Job Discussion Forums

Nimah · Joined: 14 May 2007 Posts: 36

Hello,

I'm looking to either pick a teaching position up shortly or for the next school year (May 2008?) but am having difficulty finding anything reasonable. I've checked out Ajarn.com, but it seems that these are mostly ESL positions and I have a teaching certification from Australia (though I'm Canadian) and a years experience.

Anywhere else you would suggest looking? I'm not too interested in 30,000baht/month jobs.

Extraordinary Rendition · Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:16 am Post subject:

You probably want to work at one of the International Schools. You could try Googling to see if you get anything; if you do, you could send off your resume/CV. But they normally hire on-the-spot. With your credentials, you'll have no problems simply going and making the rounds, but keep watching Ajarn.com, they advertise, often at 60,000/mo. But the best way is to be on-the-spot for an interview, they're much more likely to hire one of the many people who are already there than to hope you actually show up. Be aware that none of my acquaintenances who have worked at these schools has ever spoken highly of the quality of the students or administration, but the pay is good, for Thailand.

kinlij · Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Posts: 15 Location: Australia

International schools normally hire on the spot? Some do, but the better ones normally hire through recruitment fairs which are conducted well before the academic year. For example, there was one in BKK at the beginning of January.

To get invited to a recruitment fair you normally need to belong to an agency, like Search Associates http://www.search-associates.com/main.html

I worked for an international school in Chiang Mai and it did local hires, but it was well dodgy! The good ones all used recruitment fairs. Of course if a teacher doesn't show up for their contract the school may look locally to fill that position.

Extraordinary Rendition · Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 1:44 pm Post subject:

OP - You didn't tell us where you are now. In Thailand? Oz or Canada? If you're not in Thailand, can you spend the time and money for a preliminary visit to Thailand?

BTSskytrain · Joined: 21 Oct 2007 Posts: 45

Most Intl. school gigs are gotten through placement agencies like Search Associates. I signed on with Search Associates a few months ago and my email box is always full of openings from all over the world. S.A. also has a huge database that you can access daily to check for new openings as well as deleted positions. I'm very pleased thus far.

FYI: The majority of Intl. schools do require certification and two years of experience. Most of them would probably be lenient on the experience end but not on the certification end. Because you're certified I think you should pull the trigger and start applying to the Intl. schools and hook up with a placement agency. The last thing you want to do is slave teaching ESL in Thailand at some bogus english academy making peanuts.

www.searchassociates.com

skytrain

Extraordinary Rendition · Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 10:21 pm Post subject:

Whew! I looked at the Search Associates website. All that for a job in Thailand? Judging by the constant advertisements the International Schools in Thailand run, it doesn't seem likely most of their jobs are filled by placement agencies. OP - you may want to check the Bangkok Post classifieds, as well. A version is available on-line. There are advertisements for all kinds of teaching posts quite frequently, and sometimes other work for native English-speakers. You may also want to consider university work. The government ones pay in the 30,000 - 40,000 range, but the private ones pay better, often in excess of 50,000, depending on your qualifications. An advantage of university work is that the workday is very short. Another advantage is that the students are (a little) more mature, and most are fairly motivated. Unlike my sole attempt at teaching rugrats and young teenagers (not in Thailand), I didn't have any discipline problems with them (other than a little chatter in Thai!). I once saw a website listing universities in Thailand, I think it was published by the Ministry of Education. I'm not motivated to look for it, but you might want to.

kinlij · Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Posts: 15 Location: Australia

Extraordinary Rendition · Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 9:13 am Post subject:

kinlij · Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Posts: 15 Location: Australia

Extraordinary Rendition · Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 9:55 am Post subject:

lterrys · Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Posts: 22 Location: San Antonio, Texas

I lived and worked in Bangkok for 8 years. I had several great teaching positions there, one of which was with the University of Bangkok. They supply your work visa, help you find a place to live and pay a somewhat good salary. The way to get a job there is to submit your resume to them and follow up with a personal interview...they hire on the spot as do most of the universities in Bangkok. Another idea is to work for the Ministry of Defense...both the Air Force and the Navy has EFL Language Schools that pay very, very well and they will also help you find a place to live, and provide work visas for you. I worked for the Royal Thai Navy for some time and really enjoyed it. The third place to work...and there's lot's of places to get this kind of job teaching ESL/EFL is in the Hotel Industry. ALL major five star hotels in Bangkok have their own English Language Units within the Human Resources Department. Don't send in your resume, go see the HR Dept. head and apply for the position. One of the best to work for is the Dusit Thani Group of Hotels...about 9 hotels in all and all 5 star. I developed the Dusit's ESL/EFL training department and much of the material that I wrote is still being used today. Thai Airways and Thai Airlines also have ESL/EFL units where you can find positions.