an employer.
If it’s c), you pick the job with the least possible number of hours that will give you that ARC plus health insurance.
Then, it’s off to the races. Gradual networking yields more and ever-higher-paying privates. A bit of personal research into marketing is also good, because essentially you are selling yourself as a business or a professional service. If you’re pulling down 40K in your “visa job”, you only need $60K to make that magical $100K mark. Divide by four weeks (you can have the leftover days off ) and that’s $15K per week “extra” to be made – 15 hours at $1000 per hour, so many hours at $750, etc. etc.
The other important point is that you are a business while you’re doing this (at least psychologically). You are providing a service, not trying to become everyone’s best friend. Therefore, you implement serious cancellation and pre-payment policies for your students. You get various qualifications because they are good for marketing if nothing else (you can get much more money with “Ph.D.” after your name even if it’s in basket weaving). You set up a Web site. Whatever it takes to stay under the radar while maximizing profit. And another important way of maximizing profit is to provide results – which means preparing classes and teaching responsibly. Naturally after a few years you will have some lines of instruction that are more common or more popular than others, and which are pretty much ready to go at any time, but you still take care to personalize them to some extent. Encourage group classes and don’t be afraid to raise your prices (keeping in mind the unit cost to the students). You teach extra classes in “related” areas such as interpreting (there are opportunities in the interpreting “buxibans” even for those who do not interpret or who can’t speak a word of Chinese! and the pay is high as these are cash cow operations), flight attendant training classes, etc. etc.
Professionalize. Diversify. Be selective. Deliver (at least perceived) quality and qualifications.
At least that’s a start, and that’s how I see it.[/quote]
I guess things like these examples are also possible in Europe. But most of the EFL teachers in Europe don’t do too well; I can’t help noticing that the original post’s average income for EFL teachers in Britain is about what a lot of my colleagues, even highly qualified ones, made when they first got to Taiwan. If I had to choose between a shitty, low-paying job in Taiwan, of a similar job in Italy or Paris, I’d take Europe for the quality of life.
It really depends upon where on where you are. I’ve lived in Tainan for over 6 years and I’ve never known anyone - anyone - who’s made more than 700NT an hour within the next three counties. Maybe within the city limits of Taipei City, you can make that much money. But nobody outside of the big city, no Taiwanese can make that much money to throw away on English instruction. Plus, I mean, it’s silly - learning a foreign language doesn’t equal the amount of money you spend on it. Learning Chinese is much more up to how many hours you and me spend studying on it, yes? - than how many hours we study with our teachers. Same with English. It’s more up to the student than to the teacher.
[quote=“Namahottie”][quote=“Tomas”]
And for the more sensitive among you: I am not saying that people who don’t make NT$100,000 are lazy. Saying that you need energy and ambition to earn that much is not tantamount to saying that those who don’t make that sort of money lack energy and ambition.[/quote]
It’s not that there are people who are more sensitive but there is and has been arrogance in your posts when it comes to discussing how much money can be made in the ESL industry in Taiwan. Up until this post, I’ve never seen you discuss ways it could be done. Yet, even in this post, you’re still a bit defensive and judgmental.
[/quote]
This part of my post was meant to comfort people who I had inadvertently offended, and now I’m accused of being defensive and judgmental.
I have posted several times on how a good income can be earned teaching English. My sole intention has been to help others figure out how to better themselves in the ESL industry. My motivation for doing so? Call it a karmic debt, the fact that I like to help good people, whatever. Unfortunately, you have decided that my motivation is my arrogance, and have now called me arrogant in a public forum.
The fact that you have branded my posts here as self-aggrandizing rather than recognizing them for their true intention–to get people stirred up a bit about improving themselves, means that I have failed in my intention to help out.
Thank you for bringing my failure to my attention. I will no longer try to be of help, because I obviously can’t do it in a way that isn’t offensive. I also appreciate you reminding me of the fact that no good deed goes unpunished.
People who make 100k teaching in Taiwan cannot BE lazy. Everyone has a different set of priorities though. Some can make 50K, pay their rent, save a bit and then go play. Nothing wrong with that. Some work like dogs and build up solid reputations and relationships ala what ironlady said. Nothing wrong with that either.
Hell, the government was paying up to 90k for teachers a few years back. If you wanted to go live in the sticks that is.
To make truly big money in Taiwan you need a near perfect storm. It’s snot impossible. However, not everyone has the “education” or is in the “right” location to do this.
I find nothing wrong with Tomas’s posts.