Job Discussion Forums

mandalayroad · Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 115

I'm interested in a teaching position at a Thai college or university. How plausible is it to bring my wife and two small kids? Is it economically feasible? Do Thai educational institutions make any allowances for families to be brought along? And do the authorities issue visas for them as well? I've looked around for information on this but haven't found anyone asking this question so advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Kent F. Kruhoeffer · Joined: 22 Jan 2003 Posts: 2129 Location: 中国

The short answer is: Thailand may not be the best option for a family of 3. Most schools don't plan ahead, and many can't even be bothered to reply to an e-mail. They tend to hire on the spot, often at the last minute, from the pool of people who are already here. There are, of course, some exceptions to that rule, but I'm speaking in general terms. Financially speaking, you'd earn enough to get by OK on your own, but with a wife and two kids? Special allowances? Highy doubtful. 25,000 to 40,000 Baht a month is not much for a family of 3 to live on, and that's the general salary range at Thai universities. If you have K12 teacher certification from your home state or a BEd and experience or any combination thereof - you could try international schools. The good ones pay very well and sometimes offer the kinds of perks you're looking for.

http://isat.or.th/member_schools.asp

http://www.shambles.net/pages/Countries/th_schools/

mandalayroad · Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 115

Thanks for the advice and links, they are greatly appreciated. I was looking into university jobs for EFL, or even for applied media studies which I taught at a US university for a few years. Do you know of any Thai universities that hire from overseas? I tried applying to a new media professor position at Assumption University but it bounced with their email box being full and their online application form had scripting errors. Are they legit enough to bother with a traditional mailing? Thailand is attractive to my family because my wife is originally from Burma so we'd be close to her old home and maybe even start a school there if the political situation even lightens up.

Kent F. Kruhoeffer · Joined: 22 Jan 2003 Posts: 2129 Location: 中国

My pleasure.

Hiring from abroad is a real problem. They rarely do.

Your experience with the full mailbox is absolutely typical of the kind of poor management skills you'll find here. Yes, they are one of the top Thai universities, alongside Chulalongkorn and Thammasat. Yes, you could try a conventional letter; I think I'd FedEx it to the Department Head, if you can figure out who that is. The FedEx delivery will grab their attention and ensure that your resume gets into the right hands - imho.

re Burma; a good friend of mine 'in the know' says that there are a number of new English language schools opening up in Rangoon right NOW. This might be a good time to look into that. Just a hunch on my part, but if opening a school in Burma is an idea you already have, I think I'd fly to Bangkok, set up camp in a cheap hotel or guesthouse for a few weeks, and then visit Rangoon (Yangon?) to check out the scene first-hand.

mandalayroad · Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 115

Thanks for the advice again!

I dug deep into the AU website and couldn't find a name for the department head but found three email addresses. I sent emails to all three and already one bounced back as an unknown address. Wink

If I don't hear from them next week then I'll try to figure out whom to FedEx a package to, and hopefully that will get someone's attention.

I'll have to look into the Burma angle more, it's virgin territory for the most part but the government is not too keen on letting foreigners in for any length of time. The best they offer is a 3-month business visa so I guess that will mean a lot of roundtrip tickets to Bangkok from Rangoon. This is probably the time to do it though, before it opens up and all the big money comes flowing in.

Extraordinary Rendition · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 4:00 pm Post subject:

Private unis in Bangkok pay better, 45,000 baht/month for BA's, and up, depending on qualifications and experience. But that's still pretty rough for a family of four. If you're really interested in university work in the region, and you have a family to support, why not try Malaysia or Singapore (I assume you have at least an MA)? Try the Chronicle of Higher Education and tefl.com websites, google unis in Malaysia and Singapore...