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Tabitha Smallpiece
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 23
Location: Bangkok Thailand
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 Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 11:52 pm Post subject: 24 hour English school Bangkok |
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Does anyone know anything about a school called 24 hour English in Bangkok ? They have offered me a job, both Garry and John the owners seem nice people . I am a girl and a little scard of being left high and dry here in Thaialnd is any one able to help me ? I think I will take the job ,but I would like to know more if I can.  |
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Tabitha Smallpiece
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 23
Location: Bangkok Thailand
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| Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2003 11:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Iam a graduate with a Bachelors degree in Political Science, no work permit spoken of though, do I need one ? The pay is 28000.Baht per month , plus some overtime pay for weekends |
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sigmoid
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276
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| Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 5:43 am Post subject: |
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| The salary offered is about average if you're teaching no more than 20 hours/week. If you are working full-time you should have a work permit There are both positive and negative postings about this school on the Job Info Journal. What you should do is come to Bangkok and look for work here. I'm sure that you will find a job. |
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The Great Wall of Whiner
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Posts: 4946
Location: Blabbing
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2003 8:10 pm Post subject: |
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wow...
How do people live/teach in Thailand with such small wages?
I make a killing and have a lot (A LOT) of fun in Korea.... |
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sigmoid
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276
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| Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2003 2:58 pm Post subject: Yea Korea, Boo Thailand |
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You're right Whiner - salaries for teachers in Thailand remain low while the cost of living goes up. This ISN'T a lot of fun. 
People considering coming to Thailand to teach should give serious thought to alternative countries like Korea, as you mention, as well as Japan and Taiwan. If you come here you'll probably regret it.  |
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D.O.S.
Joined: 02 Apr 2003
Posts: 108
Location: TOKYO (now)/ LONDON
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| Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2003 4:39 pm Post subject: |
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And that 'dress code' of a tie and
white shirt and don't show sweat,
all in tropical heat!! Ridiculous.
But a strictly held belief with all of
those old timer Brits who have stayed
long enough and put up with enough to
get the DOS positions   |
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reality
Joined: 13 Mar 2003
Posts: 105
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| Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2003 11:28 pm Post subject: Not worth it |
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I don�t understand how Schools in Thailand, justify the poor salaries. Considering poorer, neighbouring Countries offer better salaries and conditions.
You must really love Thailand, to live on 28.000 baht a month, especially when being a �farang� means you pay Tourist rates for food, accomodation and travel. |
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gecko
Joined: 11 Apr 2003
Posts: 42
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| Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2003 2:26 am Post subject: Re: 24 hour English school Bangkok |
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| Tabitha Smallpiece wrote: |
Does anyone know anything about a school called 24 hour English in Bangkok ? They have offered me a job, both Garry and John the owners seem nice people . I am a girl and a little scard of being left high and dry here in Thaialnd is any one able to help me ? I think I will take the job ,but I would like to know more if I can. |
Read this:
I have just pasted and copied this from another site that I have posted information on concerning this school. PLEASE!!! Beware!!!
Quote:
I am guessing that most of you have read what I have said about this school on ajarn, so if you reading this for a second time I'm sorry. This post is for the benefit of any new teachers or for anyone who hasn't read my other posting.
My original posting:
Beware:24 hour English acadamy, Bang Na, Bangkok Posted 9-6-2002 10:37
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up untill recently, I worked for 24 hour English acadamy, in Bang Na, Bangkok. I worked there for eight months and I worked really hard (in my opinion). my contract was for 30 hours per week teaching. Working there was very hard because hours were not blocked and at the weekens i was working 18 hours over the two days. Now, while I think that teachers shouldn't have to work hours like that I must concieve that I was aware of that when i started. After seven months I decided that I could not bare it any longer, My wife has just had a baby (now two months old) and I was at work for approx sixty hours a week (I kid you not). So I did the right thing and handed them a months notice to enable me to find another job and also for them to find another teacher. At the time they were struggling for teachers but this was a constant problem, ( 7 teachers had started work there and left within their first two weeks during my time there) A week later, after they had managed to find three new teachers, I was called into the classroom and given the sack, after working my 18 hour weeken of course, although they had the cheek to tell me that they were just letting me go. They deducted 9,000 THB from my salary, and that left me with 16,000 THB ( which they wouldn't give me untill i had written module reports for my students). I have had to move to Korea so that I may support my family as I now have no money. Basically if you end up working for this company then this will be what you have to put up with: 30 hour teaching week, up to 5 hours mandatory overtime each week ( at 250 Thb per hour), aprok 60 hours spent at the school, a contract that they do not honour, being sacked for resigning, money being dedusted from your final salary when you do resign.
