Teaching English in Taiwan. Some Advice for Newcomers.

Five years. That’s how long I’ve been in Asia. One year in Beijing, and 4 in Taiwan. Here’s somethings I have learned...Some advice for the newcomer, or people who are thinking about coming to Taiwan. This post is specifically about work related stuff. 

1. Don’t go through recruiters. Just don’t. Come here on a visitor visa and find a job. You can ask me if you want to know more details. 
2. Try to get a part time job to sponsor your work permit rather than a full-time job. If a job holds your work permit, they have leverage over you. And there are lots of unscrupulous employers. It is better than, China, for example, or maybe even Korea…but nonetheless, there are still lots of scumbag employers here. Plus, if you get a part time work permit, then you can get other jobs as you please, and transfer ARC if necessary, which is much easier than applying for a new one. 
3. Overtime abuse is rampant in Taiwan…especially among Taiwanese employees. Yet another reason to avoid full-time jobs. It is very common for jobs to ask you to attend events or do out of class paperwork or any number of things that you will spend your time doing and not get paid for, even though you are being paid by the hour. If you’re full time, just forget about it…they own you. Contract terms do not apply. 
4. Contract terms do not apply. Asians don’t give a shit about contracts. They will violate your contract without thinking twice about it. Having a personal relationship with your employer is much more important than negotiating a contract. Taiwanese labor law is good and fair, but you don’t want to go there unless you have to and are sure you don’t want to work at the place anymore. Legal issues are exhausting and inefficient. 
5. How to set personal boundaries the Taiwanese way. Here’s how Taiwanese cross the street: they look left, see that a car is coming, choose to walk out in front of it, then turn their head right to look at the next lane. Lesson: pretend to be busy or unaware of your blatant disregard for policy or rules (in this case traffic) and all will be well…in this case, literally, looking the other way. One of the most infuriating thing about Taiwanese culture for me is this playing dumb stuff. They will avoid confrontation at all costs, but that doesn’t mean they will not screw you. So, just get creative with it. If they tell you you have to show up for an event and not get paid for it…whoops! You got terribly ill that morning and had to stay home. They tell you some bullshit nonsense policy or paperwork Yady yada and whoops! You forgot about it! See if they push you. Don’t do what I did and call them out on their nonsensical policies. Just so you know…here’s what happens if you do.
6. If you call them out. a) They will blow smoke to obscure the structure and responsibility…it’s like fighting a 7-headed monster who’s heads regrow every time you cut one off. You will never know exactly who you are fighting…and if you take it to the top level, the CEO or owner will claim they don’t have the power or some such shit to intervene and just play like they’re on your side until you leave…at which point they will immediately resume plotting against you.  b) They will blame it on the policy as if the policy is some living creature that has a mind of its own…and they have no control over it c) they will target you for elimination, which will come when you least expect it.
7. Don’t believe the hype. There are there ways that shady employers will try to scare you. 1) They will claim the police will show up at your doorstep after they cancel your work permit. Bullshit. The police will not come to throw you out of the country if an employer cancels your work permit. In fact, they cannot legally do so without a document called a “cancel contract agreement” that has your signature on it.  Actually, the notion of the Taiwanese police actually enforcing the law is kind of comical to me...since they usually do as little as possible. Anyway, even if your work permit gets canceled, you still have 2 weeks. And even if your two weeks runs out, you can just do a visa run to hong kong. It’s really not a big deal. Go to the CLA (Council of Labor Affairs) for advice, in English if you wait. 2) Taiwan has criminal Libel laws. Which means, if someone makes a complaint against you for libel, the police will get involved. I’ve been threatened with this, and I know others who have too. But I’ve never heard of anyone actually doing it, and furthermore, they'd have to go to court to prove you libelled them anyway. It's only libel if you said something about them publicly that they can prove is untrue or injurious. 3) They will enforce an “early termination penalty” from the contract. Contrary to popular belief, it is blatantly illegal to withhold this penalty from your paycheque. The clause is legal, but they must seek the money in civil court if you don’t pay, which they never do. If they withhold money from your pay, it is time to file for mediation at the CLA…provided that you have a work permit and are working legally there.
