More Employment Opportunities in Taiwan

Many Westerners discover that job opportunities outside of teaching are also available after they’ve been in Taiwan for a few months and have made friends and contacts.

Some of the more popular options are described below.

Business and Trade

Jobs in marketing, finance, banking, and advertising are available, but most of these positions are found through personal connections. Westerners who speak Mandarin have a strong advantage when seeking work with American or Canadian companies in Taiwan.

Hostessing

Hostessing may sound like a cross between cocktail waitressing and prostitution. Nevertheless, a number of women we interviewed swore by it.

In fact, they were earning great money for serving drinks and making small talk.

Attractive (often Caucasian) women are hired to walk around all-male clubs and talk to the patrons. On occasion patrons do make passes, but the proprietor generally plays a fatherly role and helps to reduce the number of uncomfortable encounters.

Please use caution if you decide to pursue this type of job. Thoroughly check the place out before accepting a job.

Modeling

Although advertising with “Western” models may seem like a strange way to sell products to Chinese people, it’s very common and there’s a strong demand for good-looking Caucasian faces.

Most “real” modeling jobs are reserved for haute couture international models,
but if you’re attractive (blonde especially) and not afraid of the camera you might be able to supplement your income with some modeling or an occasional commercial.

Want ads for Western models occasionally appear in the English-language newspapers, but most leads are obtained by word-of-mouth or through advertisements in places frequented by Westerners.

Here’s an example of an agency that has been around a long time:

New Face Modeling Agency
Website

Street Vending

Travelers from Indonesia, mainland China, the Philippines, and Thailand often bring a backpack full of jewelry or other novelties to sell on the streets of Taipei. These sales are considered illegal without a business license, but hundreds of people on the streets of Taipei sell everything from bootleg tapes to Buddhist literature without licenses.

The vendors simply pack up their goods
when the occasional police officer does come by. Once the coast is clear, they return.

Translating and Proofreading

The streets of Taipei are full of ads and billboards in English. Although they are supposed to show cosmopolitanism, many of the slogans are mistranslated.
Despite the clear need for translators and proofreaders, only a limited number of these jobs exist. Most translators are hired through the better-known English schools. Nevertheless, these jobs pay very well, and it’s worth checking Craigslist Taiwan, China Post, and the China News for openings.

Internships

Princeton in Asia

PIA provides recent college graduates with internship opportunities in many Asian countries, including Taiwan. Approximately seventy-five positions are available annually, and internships last for one or two years. Most positions involve teaching English and applicants are expected to have experience teaching English as a second language. A limited number of positions in other
fields are also available. Applicants are required to pay their own way to Princeton for an interview as well as travel costs to Asia if they are offered a position.

For more information on the program, contact:

Princeton in Asia
Website