HESS as a newb + 101 questions

[Dragonbones]

What's your favorite US bank to do business with while living in Taiwan. I currently bank at Bank of America. I also understand that Citi is a different entity between the US and Taiwan.
Is B of A available in Taiwan like their website says? Would I be better off with someone else, or does it really matter?

No, B of A is not available. It is a commercial bank in Taibei, not a retail bank. Their systems are not connected to retail BOA USA. Don't even bother asking. They do not have ATMs here for you, etc., etc.. For your purposes, they do not exist here.

IME, Citi won't touch you unless you bring in quite a lump of cash to open an account. You are really best off just opening an account at the bank that your employer uses for payroll deposits and using that account. It will be a local bank. You won't have a checking account. If they won't issue a Visa (you can try) then go to Fubon and try there. There are other threads on this, so let's continue the banking questions over in one of those.

Good banks in Taiwan

Recent problems using US ATM cards in Taiwan?

Horrible customer service in certain banks.

Credit cards: current situation?

savings account in taiwan - how/where/best to open?

[CraigTPE]

You are really best off just opening an account at the bank that your employer uses for payroll deposits and using that account.

Exactly.

When I first got here, I opened an account at Cathay United because they had so many ATM's in MRT stations. Then I opened an account at Taipei Fubon because my partner opened an account there. Both accounts were of no use to me because none of my employers in the past 3 years did their banking at either one. So in the mean time I opened an account at First Bank to get direct deposit from my day job and at Mega Bank to get direct deposit from my evening job.

[TaipieNewbie]

Hess oh the shame!
Put up my resume on their website as directed expected to at least get called for an interview. "Due to the tightening economy, we have updated our needs for teachers". Your qualifications were just our minimum requirements.
Is Hess going to want teachers with multiple degrees now? I used my watered down resume because some friends applied last year and Hess came back they were too overqualified. Odd considering this is the 40 plus group I am talking about.
And their website fill in the blanks is not too friendly nor helpful. Guess I saved myself from disgrace in the end.

[Katakaio]

EDIT: D'oh, should read time stamps. Well, anyway maybe my comment will be helpful to someone searching the forums.

I've been working for HESS for three months now.

Some pointers, comments, etc.

-Judging by the rather horrifying blacklisted school thread, they are fairly stable and reliable employers.

-Many things are dependent on the branch (and by extension, the branch manager) that you work for. Some are better than others. I'm fortunate.

-Additional effort/stress for putting together dog and pony shows for parents can be annoying

-I've heard the pay is relatively low, but I haven't seen better jobs out there. When you consider the curriculum is already in place for you, this balances it out a little.

-Don't bother with worrying about trying to get the parents to find out about how their kids really are. Leave that to the CTs. It's a big weight off your shoulders anyway.

-Take your job seriously enough to do what you're supposed to but take your job as a grain of salt... if you take it seriously, you will be miserable.

-I work a 20 hour unmixed contract, so no illegal kindy for me. I used to do fitness training part time before I came here and I knew how much prep was involved in teaching something. I surmised 20 hours of teaching time roughly equaled 40 hours of actual work. For month #1, I wasn't wrong. It gets better once you're more familiar with the curricula.

-Teaching seems intimidating during the training but it's really not a big deal once you start doing it.

-Pay attention to the games that get talked about and demo'd...good games will save a class.

I bought a bike my first month a splurge- a nice Tern C7 folding bike. I'm very happy with it. I got a lot of freedom that way. I'm currently working in Xinzhuang. If you have any questions, you can PM me as well.

Cheers,

D