Job Discussion Forums

kathkiwi · Joined: 12 Jun 2008 Posts: 6

A job offer has been made to me by the Private Language School ECC (Thailand). Their main school outlets are of course in Bangkok, but they also have provincial branch schools. Does anyone have any advice / comments regarding working for this private language school? They claim to be the largest private language school in Thailand and the package they offer seems reasonable. I'd appreciate comments on their work conditions, admin competency, overall reputation etc.

Thwartley · Joined: 14 Mar 2008 Posts: 34

Known as offering some of the lowest per hour rates in Thailand. Heard some wild horror stories of people who have worked there over the years and then some who have claimed it was quite reasonable as a place to get your feet wet. All depends on the branch I suppose.

Are you in Thailand or has the offer been made to you by e-mail? Please, for your own sake, if you are not in Thailand, do not accept the offer. No good reason to do so. As usual, teacher shortage here and fairly big demand. With low short term housing (hostels, weekly apartments) you can come and get set up and have a few job offers within a week. The tendency of many is to take something before arriving as it increases their sense of security. Believe me, that isn't necessary here.

I feel that, despite the ease of getting work here, it won't be such a great year to teach in Thailand. There are a lot of government price controls and subsidies here but the spiking oil prices have forced them to increase the rates of many things. The normal lying and cheating is similarly going to spike as the short-sighted Thais seek ways to maintain what they think they are entitled to.

JamesDavid4th · Joined: 18 Jan 2008 Posts: 20 Location: Rayong, Thailand

i work for ECC over here in Rayong, and in terms of my job - i am quite happy. in terms of life and everything else i am just as happy as well.

i make a good garaunteed salary, over 30K baht per month, and with the overtime opportunities available every month, i typically pull between 40-50K. the schedule is flexible - if i want the hours i can get them, if not, im not required to work more than 25 hours a week if i choose. the staff is delightful and always willing to help me, even willing to teach me pasa Thai (language) whenever i have some down time. i live near the beach (about 5 minutes away) and i am looking into moving into a house around here for a very reasonable price soon.

my advice, stay out of bangkok - its a mess of too much of everything. too many people, too much traffic, prices are higher on everything, and everytime i go there, i find myself being constantly hustled for anything and everything.

i vouche for ECC. they are well established and its a lot better than trying to control classes of 50 kids as you find in most all government schools. my classes are all reasonable sized (never over 15 students) and half the hours i teach are private lessons at ECC school.

by the way this is my third year teaching, i taught in Korea before for about a year and a half, and the quality of life here is much improved

where are you thinking of taking an ECC job?

kathkiwi · Joined: 12 Jun 2008 Posts: 6

Thanks for the reply. Good to hear that some people are happy with their conditions...as some others have a different perspective on things.

You ask where I've been offered a job with ECC....well, that's part of the difficulty...they have yet to get back to me about where the placement would be. I've made it clear that i'm not interested in Bangkok...and I will add to that list, Pattaya and Surritani.

What's the top salary you think you can negotiate out of ECC for full time teaching, given that I'm a NZ registered, experienced teacher with 2.5 yrs IELTS / Cambridge English teaching background?

Thanks again.

Thwartley · Joined: 14 Mar 2008 Posts: 34

hkl · Joined: 10 Jul 2008 Posts: 3

The cons of working at ECC are

6 day work week.

No work, no pay (you are paid by the hour).

you might have to work all day, 9am to 9pm because they get students at all different times

Holidays really suck and you don't get paid for them, you may get 7-10 days a year when everyone else is getting 2-3 months paid

Pauleddy · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 295 Location: The Big Mango

Yes, be careful with all posts on these sites. There are always trolls around.

It is very common to find someone posting as John Doe when they are actually the school director MOD EDIT

They will tell u that the school is 100% wonderful.

Thailand is not paradise. It can be gritty, hot and tough. the money is often lousy (the best you hope for is to enjoy life a bit but not save). Thai admin is among the most corrupt and useless ever. really.

One piece of good advice is NOT to accept any job until u arrive here and look around. Bring a bit of money and wander around. Check places. NEVER accept internet-recruited jobs or phone-recruited. You need to INTERVIEW your employer.

MOD EDIT

PE

Gringo Greg · Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 3:44 pm Post subject:

http://www.teflschoolreviews.com/ecc-thailand-200653.html

That's some information about ECC. It's rated close to a 3 out of 5 and I'd rate it about the same based on my personal experience of working for them for 2 years.

I think ECC is ok for someone just getting started in Thailand. You could do better, of course, but you could also do much worse. I actually enjoyed the language institute aspect of the teaching. Once you get everything down, there is very little prep time needed and the teaching can be a real breeze, and enjoyable.

skann · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 25

I agree with Pauleddy about waiting to arrive in Thailand before getting a job. Guesthouses and food are cheap here, so you won't have to rush to start working. I took a month and a half when I came to find a city and a school and a work contract that I liked, turning down several other offers in the process. Definitely preferable to go around in person and check out at least five different schools, compare all the details, and then make a decision. Also take into account your gut reaction to the person you interview with. Do they seem to be on the up and up? Will they keep their word? This kind of impression isn't really possible when communicating through email. I had read all the horror stories before coming, so I really wanted to be sure, and so far I'm happy with my position. As the others here said, there is big demand for English teachers, so don't worry about lining up a job ahead of time to feel more secure. I don't know how much the current political stability will affect demand for teachers, though. Hope that helps; good luck!

kidefl · Joined: 22 Jun 2007 Posts: 40

If you have no teaching experience and a CV showing your stint at UPS as your main source of jobs, it's okay. It's one of those employers that sends you to EPs most of the time, Eps where the foreign staffers have all quit, probably for good reason.

Carll101 · Joined: 17 Oct 2008 Posts: 45

My experience with ECC was terrible. I did a Celta with them and decided to join their train and teach program. After I start working for them things quicky went really bad. They lied to me about where I would work, gave me no support and stole money from me. All of the teachers at my branch had similar stories about ECC.

If you are looking for a job in Thailand don't sign with ECC. You should look for yourself when you arrive in Bangkok. Plenty of private school are looking for teachers. It won't be hard to find a better job than ECC.