You are scaring me Beachboy 
My Son is doing a Law Degree in the UK at the moment. If he will have to work until 65 and then consider working even longer in Taiwan, maybe Law isnāt paying what it used to? 
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Oh my oh my.
Not a good job market with a J.D.
The OP will definitely be able to get a job and thereās even a chance that itās decent initially since he has an English degree. Most likely it will take a year or two to find something halfway reasonable. Perfect jobs are the exception and even those arenāt stable long-term.
Funny thing! I was just told I was overqualified to teach English in Taiwan! I guess itās the 24 years practicing law
There HAS to be a niche market for teaching law to kindergarten kids in Taiwan. You just have to dig deeper. Maybe put up an advert outside Grandma Nittis? Jai-yo!
[quote=āGlowingYoungRuffianā]As of now, I am planning on moving to Taipei in the next couple of weeks so that I can find a job teaching English. Iāve read several article saying that itās best to actually go to Taiwan and find a job, rather than trying to land one before entering the country. And while this makes sense, Iām worried that this advice might be a bit dated and not reflective of the current job marketāespecially after seeing some of the recent posts on this forum. So, to those who probably know the market best, what are my chances of landing a job?
Iām 23. Iām a native English speaker (US). I have a BA in English, but not certifications or real experienceāthough I have done some tutoring.
Iām truly desperate for honest, well-informed advice because I donāt want to make this trip a short vacation. I really want to get to know Taiwan.
Thanks![/quote]
Oh my, donāt listen to some of the posts below yours.
As far as Iām aware, the current job market is fine, not explosive, but just fine.
āThereās no economic incentive to coming here for ESL work.ā
Iām leaving Taiwan after 3 very happy years at the end of October and in the time Iāve saved around $38,000 USD. This wasnāt me penny pinching either, I also bought a shiny new Mac Air, complete new suite of very expensive photography gear, paid off my student debt and have been on 4 diving trips to the Philippines, a trip to Japan, HK several times and Macau. While Iāve been doing this Iāve also lived in a great apartment in Kaohsiung on the 21st floor with an ocean and mountain view and a swimming pool downstairs. I donāt think Korea offers the same standard of life even if the money is a bit better, Japan is definitely nowhere near this money wise and in China, who knows.
Now, while I havenāt been in budget mode, clearly, I have worked my ass off doing 35-40 hour weeks, to which people are always aghast (people whoāve obviously never had a job outside of ESL). When I came here in 2010, the same doomsayers were telling me the same tired whiney story, as I lived here for a while I came to realise these people are completely out of touch with whatās happening on the ground and usually approaching their shelf life in the teaching world.
This summer I finished up my kindy job of 3 years and managed to find another immediately, without any difficulty. Iād recommend getting on the websites for where you want to go and also more recently the facebook groups like ākaohsiung subbingā or its equivalent in Taipei, scope them out, send a few resumes. When youāre here, get pounding the pavement, itās not hard to find buxibans, just go on Google Maps and find elementary and junior high schools and you will find theyāre surrounded by a cluster of buxibans and sometimes kindergartens.
Come with enough cash for 2 months (I was spending 15,000TWD for the first few months while I got set up) and take the first job you get, then start looking for something better. Hang out at western bars, with your co-workers and youāll be away. With my jobs, my adult school I got because I went door-to-door (and I have a CELTA) and my kindy job I got through a very good agent.
It seems scary, but itās really not, once the pay checks start coming in you will realise what a great decision youāve made, and as everyone kept telling me in my first few weeks of āIāll never get a job!ā panic, life is very very easy here. Iād also suggest not just tying yourself to Taipei.
Good luck!
tomā¦ glad to hear your success storyā¦ I was thinking about taking a kindy job on top of the job I already have in order to add more hours. Then I was reading that it is illegal and that I could be deported on another forum post. Any dangers in the kindy teaching world I need to look out for? How did you find all that time to be with the little munchkinsā¦ I imagine kindy teaching is pretty basicā¦? Thanks for any infoā¦
Itās true that itās illegal, but make your decisions based on the risks vs the benefits.
The risk is deportation and I think, a fine, but Iāve only heard of this happening second hand, in my 3 years in Kaohsiung it didnāt happen once that Iām aware of. The government knows this happens, when they inspect schools theyāre more interested in the teachers registered with immigration vs the teachers in school at that time, rather than if foreigners are teaching kindy kids - most kindys have anchinbans or buxibans attached or affiliated with them so they register you for those classes to allow you to be on site and teaching. When immigration comes knocking, you usually get forewarning.
In short the greater concern is wanting to be sure that the school isnāt handing out ARCs for cash or favours.
Teaching kindergarten can be the most rewarding classes of all, provided you have the one class for a minimum 2 hours a day, the variety of teaching maths, art, science, music is far more stimulating than straightforward English. The kids also want to be there, itās fascinating watching them grow and develop not just their language skills but also their personalities and cliques. The relationship with parents is also much tighter, I got showered with gifts, dental care, medical care, dinners, you name it.
As you can tell I thoroughly enjoyed it and in my eyes itās more than worth the risk, but thatās your decision to make.
The time is easy to find since kindy hours are the opposite of buxiban hours for the most part. There is always a kindy job with morning hours (9-11am) available. Kindy teaching is fairly easy. It requires some prep work but there is no homework to grade (shouldnāt be anyway). It does require that you are the right kind of person to teach kindy. And I am definitely not the right kind of person. I subbed kindy for a couple of weeks and HATED IT.
Another option to add more hours (if you have the time free) is to watch out for a 2-4pm gig teaching 1st/2nd graders.