What to look for in prospective employers & how to find them

I know you must all be bored with this kind of newbie fact-finding inquisition, but I’d be eternally grateful for any response… :help:

  • What chances do I have in finding a weekday, daytime job (willing to work part of Saturday) ? What kind of job would offer these hours ?
  • Most of the ads I’ve seen require only a degree, not a TESOL certificate, was mine a waste of money ?
  • Are the chains (eg. Hess) any good ? I wondered if they’d be a good place to start ?
  • What’s the best way to find jobs ? I’m guessing a bit of everything - door-to-door school visits, newspapers, the internet, ex pat hang-outs ?
  • Can I afford to be choosy, given that I will be based in Tainan ?
  • I love kids, but are foreigners still permitted to teach kindergarten ?
  • And the main question…how much can I expect to get paid (I have an English degree and TESOL cert) ? My bf (a white collar ex pat worker) was shocked (not in a good way) when I told him about some of the advertised salaries I’d seen.

On a different note, I have heard that some esl publishing companies advertise for reps. I currently work in educational publishing and wondered if this would be a viable alternative to teaching - any experiences anyone wants to share ?

BV :smiley:

Daytime work = kindergarten (Mon-Fri)

No difference to pay, some help getting a job

[quote]- Are the chains (eg. Hess) any good ? I wondered if they’d be a good place to start ?[/quote] Not too bad, usually depends on the branch manager.

Yes, try and set up a few interviews just before you leave. When you arrive, look in the papers/net.

Depends on your visa and how much money you have.

[quote]- I love kids, but are foreigners still permitted to teach kindergarten ?[/quote] Not on paper, in reality, yes!

About NT$550-700/hr About NT$50,000 - 60,000 a month. I get NT$600/hr teaching adults but have a light schedule so only make about NT$37,000/month. Given the strength of the pound this is not the place to save money to take back to Albion.

I see that Almas John has responded, but I hope I can add my own knowledge and experience to what he has already contributed…

Most schools offer daytime hours with the younger children (kindergarten and preschool) in the mornings and older children (elementary school and older) in the afternoons and evenings. Since first and second graders tend to have only one full day of classes a week, sometimes you can get a class teaching those age groups, but generally, the older kids come in after 3pm when their Chinese school lets out.

It depends on how prepared you want to be to teach. Just because a school doesn’t require it doesn’t mean that you won’t use it.

[quote]Are the chains (eg. Hess) any good ? I wondered if they’d be a good place to start ?[/quote]Chain schools can be good if you have no teaching experience because they are supposed to have good teacher training (especially ones that have been around for a long time and have very developed curricula like Hess); however, if you are not hard pressed for time and money, sometimes it pays to shop around for smaller schools.

[quote]What’s the best way to find jobs ? I’m guessing a bit of everything - door-to-door school visits, newspapers, the internet, ex pat hang-outs ?[/quote]The way I found my job was by googling every major website that listed jobs in Taiwan, sending my resume to ones that met my minimum requirements as far as salary, pay, benefits, and location went and prepared to interview with who ever responded back. It saves the legwork and trying to guess which schools are hiring or not knowing what they are offering before you spend time applying and interviewing.
It’s what worked for me.

[quote]Can I afford to be choosy, given that I will be based in Tainan ?[/quote]I cannot answer for the job market in Tainan.

[quote]I love kids, but are foreigners still permitted to teach kindergarten ?[/quote]As far as I know, foreigners are not permitted to teach in kindergartens. That being said, paraphrasing the words of the Ministry of Education: yes-maybe-no, but it depends on the mood of who ever is supposed to be enforcing this. In other words… :idunno: Go for it if that’s what you like.

[quote]And the main question…how much can I expect to get paid (I have an English degree and TESOL cert) ?[/quote]The average preschool teacher with ECE training in the US makes $19,610 a year. The average salary for someone teaching the same age group in Taiwan with no ECE training is NT$60,000/month or about $21,200 a year (without considering the fact that Taiwan has a significantly lower cost of living than many major US cities). It is quite possible to get more than $60,000, although I’m not sure about in smaller cities, but do keep this fact in mind when taking your salary in perspective.

[quote] My bf (a white collar ex pat worker) was shocked (not in a good way) when I told him about some of the advertised salaries I’d seen.[/quote]After reading what I’ve said about salaries here compared to those of people who have undergone training specifically for early childhood education, you can tell your white-collar boyfriend to stick it in his ear. :unamused:

Cheers,
ImaniOU

Plus, coming from Britland, the 6% tax here is probably not going to hurt too much, either.

I’ve heard that the way to go about it is:

9-4.30 job, 65 k
4 nights a week 3 hours @650-700/hr
some privates in the weekend
adds up to over 90k after tax.

you would need to be organised…good luck

Thanks everyone for these very informative replies, most helpful :slight_smile:

BV x

[quote=“BritishVick”]My bf (a white collar ex pat worker) was shocked (not in a good way) when I told him about some of the advertised salaries I’d seen.

On a different note, I have heard that some esl publishing companies advertise for reps. I currently work in educational publishing and wondered if this would be a viable alternative to teaching - any experiences anyone wants to share ?[/quote]

Just to put it in perspective, I just read that college graduates in Taiwan average 28,000 NT a month. Taiwan is still very much so a developing country and incomes have not caught up to Western standards.

I’ve seen quite a few openings for English editors or curriculum development for educational publishing companies. They appeared to be offering 50-60k for a non-sales job. You don’t want to be a ESL sales rep in Taiwan…there are just way too many competitors out there