Original Title: A Place to Advert Myself as a Babysitter/Nanny?
I know there is the “Taiwanted” section, but I figured parents would be able to help me best. I’m on a mission to find a service where I could advertise myself as a babysitter/nanny in Taipei.
I have a LOT of experience for my age (several years with one family along, and then many babysitting jobs on the side with infants, kids, and pre-teens) and I love doing this so I would love to continue in Taiwan.
In the US I use services like sittercity and care.com
Does anyone know if Taiwan has something similar to this (and in English)?
I really love nannying and I don’t know how long I can stomach TEFL-ing. I’m also studying Mandarin on the side so part-time babysitting in addition to nannying for a family would be ideal.
Does anyone think my utter lack of Mandarin will destroy my chances or do you think that might be an advantage? I would love to teach the family kids English; I just don’t want to deal with these buxiban things I’m hearing such awful things about.
It sounds to me like it would be an advantage. Some wealthy Taiwanese family would probably love to have a native English speaking nanny. However, be sure to check out the work visa regulations before you proceed any further.
[quote=“tomthorne”][quote=“Lili”]
Does anyone think my utter lack of Mandarin will destroy my chances or do you think that might be an advantage? I would love to teach the family kids English; I just don’t want to deal with these buxiban things I’m hearing such awful things about.
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It sounds to me like it would be an advantage. Some wealthy Taiwanese family would probably love to have a native English speaking nanny. However, be sure to check out the work visa regulations before you proceed any further.[/quote]
Do you think it would matter much? In the US I just work under the table so its not like there are tax forms. I mean… I couldn’t imagine a family being like “So I need you to fill out this W-2”
How do I find wealthy Taiwanese families? <-- Not a joke
The ROC government takes visa violations pretty seriously. If caught, you could end up being deported and banned for a period of time, or permanently. You may also be held in a detention center for a few months prior to deportation as well. Definitely take tomthorne’s advice and check out the visa regulations.
The TECO here in NYC is very very friendly. I already asked if I could work even as a student and what visas I need. Apparently the people were just like “Yea, whatever you need. Just come back when you’re ready. If you want to work, we will make it so you can work.”
Really. I was like
So I don’t know what will happen. Either way, I get an ARC in 4 months of study and then as I understand, I can definitely work. So I might as well plan ahead.
You can work for like 14 hours a week, but in a very limited area. Pretty sure nannying would not be included on the list. Even if it is, the rate is less than working in a 7-11, and you would need transcribed and authenticated certification of nannyhood or whatever its called. And as for getting caught, all it takes is for ONE nosy neighbour to inform the authorities and BOOM! You are BUSTED! And this happens ALL the time! Its THE most common way that Southeast Asian workers get caught here.
You can work for like 14 hours a week, but in a very limited area. Pretty sure nannying would not be included on the list. Even if it is, the rate is less than working in a 7-11, and you would need transcribed and authenticated certification of nannyhood or whatever its called. And as for getting caught, all it takes is for ONE nosy neighbour to inform the authorities and BOOM! You are BUSTED! And this happens ALL the time! Its THE most common way that Southeast Asian workers get caught here.[/quote]
Hm… well this sucks. My field is International Relations and Economics and I love my field, but I also love taking care of kids.
Guess its not like America where young woman are basically encouraged to take care of kids on the side.
Of course, they’re also “encouraged” to pay taxes on those wages…
In any case, as sandman said, you’ll be competing against Southeast Asian workers, legal and illegal, so expect very low wages. An analogous situation would be moving to the Southwestern US because you like picking vegetables.
The general attitude to this type of work in Taiwan is not like it is back home. I tried to explain why some young women actually want to go to Europe to be au pairs to Taiwanese friends - they did not get it at all. Being a nanny is not a high-status job anywhere, but in Taiwan it is something pretty well only exploited South Asians are expected to do.
You could probably find a rich family willing to exchange room and board for free English lessons. Little danger of being deported there - you’re just living there, after all, not getting paid. I tried finding a place to stay on this basis in South Korea, and got a lot of responses, but most were from young men looking for something a bit different. Still, I did know one Canadian woman in Japan who worked as an English teacher but stayed for free with families who exchanged room and board for English lessons for the kids.
If all the legalities work out and you’re really going to do it then check out parentpages.net
It’s a website for English speaking parents in Taiwan. While you may not find a job there someone may know someone who may know someone who can help.
