It's been nearly nine months since I left Taiwan. I still find myself reading the forums at http://www.eslcafe.com/ pretty regularly, trying to get the latest news. Not much has really changed. The expats there are still complaining about the same things that I complained about five years ago when I first arrived in Taiwan: rude locals, obnoxious students, incompetent management at the schools, terrible drivers, terrible pollution, etc. I honestly can't see Taiwan becoming a first-class tourist destination anytime soon.
For some reason, I'm still getting email quite often from schools that want to hire me as an English teacher. I haven't placed an ad on "Tealit" for some time now, yet the emails keep coming. Usually I'll just delete them, but occasionally I'll pass them on to my friend David, who is still living in Kaohsiung. Some of the job offers I'm getting are complete crap. Jobs that I'd never accept even if I was still living in Taiwan. One offer was a part-time job in Shalu. Shalu is a town to the west of Taichung. It's not a great town. I'd rate it even lower than Hsinchu. If my choice was living there or living here in Austin, I'd pick Austin any day of the week. Hands down.
I have, though, gotten other offers. Better offers. Most of them in Taichung, and many of them paying very well. When I see how bad the economy is here, I can't help but think that many of these unemployed people could probably find work in Taiwan or some other Asian country teaching English. Even though the Taiwan economy is pretty bad right now, there still seems to be no shortage of demand for English teachers. Unemployed Taiwanese people are trying to improve their English so they'll have a competitive edge in the job market. This may actually be the best time to find work as a teacher in Taiwan.
At this moment in time, I've decided that there are only two scenarios that would cause me to return to teaching English in Taiwan:
1. Both my wife and I lose our jobs and we're on the brink of homelessness. If my choice is either standing outside with a cardboard sign saying "Will Work For Food" or playing "Super Pig" for the millionth time with bratty Taiwanese kids, I'll choose Taiwan. I'll swallow my pride, break out the 1980's textbooks that Taiwan uses, and start teaching again.
2. I get a great offer from a school in Taipei City. And this would have to be one great offer, and not some part-time, two hour a week job, either. Taipei City is the only place in Taiwan that I would want to live if I have a choice. It's really the only city worth visiting on the whole Island of Taiwan. To paraphrase John Lennon: "If Taiwan was the Roman empire, then Taipei City is Rome itself." Why live anywhere else? Yeah, it's very expensive to live there, but so is just about any great city.
For some reason, I'm still getting email quite often from schools that want to hire me as an English teacher. I haven't placed an ad on "Tealit" for some time now, yet the emails keep coming. Usually I'll just delete them, but occasionally I'll pass them on to my friend David, who is still living in Kaohsiung. Some of the job offers I'm getting are complete crap. Jobs that I'd never accept even if I was still living in Taiwan. One offer was a part-time job in Shalu. Shalu is a town to the west of Taichung. It's not a great town. I'd rate it even lower than Hsinchu. If my choice was living there or living here in Austin, I'd pick Austin any day of the week. Hands down.
I have, though, gotten other offers. Better offers. Most of them in Taichung, and many of them paying very well. When I see how bad the economy is here, I can't help but think that many of these unemployed people could probably find work in Taiwan or some other Asian country teaching English. Even though the Taiwan economy is pretty bad right now, there still seems to be no shortage of demand for English teachers. Unemployed Taiwanese people are trying to improve their English so they'll have a competitive edge in the job market. This may actually be the best time to find work as a teacher in Taiwan.
At this moment in time, I've decided that there are only two scenarios that would cause me to return to teaching English in Taiwan:
1. Both my wife and I lose our jobs and we're on the brink of homelessness. If my choice is either standing outside with a cardboard sign saying "Will Work For Food" or playing "Super Pig" for the millionth time with bratty Taiwanese kids, I'll choose Taiwan. I'll swallow my pride, break out the 1980's textbooks that Taiwan uses, and start teaching again.
2. I get a great offer from a school in Taipei City. And this would have to be one great offer, and not some part-time, two hour a week job, either. Taipei City is the only place in Taiwan that I would want to live if I have a choice. It's really the only city worth visiting on the whole Island of Taiwan. To paraphrase John Lennon: "If Taiwan was the Roman empire, then Taipei City is Rome itself." Why live anywhere else? Yeah, it's very expensive to live there, but so is just about any great city.
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteI think that under no circumstance must you stand outside with a cardbord sign "Will work for food", because you are an intellgent and working hard person.