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Originally Posted by bnli10 1. "Office hours and teaching hours" - what are you getting paid for and what do you do during the "office hours" besides the usual prepping and grading. The way the hours are broken up in these equations are really confusing. |
The above only refers to what are called salaried or full time positions here in Taiwan. If you work hourly then you only need to turn up to teach. You get paid a higher rate than if you were salaried, and can still get the resident visa, work permit and health insurance. The downside is that other than the hours of work stated in your contract, you never really know how many hours a week you will get. Fourteen hours a week is the legal minimum, but good teachers should find that they are working 18 to 25 hours a week.
Salaried positions require you to be at the school all day, often between 9am and 6pm. You do some teaching during this time and spend the rest of the time lesson planning, correcting homework, making school decorations and in some cases just looking like a token foreigner in the office. Some people like this as they have a guaranteed income per month, but the downside is that on a per hour basis you would be earning almost half of what an hourly rate teacher would be paid. Most hourly rate teachers make more money as they pick up a second job or teach privates. On a salary you have no time for this often.
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Originally Posted by bnli10 2. "ABC, CBC, and BBC" - I'm not sure, but I believe I've heard someone referring to "ABC" as "American-born-Chinese". So, I'm guessing that "CBC" means "Chinese-born-Chinese"? What does "BBC" mean, then? |
ABC = American Born Chinese or Australian Born Chinese
CBC =Canadian Born Chinese
BBC = British Born Chinese
These are really broad terms for returnee Chinese who have spent all or some of their lives living in an English speaking country.
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Originally Posted by bnli10 3. "Kindergarten and Language School classes" - are teachers expected to run around town, going to their various classes each day? Is that why the time is listed as a couple of hours in the morning, afternoon, evening, and nights? |
Depends on which school you work for.
Most of the bigger schools will have you work in one location. There is often a two hour lunch break as it is for lunch and a nap, and this is why the day is often broken into am and pm hours. If you go for a smaller school you may get higher pay, but they generally have less hours to offer and you may need to run around to get enough hours. Take care of legal concerns in doing this as you are only legally allowed to work for the employers stated on your ARC.
There is money to be made in Taiwan, but it would be tough going if you had to support your spouse and a child. I would discourage you from coming unless your spouse was able to work also.