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Chantilly Say posted:I get the impression the value of a CELTA jumps a lot if you already have a year or two's experience and want to make ESL teaching a long-term thing. That would make sense. I found that I got a hell of a lot more out of my TESOL than other people who take the same course and I think that's because I had experience to graft it to.
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Dec 9, 2015 00:19
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Atlas Hugged posted:CELTA isn't even that great of a course. It's the standard, but it focuses on adults and doesn't have a lot of classroom hours. If you want to primarily teach adults, which there are jobs for in Taiwan though the field is centered around children and teens, and are good at turning theory into practical skills, then you could do it just for the knowledge base. Frankly, the schools and institutions all more or less have an approach in mind based on whatever curriculum they use and what you're most likely going to get out of doing a CELTA or TESOL program are some survival teaching skills. These are pretty important, but you get a lot of the same stuff just from working for a cram school for a few months. I don't think any of the schools in Taiwan pay extra for having a TESOL, though Korea did if it had classroom hours and wasn't online. This is all true, but it's about teaching in kids in Taiwan, not the CELTA itself. Except that you spend half your time in a classroom so "doesn't have a lot of classroom hours" only makes sense given that it's a four week course.
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Dec 9, 2015 02:08
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Slightly speaking of which, what are salary expectations like for ESL jobs in Taipei?
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Dec 9, 2015 02:13
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If you're making less than 50k you're a chump and if you get the right job you can easily be making 65k or more. You will likely have to sacrifice location for salary.
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Dec 9, 2015 03:07
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What if I make less than 50k because I hate working and I take every opportunity for the fewest hours while still being able to pay my bills as possible? 
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Dec 9, 2015 03:10
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That's fine too but not what I meant. If you're specifically trying to make some bank, you shouldn't be under 50k.
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Dec 9, 2015 03:23
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On the flip side if you KNOW you're serious about a teaching career, skip the CELTA and go get an MA in TESL or applied linguistics (especially if you can get it funded, which is possible if you have a strong background and GRE scores). Besides the training and credentials, you'll probably make some connections as well.
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Dec 9, 2015 03:45
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Yeah, if you have any intention of making long term money, you probably want to be the EFL support teacher in an international school or teaching at the university level and for either you'll need your masters these days. I'm in what could be considered a career position in Bangkok in that I'm part of a corporate structure with staff below me and I'm partly responsible for winning new contracts, but I still make less than I would as a grunt in Taipei. And this job actually requires a BA/BS and a TESOL certificate (assuming I actually give a poo poo about working legally...), but given my salary I'm never going to see a return on that investment.
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Dec 9, 2015 04:35
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Atlas Hugged posted:If you're making less than 50k you're a chump and if you get the right job you can easily be making 65k or more. You will likely have to sacrifice location for salary. Or you could be making about double that and hate yourself like me. But I get yoga classes after work from the school.
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Dec 9, 2015 05:20
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For me, I've enjoyed teaching so far, and am thinking it may become a long term thing. I really don't have any prospects back home that don't involve retail or customer service; and I've thus far enjoyed what I've been doing. Taiwan is growing on me, too. I wouldn't mind making more money, but I know I probably don't have the credentials to get into one of those $100k/mo private schools in Taipei, but perhaps it'll be a goal down the road. For now, I'm aiming to take a week off in March to do a lap around Taiwan. I've heard a few people say it's a 4-5 day trip around. I'm looking to have at least half a Saturday plus 8 days to do it all in. Is there a list of must do/must see that I should plan for on such a trip? I'm probably looking at pacing myself to about 6 hours of actual riding to save my rear end from getting too sore.
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Dec 9, 2015 15:58
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Atlas Hugged posted:If you're making less than 50k you're a chump and if you get the right job you can easily be making 65k or more. You will likely have to sacrifice location for salary. When you say that, do you just mean "not downtown" or "not MRT-adjacent at all"? The Taipei MRT is so extensive compared to some places that I wouldn't, at first glance, expect it to be hard to find a job paying the right range that puts you on an MRT line.
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Dec 10, 2015 19:50
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Usually not downtown, but that's when we're getting into the 65-70k range. You can easily find something on the MRT for 50k these days, or at least you should be able to. Granted, my information isn't the most up to date.
