tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post112121628180387572..comments2023-10-22T18:25:39.688+08:00Comments on The View from Taiwan: Why is teacher pay not budging?Michael Turtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-84162296562106134362009-09-21T08:07:14.167+08:002009-09-21T08:07:14.167+08:00Only 900 nt now??? Ha! I've been herre for 5 y...Only 900 nt now??? Ha! I've been herre for 5 years teaching now and I have NEVER seen that kind of hourly pay for Buxiban work. 900 per hour is private tutor level pay. If someone has a 900 nt-per hour job, they better keep it and appreciate it because it is NOT typical pay. 600-700 nt range is the average. Of course there are exceptions to everything. As for not seeing many Americans, I'm American and I have to agree that I've seen very few other American teachers. Mostly S.African and Canadian. Most Americans are used to 401 K, dental plan, paid round trip airline ticket, housing subsidies and other perks that they've come to expect working for American companies. So most Americans won;t find Taiwan appealing, compared to, say, Korea, where housing subsidies and higher salaries are the norm. So why am I here? Taiwan's central location to other holiday places in Asia, moderate cost of living, and comparatively decent wage for what we do. I've made a good living here playing sticky ball and dancing around with little kids. Life is good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-1137003512108537302006-01-12T02:18:00.000+08:002006-01-12T02:18:00.000+08:00Michael,Thanks for your comment on the English-Blo...Michael,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your comment on the English-Blog regarding compensation for English teachers.<BR/><BR/>I wanted to invite your readers to read your own response to my entry here at: <BR/><BR/>http://www.english-blog.com/archives/2006/01/being_compensated_for_english_teaching.php#more<BR/><BR/>Nice to hear from you!<BR/><BR/>Lee<BR/><BR/>P.S. It IS interesting to see where one's name will turn up online, I agree!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-1131429043485628112005-11-08T13:50:00.000+08:002005-11-08T13:50:00.000+08:00@Micheal:Your daughter is a first grader in a loca...@Micheal:<BR/>Your daughter is a first grader in a local school? I'll bet that English class must be easy. Does she learn anything in it at all?<BR/><BR/><BR/>@everyone:<BR/>Even in the top paying buxibans I've <A HREF="http://doubtingtoshuo.blogspot.com/2005/10/hard-core-foreign-run-bxbns.html" REL="nofollow">posted </A> about before, salaries are pretty stagnant. According to my old co-workers, the starting pay for that kind of job was $700 ten years ago. It's only $900 now. Considering how it was $27NT to $1US then and it's $32NT to $1US now, not even those jobs have improved much.<BR/><BR/>With a population greater than that of all the native English speakers on the planet, a growing interest in learning English from foreigners, and the most rapidly growing economy in the world, how much longer do you figure it will be before mainland China offers better pay for English teachers?<BR/><BR/>Right now it's not too tough for an entry level teacher to get about 8000RMB/month in Beijing. That's only about $30000NT, but consider that a beer is only 1-2RMB ($4-$8NT), and food and housing is much cheaper than in Taiwan. I think it's only a matter of time before the foreign teacher population in Taiwan starts to drop.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09652288045145591799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-1121794037525661272005-07-20T01:27:00.000+08:002005-07-20T01:27:00.000+08:00Funny, I always had teaching jobs that only paid N...Funny, I always had teaching jobs that only paid NT$ 300-400 an hour in 1992 on....<BR/><BR/>But most likely, the supply of teachers has increased to meet pace with demand. It also explains the HUGE amounts of South Africans and Canadians who are simply spotting the chance to work for less and meet the demand.<BR/><BR/>No harm there.Red Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10699964464336470134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-1121272285908278662005-07-14T00:31:00.000+08:002005-07-14T00:31:00.000+08:00Scott Sommers wrote,The problem with pay is someth...Scott Sommers wrote,<BR/>The problem with pay is something that is only effecting one side of the pay scale. For highly qualified, experienced teachers, the potential for big money and great jobs has never been better.<BR/><BR/>A better explanation for the probelm you write about is that the market is maturing. As such. it is far better prepared to attract and manage highly qualified teachers. The large numbers of poorly qualifed, inexperienced people trying to enter the market, regardless of their nationality, are having the same experience as any group of poorly qualified, inexperienced individuals trying to enter such a market.<BR/>Scott Sommers' Taiwan Weblog<BR/>http://scottsommers.blogs.com/taiwanweblog/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-1121261825324788242005-07-13T21:37:00.000+08:002005-07-13T21:37:00.000+08:00Interesting analysis. So many people blame the Sou...Interesting analysis. So many people blame the South Africans for it, but it seems their presence is merely a symptom rather than the cause of the problem. I have nothing against South Africans by the way.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13061413827755873948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-1121243286736402382005-07-13T16:28:00.000+08:002005-07-13T16:28:00.000+08:00I don't think the Americans have stopped coming. B...I don't think the Americans have stopped coming. But they are swamped by the much larger numbers of Canadians and S Africans. Plus, I think the congregate in great numbers in Taipei, thinning out as you go further south.<BR/><BR/>MichaelMichael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-1121224908567607232005-07-13T11:21:00.000+08:002005-07-13T11:21:00.000+08:00Wow, it's good to hear your input on pay over the ...Wow, it's good to hear your input on pay over the years, since my boss obviously has it out for South Africans. But there are a few schools in town here that hire only South Africans, since no one else will accept 400-450 an hour. And don't forget the mormons, who give free lessons! :)<BR/><BR/>In my town, I've never met any Americans. It's just Canadians, South Africans, and a few Australians and English. Are you saying that 10 years ago there were many Americans? Do you think they've stopped coming because the pay is not good enough anymore?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com