I am leaving NY to Taipei to teach English as a kickstart and I am still in the midst of studying for the TEFL cert. Since I am leaving end of June, I am not utterly sure that I will have sufficient amount of time to complete it online. I only have an Associate Degree so according to my research, having the certification is the requirement to obtain a teaching gig in TW. Just in case that doesn’t happen before I leave will I be able to find any teaching jobs at all in Taiwan while I am still working for it?
No, you won’t be able to find a legal job until you have completed it.
Abacus is right; no legal teaching jobs without it. Here’s the law about it: Employment Service Act. The law specifies that if a college graduate hasn’t obtained a Bachelor’s Degree (in other words, they’ve received an Associate’s Degree) then s/he “shall have qualification certificates for language teaching”, which means a TEFL certificate.
Is an online certificate accepted here? Which one are you doing?