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Dec 11, 2015 04:31
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Due to a 2-week work shutdown looming in January and some spare paid time-off/travel savings, I just recently booked a short trip to Taipei between January 19-29 (actual dates in Taiwan will be January 21-28) which will be my first trip to Taiwan. I have ~20 hour overnight layovers on both arrival/departure flights in Seoul, but figure I can just ask in the South Korea thread for guidance on that one. I'll be flying out of the pacific northwest United States, so a little bit of gloomy/chilly weather/rain is not foreign to me (we've been getting loving pounded by rain the past 7-10 days). I have a loose game plan of what I'd like to see, but could use some assistance in putting it all together. I'll be flying solo, but have a Vietnamese friend who is studying in Manila and may fly down to visit for a few days. He's been to Taipei once or twice, but he's certainly not an expert on Taiwan and said that the Chinese language barrier was a little bit of a challenge to him. Advice on where to stay/eat, how to get around, what to see, what to avoid, etc would be much appreciated. From what I've gathered, I don't need a visa (as a US citizen) to visit either Taiwan or South Korea, but do I need to fill out anything ahead of time? Most important for me to see/do: spend a day in Yangmingshan National Park seeing as much as I can, visit the Kavalan Distillery SE of Taipei, potentially getting addicted to chewing betel nuts, take the train from Taipei to Hualien and spend 2 days exploring the Taroko Gorge, and of course eat like a gluttonous American cow. Obviously I should probably checkout the Taipei 101 and Keelung night market, but these take a backseat to what I previously listed. I would really like to get some good day hiking in as I was in Thailand/Cambodia/Vietnam in September and wasn't able to really do any hiking due to the hot rear end weather/a travel partner with some health issues. I realize the weather may be a deterrence here so any advice to this aspect would be greatly appreciated. We rented motorbikes in Hue, Vietnam cruising the countryside and absolutely LOVED it: I was hoping I could do this in Hualien, but read somewhere that I would be required to have an international driver's license. Is this true? I don't have a real strict budget for this trip but would like to keep it fairly minimal as the cheap flight ($672 roundtrip) was one of the deciding factors in me choosing Taiwan over other destinations. I plan on staying in hostels/cheap guesthouses during the trip, eating mostly street food (albeit constantly) with a couple splurges on nice restaurants, and don't give a poo poo about bringing any souvenirs back besides some bottles of good rice wine/whiskey from Kavalan, and possibly some betel nuts (are these legal to bring back to the states?) I'm sure I'll have plenty more to ask in the coming days before the trip, but this seems like a pretty good start. Thanks in advance for the help.
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Dec 12, 2015 11:21
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Atlas Hugged posted:Doing a CELTA is definitely something I'd recommend if you are serious about teaching English abroad, but it won't affect how employable you are in Taiwan. Do you have a pulse? Do you have a BA/BS? You're employable! Yeah I am a professional educator with an M. Ed. and I wanted to get some type of English language training certificate but didn't want to get another Master's because that's a lot of effort. I do want to go to Taiwan but that isn't the only reason for it.
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Dec 13, 2015 23:29
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Is there a local Craigslist-alternative that Taiwan uses? I don't see as much listed on Craigslist as I ought to. I'll be landing in Taipei looking for work mid-January.
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Dec 22, 2015 08:03
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Chantilly Say posted:Is there a local Craigslist-alternative that Taiwan uses? I don't see as much listed on Craigslist as I ought to. I'll be landing in Taipei looking for work mid-January.
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Dec 22, 2015 08:51
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Chantilly Say posted:Is there a local Craigslist-alternative that Taiwan uses? I don't see as much listed on Craigslist as I ought to. I'll be landing in Taipei looking for work mid-January. You can search Facebook groups for teaching gigs. Plenty of "X city Teachers/Teaching Jobs". If you are looking for work in Taipei, though, good luck. I hear the teaching job market there is not pleasant.
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Dec 29, 2015 09:34
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Not really? Unless it's changed pretty drastically since I was last looking for work in early 2014, Taipei is still pretty much "walk into a place with your resume, walk out with a job."
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Dec 29, 2015 10:15
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Sorry, that was unclear. I mean for housing.
