Finding technical jobs?

[13cyberphoenix]

Hi, I am a Korean American currently living in America but I want to move out for personal reasons. I would like to move to Taiwan, Japan or China (maybe Korea and Singapore also), but I have just started studying Japanese and Mandarin, so I'd probably have to spend 1-2 years in a language intensive program before I become fluent in either of them (and my Korean is at an elementary level).

I'm not really sure what kind of career I want to have, but I am looking into becoming an actuary, software engineer, or materials engineer(my BS degree is in Physics). I am currently a grad student in Physics but have another year to go to get my MS and I don't enjoy my grad program, I'd really like to drop out asap. But if its much easier to find a job overseas with a MS, then I'd be willing to suck it up and stay for another year.

If I wanted to get a technical job in Taiwan, I am better off trying to obtain a rare skill that most Taiwanese people wouldn't have, so that employers have a reason to hire me over the locals, right? Or if I wanted to work as a materials engineer, then would having an MS be impressive enough so I stand out over the locals? Would improving my Mandarin really help my job prospects? Or is it easier for someone like me who doesn't speak the language to get a job in Japan or China instead of Taiwan?

[amarbaines]

Fluency in two years? Forget about it.

If you don't like your program, but you've already done a year, what's another one? That being said, Taiwan has an overabundance of master's and doctoral degree holders from overseas. Name a school, and chances are it has alumni here. Plus many are fluently bilingual. These are your competitors. You will be indistinguishable.

Your Mandarin means nothing unless you're fluent. Keep it as a hobby. Not sure how the situation improves in the other countries you mentioned. What you need is some industry-relevant work experience more than anything else. Apart from finishing up your MS, more school is not the answer.

[tsukinodeynatsu]

Try Singapore after you get your MS. There's a good deal of expats there and also a good deal of entry positions as well. Hong Kong is another good shot.

You can improve your Chinese in both of those places and then try to take on China or Taiwan.

[PigBloodCake]

Keep in mind that the pay for technical jobs here in the 'wan sucks big time (worse than English buxiban teacher, hourly-wise).

An entry level techie would be lucky enough to be making 40k NT/mo (about $1300 USD/mo).

Think about this when you wanna come to Taiwan for work.

[headhonchoII]

Try Singapore after you get your MS. There's a good deal of expats there and also a good deal of entry positions as well. Hong Kong is another good shot.

You can improve your Chinese in both of those places and then try to take on China or Taiwan.

You won't learn Chinese in HK or Singapore , only in class, thats it.
Taiwan is a good place for experienced talented materials engineers, but so are lots of places in Asia.
Finishing your masters will be a good idea if you are half way through it.

[13cyberphoenix]

thanks for the replies. Sounds like its better to spend next year completing my MS instead of being in a language intensive program. Well anyways, I totally forgot about HK. That is another nice option as well.

[honolulu86]

Try Singapore after you get your MS. There's a good deal of expats there and also a good deal of entry positions as well. Hong Kong is another good shot.

You can improve your Chinese in both of those places and then try to take on China or Taiwan.

Is it easy to find entry level jobs in Singapore/HK? I thought foreigners were generally required to have several years of solid work experience first

[13cyberphoenix]

I also forgot to mention that I my undergrad and grad schools are considered almost the same prestige-wise by US standards. However, by East Asian standards, my undergrad school is considered much more prestigious than my grad school