WTF IS plan B!?
I am male, 32 native of one of our fair [depressed] countries. I have been teaching now for a few years (5) in SE Asia (Taiwan, Korea, China). Apart from about 300kNTD, BA(hons), that’s all I’ve got so far.
I think an MA is out (too expensive, not enough advantage). Other ideas?
I hear there are plenty of women with husbands in China who might be prepared to pay a young(ish) man’s rent.
OK, so the situation is that you have too little money to go back, and want to move a step up the career ladder?
My wife always wants to open a restaurant when she thinks we are in financial trouble.
Well, she also wants to open one when we are not in trouble.
So its maybe not a bad idea. I am not at liberty to share any other of her business ideas, like that shoe-wash she once talked about. Ups…
[quote=“finley”]I hear there are plenty of women with husbands in China who might be prepared to pay a young(ish) man’s rent.[\quote]
i like this one
i have too little money to do anything significantly expensive, for sure. step up the career ladder could be what i need.
What about 30 years old, no money in the bank, and the rent is due tomorrow, and without the meager paycheck from the job in which you had to work over 60 hours a week you would be on the street, and that your paycheck barely gives you a meager lifestyle (like having to be very frugal with EVERYthing) with no leftover.
That describes just about 80% of the Taiwanese people.
In light of that, you’re actually doing fairly well. Perhaps you can use that money to start a business or something if you have some skill… that’s what I did…
Yeah the other 20% are rolling in money though. The OP should save some more money before he could think of striking out, starting a business can be a good way of losing money too.
The OP is still young enough to switch career and do a masters in something employable, that might be a better idea for him. Need to do your own research fella.
[quote=“headhonchoII”]Yeah the other 20% are rolling in money though. The OP should save some more money before he could think of striking out, starting a business can be a good way of losing money too.
The OP is still young enough to switch career and do a masters in something employable, that might be a better idea for him. Need to do your own research fella.[/quote]
Get a Masters, and still get the same shitty 25,000NT a month salary as those without a Masters. What’s the point?
Better to get 25,000 a month doing what you love than 25,000 working as a slave.
Well do a masters in something useful or get a trade and don’t necessarily stay in Taiwan because Taiwan does not really value labor. It will also be hard to work in public service positions. The masters or certification in a specific subject is a stepping stone on to something else.
Easy to say when you got citizenship in a country other than Taiwan…
Hard to find musicians in Taiwan who values a skilled Luthier, as far as they are concerned it’s all about cost, or who can work for the lowest cost, even if their work is shit.
I think you need to brand yourself somehow or else try to market yourself overseas. I respect craftspeople, you can make a good living but you must stand out in some way.
The OP is a foreigner so he can work elsewhere where be could earn more.
[quote=“headhonchoII”]I think you need to brand yourself somehow or else try to market yourself overseas. I respect craftspeople, you can make a good living but you must stand out in some way.
The OP is a foreigner so he can work elsewhere where be could earn more.[/quote]
Marketing is what I really suck at…
Get help then because you don’t want to undervalue yourself. There are always people saying China this and China that. Don’t go down that route. Make yourself unique somehow.
I have been trying to get help, but where do I look?
Besides as far as guitar making goes, I still got lots to learn… and no one from the US is going to mail a guitar to me just for a setup.
I guess it’s like those Taiwanese temple craftsman, great skills but no marketing ability, which is why they’ll die off because no one could care less if someone can carve a lifelike dragon out of a plank of wood.
Who knows having taken the time and money and energy to acquire great skills but still living like a bum because the society has no respect for skilled craft?
It’s the world as we know it. Adapt or die. Uniqueness is something that will sell worldwide, find a niche and be the best. Otherwise broaden your skill base. Or do it part time.
Not really. Sensible countries sponsor apprenticeship programs for highly skilled traditional artisans, for example, and often guarantee monthly salaries as they recognize that the free market can’t function well enough for some fields. Japan does this with its traditional temple craftsmen. They wouldn’t survive otherwise and that would be a great loss for everyone.
Many people hope for something like this in taiwan but it has little chance. It’s a shame as such a thing would increase people’s respect for skilled work, among other positive outcomes.
Not really. Sensible countries sponsor apprenticeship programs for highly skilled traditional artisans, for example, and often guarantee monthly salaries as they recognize that the free market can’t function well enough for some fields. Japan does this with its traditional temple craftsmen. They wouldn’t survive otherwise and that would be a great loss for everyone.
Many people hope for something like this in taiwan but it has little chance. It’s a shame as such a thing would increase people’s respect for skilled work, among other positive outcomes.[/quote]
Goes to show that a truely free market isn’t always the best solution, and that some government intervention is necessary in order to preserve culture… but the problem is Taiwan seem to have lost any semblance of culture, and I think China has already erased their culture and replaced it with a pursuit of money.
Fact is Luthiery takes a LOT of skill to do and the market can’t or won’t support that skill, because when there are no more luthiers then handcrafted instruments may be a thing of the past… instead all that will remain is mass produced instruments that have no soul.
I hear you. I come from Vancouver and one good thing the city does is subsidize rent on Granville Island, a hugely popular tourist attraction, for skilled artisans. If you are lucky enough to get a studio you pay almost nothing in rent which in essence allows a lot of really cool stuff to be made. This increases the tourist appeal of the island and of course provides more of a market for the artisans products. Taiwan has a few art villages. Not sure how subsidized they are and I’ve heard that the artisans don’t quite get that their role is to increase the appeal of the area they are in. 
That’s all nice and dandy but absolutely no use to you in Taiwan. So what are YOU going to do if you insist to remain in Taiwan? By trying to pursue this in Taiwan you are working against the tide.
There is a traditional yangqin maker in Taichung. He suffers from Chinese competition too but has adapted somewhat and seemingly doing better now.
Troubador, what kind of career would you ideally like to have? When you speak of climbing the career ladder, what career did you have in mind? I’m wondering what your life-goals are, other than just money.