Teaching legally without a degree in Taiwan

[Chopvac]

Since the question keeps appearing, I thought I would pipe up.

You can legally teach English in Taiwan provided you meet two criteria:

(1) You have an Associate Degree or a two year Diploma.
(2) You have a recognized TEFL certificate (e.g. Oxford).

I have both and work here legally. I am also able to save money (about US$800/month) for completing my degree by correspondence.

There are several places one can get a TEFL certificate; I earned mine online for under US$400, and that was three years ago. If you are not working and knowledgeable about teaching, you can obtain the certificate in a few weeks; it was six weeks from regisration and payment to receiving the certificate.

Full time wages are slightly less than Korea or Japan and the income taxes are slightly higher (10%), but legal work and visa is better than illegal work with no visa. The quality of life is also about the same, and the Taiwanese smoke less.

[beckygogo]

Hello,

I realize that I'm applying more than a year later, but I hope you're still on this site. I'm thinking of teaching through Hess in Taipei and wondered about the legitimacy of only having an A.A. degree and T.E.F.L. certification in order to teach there. Your post has reassured me that I can teach in Taiwan with only the aforementioned documents.

I have question....Are Taiwanese employers prejudiced in their hiring practices? Hess has assured me that they do not discriminate, but the final decision is up to the school. I haveheard that a lot of schools in Asia say "no" if the teacher isn't white. If anyone can help me with this, it will put my mind at ease.

I would love to live in Taiwan, teach ESL, learn Mandarin and complete my B.A. entirely online while living there. Thank you!!!

[Swerve]

I also am interested in teaching with an AA + TEFL. I wrote to Hess about the legitimacy of getting a work permit with said credentials and I was informed that they accept this on a case by case basis. So even if you were to get accepted by Hess, if they deny your work permit then they will not be able to hire you. Again I was told this by a Hess recruiter. I'm wondering if its possible to get hired at other companies with those same credentials. Anyone here working in Taiwan that can vouch for this or have any related experiences?

[angiemac]

I'm hoping to leave for Taiwan soon working as an efl teacher. I'm a bit concerned as i'm mixed race/black South African and i've heard they very racist in Taiwan. Also i have no degree, however i'm in the process of completing a TEFL course, a bit unsure about how Job agencies assist with Visas. Do you have any advice please?

[jonoball]

I was teaching there for two years with a TEFL cert I got in Costa Rica and an A.A. from minnesota. it was legitimate for any cram school. I got paid well, worked less than 30 hrs/week, and you can pick up privates for extra cash, although wage was good enough for a nice lifestyle plus savings. fantastic experience. I came back to the states to get a teaching license for hopes of better jobs. I lived in Kaohsiung while there. any other questions feel free to ask. Unfortunately, I did feel like having a "white face" was an advantage, but I also had plenty of friends who weren't white that found jobs too. Native english speaker is generally the big requirement. Good luck and have fun, pura vida!