Teaching Hours In Taiwan?

Will you be working 9 – 5 in Taiwan as a teacher like most other jobs around the world require?  NO!  That is one of the great things about teaching English in Taiwan, most jobs do not require you to be at work from 9 – 5.  Some do, such as schools, but the majority of jobs at private cram schools will require you to be at work for only 20 hours to 30 hours a week.  The exact number of hours will depend on which city you work and your school, but the majority of jobs mean you’ll only be working about 4 hours a day on average.

If you want to work more, then there are plenty of ways you can do this.  Find a second job or use your spare time for other work outside of teaching in a cram school.  If you do want to work the normal 9 – 5, then your best bet is to find work at a public school.  However, please keep in mind that public schools only hire teachers who are certified as teachers in their home country.  If you are not a certified teacher, then you will be limited to working in privately owned schools.

Can I Use An Online Degree In Taiwan?

Before you jump on the plane and make the life changing decision to move to Taiwan and teach English, are you sure that you are actually qualified to teach? Teaching in Taiwan isn’t hard and you can get jobs easily provided you come from an English speaking country, speak English as your first language and have at least a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Most people in this day and age should have no difficulty satisying the Bachelor’s degree requirement and this is one of the reason so many people from America and Canada move to Taiwan each year to teach. The catch is that not all degrees are recognized. Some people make a very bad decision of studying for a specific type of degree before they move to Taiwan, and only once they have started studying or graduate do they find out that their newly acquired degree isn’t of any use.

Just what degree’s hold no weight when applying for teaching jobs in Taiwan as a foreigner? It isn’t that they hold no weight, these degrees are straight out not recognized. Online degrees cause the most problems for people who obtain them with the intentions of applying for better teaching positions in Taiwan, or for teachers who are already in Taiwan and want to study while they work at the same time. The end result is that a lot of time and money is wasted as soon as they discover they will be no better off after they graduate with the online degree than they were before without it. Obviously this is only in relation to finding work in Taiwan as a teacher. Online degrees are pointless for anyone who is considering using them to find better jobs.

The only other solution is to attend an actual university in order to get your degree. If you do this you’ll be sure that you won’t be knocked back when you try to apply for the new job. Either do this before you move to Taiwan or save up some money and then take a year off from work and study to obtain your Master’s degree. These traditional degrees are obviously much more expensive than obtaining them online, however, you will at least know that they will be of some use after you graduate and not just a fancy piece of paper that you can stick on your wall but can’t actually use for anything other than impressing your friends.

Teaching English in Taiwan is easy but there are still some restrictions regarding the kinds of degrees that can be used to apply for teaching jobs. The biggest mistake is thinking that you can use an online degree to apply for a position. It doesn’t matter what position you are applying for, the simple truth is that these degrees are not recognized in Taiwan and they will be a waste of time if you want to use it to find work as a teacher. Save yourself a lot of time and money and just go to a physical university campus to get your degree.

Teaching Hours Working In Taiwan

You’ve looked at all the options and have decided that Taiwan seems like the right place for you to teach English. This is true as Taiwan does offer some of the best pay with a reasonable low cost of living, however, one thing you need to be aware of is that the hours you teach can and will vary depending on the school you work in and where that school is located on the island. Cram schools and universities offer a wide varying number of class hours and there is no way to know what hours you’ll get without actually asking the school before hand. Many schools will let you know in advance the number of classes and hours you’ll teach.

The bulk of teachers in Taiwan do around 20 to maybe 24 hours a week. There are a few reasons for this, but the main one is that classes are typically held in the afternoons once children have finishedtheir day at public school. This means there are only a limited number of hours that students can go to class, and as such it means there are only a limited number of hours you will be able to teach. Since most schools open Saturday, you’ll probably be doing hours in the morning or afternoon and not at night on Saturday. Regardless, this is why most teachers teach around 20 to 24 hours a week and itwould be safe to say that if you do move to Taiwan this is what you’ll be working. Need more hours? Don’t worry, you can use a few methods to increase the number of hours you work if that is what youwant.

The maximum number of hours any teacher can work is 32, this is the law and if you do more than this just know that you are technically breaking the law. So this means that most schools will be only ableto offer you 32 hours of classes. Many won’t as there just aren’t enough hours in the day to offer this many classes. If this is the case then what is the best solution? One method is to simply look fora second job. This may or may not be possible depending on the number of hours and days those hours are on that you may already be working. If this is the case and you can’t or don’t have any availabletime to find a second school, then you can consider teaching students privately. Just be aware that teaching students privately is against the law, so it would be best to look for a second school that hasmore hours to offer.

