Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and have enjoyed reading the wealth of information available. I’ve been living abroad in Asia for the past 12 years and have been working in the international school system. I am a qualified teacher from the United States and have both a Masters and Ph.D. I am considering relocating to Taiwan and have some questions about the different type of jobs available in Taiwan and their conditions. I would appreciate any information you might be able to share based on your experiences.
Public and Private Schools
Most public and private school jobs I see have standard wages that I assume are regulated across the country. From a teacher’s perspective what are the main differences in our daily work in these schools? For the public schools is it essentially an ESL role where you are teaching large groups of students with varying levels? Would there be homeroom teaching opportunities in private schools where you could have your own class of children and teach all subject areas? Also, what is vacation time like in these schools? I’ve read that vacation time in very little (10 days), but I have also read that some schools give one month breaks in the Summer in addition to two weeks during Chinese New Year. Is this not standard?
International Schools
Coming from the international school system I have a clear understanding of what school life is like for teachers. I am just wondering what are the typical benefits of let’s say a mid tier international school in Taiwan?
University Teaching
I’ve read that the typical teaching load in universities in Taiwan is approximately 16 hours per week. What is the common pay range for this type of work? Do universities only offer English positions, or would I be able to teach other subject areas as well? My Ph.D is in Educational Leadership and I have spent years teaching professional development sessions, seminars etc…It would be nice to have some avenue to continue that work.
The Ministry of Education sets tertiary level pay rates, but there is some leeway. A reasonable expectation would be 65k a month for English teaching.
About 20 years ago birth rates in Taiwan fell off a cliff, which means it’s very difficult to get tenured positions teaching content. If your Mandarin Chinese is exceptional and you have a strong publication history then maybe. I dunno, maybe just apply to some unis and see what happens. English teaching feels most likely to me.
If you have a PhD you would be considered eligible for assistant professor positions or higher depending on your publications and past experience. Taiwan’s MOE (Ministry of Education) sets assistant and associate professor classroom teaching hours at 9 per week. I am unsure what kind of “university” would ask its faculty to teach 16 classroom hours per week–perhaps this is some sort of teaching-only contract arrangement (i.e. not an ongoing full-time position)? Any university requiring such hours from its faculty would clearly be punting on any research output. Buyer beware.
English teaching grunt, Guy. I assume they have them at your center of academic excellence? They teach English language not content. The students tend to really like them. Surely you’ve seen them around?
Yes I have, though our excellent “centre of academic excellence” decided to stop offering such teachers any full-time positions! There is absolutely a turn to and reliance on so-called “part-time” workers (who are working very hard indeed) but who are hired solely on a course-by-course basis, paid by the hour. Hence my note: buyer beware.
At my “center of academic excellence,” I have met some Japanese folks teaching for this wage, as well as some French and Spanish and Thai and Vietnamese folks. I currently do not know of any teachers from English speaking countries willing to take this pay, except those who are moonlighting from their regular gig to teach courses like Latin.
The (university) pay structure is a huge plus if you have a Ph.D., assuming you can manage to a) get a full-time job and b) stick to the minimum number of hours. Taking on extra hours doesn’t work out financially as well as doing other things on the side.
Schools at all levels (except the top ones, and some departments even in them) fear Taiwan’s aging demographic structure / shrinking population of children and young people. Many have closed or will close.
Universities come in private vs. public varieties. The privates are susceptible to two main types of degeneration: pure credentialism, in which they end up just going through the motions of education; or buxibanism, in which they focus on whatever subjects seem most marketable. They are run less by faculty than by bosses (“presidents”), who always keep one eye on the MOE. You get a month off for CNY as well as July through mid-September (minus meetings and recruitment / welcome activities).
As someone else on this forum pointed out, “international” grade schools come in several tiers: TAS / TES level (very good), Morrison level (trying), and glorified buxiban level (most of them). The first level pays quite well, but you have to be credentialed back in the home country. The lowest level pays about as well as universities do, but they tend to work you a lot harder–required summer “camps,” weekend activities, etc. You might only get a month off for summers.
Thank you for sharing. I’ve worked in Japan for many years where there is also an ageing population, but I have never found it to stifle opportunities in any impactful way. The reality is that all schools struggle to find high quality and qualified applicants. It may take a bit more legwork, but opportunities are there to be found. Some public schools close down here in Tokyo from time to time, but the properties are snapped up immediately and private schools are built in their place.
