Taiwan
Qualifications
In order to get a work visa, you must be a native speaker of English, sign a 1 year contract, and have either a Bachelor’s degree or an Associate’s degree with a TEFL Certificate. Taiwan does not recognize distance degrees, no matter how legitimate; you must be in residence for at least one third of the length of your degree in order to meet their degree requirements.
Types of English teaching jobs
Most jobs are in buxibans (private language schools). There are also kindergartens, public schools, universities and international schools. Universities and international schools are the most desired jobs, but also command the highest qualifications, like a Master’s degree or public school certification.
Salary
Many schools pay you an hourly wage with a minimum number of hours that are stipulated on your contract. New teachers make on average about NT$550-600/hour. Monthly contracts pay between $NT 50-70,000/ month. This should also include sick pay and paid holidays. Foreign teachers pay 6-13% income tax.
Working conditions
Monthly contracts are normally 30-40 hours/week. Classes can be very large with 30-50 children. Classes can often be quite late, until 9pm is not unusual. Kindergarten and children’s schools are very popular.
General information
Jobs are plentiful and it is not necessary to have a job lined up for you prior to arriving in Taiwan. One possibility is to show up in Taiwan as a tourist, find a job on your own, sign a contract and get the school to sponsor your visa, and then leave the country on a visa run to return on a work visa. This can be stressful for a new teacher, so the easiest route (not necessarily the most lucrative) would be to have a job in hand before arriving in Taiwan.
Links
http://www.buxiban.com/ Great source for information
http://140.111.1.22/english/ Ministry of Education
http://users2.ev1.net/~turton/teach_index.html Good introduction to Taiwan
http://users2.ev1.net/%7Eturton/ideas.html Classroom tips
http://www.englishintaiwan.com/ English in Taiwan
