Job Discussion Forums

[sigmoid]

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

xxxx

[Sgt Killjoy]

Thais will tell you that China is cheaper and they're probably right. The baht has run up about 20% or more in value since Thai people told me China was cheaper. A year ago, 5000 rmb was 25,000 baht, now it is more or less 20,000.

That 5000 rmb in China includes a decent apartment/room. In Thailand? You gotta pay it out of your pocket.

Food is little cheaper than in Thailand.

Too many diversions, people into cheap girls and beers usually choose Thailand over China. I once had this conversation with this fellow who was plotting his long term plans. His goal, go to another country to make money to enjoy the Thai lifestlye and when he ran out of money, come back. Did he like Thai food? No. Did he like the weather? No. Did he like the way people were? No. Doesn't leave many other options.

[stilloutthere]

Chinese schools provide fully furnished apartments. Thai schools don't. So that same amount of money has to cover accommodation, too. Many Chinese schools offer something for airfare when you complete a contract. Thai schools don't.

[jammish]

I can see these points. But going to bars etc is much cheaper in Thailand, if my previous trip there was anything to go by. For instance, in China the only locally made spirit is baijiu, which is grim, so in bars you generally have to buy imported stuff - around 30 quid a bottle. Whereas in Thailand I remember buying a bottle of the very drinkable Thai whisky (which pisses over any chinese-made spirit) and about 4 redbulls for about 5 pounds, and that was in a good, lively bar/club.

Still, in China these things like bars etc are so expensive that FTs just stay at home a lot of the time, have friends over for drinks. I can see how Thailand is a more distracting culture.

[jammish]

[tedkarma]

[jammish]

Well even in my old job in China, where I was earning about 5500 RMB a month, (and doing a few extras on the side) I saved in the region of 8000 pounds in about 2 and a half years, because my living costs were all covered by the school. And while I didn't go to expat bars much, I did live quite well and ate out at good restaurants, had a few good trips, etc.

[The_Hanged_Man]

Ok, let's say you are a qualified and experienced international school teacher (so your salary would be roughly $30-40k US regardless of the country), and are looking at the region. With that in mind would you still recommend Thailand? If not where?

[norbdemn]

I wanted to add to this thread again, I think Thailand is simply uncertain right now for these reasons:

1. Southern insurgency expanding into Bangkok and other provinces. Authorities finally announced that they have evidence that the material used to make the bombs used at New Years in BKK were the same as what was used in the hat yai bombings and the bombings in the troubled provinces of yala, patani, and narathiwat. I believe there will never be peace in these regions. Coincidentally, I was present during the hat yai bombings and got slightly injured. As a result I had to go to meet with a few representatives at the US embassy in Bangkok. One of the big wigs told me that he has been telling foreigners for the last 5 years to STAY AWAY FROM THE SOUTH.

2. The Govt. is still unsettled. Supposedly, there is going to be an election in December for a permanent Govt. Meanwhile, there are protests in Bangkok.

My advice would be to go to a neighboring country until the smoke clears - see how things settle after the election.

I hope this helps.

[Sgt Killjoy]

Yeah, I'd give Thailand a pass at the current time for two other reasons:

1) Corruption is going through the roof under the military government. They are nicking people(foreigners and thais alike) for money left and right. I got a report out of southern Thailand where a bus of 32 foreigners entering the country got nicked for more than 20,000 baht on entering Thailand. Bribes to enter the country, some paying more than 2k baht to enter Thailand with the threat of being in no-man's land if they didn't pay.

2) Wages for foreign teachers is on a downward trend even though prices are up close to 10 to 15% in the last 18 months.

[tedkarma]

I'll play devil's advocate here.

The uncertainty that exists here at the moment also means that there is more opportunity. Newbies and experienced teachers can probably land better jobs and demand more money than they could when things were honey-sweet and people were flocking here to teach. Much less competition.

