Job Discussion Forums

[Ramblin' Man]

Hey all,

I have lived in Bangkok in the past but never taught there.

I do have a couple years teaching experience in China.

I have TESOL certification but no degree, and also no CELTA.

In China the TESOL is all you need, and there is never any mention of CELTA, but i know in Thailand CELTA is more important.

In China, as well, it is very easy to get a job without a degree, all i need to do is show up look around a bit, have a few interviews and within a week or two i can expect to have a decent - good job. Very simple.

It seems like it might not be so easy to find a job in BKK.


So here is my question.

If i just show up in BKK without a degree and NO celta, but with a TESOL certificate and a few years experience, what are my chances of landing a job within say a few weeks of my arrival there?

[NigerianWhisper]

Not very good.

More difficult now with no degree, especially in Bangkok. Supposed to be easier further up North, out in the sticks, but I have no personal experience of that.

[Knexus]

My school "requires" a college degree. All the teachers I've met down here in the South say their schools require degrees.

A CELTA is overkill for Thailand. I say this from what I've seen, but also from what complaints I've heard. People who took it say they feel they are not really being challenged to really tap into all they learned through the CELTA (most of these Thailand jobs seem to be for kids from kindergarten to elementary - the government run university jobs 110% require a degree).

If your heart is set on it though, I sincerely wish you good luck!

[tttompatz]

Unless something has changed in the last year or so a degree is a requirement for a non-immi "B" and work permit for a teaching job.

Can you get work = maybe but you will be doing border runs every 90 days (assuming you have an actual tourist visa and not just a 30 day entry stamp). You won't be legal, won't have a work permit and have no protection under the law if your employer decides to screw you.

You could also just overstay and accumulate your fine. When you are done with Thailand, pay your fine and leave. Just hope you are not caught in the meantime without the means to pay it off if necessary.

Will it be a legal position with visa and work permit = no.

.

[Ramblin' Man]

yeah, i know about the legality issue already. I lived previously in Thailand for a year, and had to do the border runs every 90 days then, so i'm used to it, doesn't really bother me too much.

I've been hearing some things suggesting that it might be easier to find part time work, through agencies or at language schools, as they often won't be doing work permits anyway, and therefor wouldn't require a degree from me.

do any of you guys know anything, abut being able to work part time at language schools or through agencies and having the lack of a degree be less of a problem there?

if i looked for work from these places, do you think i would be likely to land some, even without a degree?

[tttompatz]

[Ramblin' Man]

Ok, well that sounds better then it did before anyway.

Anybody know the names of some good agencies and/or language schools that i could get in touch with?

Some specific names and locations would be great if you have them, even better would be contact info/websites as well.

How about private one on one tutoring? Would that be a good place for me to look for work, and what would be the best way to go about doing that?

[Ramblin' Man]

One further question.

Once i am on the ground in BKK, what is the best way to go about getting work?

A lot of legwork, going around from place to place? Or mostly through email/phone calls? or an even mix of the two?

[NigerianWhisper]

Emails (in my experience) are rarely replied to.

You are gonna have to have 'boots on the ground'.

[Ramblin' Man]