Transition from Teaching Success/Failure Stories

I have been in TW for about a year now, and while the money and flexible hours of teaching at a buxiban has been nice so far (ok, the pandemic has soured this a bit!), I am looking for something that can be more of a…springboard for a proper career that can also sponsor me until I get an APRC.

Admittedly, I shot myself in the foot a bit in coming here from the US with simply an online cert and not a proper teaching license, so I definitely feel my (sponsored) teaching options here (and thus a career in teaching) are quite limited until I go back and acquire one. I have thought about leveraging my resume/experience while in the US toward seeking a job here, but I feel a bit gated by the (understandable) lack of jobs in an English-speaking environment that exist here. Some places, like Citi Bank, seem to be hiring English speaking foreigners, and there does some to be some job openings in start-ups and tech/fintech fields that require some specialization that I frankly do not have at the moment.

My Mandarin proficiency is still quite low, and I know being functional in the language here really opens up some doors…learning Chinese is a work in progress for me, but I can tell already it will be a long road that will take years.

I am just at a bit of a low point with teaching here. I love Taiwan, but I cannot envision teaching at a buxiban for too long, so I know I need to find a way to transition out while staying here. Kudos to the people here that have found contentment teaching in TW for many years - I do not think I can follow that!

I am very interested in others’ experiences (good or bad!) in their journey of shifting from teaching to another field. Was it worth it do you think? How difficult was it? I am all ears and am quite open to advice and insight on this matter.

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A lot here are engineers. Others work in marketing, often doing technical writing.

Foreign sales experience helps when helping Taiwanese companies sell their products overseas.

You don’t have to say if you feel uncomfortable, but what kind of educational background do you have? It does help with narrowing the ideas to something more specific when I make suggestions.

Some people also go into entrepreneurship as well.

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I would start by beefing up your teaching certifications. British Council in Taipei offer both the CELTA and the DipTESOL. They may not offer much of a pay bump, but your understanding of language acquisition would increase and there are ways to branch out into management, content creation, etc. Similarly, you could do the Distance DELTA online.

As for a teaching licence…a mate of mine has got his through Moreland University and highly recommends it. He’s now fighting off job offers from public and international schools; Taiwan is DESPERATE for certified teachers, it doesn’t matter if the certification was attained online. It’s only a 9 month time investment and a light workload.

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One teaching-adjacent job you might consider, in addition to technical writing, is editing. Not everyone has the temperament for this work (I do not), but if you don’t mind doing it there are companies in Taiwan that hire full time editors. As @Marco suggests, what your skills and education are will probably guide your decision.

You can’t take the CELTA in Taiwan, according to Cambridge.

But, I do agree with @wonton that beefing up your teaching credentials is a good way to get more out of being a teacher. Moreland came up on another thread and seems like a good choice.

My transition story isn’t out of teaching, but I have found that learning more about teaching has made it a more enjoyable job and and given me different opportunities. With a CELTA, a masters, and now almost at the end of a PhD I am still an ‘English teacher’ but I teach adults and do a lot of materials/curriculum work, as well as research and policy. Although Taiwan doesn’t have CELTA there are IELTS test centres and the assessment work is something I did for years, and enjoyed, and it is lucrative: this is another English teaching adjacent job you could consider (depending on your qualifications).

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Ahh my mistake - the CertTESOL then, which is much the same thing.

@bingobango I’m not sure whether BC are offering courses this year due to Covid-19. Worth getting in touch, though.

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I was in the same boat for a while, I finally realized I really enjoy teaching but don’t enjoy teaching EFL. Do you enjoy teaching at all? If so I agree with the other posters about upping your teaching credentials and getting yourself out of buxibans.

Look into Moreland University and get your state credential. That’s what I’m doing now, and even just having that on my resume and saying I’ll have my credential in a few months has gotten me interviews and offers at schools I had no chance at before. Higher pay, better benefits, etc.

Don’t do a CELTA, I have one and it’s basically meaningless to most schools here. Get your state license if you want to teach k-12 or an MA to teach university.

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It’s definitely worthwhile for improving your teaching and understanding…but, yes, useless for schools within Taiwan. I’ve lost count of interviews where I’ve mentioned my CELTA only to be be asked “…but do you have TEFL certificate?” :sweat_smile:

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I used to be a teacher on and off for a few years, then I went to work in Shanghai for a year doing IT Support, then I came back to Taiwan and joined a tech firm as an IT Engineer. My employer in China was able to get past the tough Chinese regulations for work permits/visas and needed someone who was a British citizen and could speak Chinese decently, which is why I was able to get the job. My job now is 95% Chinese, which was tough at first but easy once I got used to it. Being able to speak Chinese at a work level and having open work rights, like I do completely changes the game. Without at least one of those two it is hard to move out of the teaching game unless you have specific experience in an industry. If you only have teaching experience, can’t speak Chinese and don’t have an open work permit, your chances of getting employed in another sector are extremely small, and you’d be better off starting your own business here, or going back and getting experience in your home country first.

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This is very good advice.
I advise you to go back first and get your qualifications and solid experience (along with better pay ) or to seriously study Chinese. One or the other.

Don’t be like me and do it the hard slog way in Taiwan.

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I’ve read that they only require a “substitute teacher’s license”, not a full certification; is this true? IIRC some U.S. states hand those out for $50 and a background check. All it means is you aren’t a known criminal.

I see - this is the first time I am hearing about Moreland. This program does seem to help me walk the tightrope of getting a proper (well…at least recognized) teaching license while being able to still stay in Taiwan. Great lead, thanks! I will look into this further. :+1:

I am also really wanting to look into these teaching-adjacent fields as I have in the past always been the one who helped edit papers for my friends. At least doing it casually did not feel laborious - even if it could be a bit grating over the long haul, I think both editing/technical writing aligns with my natural interests. Thanks for the advice!

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Going back could be an option but…quite frankly it is a huge resource drain moving back and getting re-setup. It is my final resort honestly, as I have already made some good connections here and am really liking living here so far. Also, I really do feel as if I could leverage online learning/resources to develop a specialized/hard skill…perhaps this is a bit optimistic but I feel like I have to be! :fire:

Mandarin acquisition is coming slowly but surely…but yeah I would love to drop everything and study Chinese so I could really catalyze the process. At this point, getting an APRC is still a goal for me so I am afraid that is not an option at this time.

I am curious about your “hard slog” experience lol. I’m sure even if it was miserable at times you are now quite proud of the journey, yeah?

That is pretty inspirational! It sounds like you got at least an A+ cert or something to do IT support and also learned Chinese, all while in Taiwan? Really impressive.

I understand this sentiment 100%, as inconvenient of a truth as it is…going back home is not in the cards for a while. I really want to give it my best shot here. Just trying to find out how to. :muscle:

If you’re working a normal cram school job in the afternoons/evenings it’s completely possible. Most of the universities run their Chinese classes in the morning 9-11 or 9-12. You go to class in the morning, work in the evening. You stay on your work ARC so your time continues to build for APRC.

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Oh yeah, I know this is true. That was me until the uh…corona era. The quality of the classes took a pretty big hit when it shifted online, so just meeting with a private tutor now. Looking to start again once things get back to normal for sure.

How would you get your license if you work 9-5?

you mean teaching license?

Yes, that still requires a semester of teaching :sob:

“takes 9 months to complete the full program, with the final 12 weeks representing your teaching practicum (teaching in a school + working with a mentor teacher)” I’m 90% sure it can’t be at a cram or kindy

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iirc, someone posted on this forum that you could do it at cram school.

was it this thread?

if it were me, i’d email moreland to be sure…

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