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Dec 29, 2015 19:56
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Chantilly Say posted:Sorry, that was unclear. I mean for housing. Yeah Tealit is the place, like Tetsuo said. Just pretend Pandemonium doesn't exist, the rest of us do.
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Dec 29, 2015 20:06
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Chantilly Say posted:Sorry, that was unclear. I mean for housing. Also gonna throw out http://www.591.com.tw/ which would probably work well enough with Google Translate if you can't read Chinese, and will have a lot more options at better prices than the expat-focused stuff. Foreigner-focused places p much always charge a slight premium and only have a fraction of what's actually available.
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Dec 30, 2015 01:40
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Spanish Matlock posted:Yeah Tealit is the place, like Tetsuo said. Just pretend Pandemonium doesn't exist, the rest of us do. Tealit is the place to find housing? Bahahaha! You, person, are not very bright, are you? Nice non-sequitur, too. A good representative of the average cram school teacher. And rent.591.com.tw is the place to go for housing. But again, Facebook is not a bad place to browse. You will find a lot of overpriced rentals, but if you are looking to live with some roomies I'd say Facebook groups are a better bet than rent.591.com.tw.
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Dec 30, 2015 04:05
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Pandemonium posted:Tealit is the place to find housing? Bahahaha! You, person, are not very bright, are you?
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Dec 30, 2015 04:09
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TetsuoTW posted:You must be a barrel of laughs at parties. And to think, I didn't even mention the disgusting comma splice from that post! Also, wtf does any of this have to do with how I act in real life? Are you so new to the internet that you think how people post on internet forums is how they comport themselves irl? Or, even worse, that the two must needs be the same?! You really don't belong on this comedy forum, eh? Oh, and thanks for taking the time to comment on my post--the superfluous part of it, no less!--and prove the other poster wrong vis-a-vis ignoring li'l ole me.
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Dec 30, 2015 04:46
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Pandemonium posted:And to think, I didn't even mention the disgusting comma splice from that post! What are you doing these days, Pandemonium?
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Dec 30, 2015 05:02
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Barto posted:What are you doing these days, Pandemonium? being unfunny, apparently
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Dec 30, 2015 05:02
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Barto posted:What are you doing these days, Pandemonium? Got a worthless bilingual General English book being published in the new year; writing the third iteration of a series of GEPT-clone tests that has Singaporean backing; editing medical research; doing a few private classes for rent $$$; having my voice recorded for bullshit tech company products; and doing my best to take Chinese-->English translation jobs away from Taiwanese because they simply cannot write a sentence in English that is not either riddled with errors or awkward as all hell (not that i blame them). Edit: You ne?
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Dec 30, 2015 05:14
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Pandemonium posted:Got a worthless bilingual General English book being published in the new year; writing the third iteration of a series of GEPT-clone tests that has Singaporean backing; editing medical research; doing a few private classes for rent $$$; having my voice recorded for bullshit tech company products; and doing my best to take Chinese-->English translation jobs away from Taiwanese because they simply cannot write a sentence in English that is not either riddled with errors or awkward as all hell (not that i blame them). you have a very negative worldview and should lighten up and enjoy life a little more hth
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Dec 30, 2015 05:35
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Pandemonium posted:Got a worthless bilingual General English book being published in the new year; writing the third iteration of a series of GEPT-clone tests that has Singaporean backing; editing medical research; doing a few private classes for rent $$$; having my voice recorded for bullshit tech company products; and doing my best to take Chinese-->English translation jobs away from Taiwanese because they simply cannot write a sentence in English that is not either riddled with errors or awkward as all hell (not that i blame them). Sorry you spent all that time learning Chinese to only have crappy jobs that you hate. I still haven't learned any Chinese and I'm really enjoying my work!
