WonnabeBiker

I've been scammed by a former professor, no less. Affluent family man and only $ 500. Never mix friendship with any kind of borrowing or lending or business deaals (20/20 rear view vision is great, isn't it?!)

In Thailand, beware of directors of government schools. Enough said.

Bruce, sometimes it is not about a one month salary. Whatever they did to/with you. Another reason to call the white folks dishonest., doing so.

Not sure why race has entered into the discussion? But suffice to say, Africans, Indians, Thais, and Filipinos are treated differently than "white" western farangs. Again, nothing dishonest or "Illegitimate" about getting paid for October since it is earned for working the first term. This concept of finding a replacement is sort of silly IMHO. They have consistently driven home the notion that I'm easily replaceable by another farang as they come in "all the time" looking for jobs. Okay, there you go my Thai friends, just hire the one who comes in tomorrow. There doesn't seem to be a concept that the devil you know is better than the one you don't. "White" westerners are all the same.

I hear you loud and clear.

Personally, I'm still struggling how Thais can lie and not lose face doing that. Is it a chapter in the good businessman's 101 handbook?

Especially when affluent people do it. I had a millionaire and owner of successful companies do it over $ 500. But then, some senior judge was caught with a large saussage under his overcoat in a local supermarket back home.

A school which fails to keep an employee has something to answer for as well. It's not just the foreign teachers who are unreliable and unprofessional etc. It goes both ways - and there is something like an echo at work. The way they shout into the forrest, the answer may come back to them.

Wouldn't it be good if there was something like a waiver scheme for schools, causing problems when they they high churn (turnover)?!? *** When this happened, a teacher flew back to S.F., the school wouldn't tell whoever sends them money for x foreign teachers that there would be x-1 for the next few months.

The existing teachers got to share the workload. And it took them (Thais at the school) many weeks to figure out that they would pay 4,000 B (in the case of yours truly) for x extra hours a week plus testing. Which wasn't paid the very last month. Surprise!

More "inactive posts" as a penalty for corruption, which I'm sure was a real deterrent . . .

Loss of all pension entitlements plus the jobs - anything else would be a REWARD IMHO.

Do nothing, keep the same pay grade. a lazy man's dream!!

Of all the things I've heard and witnessed, that drop is quite extreme. But quoting some removed source (the junta or the remuneration committee) is something schools love to do. Besides starting the real negotiations after a teacher began working.

"Sorry, the remuneration committee can only agree to 18,000 Baht" they told the Chinese teachers they had hired @ 20 k. Or they hire x foreigners "for the semester" onlly to end their contracts in February. While students will have school in March...

A Cameroonian who had been making 25 k last year is now working somewhere for - unveriified - 12,000 B.

Some other school director's limit has been 15 k plus free housing. they got a NES for the school year ending 2012. The American had no degree and was working on a T-Visa. Next, some Cameroonian was hired who claimed to be a NES. No need to fret about his TOEIC score or degree or lack thereof as he was also on a T-Visa the whole year long.

The fish stinks from its head!

You sound like a horrible person.

It's not really "payback" but suffice to say, there is no mutual respect. I've got no reason to worry about nor solve their problems. Enough of my own, thanks. If I gave notice now or later this month, no chance October would be paid. The choice is simple. No notice and get October or give notice and lose it. Some folks on here don't understand the reality of Thailand and the farang teachers in the Government schools.

Bruce, sometimes it is not about a one month salary. Whatever they did to/with you. Another reason to call the white folks dishonest., doing so.

Whoever will start after you, will have a different contract, or something else that sucks. And to be honest, even if you think you deserve this one month salary, without even working, already back in the UK, but you actually don't deserve it.

If I were you, I'd really look for a replacement, send them a resignation letter and go back without the one month salary.\

But it's your own personal decision and this post is just my own view of it. Good luck back home.

You might find a good paid job, but the company goes bankrupt and you lose three months of your income. Also called Karma........

Bruce, have you got paid holidays? And when would you tell them that you won't be coming back? After having collected the October salary?

Wasn't sure when you would be leaving and whether you meant the September salary which would get paid early October (at my school - some get it earlier, I know).

If you're not going to give 1 month notice, then if you can, try to find someone, and suggest to the school, that this new teacher can take over your role at the school, and potentially start straight away (Assuming the school doesn't want to try finding someone themselves)

As otherwise it does leave the school in the lurch, and if you're going to try and still collect your October salary, despite not even intending on being in the country that month, it'd at least be giving the school something back. You can probably find either someone you know, (or even just someone from the forums here, maybe Wonnabebiker?), who is looking for a new school, without too much effort being required.

That's assuming that the school wasn't absolutely horrible of course.

