Hi,
I am looking into teaching English as a foreign language in Taiwan. I have done quite a lot of research but have a few questions to which I am unable to find up-to-date answers.
I am an English native speaker. I have a good BA degree but no tefl qualification. I am hoping to head to Taiwan in May/June this year. (I know this may not be the best time to go from a ‘finding work’ perspective but I hope to find something anyway. Please let me know if you think this unwise).
Here are my questions:-
Firstly, is the job market really tightening up? I can imagine this is true but would appreciate some recent info. If this is the case, would you advise securing a job before leaving or is it still possible to find one on arrival, assuming I bring enough money to live off for the first couple of months? I am not expecting streets paved with gold or anything, just would like to know if there are still jobs about.
Money and Visas. I Don’t have that much money just now and have read on some pages that you need at least $3000 in your bank account in order to get a visa. I will probably have enough money for a hostel and food for a month or so, but this will be overdraft and, therefore, nowhere near £2000. Again, perhaps securing a job prior to arrival would help with getting a visa…? Would you advise an agency?
As for location, I like the sound of Kaohsiung as opposed to Taipei. Which would you advise? Would it be more sensible to get a job in Taipei in order to get a feel for things?
I think that’s everything. I’m excited at the prospect of a new challenge in an interesting country, any info anyone can offer me, though, would be most appreciated.
Cheers