How and Where to Find Work at Taiwan’s International Schools

There are plenty of teaching jobs in Taiwan, the issue is that most of the jobs are at buxibans (cram schools). These jobs are for teachers with little to no experience and usually non-certified teachers. Finding an international school can and applying can be a bit tricky here without knowing where to look. 

Visiting the school’s website, LinkedIn, and word of mouth are the best options to find work. Schools try to keep the hiring page up to date since finding a high-quality teacher is expensive and time-consuming. Reach out to HR where you are interested, they will put your resume on file. 

These three ways are the best but finding out where to get this information and who to contact can be confusing. I have outlined and written where to look and how to reach out to International schools below. 

What Classifies International Schools in Taiwan

International schools in Taiwan are by law not allowed to enroll children of Taiwan nationals unless they have a foreign passport. So mostly foreign children make up almost the entire student body in all of Taiwan’s international schools. There are some ways around this as the school will be a dual Ministry of Education (MOE) school and an international school. 

The majority of international schools in Taiwan follow American, IB curriculums and or a religious curriculum.  International schools tend to be where foreign and wealthy locals send their children. The tuition for students is very high so the jobs are harder to get. I wrote about the best ways to get a job in a post here Ways to Stand out Getting a Teaching Job in Taiwan

International Schools in Taiwan 

This is a list of the international schools in Taiwan and the websites you can find them. This list is not all-inclusive and some of these are hybrid schools  

• American Schools- They are the most famous international schools in Taiwan. They have branches in Taipei, Kaohsiung, Hsinchu County, Hsinchu City, and Taichung ( I linked to each site by city. These schools are world-class and you have all the resources that you need with support from the staff. Some of the schools are IB and none of them follow the MOE, while they all fall under the branch of American schools they are run independently. The location varies on the city where the school is located.
•  I-Shou International School– I-Shou is an IB and MOE school. It is a hybrid and the students have the option to get one of both degrees which are rare and an attraction. The school is in Kaohsiung and is often looking for teachers as they are expanding and hiring. One downfall is the school is a bit outside the city. You can read more about the school here I-Shou International school. To note I have personally worked here so you can reach out to me if you would like more information here is my Linkedin Teagan Kane.
• Asia American International Academy– The Asia American International Academy offers competitive salaries and room for personal development and growth within the school. A bonus is that the calendar follows both Taiwan and American holidays. AAIA’s is located in New Taipei City right outside Taipei which will be cheaper. 
• Taipei European School-  It is another amazing world-class school to work at and the qualifications to enter are more rigorous than most. You need to have different qualifications you can check here for either the French, German, British, or Chinese teaching positions. If you do make it past the resume phase, the shortlisted candidates will be notified by the HR department. 
• Taipei Japanese School– It is located in Taipei. The jobs are internally handled and the website is all in Japanese so it is quite hard to navigate. I would reach out to HR if you want to learn more. Here are a few numbers about the Taipei Japanese School the number of students is 588 in elementary school and 173 in junior high school. There are a total of 28 classes, including 21 elementary school classes, 6 junior high school classes, and 1 special support class, with 71 faculty members. It is one of the largest Japanese schools in the world.

• Kang Chiao International School-  It is a private, co-educational, non-profit school with boarding facilities. Kang Chiao has a few branches and some are IB certified. It serves to provide an overseas college preparatory program for grades 7-12 as well, with a current enrollment of 1104 students. The school offers a lot of different languages, computer science and maths in English instruction. So you can have other options to teach besides English. If you were looking to find a job as a math teacher overseas read my article here. How to Teach Math Abroad
• Pacific American School- Pacific American School (PAS) is a WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) accredited all-English international school. They have campuses in Tainan and Hsinchu. The schools believe that education has to be diversified to create opportunities in different industries rather than traditionally favored professions. The focus is on tech, robotics, AI, and coding. Could be a great place to work if that interests you. 
• Hsinchu International School- Hsinchu International School is a  Full WASC accreditation & 30-year ECIS worldwide listing. The program is a complete western program taught in English. It teaches K-12 with over 180 students representing 20 nationalities. It is a small school that focused on academic, social, and emotional development. There is not much out there in this school and I would want to speak to someone there before starting. 
• Ivy Collegiate Academy– Ivy Collegiate Academy is a coeducational college preparatory day and boarding school. It is located outside of Taichung, which could be hard for some to live in or a longer commute. It enrolls students in grades 7-12.  It is modeled after boarding schools in the United States and Canada. It has a small younger educational staff, so I am not sure about the retention rate of teachers. 

