Time before first time in taiwan

Work Teaching English in Taiwan
1

how much time did all of you spend researching things before you actually flew to taiwan for the first time?

i’m really anxious to leave my job, and i’ve been planning to teach overseas for 4 months or so, but it hasn’t always been taiwan. anyway, i feel like there could be a world of information out there about what i should watch for in contracts, or a list of things to not do when dealing with customs or the taiwan government. and i’ve missed liike 80% of it.

one other thing, i’m talking with a guy who claims to be in taiwan, and got a job using an agent and loves it. of course, the email address was given to me by the agent, so i never expected to hear particularly bad things about his experience. however, when i asked him to explain what happened after he got to the school with his visitor visa and needed to get it changed into the resident alien visa. i was under the impression this could not be done without leaving taiwan, but he didn’t mention anything about it. he did say that i shouldn’t mention the fact that i’m in taiwan looking for work…

honestly, i’m really uncomfortable with the prospect of having to hide the fact that i’m looking for a job. but, then again if everyone does that…

2

I was studying in Beijing (1987-88) when I heard you could make some money teaching English in Taiwan. Being almost flat broke I thought it might be a good idea to make some loot. I had 50.00USD in my pocket and they confiscated the shirt I was wearing while standing in the immigration line (it was a very humbling experience to be standing there half naked and hungover). And when I finally arrived in Taiwan I taped a big “Looking for private students” sign to the back of my other shirt and rode the department stores escalators up and down advertising myself. Got enough private students doing that to get through to my first paycheck. Just kind muddled through at the beginning.

My advice is not to worry so much about it. Just get the basics (what to look for in terms of work, what does it take to get an ARC, etc.) and come on over. If you have a bit of fire in yer belly and some patience there should be no problems.

3

yeah… seems like a lot of people recommend travelling first, and job searching second. i guess i’m a little worried that i won’t be able to find anything because i don’t have a esl certification. i’ve been rejected twice (same reason: more qualified applicants). i’m sure that isn’t really a lot, but for someone who hasn’t done a lot of job searching, its a little worrying.

4

Monoxide,

I’m a newbie in Taiwan, so think “your first few months here” when you read my post. I’ll summarize my experiences here, but if more detail will be of any help, PM me and I’ll reply.

I did quite a bit of research on the internet before coming. Did have a Taiwanese friend to ease the transition and to point out the bathrooms though. That helped. I can’t recommend Michael Turton’s website highly enough - users2.ev1.net/~turton/teach_index.html . He gives a realistic, no-holds-barred view of many aspects of life in Taiwan, with a focus on teaching English. Both positive and negative (for lack of more descriptive terms). He does focus on the stuff that tourist or recruiting websites won’t tell you.

As far as jobs go, I came without a job offer. I did that because I became convinced that the EFL landscape in Taiwan was not completely straightforward, and I would benefit from coming, learning, and then taking a job. So far, that has worked OK. Within 2 weeks of beginning my search in earnest, I am working part-time evenings. I did not use an agent. That said, I am contemplating searching for an agent now because I’m not seeing a lot of job postings for what I’m looking for which is part-time mornings, kids or kindergarten (sitting on the beach staring out to sea for the same $$ would be OK too, but haven’t seen that posted yet :laughing: ).

As far as reception goes, it has been OK, but not overwhelming. Despite a master’s degree and CELTA certificate (TEFL), many places don’t seem to be biting, and it appears to be due to a relative lack of EFL teaching experience. I have been pretty straight about that in interviews and when sending out resumes, and I don’t think that’s been helpful. Some people have counseled me to make up past EFL experience, under the “everyone does it” concept, but I don’t feel comfortable with that so far. Maybe I will later. :wink:

As far as availability goes, two things seem true. Taipei seems to be more competitive than the rest of the island, and, there are not as many job postings as I was lead to believe. The early info I got about the demand for EFL teachers in Taiwan was, “get off the plane at 9pm, be working at a buxiban the next day!” A little exaggerated, but you get the idea. I haven’t seen that to be true. Most of the schools that post jobs from outlying areas (beyond Taipei) seem to be much more in need of takers, and so, much more accomodating.

