Job Discussion Forums

[lovehappens]

I am looking at several countries and Thailand might be a wonderful place to teach. My credentials are Master's Degree, TEFL cert, and 8 years experience internationally.
If I were to teach in T I'd hope to have my ticket and housing paid for ...but am not sure if this happens in Thailandia.
Any information will be appreciated.

[Pauleddy]

Air ticket almost never. If you get a job in a "top" private high school, and have been recruited externally, they may pay. However, for most standard TEFL jobs (98% of the jobs) we advise on here to COME and then look.

Some private schools etc will pay a yearly trip home AFTER the first year IF they want to retain you.

Accommodation is given as part of salary in some schools, especially in the boonies. It may not be deluxe, and you may share a house. The unis give money as an accomm. allowance, but it is in yr salary so u can spend it as u wish. Most people I know elect to rent rooms privately;they don't want to live in the schoolyard with other teachers.

I get a lot of pms with "unrealistic expectations", like "Eddy, please send me a list of schools which pay 3000us a month" or "which is the best beach to surf all day and teach privates part-time?".

Thailand is a hot, gritty place--salaries are low, 90% of people are poor, and there is no such thing a free lunch. If you wanna live well you need to do extra hours or have private money.

eddy

[MaiPenRai]

As Eddy says, airfare is very rare unless you are recuited by a "top" tier International school (home country certification required) and MAY be reimbursed by better private schools and "mid" tier International schools.

Again, many places offer "small" accomm allowances and most teachers prefer to find their own. A nice place in most areas of Bangkok will be 10,000+ baht/mth. Your accomm allowance probably wont be that high in most cases and if it is, your salary may be lower to compensate.

With your credentials (dep. on what your Masters is in), you should be able to find work at a good Uni or private school if you want. Don't expect to make a great salary in your first year or so. Better Uni's will pay good salaries when you have put in your time.

Try getting into a Uni with an International Program (dep. on your Masters degree discipline) they usually have a fair package. Eddy knows more than me about the Uni scene though.

Good salaries in Thailand usually come with a heavy workload and lots of hassle and responsibility. The few great jobs outthere are passed along by word of mouth. It's all who you know.

Again as Eddy says, many teachers make good monthly salaries by taking on private classes or doing PT work in a language school. You will need to network for at least a few months to a year before being able to get more lucrative private students.

Good luck.

[Pauleddy]

LH

I have pm'd your original pm to me.

The "normal things" which go on in Oregon or Oldham don't happen here. You won't get yr airfare unless you are a PhD coming to do a guest spot, or you are a super-teacher filling the rare super-jobs in the 5 or 6 super-international schools here.

Check the websites which I have indicated for general advice.

It is the norm to have pre-arrival misconceptions about Thighland. We all did. You will find that it will be almost completely different to your expectations. Culture Shock is one result of the dissonance between perceived/anticipated and actual.

If you wanna "concentrate on earning money for your senior years", then don't come here. Salaries in Taiwan and Korea, for example, are waaaay better. Most people scrape here unless they have a private income or a very good job. For cash mills, the ME would certainly be better. An old friend now earns 5 times his Thai salary in Oman...but he has no social life apart from a few goats. He will buy a house somewhere and retire in a few years, counting his money.



Eddy

[Gypsy King]

Paid Airfare and accomodation are only reserved for top knotch international schools in Thailand. Most Government schools and universities just don't have the budget for this. Another problem is that ESL teachers are so easy to hire in Thailand as there has always been an oversupply of available Backpacker teachers from Kaosan Road with limited or NO teaching qualifications whatsoever!

[pest2]