• Morrison Academy- This is another chain of schools the website for Morrison here has all the links to the schools in Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung. They are a Christian school but use an American-based curriculum, bible class is required for all students. They offer K-12 and 
• Dominican International School- This school is a Catholic, private, English medium school owned and governed by the Dominican Sisters. It was formerly a US Government contract (D.O.D.) but is not anymore they have branches in Taipei and Kaohsiung. The pay is lower as it focuses on your duty to religion and they have a higher turnover rate. Schools site is here  Dominican International School
• Taipei Adventist American School-  It is in Taipei and is a smaller religious school that caters to the Adventists in Taiwan. They follow a religious and American curriculum. They don’t have any information about jobs, but messaging HR is your best bet. Here is some information about the school. Taipei Adventist American School has 28 staff members including teaching faculty and staff.  The staff includes 14 U.S. citizens, five from other countries, and nine from Taiwan. 
• United Education International School- United Education International School serves students from middle school to senior high school level. A private coed boarding school in Yilan, UEIS has a College Board international school code that enables students to apply to universities all over the world. The educational objective is to offer students to study in a U.S. educational system. The faculty members at UEIS are certified teachers from English-speaking countries like the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, and the Philippines. It has a great ratio of  5:1 student: teacher with small class sizes. Check out the site for jobs. 
• Yoder International Academy-  Yoder International Academy is in Taoyuan a city outside Taipei. There is not much information on the website and there are no job postings. Bits of the site are in English the rest is Chinese so you will need to translate. 

Other Places to find Jobs

Linkedin and word of mouth are the other two places that I know of to find jobs. Linkedin is great to speak out to HR and check out schools. Facebook groups are a hassle but you will find some good jobs and are able to ask teachers at these schools about them if they post. 

Benefits of Teaching at an International School in Taiwan

• High Pay- $70,000 to $100,000 NTD per month for your first year on the ladder. 
• Housing Bonus-  From $7,000 NTD to it fully being paid for
• Low Cost of Living- $20,000 to $60,000 NTD per month
• Flights/Moving- Round trip flights each year and moving costs are covered
• Bonuses- the 1-month salary at the end of the year is common and also a small amount for National holidays.
• Tuition-Free tuition for your dependents is a huge plus.
• Health Care- You will be registered in the National system and the school often opts you into the better one where you pay around $700NTD a month. 
• Savings- You have the ability to save a lot of money or pay off debt. 
• High Demand for educators- While you hope that the first job is the one you want. There are tons of other options for teachers here. 
• Quality of life- Compared to most Western countries Taiwan has a higher quality of life for foreigners. 

Moving to another country can be daunting. There are a  lot of things to think about, below are the highlighted points about jobs. I have also written an article about all that you need to know about moving to Taiwan here. The Ultimate Guide for Moving to Taiwan to Work or Live

Taiwan International School Teacher Requirements

1. Native English Speaker from one of the seven registered countries. If you are wondering if you need to speak Chinese to work in Taiwan you can read my article here, Do I need to speak Chinese to teach English in Taiwan.  
2. An appropriate related subject degree qualification for the position for a work permit.
3. Police criminal record checks dated within the past 6 months for the US it is FBI check you can get at easily. 
4. Up-to-date teaching qualification from your country of origin certified by the local authorities. 
5. One to two years at least teaching at that age range. 
6. Medical testing for residency with no red flags, the testing will be done in Taiwan if you want to save money or you can get it done where you are. 
7. A working permit is issued at the local embassy or after your arrival. 
8. Sign a contract from one year to two years, usually two years for the first contract. If they offer you two years after the first one, I would not accept there is no benefit to having it.
9. Most International Schools will follow either the International Baccalaureate (IB) or the foreign (A-level/AP etc.) curriculum. If you have experience and familiarity with these it will be highly valued.

Best time to go to Taiwan

Schools start in late August or early September. The biggest hiring periods for English teaching in Taiwan are after the Lunar New year and during the summer. A lot of contracts at the smaller school like buxibans (are also called crams schools) end around this time, I have outlined the best times and why in my article here to help you land the best job quickly. When’s the best time to apply for a teaching job in Taiwan.