Job Discussion Forums

[Furm Lee]

Hello all, I am considering a stint in Thailand. Born 1962, Canadian white male, B.Ed Secondary (English major, French minor), taught in public schools in Canada for seven years; some additional ESL training & experience; and did 1 full contract year recently in Korea.

What kind of gig and pay rate can I reasonably expect in Thailand?

[tedkarma]

If you are still certified in Canada check out international schools. There are several threads here - but particularly on the Korea board. Do a search here and in the Korea section - look for ISS or "international schools" or both.

In particular read this thread:
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=19367&highlight=

If you are an experienced certified teacher - don't mess around with the language schools or even universities in Thailand. You should be able to double your income and benefits (or even better) via the "real" international schools. Note the "real" - there are a host of schools that put international in their names in Thailand. But most are not true international schools.

Good deal at a not real int'l school? B30-40k+
Bad deal at a good school? B80k+
Great deal? Up to double that with housing and an airplane ticket.

It will be worth your time to proceed slowly via ISS - follow the process and do it from your home country. You, I think, have missed the hiring cycle for this year - but sometimes there is a little hiring bump right when school starts.

[Sheep-Goats]

You should seek employment an an international school (basically, a Canadian high school that's located in Thailand -- you'll probably be teaching a subject in English rather than English language as a subject). This is best done from within your home country. Many interanational schools will hire from within Thailand but will pay those hirees signifigantly less than those hired abroad. Contact your teacher's union for advice on how to get on with an international outfit.

Be aware that the label "international" is quite popular in Thailand and that many schools use it which are not really international at all.

The semester here begins in April, though many international schools will have their years synched to wherever their students plan to go to university (eg: same as Canada). They will seek people to work for them in advance, just like a school back in Canada would. However, there will be some positions that open up right at the beginning of the year due to no-shows and changed minds.

If you get an EFL job in Thailand you're probably looking at about 40-50kB a month. A job at any kind of semi-genuine international school will probably double those figures and throw in a lot of bonuses that us EFL schulbs can only dream of (retirement fund, top of the line health insurance, flight repayment, etc). International school jobs are more desireable than tenured jobs at universities in Thailand.