Working / Studying in Taiwan

Work Working in Taiwan
1

I’ve been very impressed with the answers on Taiwan living and working on this board. I was wondering if any of you could help me on two questions of my own.

As a quick summary, I previously lived in Mainland China for 4 years, learned to read / write / speak Mandarin, then got a graduate degree in finance from a good US school, and worked in the financial sector in the US for several years. After several years of hard work and corporate drudgery, the bank I worked for slowly imploded, and I found myself out of a job. Now I am out of work and looking for opportunities out East.

1. What are the best short-term Mandarin training courses for foreigners who already speak / read / write but need a solid refresher? I’m specifically looking for an intensive 3-4 mo program where Mandarin speaking is mandatory 24 / 7 so I can jump-start my Mandarin-speaking brain. I heard the Mandarin Training Center (MTC) at National Taiwan Normal University is good (web.mtc.ntnu.edu.tw/mtcweb/index … 97&lang=en) but am concerned they don’t have any courses focused on business-related Mandarin. Any other good programs out there?

2. What are job prospects for US citizens in Taiwan with a graduate degree? Are short-term English teaching gigs possible? What about longer-term career work?

3. What are prospects for starting your own business? Is it easy to find financing? Can foreign businesses succeed? I’m considering starting something related to my background (investing-related) with a focus on research or hi-tech, but only after I get a lay of the land and get my Mandarin back to speed.

I still have several months before moving, so any info would be great. I’ve also thought about other places in Asia included Malaysia, Thailand, and even the Mainland (despite the increasingly difficult pollution problems there). Thoughts?

2

With a graduate degree you can find teaching jobs super easy, maybe even at a high paying fancy institute if you can present yourself as valuable. I know in Hsinchu or Taipei you might be able to find a solid career too, with a business background. There are a lot of multinational corporations, a lot of them tech related.

I don’t know about financing but you can definitely start your own business. I know a lot of foreign restaurant owners, as well as people who teach business English at companies as their own business.

3

I was talking with a Chinese history professor here (from the US), and she mentioned a very intensive course in Mandarin that required that they give an “oath” only to use Mandarin. But her description made it sound like she was learning to speed-read highly complex material and comprehend it broadly.

4

Unfortunately in the eyes of local companies, multinational or not, you have little to offer.

Secondly, you will struggle to get more than a local salary, even if you manage to find a position.

There are plenty of English speaking locals with the same background here, who will work for 30 to 40K a month. This is not much at all.

This has been discussed plenty of times on this forum.

In fact I know a local with a postgrad degree from one of the worlds top unis. She gets a relatively high salary of 50k. Fluent in Mandarin and English.
Gone are the days of having a white face in the office because, well…the face is white.

The only real option is to get a job overseas, which will relocate you here with a decent expat package.

Other than that, teach English.