Job Discussion Forums

[NBF]

Hello all,
My girlfriend and I are considering teaching in Thailand. I have a degree, she has 3.5 years of a degree, but we both have ESL certifictaes. If I accept a job in Thailand and we go, would she have a terribly hard time finding work? And how long could we live on about 10k Canadian? Cheers.

[Sheep-Goats]

1 CAN = 30 THB. So you'll have about 300,000 baht. Two people could live absolutely bare bare bones in Thailand for 300 baht a day, so you can probably last two and a half years here on your savings if you have to. A more realistic fun-included figure would be 1000 B a day for two people, so, about ten months. Minus one or two of those months for apartment deposits and the like. So, eight months or so.

You likely will not get a job in Thailand until you're here. If you do, you'd have probably done better if you were here to begin with, espeically since you have enough savings to be patient with your choice.

3.5 years of a degree is the same thing as no degree to an employer -- you're required to have one for them to be above board for employing you down at the Labor Department. This means your girlfriend's opportunites will be much more limited than yours. That being said, I've met PLENTY of folks working here with no degree, and some schools (British American and Direct English spring to mind) are notorious for hiring non-degree folks. Her job won't be as good as yours, but she'll be able to find work -- especially if she's willing to teach kids and is blonde. Seriously.

Bear in mind that there are certain stresses put on couples in Thailand. Essentially, you become as desireable a partner as she was back in the states to others, and she becomes as desireable as you were. What I mean is that the girls here will like you more than you may be used to -- espeically if you're over 35. This may wear on your girlfriend pretty fast, depending on her, of course.

[NBF]

Thanks for the reply Sheep-Goats! That's some very useful information. We've had some email response from a few schools (mostly in Bangkok) and a couple who want to set up phone interviews. Is it common for Thai employers to hire teachers outside of Thailand without offering a telephone interview first?

[oxfordstu]

If an employer wants to hire you without even speaking to you on the phone, run. The school is probably desperate, and therefore, not very good. Also, if you want to teach in Thailand, be aware that in most of the language schools you'll be teaching 40-50 students at one time sometimes. Sheepgoats is right about the women here, though - be very aware that they are VERY forward.
Also, if you're girlfriend wants a degree, she can actually buy one in Bangkok on Khao San Road. But be aware that she probably won't be able to use it anywhere else except Thailand.

[NBF]

Thanks for the reply oxfordstu,
We are going to interview (over the phone) with a couple of schools this week and see what our options are. Likely, we'll just come to Bangkok and hopefully find jobs while we're there. Cheers.

[kenkannif]

[oxfordstu]

Sorry, I'm just reporting on what I've been told. I've spoken to several people working in the South of Thailand, and they tell me that their classes are quite big.
During my TEFL training, we were warned by our instructors to NEVER even try to apply up north to Japan or Korea without an official degree. But then again, I could be wrong. I'm just going off what I've been told.

In any case, you should have no problem getting a job in Bangkok. And with that much money, you can afford to be picky, a luxury that some of us don't always have.

[kenkannif]

Hey Stu you've still not thanked me for the passport info, you think I do this just be nice? I want credit in the Bank of Karma man!

They probably do work for language schools BUT at government schools for them. Then again I might be completely wrong, but most parents woudn't pay (by the hour) to have their kids in a class of 60 as that's what they generally have Mon-Fri!

No worries mate! Best to repeat facts though rather than 'I heard'!

[Sheep-Goats]

If you wait until you're here you'll get a better job. That's the law in Thailand. Most schools who hire people over seas are either desperate or else they're top-notch bilingual schools that don't have enough B.Ed folks here in Thailand to draw from. Your odds of doing better by looking for work overseas (so as to avoid a peroid of non-work) are 1/10,000.

Few language schools in Bangkok will have classes with more than 20 students. However, not many farang want to go to the South of Thailand any more, since parts of it are under martial law and since teachers are main targets of Islamic sepratists in the area (many of whom are under 18 and therefore don't like teachers much anyway) -- so I wouldn't be suprised if class sizes there have balooned -- no parent wants his kid in a room full of 49 others, but then if these are the kinds of parents that see English as being important, they they likely fell that some exposure is better than none.

As for getting a fake degree on KSR, why bother? If your employer cares about whether or not you have a degree they'll want to see it and will likely send an email (or have you sign a document and snail-mail it, depending on your school's regulations about releasing your info) to the registrar at your school to see if you attended or not. If your employer is desperate enough to not care about your degree, they'll probably just read where you say you got it on your resume, ask you if you did, and that'll be that. In a Thai's mind, they suffer a slight lack of face by even asking you about it -- so they likely won't if it doesn't matter to them anyway.

Edited by Mr. Kalgukshi 09-21-04

[sigmoid]

There's plenty of teaching work in Thailand because so few people want to work there anymore. So I think both of you should have no trouble.

But be prepared for low salaries, incompetence, condesendence, visa and work permit problems, etc.

Good luck and Bon voyage!