Job Discussion Forums

[adventuramust]

I did search so excuse me if there has been a post, but I wondered if anyone has dealt with AYC Intercultural Program. Preferably the one in Thailand as far as being a teacher.

[Jaime1]

I am going to teach at AYC soon. How are you?

[adventuramust]

Currently I am waiting for the invite letter to get the paperwork completed for a visa. What's you're status?

[Jaime1]

I signed a contract with them in Bangkok, Thailand and will here from them in a month. I don't know where I will be placed though.

[spencereliot]

Im still waiting for the invite and visa stuff as well. They are a bit slow in that department. Nice to see other people who are going to work with them too. With the lack of posts about them I was a bit worried.

[adventuramust]

The lack of posts made me wonder as well. I received an email from AYC asking if I had received my invite letter which I haven't.

When are you anticipating attending the training?

[spencereliot]

Id be starting in November and they said they had a training thing on Oct 19-21 which I would be attending. My friend is at the point in the app. process as well. Still waiting on the invite

[adventuramust]

That's when I expect to go. I figured I would get the invite letter, obtain the visa and go out the end of September.

[1Sapphire1]

I was thinking of teaching with them as well. I'm planning on going to Thailand around Nov 15 and then looking for a position.

[StellaLaBella]

Hi all,

Do they cover the costs of the flight to Thailand? And how many hours a week do you work with them? They don't cover accommodation, right? I'd be going with my husband and would probably have to cover both our costs for awhile...would that be feasible?

Thanks!

Sarah

[spencereliot]

Still no invite letter or response about visas etc. Anyone hear anything? Still planning on heading out there for the 19-21 training seminar though.

StellaLaBella-
AYC does not cover the flight cost. The work sched. is not too bad either. Well, its approximately 24 hours per week. Who really knows though. Housing is provided two weeks prior to your starting date and then they assist in finding a place and offer a housing allowance. It might not be the the best contract out there, but since this is my first time teaching, I dont mind.

[Pauleddy]

There is another thread, down lower, on the index page: "AYC Intercultural Programmes".

As a general rule, westerners are "kind of" exploited in Thailand. There is nothing sinister about this, because Thai society is structured that way. Rich people here here drive limos and have poor people clean the toilet for 2 dollars a day. Thai society is very far from, say, Norwegian society, a social democracy, where everyone lives well, earns good money, eats well, relaxes well and goes to great free hospitals and schools.

It would take three pages to even start to explain, and there are those who are better than I at explaining. However, there is no such thing as a free lunch in Thailand. As a sage once said, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". What I mean is that any school which offers air tickets in-out, great salary, bonuses, luxury accommodation near the beach (or in uptown) and short working hours--or even most of these things--is lying to you (unless you are a world-famous PhD or W Clinton doing lecture tours).

AYC may be very good. I have no idea. Thailand can be fun, but it's not like in the movies.

Eddy

[MaiPenRai]

Stella and other newcomers to teaching in Thailand

I would say that 95% of the teaching jobs in Thailand do not cover airfare. The better schools and companies MAY offer a yearly bonus (equal or less than one month salary) which is often intended to offset the airfare costs. Most schools do not offer accommodation especially if in Bangkok, but many do inlcude an accommodation allowance or slightly increased salary to offset this (although in most cases it is the bare min). Outside Bangkok it can be harder to find accomm so it is more common to see provided accomm in the smaller cities and towns.

AYC has been around for a while now, which means they SHOULD know what they are doing in regards to Visas, work permits, etc. If they don't, then you have to wonder.

BTW, 24 (teaching) hours per week would be considered a fairly heavy workload by most public school teachers here (depends on what extra-curricular things you are expected to do on top of teaching/prepping/marking). 20 is more common and the better jobs usually have less than 20.

I've heard good and bad from past AYC teachers, so like EVERY other recruiter/placement company, MOST are only good for:

1. people who have never taught before and /or have no TEFL cert.
2. people who need/want to secure a job before coming to Thailand and/or have never been to Thailand before
(not really necessary in most cases, but I understand the need for job security)
3. older teachers (50+) who are often discriminated against by many Thai schools.
4. non-native speakers

Best of luck

[spencereliot]

I totally agree with the last two posts. 24hrs is a lot in a work week, but it is also a language school/company and from friends who are there and in S. Korea, language schools tend to pack on rather grueling hours. As for the glamor of the contract, or any contract for that matter, you always have to wonder if you will end up seeing the luxuries listed. As much as it would be nice to believe all these things are given, I will be more of a believer when I actually see them implemented.

[Pauleddy]

I believe that AYC has a house near Chatuchak (BKK) in which they put brand-new arrivals for the first few weeks. I don't know what the fine print is---whether they charge or whatever.

The point about 24 teaching hours is spot-on. I do 12. 24 is a lot.

The AYC "rules" for teachers, on the web page, were either very amusing, odd or both. "Don't listen to headphone music in class" and similar. Worth a chuckle.

Personally, I would be worried if I found myself without a reply from an agency after 4-6 weeks. The new term is only 6-8 weeks away. Any decent firm should now be preparing for you, getting the visa and stuff.

As MPR says, this is a placement agency. They make money, or fill a need, by getting people and putting them in jobs. Somewhere or somehow, they will charge for that service. They will charge the school, or even take a bit of yr salary from the school. They are not a christian or buddhist charity who are gonna pay you heaps of money while you teach on the beach sipping cocktails.

I get quite a few emails/pms--and I even had one guy asking me which beach he should ask to teach at!!! He really thought that he would get that type of option!

In fact, there are no beautiful beaches near Bangkok. You have to go out 3-4 hours or even 8-9 hours to get to a movie-set beach. There are few beaches which are completely wild, and you can't go naked either (girls can't even be topless except in 1 or 2 remote places). It is a felony to be naked, and Thais are shy and conservative.

With an agency it is more likely that you will find yourself in a grimy government school where even an electric fan is luxury--perhaps in a suburb of Bangkok, or in a boring small town (which can't fill vacancies cos the people already here avoid it). The class size would be 40-50 rowdy teens who mainly see you as a white-faced clown/cheerleader sent to entertain them for an hour or two. OK, OK...I must admit that I am older, and I don't now have the energy etc--but you get the point, maybe.

As MPR says, agencies are good for those who feel insecure, new etc, although if you arrived here with money to live on, you would get a job eventually AND have more of a choice about location etc. If you come via an agency, you put yourself in their hands.

eddy