Job Discussion Forums

[scooby_rex]

hey all, im a newly qual. tesol teacher,
im working on my BA but wont have it for another 12 months

i have 3 job offers in Russia, China and now thailand, i wont consider anywhere else for totally unrelated reasons,so its down to these 3 countries, ill copy n paste part of an email i got

1.Government Schools located in Hatyai and others in Saturn near the beach
2.Salary 30 000baht plus accommodation provided by us
3.Teaching 18-22 hours a week,(you don't give grades, check attendance and give a final test)
4.Teaching only conversation English to Thai students and class size range from 20-35
5.A Thai assistant to help you in the class with classroom management
6.Paper work for your visa and work permit will be provided and assistance given also in submitting them
7.One year contract with an option for a six month contract if you want a short one or planning to leave
8.Teaching materials will be provided and for teachers who have their own , they are welcome to use them

9. Dress code is formal for our teachers when they teach, no jeans and shorts
10.Chance to earn more by working extra hours in the language school located in Hatyai

11. Contracts start 1st of May but teachers are expected to be settled already in their respective schools.


after reading on here im sure 30,000 baht a month is sufficient for me, which brings me to my next question, the most important one
i applied for a different job that advertised 22 hours a week, after reading the finer details it was said that its actually 40 hours a week

without going into details, whichever place i choose to go to, im basing my choice on the hours. 40 hours a week plus doing 3 units at a time for my degree is practically impossible if i want to get great marks, at the same time, i want to perform my job the best as well as my degree, this is why the cash per month is not of great importance to me, as the majority of my time will be taken with work sleep and study, so i assume 30,000 baht is enough to live on.
but when they say for this thailand gig, 18-22 hours, is it going to be only this or are there going to be other things that go over for example 30 hours. im a bit confused by all this?
any advice/answers would be fantastic
Cheers all

[FarangFarang]

No need to be confused.

The 40 hours some schools refer to is the actual time you are expected to be "on campus". Example....8am-4pm Monday to Friday.

The 18-20 hours (on average in Thailand) refer to CONTACT hours. Thats the time you spend in a classroom, teaching. The rest of the hours are for admin, grading etc.

30,000 baht a month is probably ok for down South.

[scooby_rex]

hey thanks for your reply, i asked them about that, heres what they said

But firstly i want to address some issues you raised.
1.Our teachers teach 18-22 hours depending on the school, for 40 hours we would need two teachers, none of our teachers have taught and will never teach more than 22, sometimes a teacher needs more money to pay off students loan, we can arrange extra part time work in our language center or talk to the school so that you may teach non-English programme students for extra money
2.Teaching will be in a government school and student classes range from 20-35 and their age group is 13-18
3.Your teaching hours are the only hours you do with us and when you are not teaching you will be free.(Time to study for you)
4.We have many schools and you can choose
1. in the city
2. near the city, a little bit quiet and good for studying
3.near the beach.


so this is pretty much saying that im only gonna have to give them 18 hours a week, no crap hidden etc etc, so that gives me plenty of free time


right?..........

[FarangFarang]

I must admit that at first glance it sounds ok.

In my personal experience I think what will happen is that yes, you may well only have those 18-20 hours at the school. 2 hours may well be in the morning.............with another 2 hours in the last periods of the school working day. So sure..you will have the free time in-between. Maybe you will have time to go to the 7-11.

I would ask whoever it is you are dealing with to be more concise about the hours and the time-table you will have. If its possible.

The "20-35" students in a class (Government School) is maybe a tad on the low side. Be prepared for class sizes of 30-50. Which sounds fine...................but in reality will mean most of your class time will be spent in Classroom Management, as opposed to teaching.

[Smeagol]

Hi, Scooby

I finished my MA TEFL by distance while working in Thailand. I worked Monday to Thursday, 5:15 p.m. to 9:05 p.m., and either three or six hours (depending on the school's needs) on Sunday, at a private language school (very reputable, a really good gig, except that the pay in Thailand is [almost] always low). The hours were continguous (except for an hour or so break on Sunday between classes if I had six hours), so I had PLENTY of free time. In fact, those three years were one of the most enjoyable times of my life.

I don't think you should sweat the hours too much, especially because on 30,000, you're not going to have much money to do anything in your evenings and on weekends except study, anyway. I was making more than that on the job I described above five years ago, and had some income from home, and it was just enough to live comfortably back then. Prices have gone up significantly in the last five years. That said, Hat Yai and the deep south is known as one of the least expensive areas in Thailand, so you'd probably be ok, if you stay out of the bars .

If you find that you like Thailand, and many people do (my "permanent" residence is still there), the in-country experience along with the BA should give you a good leg up on getting something with a decent salary there down the road. As for China and Russia, it makes me cold just thinking about it. Brrrr...