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Dec 30, 2015 05:39
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quadrophrenic posted:you have a very negative worldview and should lighten up and enjoy life a little more hth Good to know you reached such a complete conclusion of my worldview based on a description of my work on a comedy forum. Moon Slayer posted:Sorry you spent all that time learning Chinese to only have crappy jobs that you hate. I still haven't learned any Chinese and I'm really enjoying my work! Who said I hated my jobs? Although, to be fair, there is a good deal more stress and difficulty than your typical sing the ABCs and dance and watch kids write in workbooks ESL job that I am almost positive is what is currently occupying your days. But hey, if that fills you with more pleasure than your copy editor job (that was you, before, right? The guy who wouldn't shut up about his cool newspaper job--only to be unceremoniously fired...please correct me if I am wrong!), then great! Posting from a cafe with a nice view of a park and a warm latte next to my laptop. The perks of being employed by yourself, having a skill other than "speak English", and only doing work you want to do. Edit: Almost forgot! After working for three hours, I'm about to head off to the gym before I go back to my spacious gongyu (not taofang), watch an episode of Master of None, and then do some more work on my couch or my standing-desk area depending on how I feel. Have a good day! Pandemonium fucked around with this message at 06:00 on Dec 30, 2015 |
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Dec 30, 2015 05:58
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Pandemonium posted:The perks of being employed by yourself, having a skill other than "speak English", and only doing work you want to do.
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Dec 30, 2015 06:00
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Pandemonium posted:Good to know you reached such a complete conclusion of my worldview based on a description of my work on a comedy forum. i'm just saying every time you post in here it's a huge loving bummer for everyone involved, so, y'know, occam's razor
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Dec 30, 2015 06:04
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TetsuoTW posted:lol you think this makes you special When 95% of the foreigners are stuck in classrooms and 4% are in soul-sucking offices, I do feel kinda special being able to work wherever I want, whenever I want. A special snowflake individual? No. But a special working situation that is better than 99% of the jobs available in Taiwan and probably 80%+ of the jobs available back home, I think that's fair. Eagerly awaiting your next shitpost, though, bro. You gotta keep your combo going.
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Dec 30, 2015 06:04
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quadrophrenic posted:i'm just saying every time you post in here it's a huge loving bummer for everyone involved, so, y'know, occam's razor Yeah, this is one thread on one forum. I don't pretend to think what people post here is a reasonable facsimile of who they are as individuals in the real world or even elsewhere on the internet or hell even elsewhere on SA. Why would you do that? Why would anyone?
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Dec 30, 2015 06:07
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Pandemonium posted:Who said I hated my jobs? Although, to be fair, there is a good deal more stress and difficulty than your typical sing the ABCs and dance and watch kids write in workbooks ESL job that I am almost positive is what is currently occupying your days. But hey, if that fills you with more pleasure than your copy editor job (that was you, before, right? The guy who wouldn't shut up about his cool newspaper job--only to be unceremoniously fired...please correct me if I am wrong!), then great! Good to hear things are going good for you, then! Your previous post was so dripping with negativity and you know how we all worry about you snapping and going on a stabbing rampage. And thanks for your concern, but I'm doing pretty good, too! I'm doing a bit more than "singing the ABC's and dancing and watching kids write in workbooks" since I got a job teaching adults. Now I get to do things like go down to Taipei 101 every week to teach presentation classes at the Taiwan Stock Exchange. It's pretty neat! Some students just want to practice conversation, too, so yesterday I got paid to chat about MMO's and Star Wars for 90 minutes. Taiwan's pretty great, isn't it? 
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Dec 30, 2015 06:13
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Pandemonium posted:Eagerly awaiting your next shitpost, though, bro. You gotta keep your combo going.
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Dec 30, 2015 06:18
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Does Taiwan shut down over Lunar New Year like Korea and China? Or is it more like Hong Kong where there are a few things going on.
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Dec 30, 2015 08:45
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Pandemonium posted:When 95% of the foreigners are stuck in classrooms and 4% are in soul-sucking offices, I do feel kinda special being able to work wherever I want, whenever I want. A special snowflake individual? No. But a special working situation that is better than 99% of the jobs available in Taiwan and probably 80%+ of the jobs available back home, I think that's fair. Show's what you know! Soul-sucking offices ARE my classrooms!
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Dec 30, 2015 09:18
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DontAskKant posted:Does Taiwan shut down over Lunar New Year like Korea and China? Or is it more like Hong Kong where there are a few things going on.
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Dec 30, 2015 09:21
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DontAskKant posted:Does Taiwan shut down over Lunar New Year like Korea and China? Or is it more like Hong Kong where there are a few things going on.
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Dec 30, 2015 09:46
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