I'm seconding Sly Animal. Go get approval for posting a job ad on Ajarn.com Leave - but have an ad in place for the time when they should be advertiising (but likely won't).

OTOH, I know of schools who intentionally LIED about placing an ad (while yours truly was stressed out to the point of not knowing whether he was coming or going, teaching 7 periods some days, 6 on thers, taking over the higher paid American's classes. and that guy was fired because he had a contract for 30,000 B. then they realized they can get others for less. It's a race to the bottom. Now, they only employ NAS, Native African Speakers.

I'm living here in this area now for 12 years and even having some difficulties sometimes regarding the whole visa and work permit situation, troubles that can arise at school,etc it's still worth to live here.

But reading the OP's post again, I couldn't survive on 25 K, with family and car.

I don't need to drive a Mercedes Benz, nor do I need my own swimming pool. Just in my opinion, it's the way of life here that makes the big difference.

We don't have our own house, but we live quite a good life. No cold winters, able to communicate with locals does change a lot. Also at school.

I had a job lined up for the OP, but he didn't even answer my message. It's the way you see things. Do you want to be a biker, or be one?

I'm a biker and don't see all as complicated as some people here describe.

Who the Fluck gives a flying kangaroo about computers with viruses, or that the school van didn't take you to the labor and Immigration?

After such a long time working there, it's pretty easy to find a suitable Antivirus program, without blaming others for not doing what they supposed to do.

How should students who work there for free know much about computers and Anti virus programs?

I've met "teachers" here, who worked for MC Donald's in three shifts,, carpenters,electricians,etc but once in Thailand they acted like VIPs.

And it wasn't anybody else than yourself who'd signed the contract that wasn't for 12 months.

Why would you quit your job right before the midterm break, as you'd get paid through October and then change school.

Is it possible that it's not just the school that's pissing you off? Then it's time to go back where you came from. Good luck!!

Mmm, you remember the part with the unpaid holidays? ** I had had a 30 k job before, but then the director let all foreigners go in Februray, as to avoid paying them for March. In the same spirit, they wouldn't begin to advertise until the new school year had already begun. why do you think that was?!?

Granted, I had a choice to walk out in a huff back then.

TBH, there is money in recruiting. And when they place another guy with a TOEIC score of <600, someone can make money. All without the angst that comes with dealing with Caucasians

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With their cultural differences, envy and jealousy of foreigners it’s more or less hopeless. Thai’s effectively have their foot in the face of their own economic progress. For a skilled farang from a first world economy to work for the pocket change offered at schools in Thailand is a gift to the Kindom, instead of learning from us they are full of envy and jealousy, they just don’t seem to comprehend how to even master the skill of business.

I taught English for a few years there for something to do, I was exposed to the Thai way and after that experience I believe they will never advance to a first world economy. They certainly don’t understand the most important business and service economic skill sets they need to master. And who’s going to teach them?

Hear, hear!

Take their priorities. They just spent big bucks for a huge Sony TV complete with a fancy cable package by TOT. Now Thai content is blasted at all hours. No BBC, no Bloomberg - where some might get some exposure to English.

I was at a school which was lacking chairs and tables. The library wouldn't have a budget for books. But they installed many new air conditioners in that library. and the tiny English Dept. got a fancy PC and a monster TV. Students PCs? Not one was working!

Being a biker, I spent thousands of Baht, ordering missing RAM memory, Linksys USB devices for wifi etc. Try running a PC under Windows with only 256 MB RAM!

TBH, the parts were misused. and my own notebooks were stripped of the brand new Crucial RAM sourced on Amazon.com and replaced with some 1 GB modules by the guy who ran the IT Dept. and also owned a computer shop.

They fired the American when I came along, working for 5 k less. Then they found some guy who woduld work for 5 k less than me. Overnight, I was deemed "not qualified". Fast forward, now they have o n l y teachers from Cameroon.

What's their TOEIC score? I would accept a score of > 950 as a condition for a job offer. Just saying. But then, fools believe a school exists (over here) to provide a service to its customers...

My "friend" just quit teaching in Africa for an oil services company where he was making $560 a day for 28 days and then got the free flight back to Thailand for 28 off days.

He's almost 60 and wants to enjoy all the money he saved rather than continue the "rat race"

My face is green with envy. Alas, they will want some top notch NES teacher, not someone who had a different career and who isn't a native speaker. I would settle for this as a weekly salary with free housing thrown in

Would buy a big bike - one can ride a ZZR-1400 or something like a big cruiser with > 105 cubic inches of displacement? Am tired of the 100 cc Wave. Will start by looking at the www.couchsurfing.org webseite. But guess it's populated by men wishing to meet the ladies.

Those who have lived there,how' the dating scene? Just wondering.

