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WanderingD
Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 20
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 Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 7:52 am Post subject: Chulalongkorn |
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| Am thinking about moving back to Bangkok (worked there briefly years ago) and seeking work at Chulalongkorn U. They seemed quite interested in hiring me when I stopped through a while back, but contract commitments kept me tied up elsewhere. Anyway, the question I have is this: Does anyone know how strict they are with their clock-in/clock out policy? While I liked the feel of the place, I know that the salary there would necessitate working extra hours in order to make ends meet�not so easy to do if I were required to be on campus all day. I know now from postings here that many unis do require this, though I have seen nothing specific about Chula� |
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Miyazaki
Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 635
Location: My Father's Yacht
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| Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 12:30 am Post subject: |
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yeah, i've turned down a couple of university positions also because I was told I would have to clock in and clock out in addition to having to be either at my desk or teaching 5 days a week.
Screw that.
But I doubt schools in Thailand really care what the farlang TEFL'er thinks of clocking in.
Also, I'm probably in a monority of not liking to clock in and out and not wanting to be on campus 5 days a week.
Many foreign EFL teachers would have no problems doing this. |
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PattyFlipper
Joined: 14 Nov 2007
Posts: 572
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| Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 2:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Miyazaki wrote: |
Also, I'm probably in a monority of not liking to clock in and out
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Most of the farang who don't mind this type of debasement are those who have either never taught in any other country, or who will put up with just about anything in order to remain in Thailand, or both. I don't know of any university outside Thailand which requires it.
The OP will need to get very precise details of what exactly is required of him in return for his pittance. Some universities demand 40 or so hours per week on campus, while others will allow teachers to just come in and teach their classes, with perhaps an additional three or four office hours per week. In my experience however, this latter group are the exceptions rather than the rule. Do not imagine that you will be allowed to just teach your classes and then spend the rest of your allotted 40 hours sitting in your office, either. They will find other things to keep you busy. Very busy indeed. If the contract specifies a certain number of hours per week, the chances are that these will be rigidly enforced, and there will be plenty of Thai ajarns watching to make sure the farangs comply. Some Thai universities also require faculty to get written permission if they wish to leave the campus during working hours - even just to have lunch!
There are some very cogent reasons why universities in Thailand are always looking for foreign teachers - and they're not all related to the pathetic salaries.
Last edited by PattyFlipper on Sat Nov 17, 2007 1:00 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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WanderingD
Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 20
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| Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 9:54 am Post subject: |
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| I have never come across this requirement at universities either, not in Istanbul, Odessa, or Seattle anyway. The faculty that interviewed me at Chula a couple of years ago seemed like an amiable and professional bunch, though, and they did stress that I would probably have to work some extra hours somewhere in order to maintain a decent monthly income. I appreciated their honesty. I only wished I had asked them then about how strict they were about this stay-on-campus thing. (Actually, I don't remember them talking about this at all.) By the way, does anyone know if term breaks are normally paid at unis in Thailand? |
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PattyFlipper
Joined: 14 Nov 2007
Posts: 572
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| Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 12:42 pm Post subject: |
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| WanderingD wrote: |
| By the way, does anyone know if term breaks are normally paid at unis in Thailand? |
You will normally be paid but you may have to work, or at least clock in. Some universities will allow you to take the whole of the student vacations off, while others will only give you 8 to 10 days paid holiday per year (plus Thai public holidays) and insist that you come to work every day. They may even assign pointless 'projects' to keep you occupied. Yet others will make you clock in, either every day or once or twice a week, and then allow you to disappear. There are no standard operating procedures in Thailand, and everything depends on the capricious whims of the administration of the different institutions. You need to obtain precise information on all these points before signing any contract. You also need to prepare yourself for some of the worst xenophobia you have ever encountered in your life. Thai university 'professors' are usually scions of the Royal/military/political/industrial clique which owns and runs the country. These people are some of the most xenophobic on the surface of the planet (however congenial they may appear to be at interview). And the more 'prestigious' the university, the greater the anti-Western sentiment.
For the record, I have no first hand knowledge of the situation at Chula, and conditions can also vary considerably, depending on the university faculty or department to which you are assigned. |
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WanderingD
Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 20
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| Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2007 7:19 am Post subject: |
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| Hmm. Well, thanks for the input. Guess the best thing to do is pay another visit to Bangkok and see if I can find out some details first-hand. If Chula doesn't look good, perhaps I'll check out other places, or teacher training opportunities somewhere... |
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roguegrafix
Joined: 30 Jan 2007
Posts: 125
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| Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 1:17 am Post subject: |
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| I must be having it good then. I'm at a rural uni, teach 12-15 hours per week with anything over 12 hours being paid (inaddition to normal monthly salary) of 300 baht per hour. No sign in's, no sign outs. Work Monday's to Thursdays--Friday's is always free. No lesson schedules and no extra work except what I want to put in. Next semester, likelihood of additional work at 500 baht per hour. The staff leave me alone to do whatever I want. Can move classes, postpone or cancel (within reason). And still, a guy got fired last year because he couldn't hack it. |
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