A good job site is www.tealit.com . Forumosa.com also has some, but the jobs are all different types, not teaching only, and the # of listings is far less than Tealit.com.

Good luck. Hope it helps.

Seeker4

5

Timing is everything here, too. Make sure you have enough moolah in your pocket to last you a couple months. The only other suggestion I’d have is DON’T PANIC and take the first job that presents itself. You can let yourself in for a world of discomfort that way.

I’d also agree that the further out of Taipei you can make it the easier your job search will be. Good luck!

6

To answer…‘how much time did all of you spend researching things before you actually flew to Taiwan for the first time?’ One weekend, then I reserved the tickets but it was three weeks later before I actually moved to Taiwan (April 2002).

In regards to seeker4’s comments…
Personally I found Michael Turton’s website to be insightful although I think the crime in Taiwan section is a little bit paranoid - while I was reading it I kept wondering what country he was in (I have been here two years and I haven’t experienced any problems he mentioned). :unamused:
As for finding a job teaching, I never searched in Taipei so I don’t know about the market here but in Chungli I got the first job I interviewed for ( less than one hour after I started looking for a job I had one) and when I quit that job, I got the next job I interviewed for. The English language newspapers advertise for teachers almost every day. I have been off the market for over a year now so I can’t say for sure but it doesn’t seem like there is a shortage of jobs.
I have a master’s degree but not a CELTA certificate (TEFL) and even without EFL teaching experience I haven’t had any trouble finding a job - so far. But that was outside of Taipei!
Personally, the amount of money I have made as been disappointing to say the least…I made more back in the U.S. but then again I figure my pay based on the number of hours I actually work and not just the number of hours I teach.
For example, let’s say I taught 20 hours a week and was paid nt$500 an hour (yes, low I know but I wasn’t in Taipei, etc.) at a steady job. Actually not too bad but then, I had to grade homework for each student, attend weekly meetings, etc…so instead of getting paid nt$10,000 a week for working 20 hours, I found myself getting paid nt$10,000 a week for working 30 hours - quite a bit of a difference.
Naturally - before the flaming begins - I must admit I am the type of person that is more interested in quality of life as opposed to income. As long as I can cover my expenses I am ok. So I have never sought out privates nor do I normally take outside work to boost my income. I avoid teaching illegally simply because I don’t want to take the chance on being deported, etc.
Others are not as cautious as I am and are probably making a killing over here. Good luck. :wink:

7

I guess I started researching over a year before coming. I studied abroad in France in 1999 and upon returning to school for my junior year, knew that I was going to live abroad after graduation. I spent that year trying to research different places to go and had narrowed it down to, in order of preference, France, Togo, Cuba, and Russia. France offers a program to Americans earning a degree in French where you teach English in their public schools, but without teaching experience they can only give you 7 months. Not enough time. Togo and Cuba had programs, but they were volunteer programs, and while I didn’t mind that aspect, I did mind the fact that it required paying money that I didn’t have, so they were out. So I signed up for Russian for the following year and got ready for my summer courses and began researching jobs on Dave’s ESL Cafe.
Then I noticed all of the good-paying jobs were in China and Taiwan. I immediately dropped Russian for Chinese that summer and even applied for a job teaching Taiwanese high school students who were coming in for the summer, but I got turned down. I didn’t have enough teaching experience or training to do it since I was still in my TESOL program.
I still decided to stay at school for the summer, and I took up three jobs: one for the commencement ceremonies, one for incoming freshman orientation, and one that would last the rest of the year. I wanted to earn as much money as I could before moving abroad. I also volunteered to teach for a second time, an ESL beginners class to 12 adults for 9 hours a week and performed clarinet solos in a concert band that did outdoor performances every Wednesday evening and involved daily rehearsals.
Along with all of the jobs, I was taking 21 credit hours in 400-level classes in hearing and speech science, psychology, linguistics, and one in interpersonal communication that integrated sociology, anthropology, and communications (and required a huge research project and presentation).
That summer was the only time in my academic career that I have ever made Dean’s List. I had earned a 3.86 GPA. :idunno:

