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boatofcar
Joined: 20 Dec 2006
Location: Sheffield, UK
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 Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 6:43 pm Post subject: Should I do a year in Thailand after my contract is up? |
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| I'm finishing up my second year in Korea in a few months, and was accepted to grad school in the UK. Lately I've been thinking about teaching a year in Thailand and deferring my grad school for a year. Has anyone gone from Korea to Thailand? What were the big differences? Any opinions one way or the other? Thanks! |
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Morgen
Joined: 02 Jul 2008
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| Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:04 am Post subject: |
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| I read some things about some new courses that are required for foreign teachers at their own cost -- something about a 20-hour Thai "culture course," and a yearlong teacher training course (in the evenings), costing something like 60,000baht. I don't remember the specifics, as the last thing I wanted to deal with was yet another set of changing regulations in a developing country where no one really knew what was going on, so I stopped considering it for the present. So I guess look into that, if it might deter you. |
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boatofcar
Joined: 20 Dec 2006
Location: Sheffield, UK
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| Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 3:29 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the reply, Morgen. That certainly doesn't sound good  |
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Lostone7
Joined: 08 Jun 2006
Location: SE Asia
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| Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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All of that stuff can be waived. If you are going for a year then don't even worry! Heck you wouldn't even have to get a"real" job if you didn't want to!
So just do it!! Thailand rocks! |
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brento1138
Joined: 17 Nov 2004
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| Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:11 am Post subject: |
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I'm doing it. Time to live a little!  |
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Tobias
Joined: 02 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 12:47 am Post subject: |
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It depends on how old you are and if you're still trying to save money to avoid being 70 and working at Wal-Mart.
If you're "older", don't put off grad school. Get it out of the way and then go to Thailand if you still have the bleeding heart urge. I taught in Thailand for two years, but I shoulda taught in Korea those two years. My bank account would have looked much better and I would have had something to show for the time and effort. Like many places in Korea, most students don't want to learn English in Thailand. They refuse to make the effort required to learn it, and can be disruptive in the classroom if you try to actually impart some knowledge in their noggins. When you have students like this, make sure you get PAID. In Korea, salaries are around 2,000 USD a month, on average. Jobs in Thailand pay half that or even a third. Gee. Babysitting for 700 a month.
If you're a young gun, doing a year in Thailand won't hurt. Go to Thailand, dick around for a year (cuz they sure as hell won't learn much), and head elsewhere. |
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itaewonguy
Joined: 25 Mar 2003
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 3:58 pm Post subject: |
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fly on a way one ticket there..
and make no plans for how long you will stay...
thailand is amazing and I think you will have a good time..
when or if you get tired of it, you can leave anytime..
visas are good for 3 months.. |
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Robot_Teacher
Joined: 18 Feb 2009
Location: Robotting Around the World
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| Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 3:11 am Post subject: |
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| I feel Thailand is best left for touring during December, January, or February as it's too low paying and too hot much of the year. I looked at the weather forecasts today for most Asia countries, Europe, and America to find Thailand and India are the hottest topping at 37 to 40 C or 99 to 105 F with some rain to create humidity. Too hot and humid. Thailand offers less vacation, really low pay, and no help with airfare and apartment according to job listings and discussions I had in real life about teaching in Thailand and other countries. I'm seeing the too low pay problem pop up again and again. I need more money. |
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losing_touch
Joined: 26 Jun 2008
Location: Ulsan - I think!
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| Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 3:26 am Post subject: |
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| Robot_Teacher wrote: |
| I feel Thailand is best left for touring during December, January, or February as it's too low paying and too hot much of the year. I looked at the weather forecasts today for most Asia countries, Europe, and America to find Thailand and India are the hottest topping at 37 to 40 C or 99 to 105 F with some rain to create humidity. Too hot and humid. Thailand offers less vacation, really low pay, and no help with airfare and apartment according to job listings and discussions I had in real life about teaching in Thailand and other countries. I'm seeing the too low pay problem pop up again and again. I need more money. |
You are comparing apples and oranges regarding pay. You are looking in all the wrong places, as most of the jobs are never advertised online. I could easily save just as much as I am saving here with a job in Thailand.
As for vacation, you are sadly mistaken again. There is plenty of vacation to be had. Thais are masters at creating as many holidays as possible. I think 8-12 weeks of vacation is a pretty good deal for many jobs.
As for the weather, you should understand that right now is the hot season. It isn't always that hot, and I don't think I have ever experienced 105 F in Thailand.... |
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Robot_Teacher
Joined: 18 Feb 2009
Location: Robotting Around the World
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| Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 4:01 am Post subject: |
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| Cool, I say go for it if you want to strike out in Thailand. I'm going to take a vacation and see how it's changed in the past decade. |
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losing_touch
Joined: 26 Jun 2008
Location: Ulsan - I think!
