I am a 23 year old American college graduate working as a manager at a New York catering company (totally not a mafia job!). I will be moving to Taiwan Fall of 2012 to pursue my master’s and become more proficient in Chinese. Currently, I’m looking at universities in Taipei (with the exception of Tsinghua)
Most of my Taiwanese friends have suggested teaching English as a flexible and reliable way to make ends meet while I’m there (which I estimate to be between 2 and 3 years). I expect to be able to pay for at least two years of tuition out of current savings and I have paid off all my existing college debt.
My question is, what should I be doing over the course of the next year to best position myself to get a good teaching job in Taiwan? With the exception of teaching amateur boxing for the past couple years I have no experience as a teacher.
As far as visas go, if I have a student visa will I be able to get work?
Will getting a certification help? If so, which? I read that the MOE doesn’t recognize online certs, so I would have to get one in person. I looked at a CELTA course in Manhattan and tuition runs around $2500 usd, which is doable but I want to make sure it’s worth taking time away from work to get.
Because of the time constraints that my own courses will put on me, I imagine I’ll have to work nights at a buxiban. Are night teachers treated differently than those during working hours?
Finally, when should I start applying for jobs? I am visiting Taiwan next month to meet with officials from different schools and lay the groundwork for my applications, but I imagine that is too far ahead to be looking for jobs for next year. I may take another trip early next year to do any interviews I may need to go through, would that be too early as well? Because of work obligations, I am not planning on moving until shortly before school begins so my ability to apply in person will probably be limited.
If there’s anything else anyone can think of I really appreciate any comment.
You cannot (legally) work for the first year/two semesters if your visa/ARC is connected to your studies, though it’s commonly done. Nothing stopping you from studying on a work visa, however.
To be frank, you should not be paying anything to study in Taiwan, unless there is a specific school and department that you desperately want and they aren’t willing to give you anything. Besides the gov’t scholarships, there are many schools that will cover everything for foreign students - tuition, dorm, living subsidies. Some will even throw in free Chinese classes if you need it. You might still have to spend some of your own money unless you’re very frugal, but at the very least if you are paying tuition out of pocket you are making a big mistake.
[quote=“odysseyandoracle”]You cannot (legally) work for the first year/two semesters if your visa/ARC is connected to your studies, though it’s commonly done. Nothing stopping you from studying on a work visa, however.
To be frank, you should not be paying anything to study in Taiwan, unless there is a specific school and department that you desperately want and they aren’t willing to give you anything. Besides the gov’t scholarships, there are many schools that will cover everything for foreign students - tuition, dorm, living subsidies. Some will even throw in free Chinese classes if you need it. You might still have to spend some of your own money unless you’re very frugal, but at the very least if you are paying tuition out of pocket you are making a big mistake.[/quote]
Thanks for your response! I assume from the number of foreigners teaching English in Taiwan getting a work visa is not too difficult?
Do you have more information on financing for universities in TW? Is this something to ask on another board? Assuming I have $20,000 usd in savings when I go, should the university cover everything else I expect I could live comfortably for a little while.
Any advice on certifications to get before applying for work?
This is the government scholarship, which you can take anywhere you want. Beyond that, you’ll have to check individual school websites, or ask them yourself. Schools outside of Taipei City seem to offer more, presumably because they have a harder time attracting international students, especially Western ones.
Finding work in (New) Taipei City is not difficult, and my impression is that Hsinchu and Taichung also have many available jobs. Things seem different in the south however. But I am not very experienced in this regard.
If you have a BA you don’t need any certifications. It could help you negotiate for a slightly higher salary, I suppose. I doubt buxibans distinguish between different ESL certifications - seems like it’d just be another bullet point to show off for parents. The cheapest (online) certifications won’t be anything more than that - a bullet point. The more expensive/prestigious ones might offer more in terms of helping you learn to teach.
I am in Taipei now on holiday (and a little work). I’m going to be visiting universities next week to speak with admissions officers and counselors and I will definitely ask about financing the whole escapade. If I can get my studies bankrolled by the school I can cover my living expenses out of savings.
I’m definitely going to have to spend some time before my advanced degree program catching my Mandarin up to speed. It’s not very helpful in TW that my Shanghainese is almost as good as my Mandarin =P
Now for more delicious vientamese banh mi sammiches on shidalu
See my reply on [url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/one-year-to-prepare-global-kids/66566/1 thread which is asking basically the same study/work question as your post.
Since making that post I’ve got two job offers lined up and one appointment for an interview, all done online in New York. But a lot of my applications are simply ignored because I’m not in Taipei yet.
It was relatively easy with a lot of research and browsing Forumosa done before hand.
You’ll see a lot of good advice on Forumosa about what to look for and how to avoid the undesirable businesses.
Just don’t give up and don’t be disappointed if no one wants to talk to you until you are actually on the island.
For visa questions, see replies [url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/getting-an-arc-with-a-landing-visa/66773/1 and [url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/work-or-study-visa-which-to-get/66748/1
For expense-related questions, there are a bajillion in the Living In Taiwan forum.