TAS salaries

I’m considering trying for a job with an American School. I’m already teaching in the U.S., so I’m certified and all that.

What I’m wondering is how much teachers at the Taipei American School get paid. Anybody have any idea?

you appear to be (almost) too late, at least for the 2007-8 school year:

tas.edu.tw/podium/default.aspx?t=8558

nothing about salaries there, although there is a poster here who teaches at TAS (if i’m not incorrect). do a search for TAS related posts to find him.

Dear Moderator,

I teach Social Science and Earth Science. I’m not looking for work at a bushiban or kindergarten. I don’t even teach English. I’m not a English teacher.

Can you tell me then why my post has been moved to this forum?

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Dear Dahudze,

I didn’t move it and I’m not sure who did. I don’t have a problem with it being in this forum, though, and if I remember rightly we’ve had other general (non-English-teaching) information posted here before. Out of all the forums I’d say this is the closest fit. But if it really bugs you I’ll consider moving the thread to another forum (which involves getting the go-ahead from the moderator of that forum), or alternatively you could ask the admins whether they’d consider changing the title of this forum to “Teaching in Taiwan”.

Thanks for your quick reply.

My main concerns are that my question won’t be seen by as many people, and that most English teachers in Taiwan wouldn’t be aware of the situation at TAS. I’d appreciate you moving it.

Again–thanks.

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We’d be more likely than anyone else. Think kids at International Schools all speak English? I have no connections with TAS, though.

I can’t see anyone discussing their salary on a forum. Why not just contact TAS?

Hey, we talk about wives that beat us, girlfriends that make us work on duck farms, and sleeping with married women, so why not salaries? :wink:

Well, some things are just personal, eh. :slight_smile:

I’ve considered it, but I’m afraid I still think the best forum for your post is this one. It might not seem the most appropriate one to you, but there are quite a few threads here concerning teaching in international schools. For example, there are around 68 posts in this forum which contain the term “Taipei American School”. And as this thread has had around 200 views so far, I think you have no need to worry that your question is not being seen.

Buttercup made a good point too:

I don’t know any teachers in international schools here who don’t consider at least part of their job to include teaching English. Many of the students are children who have U.S. or other western countries’ citizenship, but who have never spent long periods of time in those countries. Even regarding students who are the children of foreign nationals, I’d say that they still need some extra support with language compared to native-English-speaking children in regular schools in the west. Overall, I think teaching in an international school in Taiwan is much more like teaching ESL in the west than it is to “pure” subject teaching.

Good luck with getting your question answered. I think that if you don’t want to ask the school directly the best way might be to contact a TAS teacher privately. I believe there’s at least one who posts here, but I can’t remember who it is, and a quick search (as quick as my dodgy Internet connection would allow) didn’t turn up much.

I’ve heard from a substitute at TAS that full-time teachers make plenty. He said it was something in the ballpark of $200,000 NTD a month (which is like $150,000 more than you need to live here) and the benefits are fantastic. He mentioned that TAS provides plane tickets for teachers and their families to fly back home for vacations, provide help with housing, and even offer to pay for maids. Anyway, if you are worried that you won’t make enough teaching at TAS, then you can stop. TAS is one of the top private schools in Taipei, and, if by some miracle you get hired there (because the competition is tough) you will be living very well here. It’s nothing like teaching in the States.

Good luck.

They also have a very beautiful shipping package for your household items and the facilities are amazing. They recently finished the new library, which from TAS alum I’ve heard is to die for…well, I mean for a children’s literature bibliophile like me.

Of course, the number of students crammed into the ESL program almost makes talk about TAS pretty much a Teaching English in Taiwan topic. I have had quite a few former students get in and they were not my strongest students in most cases.

full time teachers get paid a lot (on par with american teaching salaries).

substitute teachers get paid very little, and per hour not per day (on par with local gas station attendants).

Thanks for all the responses.

Some old-timers might remember me posting long ago when I lived in Taipei. I speak a bit of Mandarin, and my wife is Taiwanese, which I hope would help. This confirms much of what I heard before. I just wanted to make sure I was getting more than rumor.

And I didn’t want to ask TAS for the reason cited earlier–most schools are a bit reticent about revealing salaries (especially since I’ve heard there’s some disparity between local and overseas-hired).

Good luck Dahudze,
One of the keys to landing a prime job at an international school is teaching experience in the West (usually two years’ minimum I think). No idea why they don’t want waiguoren who have fully immersed themselves in Taiwan. :beer:

perhaps because they specifically want the american education experience. and an understanding of the american style of teaching. and a knowledge of the american syllabus and school culture.

I’m working through my first year teaching full-time in Los Angeles County. After my second year I’ll be hitting up the American School recruiters.

To be honest, there’s a lot I miss about Taiwan–not the least was the company I kept. If I move back, what I WON’T miss about LA is the long commutes, insane real estate prices, and having to have a car.

Thanks again for all the info.

Like everyone else posting here I’m probably not the most reliable source. I expect you will get paid on par with what a teacher would make in the US. I’ve heard that through some special arrangement that teachers at TAS don’t pay any income tax, either in Taiwan or US. You will receive a small relocation allowance but don’t expect too much. I don’t know about travel allowances to return home on holidays. You will need teaching experience, but I don’t know if 2 years is the magic number.

I wonder, if I taught with Teach for America (part of Americorps) for 2 years, would that be enough for teaching experience? Of course I’d have my credentials and stuff…

The minimum may be two years but that is just a guideline. The fact is that you would be competing against people with many years experience and possibly higher education. As far as I know, TAS is considered by many people to be a ‘higher level’ international school. It has a reputation for quality so it will attract teachers who are already teaching in other international schools.

Your best bet may be to go to a job fair in your home country. Check here
overseasdigest.com/jobfairs.htm
Teachers who are hired abroad typically get better packages from such schools than local hires (meaning that you are already in the country). I had to go to Canada to get a job in China. In any case, if you are really interested, you can begin a dialogue with the HR department.

There are a handful of other international schools on the island, most (all?) of which would be easier to get into.
shambles.net/pages/Countries/tw_schools/.

I was at a job fair recently and found that the schools that I visited did not consider my ESL jobs ‘real’ teaching experience, whether at public schools in Taiwan or language schools.

Hope this helps

How much did the substitute make?