Are salaries improving in Taiwan?
I’ve noticed some somewhat of an upward trend lately.
[quote=“j99l88e77”]Are salaries improving in Taiwan?
I’ve noticed some somewhat of an upward trend lately.[/quote]
No, they aren’t. They only seem to be going up. Korea is where it’s at. 
Not from what I’ve seen
I’d agree with Gcat, there certainly doesn’t seem to be any significant increase in pay as yet but we can still hope! Having said that, I’m happy with what I get for what I actually do!
Thanks for the responses. I like Taiwan and wish for the best there. I keep lookin’ and keep hopin’. Mainly 'cause it’s warm there.
Saw some ads that make it look like it’s getting better.
[quote=“j99l88e77”]Thanks for the responses. I like Taiwan and wish for the best there. I keep lookin’ and keep hopin’. Mainly 'cause it’s warm there.
Saw some ads that make it look like it’s getting better.[/quote]
Should be better there… Shh.
[/quote]
I’m not puttin’ down. Cheers to ya all. Fuck it all! Wahoooo!
You guyz should get paid a ton more.
I really hate to admit it, but salaries in Taiwan are not that great. I only really understood it after heading back to NZ with the salaries of 7 years ago in my head. The minimum wage in NZ had increased a lot and so too had all other salaries.
My new position is entry level and higher than the average teachers salary in Taiwan. Sure, it’s costing a bit to live, but I think that after one year I will be better off than I was in Taiwan.
If Taiwan really wants to attract good teachers, then they MUST increase the salaries and stop trying to pay the same, or less, than what was being paid ten years ago. Times move on, but it seems that salaries for teachers in Taiwan do not.
I would have been the first one to say that salaries in Taiwan were pretty good. That was when I was living in Taiwan.
Ok, so I am not earning as much NOW as what I WAS earning when I was working in Taiwan, but I do think that I have a better understanding of the basic salary expectations now that I am away from Taiwan. Maybe it’s time for Taiwan to come out of the bubble…
Have teachers done anything
to merit a pay raise? Generally
they leave after a year or two.
Why should pay go up for people
for haven’t done jack?
I say that teachers ought to do
a better job in order to justify
a pay raise.
I’ll pay a teacher more if she/he will
do a good job.
So far I’ve been unwilling to take
pay away in cases of poor performance.
Maybe I should do that.
Let’s just put it this way…
Why would any decent teacher come half way around the world to earn less than what they’d get at home?
If they’re coming for a cultural experience or language, ok, I’d buy it. That was me, until I met my wife, and then I stayed.
Why should a foreign teacher become a third world sweat shop worker?
Pay peanuts… get a monkey.
However, I do agree with Wipt too. I’ve been on his side of the desk and I know EXACTLY what he means.
AND he is right. too.
As a real teacher, with a B.Ed degree and 6 years of teaching experience in Canada in an elementary school with many ESL students, this place just doesn’t pay nearly as much for it to be feasible. Yes there are lots of opportunities, but factor in that Canada has the best teacher’s pension in the world and the quality of life plus the teaching hours (In Canada, the elementary school hours for a teacher is 8 am - 4 pm and teaching is from 8:30am - 3:30pm) and the 3 month a year paid holidays, one would be a fool to stay here.
Of course, this is just my opinion. I know a lot of South African teachers who are getting paid the same as me here but compared to home, they have it so much better here. I guess it depends on where you are from. The majority of the schools here aren’t willing to pay for a qualified teacher with the right background and experience. Let’s just exclude TAS. (Please, let’s not go into the same argument about what is a qualified teacher.)
Good luck to everyone else. It’s an experience I wouldn’t regret but one I would not care to repeat.
[quote=“kellohitty”]As a real teacher, with a B.Ed degree and 6 years of teaching experience in Canada in an elementary school with many ESL students, this place just doesn’t pay nearly as much for it to be feasible. Yes there are lots of opportunities, but factor in that Canada has the best teacher’s pension in the world and the quality of life plus the teaching hours (In Canada, the elementary school hours for a teacher is 8 am - 4 pm and teaching is from 8:30am - 3:30pm) and the 3 month a year paid holidays, one would be a fool to stay here.
