kind of devalues it all, doesn’t it?
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There’s so many PhDs. I know people with more than 1 PhD in totally different subjects
is this just a stand-alone statement or would you like to add anything?
His point seems pretty obvious.
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Like a broken pencil…
Not sure about this. I got my job while overseas (but had some guanxi in the department that hired me). I also have a friend at a different institution who also applied from overseas. However, my impression is that the universities won’t reimburse travel costs to Taiwan for short-listed candidates, but Academia Sinica does (for tenure-track or tenured positions).
“Generally” does not mean always. As you said yourself, you had some guanxi with the department that was hiring. Social connections and vouching for candidates goes a long way here. If they don’t know you from Adam though, then it’s doubtful you can get hired from overseas unless you’re an exceptional candidate.
And correct, universities don’t pay travel costs or housing (at least mine doesn’t).
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Don’t feel bad about Academica Sinatica… One thing you will realize that for locals, places like this, and any other state owned/operated/named companies or organizations, is that test score is EVERYTHING!! It means you have a snowball chance in hell of getting into any of those organizations unless you have taken standardized exams and scored well. Even that does not guarantee entry because after you scored well on those exams THEN they will look at your qualifications and see if you have what it takes to get in. There are also other ridiculous tests like carry a 30kg bag across a gym and make x number of laps within a set amount of time.
They do this because for every position from those organizations there are no less than 300 applicants. I took a test for NIA openings and it was 3 openings, and they booked an entire school for the hiring process! That meant no less than 2000 people showed up to take the test. And often the location for the test is really hard to get to, like Linkou where there’s no good way to get there except have a scooter.
This goes for organizations like TSMC, Taipower, CPC, TRTC etc… Though they are not necessarily state owned but since they treat people (once hired) like human beings, any job there is extremely coveted. Everyone else who can’t pass the ridiculous exams will have to suck it up and work 80 hours a week for 22,000NTD a month.
I know for sure I’d be killing it at places like Academica Sinatica but since my Chinese writing level is at second grade… not a chance.
You’d have a better chance if you had a PhD from a prestigious university like Harvard or MIT, or even UCLA. Maybe if your PhD was from a top 5 university in Taiwan (like NTU) then you may have a chance, but anything else is worth less than a PhD from University of Phoenix.
It’s called “Academia Sinica.”
And no, they do not hire researchers based on test scores.
Cheers,
Guy
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I was absolutely hired from overseas. No connection at the university and was an out the blue attempt when I sent my CV. Interviewed in Taiwan and got the job.
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Academia Sciatica. It’s a pain in the ass.
Actually, it was not a bad place to work. And I did not even have to carry any suitcases in a test.
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That speaks highly of you. You must be an exceptional candidate then. As I said before I’m not saying that never happens. I’m just saying it’s rare, especially nowadays.
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