Personally (IME, IMO):
I see an upward trend in wages as schools have to compete and offer more to get GOOD teachers. And, while corruption has always been here - I don't see that it is on the increase - or any different than it was two or even six years ago. The problems in the south have been there for years - and doubt if there will ever be any REAL proof of the bombings in Bangkok being related to the problems there. I've seen Bangkok Post and Nation articles on both sides of the story.

Low-level terrorism seems to be everywhere in the world these days. I can't get too worked up about it.

[takgeyon]

I'll just make a quick comparison to what I have found in Thailand as to what I came form. All the teachers I have met that are veterans of Korea (myself included) will tell you that Thailand far outweighs Korea. Korea takes it's toll on you. The weather is bad, the food misserably awful, the culture - jackhammer annoying. I know expats who have lived there for 5 years or more and they all are the same. Big bank accounts that they don't spend and they are really, really, wierd and mal adapted people. THey never go anywhere or do anything. Basically there's not lots to do in Korea unless you are Korean. Koreans are viciously racist in a way that you wont fully realise until you are there for a considerable period of time. Although you will be overtly treated as a "rock star" this in itself is a form of racism and all the compliments you keep getting are really ill intentioned jabs because most Koreans blame the US and Western culture for all its problems. As well all non Koreans are considered "dirty" and impure. Sure you can hack out a life for yourself, but it will take its toll on you after a while. There are plenty of dissatified houswives (all Korean married women are because the marriages are shams and thier husbands cheat on them with hookers all the time) that you can get to know but this shadow life will in the end be unfulfilling and leave you empty and can often be dangerous if you acuire a Korean husband who has "lost face" over the matter (despite the fact that he has 12 women including professional prostitutes on the side. Remember it's a patrolineal society). The fact that you can teach private lessons here makes up for the financial discrepancy and the low costs of travel and recreation will well be worth any monetary sacrifice in my opinion. IN all I would say that while there are negatives Thailand is a far better place to be. Wherever you are you must make your own opportunities. There is in my opinion a lot more to work with here.

[Hod]

What's bad about Thailand? If you go as a teacher, it's the students.

I've moved on from teaching now, forever, but love going to Thailand on holiday, and I even speak a lot of Thai. If I got offered a job there in anything but teaching, I'd be there in a shot.

Apparently, I was quite a good teacher. I had the generic 4-week Cambridge cert and was very well received in Germany, Malaysia and Morocco. But at teaching corporate types in Bangkok, it was never going to be for me. As I said, I did well in other countries and maybe could've made an effort to teach other types of students in Bangkok. There's far more to life, though, than busting a gut for students who weren't interested. When you consider the amount of time you spend at work, it�s got to be rewarding or your overall quality of life suffers. But that's just me.

[TEFL anonymous]

I was working in Hat Yai for a couple of years and I would like to point out that despite the bombings and all the terror stories and the incidents that do happen every day in Pattani, Yala etc, I definately would not let this put me off going there. I know that the bombings are becoming more widespread (thanks Thanksin for all your hard work in unifying the country ) but that doesn't mean that something's definatelygoing to happen to you. Be sensible - I didn't go further south to the places I knew were problem areas, although a friend worked in Pattani for 6 months and loved it. This was actually the same friend who was killed in a bomb in Hat Yai in September - but they weren't targetting farangs and most of the time the bombs aren't actually put in places where they are sure to kill people. In Hat Yai, for example, they were in the streets rather than in the busy bars... This can't be said for the bombs in Madrid, London etc etc etc

Please don't let them put you off, Thailand is a great country and for the most part, the people are immeasurably kind.

With regards to salary, I earned 30,000 working at a Secondary School, I paid 5000 rent for a brand new bedsit in the centre of town and despite going out every weekend, I could up sticks and go away every time a long weekend was sprung upon me without money worries.
Last year I worked far too hard and managed to save 60,000 between June and September. Although obviously I was too tired to actually go out and spend it most of the time! Hang out with the Thais and opt for Thai brands and things are surprisingly affordable.