I grew up abroad currently working in the US, so I have been making observation on Taiwan (and South East Asia) from a 3rd person’s perspective.
Work environment wise, I think it has already been well described. I just want to add one thing. Taiwanese are very friendly to foreigners. Taiwanese are very friendly to guests in general. They are always welcoming because they don’t get to interact with foreigners often, and have a strong desire to learn. So don’t be afraid to go there. Of course, in a work environment, things can be different.
It depends on what you are looking to get out of your time in Taiwan. Here’s what I think will be valuable to learn from.
Non-methodological innovation.
In the 70s, Taiwan’s society was in a rapid transformation from an agricultural based economy to an industrialized economy. My parents generation grew up on farmlands, but most of them left their hometown for the cities for better opportunities. At that time, Taiwan’s industries was pretty much like a blank sheet of paper. The culture back then was “I rather be my own boss then to work under someone else’s command”. Therefore, Taiwanese economy between then and the late 90s was based on small-mid businesses.
In this unique situation, industries was very diverse because there was no big trend of any sort. People did whatever they were good at. Competition was tough, but they weren’t really competing for local market. Taiwan is too small to have a sustainable local market. They were competing for the international market. The lack of a industry leader means they don’t have a pre-loaded logic of how things should be done. They solve problems as they go, explore opportunities as they see it. This results in very unique ways of innovation from the grass root level. Taiwanese small businesses are therefore extremely flexible and innovative. However, because of the lack of market leadership, there are only very few successful examples of well known brands. Most of the businesses in Taiwan find themselves best at OEM and ODM.
The generation is shifting now. The new generation of work force (the kids of the said parent generation ) grew up in a well-provided environment. They are not nearly as hardworking or have as much desire for progression as their parent’s generation. Everyone now just wants to earn an engineer degree and work for one of the giant IT companies in the dust-free labs. A recent report says that Taiwan has the highest offset between companies who can’t find qualified employees vs people who can find jobs.
Confucius influence
Taiwanese are very much Chinese in culture. In fact, Taiwanese are more Chinese than mainland folks because the cultural root is better preserved in Taiwan. Confucius influence is strong here, so I think it will be good for any foreigner to study Confucianism to have a head start. Among the many things in Confucianism, one important philosophy is the emphasize on respect for leadership, which is the father figure in a family. Applying this to a company, the boss is always right. You will find similar behavior in other Asian countries as well.
Anyways, I am not trying to tell you what your goals should be. I am just providing some fundamental cultural background for your reference. There are great things to experience in Taiwan, and important lessons to learn from as well. See this as a stepping stone for your career for your bigger and more long term goals.