As an English teacher in Taiwan you will be working around 24 hours a week. The main reason is that the hours most classes are held are in the afternoons and evenings and there is no way to hold anymoreclasses than what is available. If you really need more hours then the best solution is to find a second job which should be able to bump your hours up a little.

What Qualifications Do You Need To Teach English in Taiwan?

Just like any job or career, teaching English in Taiwan does have a few requirements.  Without meeting these requirements, you can’t legally work in Taiwan.  You might be surprised to know that there are teachers who work illegally in Taiwan.  Just because you are studying or a student of Chinese in Taiwan doesn’t mean you can legally teach English in schools.  The Ministry of Education in Taiwan has clear and plain guidelines for anyone who wants to teach in Taiwan.  If you want to work in Taiwan you’ll need to be a native English speaker, come from the USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand or South Africa and have either a Bachelor’s degree OR an Associate’s with WITH extra TEFL or TESOL certification.

The simplest and most basic of the requirements is that of being a native English speaker.  As long as you were born in any of the countries mentioned above and have a passport from one of those countries, you won’t have a problem here.  What some people can have a problem with is the Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree.  Gone are the days of being able to teach English in Taiwan just because you held a foreign passport.  Now, you’ll need a Bachelor’s or an Associate’s degree with the extra certification.  It doesn’t matter what field your Bachelor’s is.  Unless you are specifically looking at working in public schools or a University, any kind of Bachelor’s is fine.  Don’t have a Bachelor’s?  Ok, then you’ll need an Associate’s and TEFL papers.  While TEFL or TESOL certification might sound scary, you can get yourself qualified in usually a month or less, so if you don’t have one yet I’d recommend doing it before you try applying to teach in Taiwan.

Want to Teach English in Taiwan?

Do you find yourself wondering about teaching English in Taiwan?  Taiwan, a small country of around 26 million people, is a popular destination for English teachers.  Teachers have found their way to Taiwan to teach and live, despite their being many other countries in Asia where you can teach English.  However, Taiwan is unique and different in its own way.  You’ll find a way of life and experience something in Taiwan that no other country has to offer.  This includes but is not limited to better living conditions, a nation of friendly people and an opportunity to save up money if that is your goal.  Taiwan isn’t for everyone, but for many it remains the best place to work as a teacher.

Let’s be honest, many people consider making the move to being a teacher in Taiwan or Asia with the single goal of saving up money.  Many teachers end up in Taiwan with this single goal, save up money to use for whatever they need it for.  If you want to make money teaching English, then Taiwan is possibly one of the better places you can do it.  Why is this?  Why not try your hand at teaching in China, Japan or Korea to just name a few?  There are many other countries you can teach in, but they don’t offer what does Taiwan.  That is, a fairly high level of pay coupled with a relatively low cost of living.  One of the biggest things you’ll be able to save money on in Taiwan is your rent.  Some people end up spending half of their income on rent, but this isn’t the case in Taiwan.  If you want to save money, you might end up paying only 5 – 10% of your monthly wage on rent.  This might not sound like much to many people, but rent can be a big killer and after a few months of teaching you’ll be able to see just what effect cheap rent can have on your bank balance.  English teachers in Taiwan are also paid well when compared to what it costs to live.  You could probably make more per hour working in Japan or Korean, but when you add up what it costs to live in those countries, you actually come out behind.  Saving money is easy in Taiwan, but don’t get me wrong, it can be an expensive place if that is how you want to live.  However, if you are smart and make the right choices, you’ll be able to save more in Taiwan than most other countries.

Another great thing about teaching English in Taiwan is that the country is small.  Most of the population is located within three major cities, with each city offering plenty of English teaching jobs.  The bulk of the jobs are in Taipei, but you’ll also find plenty of work in Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung.  It is common for someone in Australia or Canada to spend 30 minutes to one hour driving to work each day.  In Taiwan, this is extremely unusual, unless you really like driving.  I enjoy nothing more than knowing that work is only five to ten minutes away by scooter.  Why?  It gives me more time to do the things I like.  Less time traveling to and from work means I have more time to do what I want and enjoy.  Everything is close and convenient in Taiwan.  Taipei and Kaohsiung have subway systems that also make getting around easy.  After spending sometime in Taiwan, it can be very difficult to get used to how far you need to travel in the USA sometimes just to get to the 7-11.

Taiwan is a great place to work as an English teacher.  If you want to save money, you’ll be able to do it if you are prepared to avoid over spending and going out every night.  Taiwan is very convenient and makes getting around easy.  There are plenty of places you could work in, but none offer a teaching experience quite like Taiwan.