Nobody has said that it is easy to get a job in Taiwan. Nobody has said that it is easier to get a job in Taiwan than in China. Nobody has said that Taiwan hasn’t changed compared to 10 or 20 years ago. But it is NOT impossible to get a job in Taiwan although it is more difficult if you fall outside of the desired demographic. The big difficulty in Taiwan right now is getting the desired hours and that is what I’m frustrated by. But there are things that I prefer about Taiwan compared to China that aren’t related to dollars.
somewhatgone - right now most jobs are offering 14-20 hrs (and an ARC) which works well while taking Chinese classes. I did this for the spring term. The only thing that I didn’t like was the morning/night split that it required. but it worked. And I got a job in about a week of lazily looking for work. It sounds like TZone had a rough go of it but he also falls outside of the desired demographic and schools also probably thought they would have to pay him more for his experience (even if he didn’t ask for it).
I am probably in the same boat as the OP since I am “older”. But knowing this I am going in with the view of not stressing about it and taking the work as it comes. I have lengthy experience teaching in the Wan so I hope this serves as a foot in the door this time around.
[quote=“Abacus”]Nobody has said that it is easy to get a job in Taiwan. Nobody has said that it is easier to get a job in Taiwan than in China. Nobody has said that Taiwan hasn’t changed compared to 10 or 20 years ago. But it is NOT impossible to get a job in Taiwan although it is more difficult if you fall outside of the desired demographic. The big difficulty in Taiwan right now is getting the desired hours and that is what I’m frustrated by. But there are things that I prefer about Taiwan compared to China that aren’t related to dollars.
somewhatgone - right now most jobs are offering 14-20 hrs (and an ARC) which works well while taking Chinese classes. I did this for the spring term. The only thing that I didn’t like was the morning/night split that it required. but it worked. And I got a job in about a week of lazily looking for work. It sounds like TZone had a rough go of it but he also falls outside of the desired demographic and schools also probably thought they would have to pay him more for his experience (even if he didn’t ask for it).[/quote]
I have worked in both China and Taiwan - at a university in rural Sichuan and at Kojen in Taipei.
Sichuan’s disadvantages: the living conditions were primitive (rural Nigeria was better than where I lived in China), the pollution was unbelievable, there were no other foreigners there so I got too much attention for my tastes, there was very little to do, I was always worried about medical care, the constant attention from the Foreign Affairs Police was unnerving, the weather was close to unbearable - up to 43C in the summer and 0 in the winter, with no air-conditioning and no heat
Sichuan’s advantages: a very relaxed job, I made more friends than I did in Taiwan, the money I made was a fortune for the area so I could spend what I wanted and didn’t worry about money, the food was good
Taipei’s disadvantages: it was hard to make as much money as I wanted, though it was OK
Taipei’s advantages: it is more westernized so culture shock was less, it is an easier and less stressful place to live
I had constant problems with visas, my contract, getting paid on time, and with the half-wits who ‘worked’ at the Foreign Affairs Department at the university where I worked in Sichuan. I know when I worked at Kojen in Taipei my coworkers were always complaining about similar things, but believe me there was no comparison.
I left the TEFL game a number of years ago after teaching English in Taiwan and elsewhere for a while, but I’m considering going to China to teach English to children for the simple fact that they provide one or two-semester contracts (something I’ve never seen offered in Taiwan) and I’m soon going to be in job limbo for about half a year. I’m also interested in teaching English in China because it would allow me time to study Chinese properly.
This is a fascinating thread, but it’s pretty old now. It’s also focused on explaining the English teaching situation in Taiwan to somebody coming from China. I’m interested in learning about it from the other way. I’m not so interested in hearing about the quality of life in China compared to Taiwan, just how English teaching differs.
Most jobs I’m looking at pay about 6500 RMB a month. Although money isn’t my priority, I don’t want to get a crappy salary. Several people here say that 10,000 RMB a month or higher is normal out there, but that isn’t what I’m seeing on Google. Am I looking wrong?
I’m curious about these comments that allege that teaching English in China is “like a vacation” compared to Taiwan. I don’t actually enjoy teaching English to children, particularly Taiwanese children (I had a far better experience teaching children in Europe), so I hope this is true!
i think it depends where you go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hyG_znZHgg this guy recommends going to some out of the way 7th tier shit hole city because it will have hardly any foreigners, meaning less competition and you can charge a lot for your private classes. makes sense.
Thanks, man! I guess I really was looking wrong. What was I doing teaching English in Taiwan when I could have been making that kind of money in China!
To be honest, as I’m only considering going for one or two semesters, not being able to access Facebook and Google for half a year sounds wonderful. I wouldn’t want to live in a country like that long term, but it would be a much-needed detox.
I think it’s pretty naive to believe that the firewall can put anyone off Facebook (which is toxic, btw) and Google when everyone knows how to bypass it.
I agree, but it’s a conscious decision whether or not to get a VPN. I made a conscious decision not to get a smart-phone until 2014, because I knew I’d be addicted… and I finally cracked, and lo and behold.
But if he’s going for a year, he can just decide not to purchase a VPN and be a good little PRC citizen.
As DrewCutz pointed out, I’d have to make a decision to do that and go out of my way for it. I’ve also heard that the Internet can be really slow on a VPN. Because I’m a lazy so-and-so, it’s likely I won’t bother if I’m only there temporarily and will appreciate the break from constant connectivity. (I’m full of positivity about it now, but I realise that I might crack while I’m actually there!)
I would not come to Taiwan now without an APRC. The teaching market isn’t great. Teachers are fired easily, and to get by, a newbie might need to work at different schools, which is illegal. Japan is even a more competitive situation.
My advice to you: Stay in China. Work at an elementary school. While doing this, get your teaching license through a program called Teach Now. You will have it in 10 months or so. Not easy. Then, move to Taiwan with a license and get a job at a school here. You will be set.
Remember, vacation and working in a country is very different. Cram schools in Taiwan are not a place you ever want to be at.