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| Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 5:30 am Post subject: |
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| Robot_Teacher wrote: |
| Cool, I say go for it if you want to strike out in Thailand. I'm going to take a vacation and see how it's changed in the past decade. |
You stay in Korea and "strike out" while my wife and I are kicking it on a beach and putting as much coin in the bank as you at the end of the day! My wife is Thai! Everything is peachy in the land of smiles! The weather is great, and the temperament suits me well. I'll catch you when you are on vacation while I am living it! Chok dee na khap! |
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Robot_Teacher
Joined: 18 Feb 2009
Location: Robotting Around the World
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| Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 6:45 am Post subject: |
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| losing_touch wrote: |
| Robot_Teacher wrote: |
| Cool, I say go for it if you want to strike out in Thailand. I'm going to take a vacation and see how it's changed in the past decade. |
You stay in Korea and "strike out" while my wife and I are kicking it on a beach and putting as much coin in the bank as you at the end of the day! My wife is Thai! Everything is peachy in the land of smiles! The weather is great, and the temperament suits me well. I'll catch you when you are on vacation while I am living it! Chok dee na khap! |
Would I have to teach 200 hours a month to make about $2000 US dollars in Thailand? I'm figuring $10/hour. If so, then yes, I'd be putting as much coin in the bank as now in Korea. I'm teaching less than 70 hours a month in Korea for about $2000 total benefit. 200 classes a month would be a real exhausting headache. I agree Thailand is much more interesting than Korea and if I had a Thai wife, I'd be moving to Thailand for sure. She can ensure you live cheaply on the local economy; not tourist economy. She will ensure you are not a baht producing robaht like tourists. |
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losing_touch
Joined: 26 Jun 2008
Location: Ulsan - I think!
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| Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 4:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Robot_Teacher wrote: |
| losing_touch wrote: |
| Robot_Teacher wrote: |
| Cool, I say go for it if you want to strike out in Thailand. I'm going to take a vacation and see how it's changed in the past decade. |
You stay in Korea and "strike out" while my wife and I are kicking it on a beach and putting as much coin in the bank as you at the end of the day! My wife is Thai! Everything is peachy in the land of smiles! The weather is great, and the temperament suits me well. I'll catch you when you are on vacation while I am living it! Chok dee na khap! |
Would I have to teach 200 hours a month to make about $2000 US dollars in Thailand? I'm figuring $10/hour. If so, then yes, I'd be putting as much coin in the bank as now in Korea. I'm teaching less than 70 hours a month in Korea for about $2000 total benefit. 200 classes a month would be a real exhausting headache. I agree Thailand is much more interesting than Korea and if I had a Thai wife, I'd be moving to Thailand for sure. She can ensure you live cheaply on the local economy; not tourist economy. She will ensure you are not a baht producing robaht like tourists. |
Well, lets compute that!
$2000 x 35 = 70,000 baht
$2000 x 1350 = 2,700,000
70 hours / 4 weeks = 17.5 hours
You are making a damn good salary over here. 2,700,000 for 17.5 hours a week isn't a bad gig at all! Where did you find such a job? I know they exist out there, but usually such positions are difficult to come by! Your posts on this forum lead me to believe that you are in a public school or university. They also lead me to believe that you are relatively new here in Korea. Finding that kind of salary with those hours would be virtually impossible. I work for a hagwon and pull in that kind of money at the moment, but I teach far more hours than you! My hat is off to you sir.
Turning our attention back to Thailand, let's see what is out there at the moment:
Hourly contracts are usually around the 500-800 baht mark. Again, the math will help elucidate this misconception that teachers in Thailand are lowly paid scum. Let's remember our 70,000 baht mark.
70,000 / 500 = 140 hours! (range limit)
70,000 / 800 = 87.5 hours! (range limit)
So, I took a look over on Ajarn. The first job listed today is 35,000 - 45,000 baht per month for 25 hours per week. With this language school, there are 25 days of paid vacation and a 30,000 baht bonus upon contract completion! Time for the math again:
70,000 - 40,000 = 30,000 baht left to make!
30,000 / 500 = 60 hours more
60 hours / 4 weeks = 15 hours per week of overtime
25 hours + 15 hours overtime = 40 hours per week
40 hours per week x 4 weeks = 160 hours.
Well, that isn't bad! This is especially true since the calculations are assuming the low figure of 500. Let's see what 800 would be.
30,000 / 800 = 37.5
37.5 / 4 = 9.375
25 hours + 10 hours = 35 hours
35 hours x 4 = 140 hours.
Now, I might be dreaming! This could all be in my head. However, I have friends working at university positions in Thailand making 60,000 baht per month with my qualifications. They are off for 4 months out of the year and all Thai holidays. The thing about Thailand is that they don't advertise these positions so much. Instead, you need to dress the part and hit the pavement with resumes in hand! If that isn't enough for you, read what a couple of others have done who were fresh off the plane:
In May, Julia set out for Bangkok. She is featured on Ajarn.com. She managed to get 68,000 baht per month in a very short time! Read about Julia's story: http://ajarn.com/juliasjourney.htm
68,000 / 35 = $1942
The point is that it isn't difficult to make money in Thailand. It is just a matter of finding it! |
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