8. Asian Management: sucks. It’s very top-down, they don’t care about consensus building and their favourite management style is intimidation. They also love being obscure about company organisation. Your manager may not actually be a “manager”. It’s confusing, but it’s safe to say that most of the stuff comes from the top, which you also may not know about. Like, is it the branch manger, the owner, HQ? You’ll probably have no idea. 
9. Big brother is watching. They love observing you and forming opinions about you without you being aware that it’s happening. They don’t see this as a problem or creepy at all. Your co-teachers, or classroom teachers will report to management on what you are doing, sometimes in real time. People will complain about you without your knowledge and then management will act on their complaints without telling you even what was complained about. It’s part of being an outsider. Taiwanese culture is very homogenous and intolerant to outside influence and ideas. They have their own way of doing things and due to their communication style (or lack thereof) and the language barrier, you will be out of the loop 90 percent of the time. This can make a person paranoid and skittish over time. Just smile and nod and if things become too crazy, just go find another job. These jobs are a dime a dozen. I've literally been hired, fired and hired again within a month time span. 
10. Revolving-door industry- teaching English in Taiwan is a bit like waitering back home. People are in and out of positions all the time for all kinds of reasons. Turnover is ridiculous. Schools have adapted to the high turnover by hardening their policies and being even less flexible. They look out for number 1. You are a slab of English speaking meat to them. You provide a commodity, and make them look cool for speaking English to them and gaining your approval of them personally. When it comes to you getting screwed though, nobody will stand up their boss for you, and bosses don’t give a shit about you…you are human product to them. It’s a jaded take, I know. But many will read this and agree. 
11. They’re not educators! A lot of these “private” schools are stocked with low-paid , recent Taiwanese graduates and owners who don’t have a clue about education or have a degree even in a related field. There you go. You put the pieces together. 
12. There are a few different types of schools you can work at. 1) Pre-school. 2) Kindergarten 3) Public School 4) Private School 5) Buxiban 6) Anqing Ban. Both 1 and 2 can be private or public. They can be stand alone, or part of a larger school system. 3 you can only work in if you have a teaching license. There are lots of “English Camps” going on inside these places. Some people love working for these circus type jobs. I hated it personally, but I know people still doing it. 4, there are lots of big private schools you can work for. The problem is they have their own way of doing things since they are private…and there is little oversight (objective oversight). I’ve worked at two private schools. There is no guarantee that they will be good or bad, they could be either. I’ve worked for private schools who violated contracts and others that didn’t. 5 and 6 are “cram schools”…6 is more of an after school daycare. They are soulless institutions that force children to sit in tiny classrooms with no natural light and “cram” more information into their already tired from the school day heads. OR, they have no rules whatsoever and the kids have the run of the place. I hate these places. They are where most of the jobs are. Mismanagement is endemic, the environments are often poorly designed and controlled, and they have little knowledge of education. Business ethics are often horrible and law breaking and all kinds of foul play can be found at these places. I advise avoiding these places. I like kindergartens and preschools. It’s a tough job, but at least it’s real teaching. But, if you can find a buxiban that you like, you can give it a shot…I advise the part time approach, however. The other option is adult teaching. The downsides are the students cancel all the time and you don’t get paid. They often have stupid policies, lots of paperwork ,or intimidating management. The pay is not great, and the hours suck. On the upside, however, it’s pretty relaxing just teaching adults. The other problem is that these jobs are hard to find and they know it.  I recently worked 7 days a week morning kindergarten with nights and weekends adult teaching. The adult place ended up being of the lawbreaking, intimidating, scumbag variety, so that one has ended. Currently, I am saving up money and trying to think up a long term career plan. Cause this just aint cuttin' it. Teaching English abroad is more of an one year adventurer thing or a few years traveling kind of thing. Long term plan it is not. Again, some would disagree. Some are just fine with all the bits and pieces. But it's my assertion that those people are a bit outside the curve. You can take that advice or leave it, but it's free!