Job Discussion Forums

[vallillo1983]

hey guys, i am due to finish uni this year and i am wanting to come work in thailand! (i will be an english teacher as thats what my degree is in!) I was all set up for it, and lately i've been put off!

Can i ask, is 35,000baht really alot in BKK? Also ppl are telling me, thailand is not good if im a serious career teacher and/or i wana visit home once every other year or so to visit family (im from London!)
All i want from life, is to earn enough money to have a great life, with out having to be too frugal and watch what i spend! (as ya prob aware, life in the west is getting harder and harder for have a decent life, even on �24000 a year!!)

Also, is it possible to move up the career ladder, become dos etc more pay?

I also hear that foreign residents can be asked to leave Thailand at any point! is this true? is there anyway of staying there for life?
Is anyone palnning on staying in thailand for life, or is it enough for just a few years?

Thanks for helping guys, plz reply i will be most greatful!!

also i hear of complications for foreginers wanting to live permanently in THAiland, what must u do to be able to settle there?

[scb222]

35,000Baht in BKK is nothing. Really if you like any type of comfy, enjoyable life you need at least 50K and even then dont expect to save much/anything. if you are a qual teacher, better to work elsewhere and come to thailand for a holiday. teaching in thailand really is for the unemployable (in the west) and unqualified - thailand is full of losers, old western men who are there primarily for cheap thai girls, beer, and drugs (im sure i'll cop some flak for this, but it's true). hence the shit salaries. even though teaching in taiwan or korea isnt much better, you do earn much more and then you can spend an extended time in thailand afterwards chillin'. btw, i am currently teaching in turkey. i'll be heading back to asia as soon as this contract is up!!!!!!!!!

[tedkarma]

Conversely . . .

There are many highly skilled, highly trained, very experienced EFL teachers who live and work in Thailand because they (we!) like it here.

The wages are not great - Thailand is not a place to come to pay off your bills - but some people are able to save a bit here. And you can make a comfortable life for yourself.

Not all of us - not even most of us - hang out in the bars and clubs and hooker areas. I live a fairly quiet life on Phuket - with my wife, cat, and a comfy home. Thailand doesn't have to be "party central"! I know many others who live lifestyles such as mine. We come here because we enjoy the people, the culture, the relaxed lifestyle. Of course, we make friends, have a few brews - just not every night!

The people who come to just party and chase the ladies - hmmmm - don't seem to last long. Here today - gone tomorrow. And, of course, their wages don't go far. Nor would they go far in most any country - with that lifestyle.

Entry level wages - don't do much for you in most any country - except maybe Korea. Once you are here a while you find better jobs and better wages. But B35,000 is not a bad start.

[tedkarma]

[Brodsky]

It may seem an obvious point vanllilo but it really depends on what you spend money on, in my experience if you are not a heavy drinker and spend hours chasing and paying for bangkok's females then it makes an enormous difference.

I have in the past lived very happily on around 35,000. I don't drink often, i lived a short bus ride from the Sky Train in a reasonable apartment and love thai food (although by no means exclusively).

I know plenty of farang who live happily on that money, so i dont think you should worry about that, especially in the short term. After you've spent some time here, you may well find some ways of earning additional cash, private teaching, internet related, or whatever, and even a better paid teaching job.

I should add, for the record, im a hypocrite, as these days i live in a great apartment close to the sky train, and spend lots on the sort of fine living that i like! and i spend way way more than 35,000! LOL

As for the gay life in bkk (i think you mention on another thread), you will love it here im quite sure! I've been to many places all over the world, but i've never seen so many hot guys as in Bangkok! i came here years too late!

[smilingsams]

Yes---oh quite yes--the above poster said, the one that blanketed all foreign teachers in Thanliand was quite correct, don't come here and be associated with the trash of humanity.
I lived in Seoul for 3 1/2 years and am just about at my 2 year mark in Tahiland. Don't listen to fools and hyprocrites. It's a life decision when YOU choose to teach overseas, sometimes it's good and it's bad, so make the best of it. Believe you me, Iwouln't trade the last five years of my life to live in GW Bush's america if you gave me a million dollars.
Sin cerely yours,
Pucky Slueter

[Christoforos]

Hi,
first of all thank you ALL. I'm reading this page amnd I'm learning a lot of useful information. I'm a Greek Cypriot currently pursuing a Masters in Inetrnational Law which ends in Augusat and I'll be moving to Thailand to teach English in September (in September I'll get the CELTA and then start teaching). I saw man ads with job vacancies for teaching English in Bangkok for 30 000 - 35 000 Baht and I thought it was ok; fortunately I read the messages here and learned it's nothing. Does anybody know in which countries foreign English teachers are paid more? I'm not an English native speaker, so Ic an;t work in Korea nor Tawain. In China it's so much easier to find a job, but do you get to save more money (it's not just the salary we care about, but the relation of the salary with the cost of living, i.e. how much money remains in your pocket in the long run). What about Europe. Do they pay more there? I'm an EU citizen so I can easily work in Europe. But there's more competition there right? Which country pays more? Thanks!!!

[MrCAPiTUL]

Japan pays well. China pays well if you plan to stay in China.

However, if you are pursuing a Masters in International Law - why do you want to teach English overseas? Why not use your degree for something slightly more related?

What is your goal and what are you looking for?

[Christoforos]

Hi, thanks for the reply. The reason is that I don't like law much and I definitely don't want to become an advocate. I thought of going to Bangkok and search for a job at int'l organisations and NGO's but I know it's hard to get in if you don't know someone inside (I don't) so I need a job in order to have an income while searching. If I don't find anything (in the meantime I'll be teaching and enjoying my life in Thailand), I'll try to find a more highly paying job perhaps teaching English to lawyers-if there is such a job vacancy that is.

Anyway, my questions are pretty simple. Do you suggest that foreigner not English native teachers in China can earn more money than in Thailand? What about compared to Europe?

Thank again!

[MrCAPiTUL]

Do you suggest that foreigner not English native teachers in China can earn more money than in Thailand?

Hmm, not really sure what you are asking here, buuuut. . .
If you work in China, you can get paid a very nice salary compared to the average Chinese worker (in Shanghai, at least). You'll have more than enough money to live comfortably and enjoy yourself there. However - and this is a huge - HOWEVER. . . . it is difficult to get your money out of the country at a reasonable rate! So, if you send money home - you'll lose. If you travel and want to convert into the local currency - you'll lose. If you plan to stay in China, though, you'll be good to go.

[Christoforos]

Thanks for the info. My apologies if I wasn't clear. What I am trying to find out is based on a comparison between working in Thailand and in China (bear in mind that I am not an English native speaker in case it matters). As you said, when you leave China, the money you will have earned will be very few because of the currency and the rate. Ok so what's the correspondent situation in with Thailand. Suppose I work in CHina for one year, and suppose I work for Thailand for one year. At the end of which year will I have earned the most money after I converted it to...let's say Cyprus Pounds, or British Pounds or Euros, whatever. I hope I was clear! Once again, my apologies if I not clear previously.