Is this a good job offer? Details inside...

[Ihoop]

Hey everyone,

I have been aggressively looking for a job in Taiwan. I have had a couple offers already. The one offer I am seriously considering is the following

The location in Tainan and the school has a pretty good reputation ( many of the teachers have been there for a long time....some as long as 12-13 years) The hours are M-F, 9-4:30. Within these hours, there are only 4.5 hours of actual classroom time a day. There is one large lunch break during the day for teachers, and 40 minutes of office time in the morning for preparation. The starting salary I have been offered is 57,000 a month. There are 4 weeks of paid vacation per year. Is this worth it for nearly 40 hours a week spent at the school? I know that Tainan is a much cheaper city to live in, so it might be expected that salaries are a little lower. Do you think I will realistically have time to study Chinese? Is this job worth it for daytime hours?

My credentials are as follows: 24 year old American male with a B.A. I have two years experience teaching children, but only one on one (never in a classroom).

I would appreciate any advice!

[Hamletintaiwan]

Hey everyone,

I have been aggressively looking for a job in Taiwan. I have had a couple offers already. The one offer I am seriously considering is the following

The location in Tainan and the school has a pretty good reputation ( many of the teachers have been there for a long time....some as long as 12-13 years) The hours are M-F, 9-4:30. Within these hours, there are only 4.5 hours of actual classroom time a day. There is one large lunch break during the day for teachers, and 40 minutes of office time in the morning for preparation. The starting salary I have been offered is 57,000 a month. There are 4 weeks of paid vacation per year. Is this worth it for nearly 40 hours a week spent at the school? I know that Tainan is a much cheaper city to live in, so it might be expected that salaries are a little lower. Do you think I will realistically have time to study Chinese? Is this job worth it for daytime hours?

My credentials are as follows: 24 year old American male with a B.A. I have two years experience teaching children, but only one on one (never in a classroom).

I would appreciate any advice!

I think it's a good deal, not great for someone with a B.A. , but, for Taiwan and a beginner this sounds great.
Pick up some privates from 6:00 to 9:00/10:00 and you'll have some nice savings.

[tsukinodeynatsu]

Don't drink all your money every night and don't pay anymore than $6,000/month for rent and you should have some pretty nice savings. Tainan's a cheap city.

Learn some menu chinese, and then you don't have to eat at the same overpriced places the foreigners eat at all the time.

And that sounds like a good deal to me!

[naijeru]

I agree, the number looks a little low but given the location, hours and stature of the school it sounds like a good deal.

[Abacus]

The pay is fine, actually good (but not great). It sucks that you need to stay at the school the whole time but in reality you get a 3ish hour lunch break. But you can use that time to study Chinese with hopefully few distractions (like computers/TV/your apt).

Your work hours are 9-11 and 2-4:30 (or something like that). guess what schools work those hours? Kindergartens. Do you want to teach 3-5 yr olds? Do you care that it is illegal to teach kindergarten and if caught you could be deported? Many do teach kindergarten and these schools are usually well connected and know about any inspections well in advance. It's unlikely you'll get busted but there is definitely a chance. That's the price you pay for daytime hours.