Well I never did get a straight answer, but I am pretty confident my Master’s Degree will be enough if the school hires me.
I was offered a job in Douliu City, for free apartment with 55,000 a month. After years in Shanghai, I really would like a smaller city. I also speak decent Mandarin. Is Douliu a cool place? Can anyone tell me if it would be a good place to live and if 55,000 plus free accomodation, though I do not know if it is a dump or not, is that a good salary?
THANKS!
[quote=“Acujer”]Well I never did get a straight answer, but I am pretty confident my Master’s Degree will be enough if the school hires me.
I was offered a job in Douliu City, for free apartment with 55,000 a month. After years in Shanghai, I really would like a smaller city. I also speak decent Mandarin. Is Douliu a cool place? Can anyone tell me if it would be a good place to live and if 55,000 plus free accomodation, though I do not know if it is a dump or not, is that a good salary? THANKS![/quote]
Twice as much as most locals get paid who have to rent their own places. Mandarin yes useful but be prepared Douliou is in the South full of Taiwanese speakers. You won’t find meany foreigners there. 55K for how many hours? Don’t forget you will need to pay taxes as well.
AH yes, Taxes. That is great advice. SO you mean they may not even know how to speak Mandarin there? I have never been to Taiwan, only in Mainland for a few years. Is Douliu nice, dumpy, dangerous, pleasant? What else? Is 55,000 good for an expat there?
Do schools in Taiwan screw you or is it more civilized than the Mainland?
School Name Cambridge English
School Type Buxiban
Location Yunlin , Taiwan
110 hours per month. 55,000 a month, free accommodation. Overtime hours: 600 per hour
Damn… That works out to be 500NT per hour and then if you factor in the grading of homework and having to turn up half an hour early plus the “possibility” of gaps between classes, it probably is anywhere from 400 - 450NT per hour. Their overtime rate is what most jobs offer as the starting rate. Acujer, do you really want to come to Taiwan? I understand that it is probably a bit more “civilized”, but you’ll most likely be taking a huge pay cut. I know there are many reasons people want to move to other countries, but as others have said on this board coming to Taiwan is a step sideways at best and probably even a step back when compared to other countries.
Hehe So that 450 per hour is bad? Remember, I don’t know the cost of livign there?
If Taiwan blows then why are you there?
But yeah, in China I can get get paid $1500 a month for 15 -40 minute classes a week , about 2 hours of work a day, mon-Fri, and a nice free apartment. Then do privates at night.
Like I said, I just always wanted to live in Taiwan. Maybe I’ll just go travel there in the summer.
Acujer, my post was meant to help you. I didn’t say Taiwan “blows”, I just said that it’s not what some people expect it to be. Why am I here? Because I am married and currently doing something that keeps me tied here, hence my reason for asking why you wanted to come here. I am leaving, or will most likely, when I am finished. I also mentioned that I know there is more to teaching than just money, so if you have always wanted to come here because you were curious, then that obviously falls into the “other” category.
Going by your figures, it sounds like you are getting paid around 45,000 NTD a month, and have free housing, meaning anywhere from 50,000 to 55,000. You work around 10 hours a week for the base pay of 45k and then work at night to earn extra money. Compare this to your offer of 55,000 a month working 27.5 hours a week with your current 10 hours. Do you see now why I said Taiwan is a step sideways at best? The cost of living here is similar to China, obviously a little more expensive for some items, but it is comparable, at least in my opinion. I think a trip here is a very good idea, as it would give you a much better picture than anyone could ever provide on a forum.
Anyone working at an educational institution in Taiwan will get by just fine with Mandarin.
Anyway, Douliu is not really what I would call southern Taiwan - more like the central Taiwan.
And even in the actual south, almost everyone understands Mandarin reasonably well - even those who prefer to speak Taiwanese 99% of the time.
You’ll find that Taiwanese people do appreciate it when a foreigner bothers to learn the National Language, and they will often compliment you on your Mandarin, even though you’ve only spoken a few simple sentences.
They like it even more if you can speak Taiwanese, but unless you feel a compelling need to indentify with Taiwanese culture at a much deeper level, it’s really not necessary to learn more than a few common words and expressions that Taiwanese people often mix with their Mandarin.
Always remember that monthly “salaries” advertised on the internet do not always materialise at the same level once you get here. I assume that the same is true in China, too.
Having said that, I’d be surprised if you failed to get 55k - it is pretty low.