Now you may believe that I am just being a cry baby, but after the work I put in there, I feel cheated and let down. And this is all from the two Falang bosses that own the school. My advice is to avoid this school like wildfire.
esl jobs
The school said:
24
Reply to Gecko's tirade Posted 8-28-2002 08:58
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The facts.
Firstly, regarding Gecko's dismissal.
Approx. two weeks before the dismissal, Gecko came to me to say that he wished to approach the management to request a pay rise (38,500 THB up to 44,500 THB as it turned out).It was suggested to him that he prepare his reasons/justifications (relevant to work) for his request. At the meeting he was unable to give any other justification other than "I think I deserve it".We declined to raise the teacher's salary but said that we could renegotiate when his current contract expired if he wanted to sign a new contract.
The following Sunday Gecko was late for his first class (the reason given was not acceptable) which is something we do not tolerate. Gecko was warned about this. He handed in his notice shortly after that. We appreciated his integrity in fullfilling the relevant terms of his contract in this respect.
Unfortunately, the following Tuesday the teacher failed to teach his classes at a local Thai school. We only found out about this when the school contacted us to ask what had happened. I n the intervening two days Gecko did not mention the missed classes to us, which made us suspicious.
On the next Saturday the management met and decided to dismiss the teacher as he had been previously warned. Yes, we dismissed Gecko after his classes on the Sunday so as not to overstrain our other teachers with classes that they would have little opportunity to plan and prepare for.
Gecko has also implied that his salary was only 25,000 THB and that we deducted 9,000 THB from this.
Gecko's basic salary was 38,500 THB per month. Gecko had already taken 13,500 THB in advance, leaving 25,000 THB. There was a pro rata deduction of 9,000 THB as we had paid an agecy to process a visa for him. He ahd the chance to pay for this himself or to take PAID leave to exit the country and obtain the visa personally. The pro rata deduction was explained clearly to Gecko at the time the visa was obtained and was in the contract that Gecko signed.esl jobs
Secondly, regarding working conditions at our school.
Our teachers do work hard. Teaching is not an easy job if it is done properly. At interview all candidates receive a full explanation of the working conditions. They are told to think carefully about all this and measure their commitment to their teaching. ie. do they want a simple, no preparation, no training position, in which case they should not consider any offer we make. After a two-month probationary period (with training) all teachers have two days off. Nobody, but nobody (except management) is in the school for 60 hours a week. Gecko certainly wasn't.
In my defence: gecko
what tirade? Posted 8-29-2002 03:28
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First of all I will apologise about my comments on my salary. What the school has written about my salary is true, my intention was not to mislead people on that score but to point out the situation that they had left me in.
In my defence: I was indeed late on the sunday because i had had some money stolen from me (long story). I telephoned the school 20 minutes before the lesson started to inform them and in eight months this was the only occasion that I was late for a lesson. Punctuality is something I believe in.
the school has pointed out that i failed to teach in a thai school and failed to notify them. fact: I taught the first lesson at the school and was then told by the Thai teachers to go home because they were having some kind of mothers day event. Now, my Thai is not bad but by no means excellent so I showed the teacher my schedule and pointed out each class individually and at everyone she said * mie leyun*. So I went home, when I went into the language school I write down quite clearly in the work record what had happend, that the school told me to go home.
The money they deducted from me was indeed for the visa that they obtained for me. Fact: I was told that I couldn't go myself because another teacher had was going to Laos for their visa. Fact: They explained the deduction to me and they said that I would recieve a teachers liscence, and work permit, but after two months on the three month visa they had made no effort to even apply for it so that meant that I was really paying money for nothing because I could not get the usual three month visa extension that a teacher is entitled to when they leave a company. And as for my pay rise, I believe that I did a good job while i was there, I tried hard for the students sake, the students liked me and yes my reason was because I think I'm worth it, what other reason do I need? I didn't want to go in there and say give me a pay rise or I'm going to leave as I don't believe in altamatums.
The school have said that I wasn't in the school for aprox 60 hours a week and that is just a downright lie, it is the same for all the teachers there. The hours there were at least 55 hours going up.
One more thing, If you have a day when you are supposed to teach a short day, (this happens once a week) and you are sick, they take of 6 hours pay even if you are supposed to only teach for two hours.
As far as Your contract is conctract is concerned, it state that a teacher is entitled to 30 day notice if they are asked to leave, i did not have any, does that mean that that you are going to pay me for those days? If so, you have my bank details.
Everything I have written is true, they are just facts, you decide what to believe.
esl jobs
( Of course all of this can be viewed on the old site.)
Plain and simple, if you decide to work for this school then let it be on your own head.
The school never replied.
