Job Discussion Forums

oyanlan · Joined: 25 Mar 2003 Posts: 12 Location: Shandong

Hi there.
I'm teaching in China at the moment and thinking about moving to Thailand for a while, going sometime between July and October. I've emailed a few schools and it seems they only look for teachers 2-3 weeks before they need the position to be filled. Not good for someone whos slightly anal about being organised.
Also I'd rather not work in Bangkok. Preferrably, a nice small city with enough foreigners to have a nice time. (Anyone living in a place like this at the moment, I would appreciate your comments)
Do I save now and just show up and look for work? Is there a chance I could blow my small budget before finding a job? How much would I need to bring to survive before I could find a job? I'm TEFL trained but have no degree.
Any advice would be much appreciated, Thanks, Niamh

gecko · Joined: 11 Apr 2003 Posts: 42

I would say that the best thing for you to do is to just show up and look for a job when you get there. Make sure you have at least 40,000THB in your pocket. That's about 7,862.21 CNY. But the more money the better.

As far as the degree is concerned I probably would worry too much about it, it just means that you will have to do lots of visa runs.

Good luck

WorkingVaca · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 135

For small towns, check out the north: Chiang Rai, Lampang or even Udan Thani. There's also Chiang Mai, but it's a bit touristy.

Hed_Kandi · Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Posts: 45

Sheep-Goats · Joined: 16 Apr 2004 Posts: 527

cujobytes · Posted: Mon May 09, 2005 2:35 am Post subject: >

Dunk · Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Posts: 16 Location: Bangkok

Hi,

I would disagree with Sheep-Goats on the living solely with Thais thing. You need to have at least some farang around you to avoid feeling a bit isolated I think. Its important to have cultural reference points and banter etc with people who know where you're coming from - so to speak !

So, a smallish town with a farang presence would be a great idea. Lampang is nice, as Working Vaca said, and I saw a few language institutes up there recently while on a break. Also, how about the central towns such as Sukothai, Lopburi or Ayuthayya ? I hear Roi Et in the NE is also pleasant.

I really like Bangkok as it goes, its not as clogged or as jammed as you may think, and you have access to life's little comforts as well as being very well placed to escape to some nice places if you want to.

I would say 1000 Baht a day is needed when you pay for accommodation and get around and eat, have the odd beer etc etc before you set yourself up.

It might be an idea to sort out a flat sharpish when you arrive, as opposed to spending a month in a guesthouse for example. You can pay anything from 2500 - 4000 Bt a month for a nice clean studio and save a bit of cash that way.

Check out ajarn.com for loads of those regional jobs.

Good luck with the search,

Dunk.

tedkarma · Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 1:47 pm Post subject:

I understand the OP's needs regarding being organized. I flew into BKK couple months before leaving my previous job - organized my next job in advance and flew back out.

Maybe too expensive to set up from China.

Most organizations though - don't think very far in advance. It is worth fishing a bit though - as you can find yourself locked into a less than advantageous situation. Changing jobs is not so easy - as you may have to leave the country (if your new employer can't get things put together quickly) - and all the attendant costs.

I'd go with the minimum US$1000 for the move - and even that would be very low for me. I'd need double that. But then I am an old man set in his ways.

sigmoid · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 1276

But I've heard that teaching in China is so much better than teaching in Thailand. Do you really want to go to Thailand? Not having a degree will exclude you from most legitimate jobs.

I would say yeah just show up but contact as many potential employers as you can beforehand. Let them know you're coming, try to set up interviews and also get some information about them and the positions they need filled. That way once you get there you won't be lost, but will have some definite directions to head. Almost all provincial capitals in Thailand have some type of teaching work available.