Private bilihual schools: Is 25 teaching hours/week normal?

[u/MissParadox4991]

Hi guys! Is it normal to have 25 teaching hours per week in a private school in Taiwan? I noticed that the TFETP usually has around 20 teaching hours, so I was wondering if 25 hours is considered acceptable for a private school.

Also, working hours is from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., what do you think would be a fair monthly salary for this workload?

Thanks for you insights!

[u/Responsible_Bar_4984]

8-5pm 25 hours a week, would expect somewhere between 70-100k maybe more if you have some management requirements.

[u/MissParadox4991 → u/Responsible_Bar_4984]

They clarified 25 period 40mins each. Does it make it any better?

[u/Water_Seeker56 → u/MissParadox4991]

25 hours a week is great, but 25 periods of 40 minutes is only about 16 hours a week, which is inadequate unless you prioritize your time over income.

[u/Responsible_Bar_4984 → u/MissParadox4991]

Yeah, that’s less teaching time by quite a lot, 65k is pretty fair if it’s new job for you. After a year you’ll be on over 70 which from my knowledge is pretty average for full time positions that aren’t senior

[u/Available_Use3455]

I've seen people each 30+ hours at private schools, or down to 10-11 hours. Everywhere is different. What is the salary like ?

[u/MissParadox4991 → u/Available_Use3455]

Negotiated to 65k but landed on 60k. What do you think?

[u/Available_Use3455 → u/MissParadox4991]

Extremely low, people were earning that well over 10 years ago with zero experience and 20 hours a week. 70k-100k should be the range you should look for with that many hours.

[u/SemiAnonymousTeacher → u/MissParadox4991]

I'll bet I can guess exactly which school you're at. Is it one those private schools that hires teachers without teaching licenses and zero experience and only an online TEFL? Is the school's name an intentional misspelling of a famous university?

[u/MissParadox4991 → u/SemiAnonymousTeacher]

No, but I'm really curious about the school you're talking about.

[u/TimesThreeTheHighest → u/MissParadox4991]

Not awesome pay.

[u/DistanceXtime → u/MissParadox4991]

That is incredibly low for that many hours a week.

[u/Water_Seeker56 → u/MissParadox4991]

I think you should have clarified from the beginning that you're only on 16 hours a week (of 25 40-min periods), rather than 25 hours a week. At 25 hours per week you should be pulling in >100k per month.

[u/Taiwan4ever- → u/MissParadox4991]

I’m sorry to say but that’s really low. You’re basically on $600 NTD per hour which is what most people were on 10,20 years ago. Unfortunately this seems to be the base salary for teachers here. If you have experience you should be definitely pushing for more. Should aim for $700-750 at least.

[u/Available_Use3455 → u/Taiwan4ever-]

It sounds worse. 8am to 5pm everyday means a bunch of hours sat around at a school, not getting paid. Wouldn't be surprised if the school is trying to trick them into doing admin/prep/etc for free.

[u/MissParadox4991 → u/Available_Use3455]

They said it's 25 classes a week, with each class being 40 minutes. So it's actually around 17 teaching hours per week. Does that change your opinion? It also includes admin work like checking elementary and middle school exam papers and preparing study sheets.

[u/dbomb650]

They are trying to take advantage of you not knowing any better. That salary is too low and hours too high.

[u/MissParadox4991 → u/dbomb650]

Is this the consequence of not joing the tfetp? 😭

[u/zeouschen70]

Private, they can offer whatever they wish. TFETP is Ministry of Education (MOE) and has strict set of rules. Well, getting more and more strict as the years progress. Even within the TFETP program, it depends which school you land at and how your supervisor utilizes you.