TEACHING ENGLISH IN TAIWAN - COVERING COSTS
TEACHING ENGLISH IN TAIWAN - COVERING COSTS AND GETTING TO YOUR FIRST PAYDAY
OK! You’ve arrived! And, in just a few days you’ll be IN the classroom. Let’s take a look at paydays, rentals, spending money to arrive with and getting to your first full paycheck.
In most cases you’ll be paid on the 10th of every month for the previous month’s work. The 10th is sort of a national payday in Taiwan.
Now, let’s assume you arrive 10/16 and your first day of work is going to be 10/21. Following this your first paycheck would be 11/10, and would be for the prorated month of October.
Your next paycheck would be 12/10 and for the whole month of November.
So, the key here is to be sure that you arrive with enough cash to help you get your apartment set up and to cover your costs - food and what not, 10/16 ~ 12/10 - until you get your first full paycheck.
VISA & ARC COSTS
Another potential startup cost to consider is your Resident Visa & ARC
(Alien Residence Certificate - basically your Taiwan ID Card). In many
cases, certainly for public school jobs, these will be paid for by you. The reasoning from the employer’s side
is that these documents are actually YOURS - even if you change schools you
keep them. The cost is NT$7,105 (NT$6,105 Resident Visa + NT$1,000
one-year ARC) for Americans. (See
other countries listed below)
Canada: NT$2,200 Resident Visa + NT$1,000 one-year ARC = NT$3,200
Australia: NT$2,200 Resident Visa + NT$1,000 one-year ARC = NT$3,200
UK: NT$2,200 Resident Visa + NT$1,000 one-year ARC = NT$3,200
New Zealand: NT$2,200 Resident Visa + NT$1,000 one-year ARC = NT$3,200
SETTING UP A RENTAL
A unique thing about getting set up in Taiwan is the way rentals go. In
most places teachers come from we are used to giving first & last month, and that’s it - the last month being your
deposit. In Taiwan people pay first month, last month PLUS a deposit
month, so three months all together.
SPENDING MONEY
Spending light you could easily survive on
NT$35,000 per month. In the
scenario we have here, arriving mid-month, with your first paycheck being
around 7 weeks away, let’s call the total you’d need to cover that period
around NT$60,000.
GOOD NUMBER TO ARRIVE WITH
Alright, here’s those startup costs above
worked out as a total:
Funds to tide you over to first full paycheck 10/16 ~ 12/10:
NT$60,000 - for food, essentials and a few Ikea trips for the odd lamp and
things.
Set Up Rental
NT$48,000 (NT$16,000 [approx] x 3)
ARC
NT$1,000
VISA
NT$6,105
Total
NT$115,105
https://www.google.com/search?q=115105+TWD+to+USD
At the same time, keep in mind that on 11/10 you'll be getting a prorated paycheck for 10/21~31 to offset this a bit.
BETTER NOT TO ARRIVE MID-MONTH?
Now, this assumes you’re arriving in the middle of a month, right? Often it’s like that. Schools are eager to get you here as FAST as possible. Arriving at the END of the month and beginning to teach on or around the first changes things, but just slightly. I’ll lay all that out, and more, in my next article!
Hope this helps.
RJ - worked for 15 years as a recruiter for private and public schools in Taiwan and China