Anyways, when my senior year started, I began studying Chinese culture and looking for jobs. For the conversation partners thing I was involved in through the Intensive English program, I requested to be paired with Chinese and Taiwanese students so I could learn first-hand about their lives there. That’s how I met Irene Chen from Kaohsiung who was instrumental in advising me to come to Taipei and not to Taichung (gangsters) or Kaohsiung (dirty). No other cities were even mentioned. Had lunch every Friday at the Chinese restaurant on campus, to practice using chopsticks and speaking. Got involved with the Chinese Culture Group and helped choreograph and performed a fan dance with some students from Hong Kong during the big Chinese New Year party. If only I had spent some of that energy on my actual Chinese studies, I would probably be a much better speaker and reader than I am now.
The only problem with studying Chinese in the US is that it’s usually Beijing Mandarin with simplified characters. My third quarter of study I had a Taiwanese instructor and he tried to teach me the Taiwanese way of saying things I had learned such as “nali” instead of “nar” and recognizing traditional radicals so I could apply what I already knew about reading the simplified ones, but I was so assured that I would learn Chinese better once I got here, I had already given up on trying to keep up on it and instead focused on more important things, like graduating.
I had already received my TESOL certificate and was just months from graduating in linguistics and French. I began applying for jobs in April using mostly tealit and dave’s and reading their message boards about non-whites having a hard time getting jobs here. I soon learned just how hard first hand when schools would praise my resume and my teaching experience and then disappear when they saw my picture and learned that I was black.
I applied for one school that had a really good offer, barely meeting their requirements, but getting so desperate that I didn’t even care to whom I applied (a dangerous time) as long as there was a chance. I got an e-mail back asking if I wouldn’t mind doing my interview over the phone since I wasn’t there. This year will be my 4th year of working with them. :slight_smile: I spent that summer working 40+ hours a week in another managering position during third shift so I could be accustomed to the 12-hour time difference here.
On August 24, I came to Taiwan knowing how to fan dance and how to order fish soup, beer, water, and apple juice; have basic polite conversation; and count to 999 in Chinese. I had a job that would start three days later and my school got me a place to stay until I could find an apartment.

I think I came a bit better prepared than most. :slight_smile:

8

I did absolutely no research before I came to Taiwan. I landed a week after deciding to go. I’d arrived in Hanoi at the tail end of a SE Asia trip with the idea of heading to China and trying to find some work. I couldn’t get a visa for about 5 dyas because of Tet and I realised I was broke. My Taiwanese friend back home had told me you could make miney teaching English in Taiwan, but I couldn’t find any bookstores with a Lonely Planet or anything, so I wasn’t sure. Returning to my hostel wondering what to do I noticed a little orange ‘Lonely Planet: Taiwan’ on the hostel bookshelf for $US2 next to a Berlitz Mandarin phrasebook for $US1. I bought them both and went and got a ticket the next day.

I’m glad I didn’t research much. I think it would have spoiled the experience somewhat.

Brian

9

If you really wants to work in Taiwan,and you really needs money,just come here and look for a job.I know lots of people who is working on student visas.If they catch you,they will deport you.I know people who’s been here on student visas for the last 3 years.If they catch you after a year,you will have to leave,but with 20 times more money than the day you arrived.

JUST DO IT.

10

I did zero actual reseach before coming to Taiwan. I was lucky to have Taiwanese friends living here and a Taiwanese girlfriend. I had $1,200 bucks with me and figured if things didn’t work out, I could always leave and chalk it up to an experience.
As things have turned out, I got here, partied not at all, worked, worked, worked and worked. I took any teaching job offered until I could find one I really wanted.
I have been living in Taiwan for over 3 years and am glad I came. I wish you the best of luck.