Of course, this is just my opinion. I know a lot of South African teachers who are getting paid the same as me here but compared to home, they have it so much better here. I guess it depends on where you are from. The majority of the schools here aren’t willing to pay for a qualified teacher with the right background and experience. Let’s just exclude TAS. (Please, let’s not go into the same argument about what is a qualified teacher.)
Good luck to everyone else. It’s an experience I wouldn’t regret but one I would not care to repeat.[/quote]
As someone who is NOT a qualified teacher, I would like to say that this is correct. If we were at home we would not even be having a discussion about who is a qualified teacher or not. That would be a stupid thing to question in the reality of home. Really though, would you rather have a qualified brain surgen or some guy with the right attitude and a DIY book? Stupid question I know, but we are only really questioning this when it comes to relating things to Taiwan. Ok, so kids aren’t going to die if their English teacher isn’t qualified… ok, so it’s a can of worms and I’d probably be better to back away from this… easing out the door. But KelloHitty is pretty much on the money. ( I hate to admit it) HOWEVER, an unqualified English teacher can still do a fantastic job, as I did, but are probably few and far between and the horror stories of poor qualified teachers are probably in the minority too.
Why am I beginning to think that it’s easier looking in from outside than looking out from inside? I don’t feel so defensive out here.
Bassman, do you realize the NZ dollar is predicted to drop to 50c against the US dollar within the next 12 months? Comparing wages here to those back home, wherever that may be, often just doesn’t work due to currency fluctations. Still, it will be interesting to see how the kiwi dollar compares to the NT in a years time.
I doubt I’ll be in Taiwan then though.
[quote=“Matchstick_man”]Bassman, do you realize the NZ dollar is predicted to drop to 50c against the US dollar within the next 12 months? Comparing wages here to those back home, wherever that may be, often just doesn’t work due to currency fluctations. Still, it will be interesting to see how the kiwi dollar compares to the NT in a years time.
I doubt I’ll be in Taiwan then though.[/quote]
I do understand the predictions, and that does make a difference, however, that was not my main point. Things in Taiwan have not really moved on and things have remained as they were for many years. This could not be said to be true for NZ. When I left NZ the min. wage was NZD$7.50 per hour, but now it is NZD$9.50 and expected to rise to NZD$10.50 over the next year. Taiwan, on the other hand, has taken steps in the other direction… perhaps some of that is an over correction to the earnings that foreigners made over 10 yrs ago compared to locals.
Now do you see what I am saying?
You take an average kiwi, cannuck, or yank back home… they take a look at the earning potential here and compare it to what they are earning now, afterall we are talking about NOW and not what could be predicted to happen in the future, and they would feel no better off for making the trip over here. Factor in a strange culture, different language, and all the adjustments that you’d need to make, and it doesn’t seem so attractive to go to Taiwan unless your sense of adventure is greater than your desire to earn. The average punter can’t possibly take into account the ability to save more money in Taiwan… perhaps that could only be true if one lived in the boonies like Matchstick and I.
So, there we go, it becomes more difficult to attract the average punter out of the west into the east.
Besides, as much as the dollar fluctuates (btw the kiwi dollar is a great investment because of these fluctuations) it usually returns to some sort of average point… does it not? When I first went to Taiwan the kiwi $ was about 1:18… it dropped to 1:14 at one point (you were in Taiwan then too), but sure as eggs, it returned to it’s average of 1:19 - 1:20 very quickly. The same thing would happen should the kiwi drop to 50c in the U.S dollar. It’s been there before (much to my horror when I was in the U.S at the time using a NZ credit card) and will probably go there again.
still, it will be interesting to see if there is a Taiwan in a years time
I think this conversatin can really be broken into two separate conversations:
-
Those who come to Taiwan primarily for the money
-
Those who come to Taiwan for a variety of other reasons
In my opinion, if you come to Taiwan primarily for the money, it’s not a good idea to stay for a very long time. In fact, it may not be a good idea to come at all.
However, if you come to Taiwan for something like a “Peace Corps lite” type of experience, it can really be a great experience. If you want to live in another culture, experience new, different and exciting things, Taiwan is a great place to live.