That’s utter crap. There are lots of Taiwanese nationals who work as certified nannies and make 30.000 to 40.000 a month or more. They work legally with a nanny accreditation.
There are lots of nannies in Taiwan making 40,000 a month? Maybe.
The OP does not have a nanny certificate, and any nanny job she got would be illegal.
I personally know three of them. They are organized in a ‘Nanny Union’.
Here in Taichung a full time nanny makes roughly 1.5000 NTD a month per child plus red envelope which is another monthly fee. It is normal and according to the book that they have 2 kids to take care full time and up to 2 others part time.
My son was such a ‘part time boy’, the third child of his nanny , we paid the nanny 100 NTD per hour, again according to the book, which was another 9000 NTD a month for her.
bababa, I know the OP has no licence, I was answering to your wrong assessment of the situation.
Did you really mean 100NTD an hour? Cause that seems ridiculous. What is that? $3.50USD? Is that even minimum wage in Taiwan?
Edit:\ (Just looked up Taiwan’s minimum wage which is actually just some standard thing. So did some math and apparently $100NTD is above minimum wage)
Edit again:\
Now I’m thinking… There are English teachers who complain on these boards about getting paid less than $650NTD/hr. Which is effectively 6x what you’re paying your babysitting to take care of your kid. Do Taiwanese hate foreigners? Cause at such an income discrepancy I can’t understand how there doesn’t exist social tension.
Thanks irishmoe for the link. I’ll check it out when I get things sorted.
[quote=“Lili”]
Guess its not like America where young woman are basically encouraged to take care of kids on the side. [/quote] Yeah it’s not like America. Get a grip, it’s Taiwan. And schools don’t have metal detectors…
Besides the wealthy people here who want nannies, don’t want to see you once a week or whatever. They would want their kid immersed in English and would expect you to spend 8-10 hours straight with that kid each day, taking him to the zoo and feeding him ice-cream. Trust me it’s not good. Imagine being answerable to a rich TW woman AND taking care of the brat in English which he DOES NOT understand. Not easy, believe me.
[quote=“Lili”]
Now I’m thinking… There are English teachers who complain on these boards about getting paid less than $650NTD/hr. Which is effectively 6x what you’re paying your babysitting to take care of your kid. Do Taiwanese hate foreigners? Cause at such an income discrepancy I can’t understand how there doesn’t exist social tension.[/quote]
You’ll find out soon enough. Read the boards again, too, and you’ll see that this discrepancy has been discussed ad nauseum. Co-teachers get paid a third (if that) of the English teacher and do most of the work – grading papers, dealing with parents, re-explaining the English lesson, etc.
My landlady is a nanny. She certainly isn’t making much from it, but that and our rent money keeps her afloat. A lot of people in their 50s and 60s watch their grandkids and other people’s young ones for a living. (Children give their parents money each month to watch the little ones.)
You can find babysitting jobs, but I suggest going about it by word of mouth. Find a person with kids, tell them who you are and what you want to do. They’ll tell their friends. However, you’re probably going to be paid local wages, which you say to be about $100/hr. I would limit myself to only foreign clients, though. If anyone asks (and be sure someone will ask), you’re just the cousin visiting or something.
No, Lilli, you cannot work as a nanny legally. We have tried that for diplomats and its been a nightmare. There is no legal au pair thing, either. You can work legally part-time as a student, as long as it is related to your carreer and after a lenght of time on the island. And I’ve said that before.
If you work, illegally, you are on your own.
There are full time accredited local babysitters, who are licensed by Govt to take care of children in their own homes, where parents drop them and pick them up later. Some Taiwanese can get permission to have foreign live in caregivers, after 3 kids I think, or if there is someone disabled in the family, otherwise they cannot hire this person legally. Moreover, that kind of job is restricted to certain nationalities -South East Asia- and not all Taiwanese families, no matter how wealthy, can apply.
But I have offers from foreign/mixed families. One has accepted my salary request.
We’ll see…
I can’t afford to get deported cause like… my career would be destroyed I’m pretty sure.
Or I guess I’ll just have to be an English teacher and switch my student resident visa to an ARC and study on the side.
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Yeah it’s not like America. Get a grip, it’s Taiwan. And schools don’t have metal detectors…