Hello, I was wondering, what is the better school to work for out of shane and hess? I understand that for the min of 80 hours a month HEss will pay NT48000 while Shane only NT44000. Does anyone know if the extra money at HESS is worth the extra day? I mean HESS have to work 6 days while Shane only 5. ALso does anyone know what the chances of overtime are?
DON’T work for Hess, unless you like the idea of indentured servitude. 2 week training session unpaid, split shifts, 6 day work week, and low pay…not a good deal.
The Shane deal is not good either. Those are slave wages. You’re gonna be working your first six months for about NT$440/hour after taxes…thats crap! That’s assuming you work the minimum hours. Even after your tax rate goes down, you’re gonna clear about NT$500/hour if you work 80 hours a month. Also, I seriously doubt they will only work you 80 hours a month.
You won’t get paid overtime working for these two companies. You are on salary which means there is not such thing as overtime.
I came here with no experience and found a full-time position making NT$60,000/month and I average about 60 hours a month.
You can find much better jobs than the two you are looking at. Keep searching.
Hey, thanks for your reply. I was contemplating Dewry (however its spelt) but as far as I am aware, even though pay is NT60k, they dont offer you the welfare and support of Shane!
What other schools can I try? I only want to work in Taipei,
Support is nice, but so is being paid a fair wage.
Not sure what you mean by “welfare”?
Check out lots of schools. Take your time and don’t make any hasty decisions. I like salaried positions, but there are lots of schools that will pay you by the hour.
Check out all the big chains and don’t take a job until you find one that pays NT$55,000+. I know that the pay rates have been falling, but I can’t imagine they have fallen that much. The chain schools are usually a better place to start because they have better curriculum and materials.
I feel the same way about working in the big city. Never considered going anywhere else.
Shane paid by the hour when I worked there five years ago. My leaving rate (NOT my starting rate) was 620 an hour. Low prep, no extra office work. I worked about 70-80 hours a month but I am lazy and lived in Panchiao so very low rent. Average was 100-120 hours a month.
They also teach you how to teach kids, they train you and observe you. I believe they take people without CELTAs nowadays, but that was required when I was there.
Shane don’t rip you off, which is important for newbies who can’t even fathom the myriad ways teachers can get screwed in Taiwan.
The Saturday mornings at Hess do indeed suck. The pay isn’t as high as other schools you can find … but my understanding is that pay in general is dropping these days, and that Hess are now not so far behind as they used to be.
The initial training is now three or four days, not two weeks. And while they don’t pay you for it, they do put you up in a hotel and feed you.
Never worked for Shane, can’t really comment.
The normal tradeoff is that in a chain school you will have more support, a more meaningful contract, and generally less surprise bullshit. In a small independent school you may get a wonderful environment, or a horrific one – you just don’t know.
Given that I’m something of a wimp, chain schools seem like the better deal for a newcomer, to me.
[quote=“Buttercup”]Shane paid by the hour when I worked there five years ago. My leaving rate (NOT my starting rate) was 620 an hour. Low prep, no extra office work. I worked about 70-80 hours a month but I am lazy and lived in Panchiao (Banqiao) so very low rent. Average was 100-120 hours a month.
They also teach you how to teach kids, they train you and observe you. I believe they take people without CELTAs nowadays, but that was required when I was there.
Shane don’t rip you off, which is important for newbies who can’t even fathom the myriad ways teachers can get screwed in Taiwan.
Never worked for Hess, so I can’t help with that.[/quote]
Hess isn’t bad. Starting wage there, I believe, is $550 an hour, and you have guaranteed small raises every 6 months.
Split shifts mean you will do nothing else. And Saturday work sucks. But the job is stable and you don’t have to worry about getting shafted as much as you do at other schools.
But I can’t tell you about Shane, so I have no way to give you a proper comparison. But Hess as a school to get started is not a bad idea.
Therefore, both have good qualities, but both should be seen for their limitations too. Neither is a dream job, but you will learn your trade without getting ripped off. Don’t let either one become permanent. Too many good people get sucked into the ShaneHess void, and go stir crazy.
HEhehehe TomHill that made me laugh. I lasted 3 years at Hess and quit. Hess was great for when I first arrived in Taiwan and I was lucky enough that after a few months the new teachers were given my Saturday shift so I was only working 5 days a week, yes the Saturday work SUCKS. Good place for people just new to Taiwan but as said above there is better out there… just need to find it