If money is your main motivation, the above things probably aren’t very important to you.
Anyway, I agree with what is being said. The salaries have never been enough for someone to leave a “career” type job at home. However, if you have other motivations, its a great place to live and work and you can save a decent amount of money… in the short view.
[quote=“wipt”]Have teachers done anything
to merit a pay raise? Generally
they leave after a year or two.
Why should pay go up for people
for haven’t done Jack?
I say that teachers ought to do
a better job in order to justify
a pay raise.
I’ll pay a teacher more if she/he will
do a good job.
So far I’ve been unwilling to take
pay away in cases of poor performance.
Maybe I should do that.[/quote]
I have to agree with this. What I see is a lot of folks with no teaching experience at all, many without any sort of degree, demanding such-and-such pay.
The quality of teachers in Taiwan has not changed a bit. Why should the pay?
Having said that though, teachers who do try and better themselves by upping their qualifications don’t seem to benefit salaywise. For example, when I first started out in Taiwan, I had a Bachelors, CELTA, 3 years of overseas teaching experience, and examining experience (some of the Cambridge suite exams). However, I got paid the same as the other foreign teacher at the school, who was armed with a high school diploma and going on visa runs every 60 days. A little depressing.
So, what’s the answer? For me, the answer is continuing my education and getting my Masters, and then moving on to another country where I will get paid according to my experience and education level, not according to how “foreign” I look and how happy I can keep the parents! 
[quote=“wipt”]Have teachers done anything
to merit a pay raise? Generally
they leave after a year or two.
Why should pay go up for people
for haven’t done Jack?
I say that teachers ought to do
a better job in order to justify
a pay raise.
I’ll pay a teacher more if she/he will
do a good job.
So far I’ve been unwilling to take
pay away in cases of poor performance.
Maybe I should do that.[/quote]
Good points. The reason I see to increase wages is simply to make it worthwhile for people with other options to choose Taiwan. The cost of living in Taiwan might not have increased greatly in the past decade or so, but as Bassman noted, it has elsewhere. I moved back to the US 6 years ago with enough savings for a 10% down payment on a house. With the real-estate boom, that amount today would barely cover a 5% down payment. For the newcomer, at least, teaching in Taiwan is just not as lucrative an option as it used to be.
Just 2 cents from someone who doesn’t live there anymore.
I disagree about being able to save more money here. Yes, you save more right now, but mind you, you need to also factor in that you need to save for your pension. The pension here sucks. So you work 30 years here and you may have to save for the next 30 years of retirement. In Canada, you work for 30 and you don’t have to worry about the rest of your life. And the pension is almost the same $$$ as when you were working.
So factor that in and see if you can save that much here.
There are qualified bad teachers and there are unqualified good teachers. The thing about teaching is, a student can also be a teacher to another student. We are all in some ways teachers. Certification is just a means to have a standard we all acknowledge.
you never know what might happen. look, the euro was 27-28nt when it started. it’s now ~40nt all the time and sometimes goes as high as 43nt. you do the math 
[quote]I disagree about being able to save more money here. Yes, you save more right now, but mind you, you need to also factor in that you need to save for your pension. The pension here sucks. So you work 30 years here and you may have to save for the next 30 years of retirement. In Canada, you work for 30 and you don’t have to worry about the rest of your life. And the pension is almost the same $$$ as when you were working.
So factor that in and see if you can save that much here.[/quote]
that’s exactly the point! it’s the same in most western european countries.
i guess teachers from usa dont care about this pension issue though.
[quote]Having said that though, teachers who do try and better themselves by upping their qualifications don’t seem to benefit salaywise. For example, when I first started out in Taiwan, I had a Bachelors, CELTA, 3 years of overseas teaching experience, and examining experience (some of the Cambridge suite exams). However, I got paid the same as the other foreign teacher at the school, who was armed with a high school diploma and going on visa runs every 60 days. A little depressing.
So, what’s the answer? For me, the answer is continuing my education and getting my Masters, and then moving on to another country where I will get paid according to my experience and education level, not according to how “foreign” I look and how happy I can keep the parents![/quote]
if you are serious about your teaching career, taiwan is the last place to be.