Job Discussion Forums

[lichtarbeiter]

Here is my situation:

- I have a BA with a major in English Language, minor in Linguistics, with good grades to boot

- I have one year of teaching experience in Korea (K to middle school students)

- I'm planning on going back to school in May of next year, and therefore I cannot sign a one-year contract as many of the schools demand

- I do not have a TEFL certificate, and don't really want to invest the time or money to get one when I'm only going to be teaching for 4-6 months and plan to get out of the teaching game for good after this

- I want to experience Thailand, and don't care so much about saving... I just want to pay for my flights and afford to stay alive while I'm there... I think 30,000/month should be good enough

- I've been through a lot of the sites recommended for finding teaching jobs in Thailand, and it seems to be slim pickings... or maybe it just feels that way to me since I'm used to looking at the abundant Korean job list

- I am in Canada now


So what should I do? Come to Bangkok and seek jobs in person? If so, when would be the best time to come over if I'm trying to get in at least a 4-month gig before May? Coming without a job secured worries me, because I'm not sure how easy it will be to find a school that's both not picky about the TEFL certification and not insistant on a one-year contract. If it's a difficult endeavour, then I'm stuck in Bangkok with no job, and just spending my money.

Would it be better for me to just lay low here until I find something?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

[dharma86]

You may be ok. You could probably get a job for the second term after Octobor until around April I think it is. You would probably be replacing a teacher that left or something.

It seems to work better in Thailand when your actually there job hunting, unlike other countries like Korea and China where you do your research upfront.

Well, that's what i'd do. Go there and aim for a second term job.

[lichtarbeiter]

Thanks very much! I think you're probably right about it being better searching on the ground there. So I think I'll book a flight there for around October 15.

Anybody who thinks that's a bad idea (with consideration of the info in the OP), please speak now (or in the next day or two), or forever hold your peace!

[MaiPenRai]

IN your case, you may want to consider going with an agency (Siam, ECC, JP, MediaKids, AYC, BFITS, Text&Talk, etc.). Obviously they usually pay a little less, but easiest way to get a job if you are not picky (as it sounds). You should have no problems finding work at a language school if you plan to work in Bangkok (Inlingua, ECC, Boston Bright, Siam, EF, etc.).

MOD EDIT As the semester comes to an end in government schools (end of Sept), you should see more jobs becoming available in a couple of weeks. Arriving Oct 15 might be a bit late, but should give you time to find something. Thai schools/companies are notorious for doing everything last minute, so there will always be ASAP jobs available because nobody posted a job advert until the first day of school, even though they knew they needed a new teacher.

Yes, it is easiest to find work once you are here. Bring your original degree or certified/apostilled copy, any certificates you have, transcipts (if you have them) and a criminal record check (can get one in BKK as well if no time at home)

If you are in Canada, you should apply for a double entry tourist Visa at a nearby Thai consulate. They SHOULD still be free (Visas issues are all over the place for Thailand right now), but you have to apply before you come. This will save you some visa hassles shuld you not find work within the first few weeks/month.

Good luck

[fetuskarate]

If you're thinking about a 4-mo. contract, Media Kids is a decent way to go, though it can be hit-and-miss. I can tell you that with one year of teaching experience, you can get either 33-34,000B a month with free housing. You could likely be living in the sticks though. And living in a smaller town is a lot cheaper, and offers the advantage of experiencing more Thai culture.

However, because the upcoming semester is filled with holidays, you'll have plenty of time off to explore the country. This past semester, i was able to go to three islands and the Philippines, all during my time off. I was able to save half of my salary at the end too.

The semester is from late October to the end of Feb, I believe. I'm sure you can get a job with MK if you just send in your resume now- I got a job 3 weeks before orientation started.

[MaiPenRai]

Yes, MediaKids is always a good option for the 4 month contract. You should contact them quickly though as I happen to know that they have had a lot of teachers renew contracts for the second semester this year, probably due to the load of holidays at government schools in the second semester. (ex. half of your grade 12 classes will probably be cancelled as they are preparing for Uni and your classes are the first to get axed to do this). If you are flexible about locations to live and teach, you will probably get something with them. PM if you are really interested as I know a couple of people who work for them and MAY be able to help.

Good luck

[lichtarbeiter]

Thanks so much for your advice guys.

I booked my flight today. I'll arrive October 17th, which is a little later than I wanted, but it was the earliest where I could find this really good flight deal ($970 USD round-trip Vancouver to Bangkok!).

I have already have the documents needed to apply for work in Thailand, including an apostilled CRC which I got because I was planning to go to Korea for another year. I thought getting the tourist visa looked like a good idea, so it's good to get some reinforcement on that.

Anyway, those government positions really sound good, especially with the holidays! And with this being my 5th post in the forum, I can now PM MaiPenRai!

[sheikxhoni]

Speaking of good plane fares I just booked a flight in mid-November from BKK to Dusseldorf for 319 Euro and a day later a second flight from Dusseldof to Puerto Plata Dominican Republic for another 319 Euro - a total of $921 US dollars. Everyone might not want to go to the Carribean from Thailand but that rate sounded pretty damned good to me so I thought I would tell people here. The same carriar goes to Toronto and various US cities. The online reservations went very smoothly too.

I was impressed.

Try Air Berlin - -