Job Discussion Forums

[n3ptne]

I'm going to be coming to Thailand in a little over a month to take some sort of ESL certification course.

Following the completion of that course I may travel to the Middle East to find work, however I may also choose to stay in Thailand and work for a year.

What documents do I need to take with me for the visa process?

I have an original copy of my diploma (BA in English), sealed transcripts, birth certificate, and of course a passport. Will I be needing a background check of some sort? Medical records/HIV/Drug test?

I've been planning on arriving in Thailand with a tourist visa to take the ESL course, and then imagine if I wanted to stay for an additional year that a visa run would be necessary. Is it possible to accomplish this with a one way ticket?

I've been told that getting a Trinity CELTA certification is the best of it's kind. Do any of you have thoughts on that? I've found a couple that are about a month long and in the neighborhood of 3600USD, housing included. They also "guarantee" to find me a job after finishing it... any thoughts on that?

Thanks guys.

[Carll101]

[Pauleddy]

Many newbies need to be careful about Thailand.

You need to make sure if poss that yr course is a CELTA or TESOL pukka course. Some people here set up a month's TEFL course which may be OK for work here but is MMouse if you then want to work 'seriously' in another country. These people even say that their course is 'certified' by the Thai ministry of Ed. All a joke really.

make sure you check the sites about visas. It keeps changing. the tourist visa at the airport used to be 30 days only. I heard it is now 15. You need to check whether you can go out to get another or whether it's easier in yr country. When i got my initial visa, there was no policecheck and no doctor thing. My university now takes care of my visa stuff every yr so I am no expert--there are sure to be visa experts on here. There are many experts on all aspects of Thailand, and I can only give my opinions as an experienced teacher who has 4 years in Thailand.

I have posted b4 about the 'free jobs' after the 'course'. These are in poor crappy gvmt schools which 'normal' people will not work in. Sometimes there is no aircon (and no books). In some schools, the kids run riot.

Thailand has cons and pros. 30,000baht, the normal wage for newbies, is barely enough if you want a nice flat, beers, girls and all of it--especially in the large cities. Yes, I know that you can live on rice and noodles in a small room cheaply etc etc but who wants that?

Check out everything first. Check out the courses and the jobs. Come here with a bit of money. look around. Unless you are a qualified teacher with a BEd and a posting in a high-end Intl rich-kid school, never take a job off the internet. Some gap-year folk even pay 500 dollars for a placement in a no-pay charity job. There are many scams.

Thailand is hot, gritty, badly organised, getting worse/poorer, and many people want your sweat or else your money. As I always say on here, don't watch too many Leonardo di Caprio films about girls, dope and beaches. In thailand you will always pay a price in some way. I promise.

In saying all of this, I still think that Thailand is unique, and for many a good taster of teaching/travelling. The problem is that many people get bogged down here and forget that there are places with better money, better students and a better society--but maybe other problems too. There are people who adore this place and those who hate it.

P

[MaiPenRai]

I dont really get why people say these are scams. As long as they provide what they say they will provide, how is it a scam?

Some people pay to volunteer because they dont want to deal with setting it all up. It can take time, energy, knowledge and money to set things like this up and some people dont have time, energy or knowledge but do have money. I had a good friend who ran a volunteer program that people paid for. It was well run and he did everything he said he would. I met many of the people that volunteered and they were all happy (minus 1 homesick crybaby). Some even stayed here to work after at the same "poor crappy government" schools. He is now doing many other volunteer projects in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, etc. he makes enough to cover his expenses and live a decent modest lifestyle. he had to work hard at the beginning to get everything set up right for volunteers.

Someone offers a service. someone pays for the service. If the service is what is advertised, its not a scam. Poor investment by some people's standards...maybe, but not a scam.

A scam is when you pay $$$ to get a job or take a course and then suddenly nobody answers your emails anymore and the website is no longer working. Or they tell you you will get paid xxx and you get paid less than that. Scam.

There are lots of safe jobs advertised on the internet. Are they the best jobs? Probably not. But not everybody is qualified to get the best jobs. is it better to be here to find a job? Yes, probably, but again not everybody has the time, energy, knowledge, tenacity, money etc to knock on doors and do interviews and demos, etc.


PaulEddy - What makes a better society?
MOD EDIT Some people come for an experience and actually want to work in the so-called "poor crappy government schools that no 'normal' people would work at". They dont want to come to Thailand to live in bangkok.

Agreed in some of your advice, but please dont lump all Thailand TEFLers with the beer and girls brush. We get enough of that from people who don't know anything about Thailand.

Good luck N3p. BTW 3600USD is way to much for a TEFL/CELTA course even with accommodations. a little more than half of that should cover a good course and accomm for 1 month.

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

We don't permit name calling here and we also don't permit insults directed at other members. I've just deleted a posting along these lines and edited another. Repeats will result in sanctions. Sanctions can include banning.

Please stay on topic and the topic is not an individual poster.

[narmtal]

That is WAAYYY too much money for a TESOL course! I'm sure you can do a LOT better than that! Have a look around...

[Pauleddy]

My reply was 5 weeks ago or more! I thought this thread had gone cold. The following post is factual and impersonal.

We differ on semantic definition of scam. The people who run TEFL courses like this will charge for the course and then charge the sch