You do NOT want to work for this school!!!
Last edited by gecko on Thu Dec 23, 2004 1:31 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Sunpower
Joined: 22 Jan 2003
Posts: 256
Location: Taipei, TAIWAN
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2003 11:46 pm Post subject: |
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Tabitha - I'd really think carefully before heading off to Thailand to teach EFL.
Financially, and in terms of the hours you work per work, you'd be getting a better deal in Taiwan, Japan or Korea.
Take your vacations in Phuket or Samui - But teach EFL in one of the above countries.
You'll find yourself trapped, not having any money to get yourself back out of the country if you don't have a reserve of cash put away for when you want to split.
I've talked to several teachers/past teachers of EFL from Thailand and they all basically have concurred with the above. |
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sigmoid
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276
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| Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2003 7:48 am Post subject: ...but money isn't everything. |
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| Quote: |
You'll find yourself trapped, not having any money to get yourself back out of the country if you don't have a reserve of cash put away for when you want to split.
I've talked to several teachers/past teachers of EFL from Thailand and they all basically have concurred with the above. |
I certainly concur with the above. Teaching in Thailand is a good way to go BROKE and stay BROKE.
The situation used to be better before the Asian meltdown of 1997, and I thought eventually things would get better again, but that was almost six years ago and they haven't.
There are PLENTY of jobs available though as many teachers are leaving. |
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petermc
Joined: 04 Apr 2003
Posts: 8
Location: Seoul, Korea
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| Posted: Tue May 06, 2003 11:13 am Post subject: Working in Thailand |
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It seems to me that the Thai Language schools show what employers will do if they can. Take advantage of people. What I mean is that there are so many people going there because of the nice weather and therefore, there are alot of people who will work for low wages and bad conditions to "live in paradise". And you know how it is anyway, when you are working , it is just like any other place since you have your daily pressures.
In the case of the 24 Hour School story, the thing I find the most interesting was the "meeting" : Managements meeting on whether to dismiss. Geeze , Marize!!! You would think this was some real job back home where there were such high standards. I don't think their compensation warrants such high standards and they always need people. Locals are always more patient and are better to work for . Never work for a foreign owned school anywhere!
This guy was running all over Bangkok for around a thousand bucks for heavens sake!
My advise : Stay away from countrys like Thailand, China and others like them. If they need our talent , they should pay for it like everyone else.
Korean Hogwans are straddled with over 3 million won a month when you consider airfare, housing , the visa , up to two weeks vacation and relocation allowance, sick pay and a full months bonus and a lot of well paid overtime. I dont know how they do it? Some don't , but many make itand without taking advantage of the foreign talent.
In Taiwan they pay a decent hourly wage , treat you well and you have alot of freedom. You can go to many nearby sunny places in SE Asia or just stay there and have a good time with a lot of cash in your pocket , bank account and I have seen teachers with tens of thousands in the Taiwan stock market . ( too bad it crashed, Peter! ) Not me , another Peter!
Just work in a decent place for a year and go to the sunny spots on your paid vacations. And with your bonus and savings , you could live high off the hog for months and months.
Peter |
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Sunpower
Joined: 22 Jan 2003
Posts: 256
Location: Taipei, TAIWAN
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| Posted: Tue May 06, 2003 3:43 pm Post subject: |
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petermc - well put.
I also agree with the fact that, yeah, lots of EFL'ers would like to work in "paradise" but once you start working your life becomes pretty ordinary.
Berlitz offered my a position where I had to work 6 days a week, if hired.
How could I enjoy the beaches there if I were working like that?
Now I go to the Phillipines which is only a few hours a way and work in Taiwan and make some decent money. |
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gecko
Joined: 11 Apr 2003
Posts: 42
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| Posted: Tue May 06, 2003 6:32 pm Post subject: The same prices |
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I now work in Korea and I have compared the two schools, 24 hour and my current school. The charges to students are excactly the same, yet operating costs in Thailand are lower, teachers salaries are much lower so that means that profits are much higher. Gary and John who run 24 hour were always going on about how they never had any money and what a load of B0ll0ks. In Thailand they take advantage of the fact that people want to live in Thailand for the lifestyle
Last edited by gecko on Thu Dec 23, 2004 1:31 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Ajarn Miguk
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Posts: 227
Location: TDY As Assigned
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| Posted: Tue May 06, 2003 11:38 pm Post subject: In Thailand |
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In Thailand, some of the happiest ESL teachers I have met are those who have independent incomes (pensions, investments, etc.) to supplement their lifestyles. Some of the unhappiest are those who do not.
Thailand can be a wonderful place to live and work. Especially, if you can afford the cost of both. |
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