The following are the statistics from five teachers we placed here summer 2001. We continually update our statistics so that they accurately reflect the cost of living and the quality of our service. For current exchange rates look here.
| teacher #1 | teacher #2 | teacher #3 | teacher #4 | teacher #5 | Average | |
| Hourly pay after two months: | 560* | 600 | 483 | 550 | 540 | 547 |
| Hourly pay after six months: | 550* | 640 | 527 | 550 | 560 | 565 |
| Number of teaching hours/week: | 36* | 22.5** | 27.5 | 22.5 | 25 | 27 |
| Number of teaching hours/week after two months: | 30* | 25 | 27.5 | 22.5 | 25 | 26 |
| Monthly salary after six months | 66,000nt. | 64,000nt. | 58,000nt^. | 50,000^nt. | 56,000nt. | 58,800nt.($1704US $2725CAD) |
* Teacher 1 started working at a school the same time as the start of their summer program, which meant a lot of overtime teaching hours. After the summer, the teaching schedule calmed down to a more reasonable (but still very busy) 30 hours/week.
**please note: some teachers hours are shorter because they have chosen to take Mandarin language classes, or have chosen visa schools that offer a limited amount of hours.
^ overtime teaching hours at a higher hourly pay, and some paid holidays, not included.
Analysis
The number of hours that you teach each month will usually climb during the first couple of months. This is either because the school wants to ease you into teaching or because you pick up more work after you have established yourself at your "visa school" (the school at which you work most of your hours and which provides your work visa). Starting off slowly is a good idea. You are going to have your hands full with even twenty-five hours a week (how many new faces is that?).
This summer, we have noticed that some schools are offering less hours to hire an extra teacher. From the schools' perspective, they then have another teacher to cover classes if another teacher is sick, etc. Our teachers who have chosen to work at their 'visa' school for less hours, look for part-time work and private tutorials once they get comfortable with their visa school classes.
A note about "privates" (one to one tutoring, often at your student's home.) These kinds of jobs are great for filling in empty hours, weekends etc., however they have serious drawbacks as well. First of all, you spend a lot of time driving around the city instead of working. Secondly, they are MUCH more e to cancel and/or terminate your class. Thirdly, they can lead to conflicts with your visa school. And they are technically illegal.
When we negotiate a contract with a school we address the issue of teaching at other places. If a school knows that they will not change your hours for the entire year you are in Kaohsiung, or they are only offering a limited amount of teaching hours, they will often let you teach privates at your discretion. If they expect they will be opening new classes, we ask them if it is acceptable if you 1) notify them of your schedule vis-a-vis privates 2) affirm to your visa school that you will drop or change your private if you are asked to open a new class. Some schools guarantee they will have a certain amount of hours a week, and forbid you to work at other place. You will have to weigh these factors when you look at schools offers. If you do need to find some private or part-time hours, the best source is Taiwan-Teachers e-mail list which you will be subscribed to when you get here.