As tempting as a Rum on the rocks would be, I'd rather not be risking some public bastonade (flogging)!

I completely understand the OP, after teaching here in northeast for 10 years. But even here in the Isaan are greener pastures.

I'd sent you a private message, as i do know school who hire now and directly. A bigger city in the Isaan, 12 months contract.At least 5 K more.

"Be a biker" was a good one. I was the one at my former school who fixed five computers and maintained them for 3.5 years, besides teaching, holding seminars, hiring foreign teachers, etc.....

And if I have to see the labor department on my own, I'm more than happy to have the day off.

Best of luck and don't give up that easy.

Thanks again for your PM, Alex. Apologies for not having replied earlier. Would a UK degree suffice, or would they want a NES? (More and more job ads now allow "Europeans" to apply as well). Genetically, half of all Brits are of Germanic origin anyhow

I'm still here, feeling obligated to end the semester and tie up any loose ends.

Two words: Saudi Arabia

Errm, would they give a European the time of day? (I've seen more ads stating "NES or Europeans only" over here). Would non NES be in demand in the KSA, even at half the salary?

Hi,

I work in a private school, prepare all my lessons on my PC/Printer at home, take them and my own creative teaching aids, including my own whiteboard pens in a bag and bring them home with me.

The owner who spent 15 years in SoCal looks in but understands very little and knows for sure he cannot duplicate what I do.

My style never stops changing and i can "wing it" if needs require.

The money is c..p, the school provides only students and an aircon building with signs outside,

BUT the kids and adults are all keen and great fun.

Wow, come and let's swap jobs for a day! My M2s have smart phones and lots to talk about among themselves... TBH, I wouldn't call 10% of my students <keen>. Just saying. and this might be a reflection on me, that's quite likely.

Three words. - Vodka Coke Ice

Three more words: Be a biker.

My big bike was stolen Now I'll be renting one during the holidays. DS in KK rents Ducati. Last time I rode one of those Monsters was in the Yorkshire Dales. Glorious sound, but the seat would make a masochist weep with pleasure (after more than 5 hours in the saddle).

Why 20 lesson plans a week? You teach 20 different lessons with no repeats?? And why do your colleagues only do two?

25K isn't much, but seems typical for up country schools. I can tell you schools are allocated a LOT more than this, for foreign teachers, by the government. Salaries haven't changed much in these schools for 15 years. I was getting that in 2000 - but no lesson plans, no grading, not even a curriculum, and no books! It seems the more 'organised' the school get, the more paper work there is. I wouldn't do my current job for 25K, not in a million years. Living costs have skyrocketed ut salaries haven't changed much. Greener pastures means going overseas, or to a big international school here.

Good question. Am the o n l y one teaching this special program. when you have 6 different age groups and see each class a few times a week, you gotta do more than deliver "1 lesson a week" as the other foreign teachers do with only 2 age groups and classes they see once a week.

As for the issues with computers, the one with viruses was just an example. TBH, I sourced speakers for one class, bought audio cables for another. And had my memory stick get infected. ** Would they appreciate me messing about with the PC? Besides being a likely bad teacher, I'm also not good with computers. Putting an anti virus program on a stick. Yeah, I can do that. Then what? But there's some truth: am I a waffler, or a doer? A doer would just do it (or give it his best shot).

They have unpaid IT professionals from the local university. It was meant to show that there is not the support I'd like. (In case this would be a too lowly a task for some Khun Kru Somchai).

I feel your pain. I've heard plenty of horror stories about these kinds of things before. And if done long enough I could easily see someone saying "stuff this"

However, I do believe that they represent the minority of cases, not the majority. But we hear about the minority cases far more often than the majority positive ones.

That's my take on it. It doesn't mean to condone it, but just to give it some perspective.

I think it all boils down to the relative hop you have with your school and more importantly, the key staff.

I've been lucky; my experiences have been excellent. Not without bumps along the way, but largely I have no doubts that the university and my departments director are on "my side"

Are there better places to teach? Is say yes- but I do think that this is dependent on what you value or how you define better.

I'm at the University level in a specialized English program and the one thing that keeps me coming back is my students.

I get to see them finish my program and get their certification and them get the job they dreamt about .. That for me is my "priceless" and why I'm willing to put up with some "crap" along the way.

But I do think that some basic teacher "logistics" planning and better communication, by both school and teacher, could go a long way in reducing or proactively avoiding problems.

@ New2here, thanks for your perspective. The kids are the best part of the job, no doubt. (although few are keen on learning English, TBH).

It takes two to tango. And if there's <bad blood> or some ill spirit, who can say it's not my fault?!

Moreover, mind that you are at a UNIVERSITY level. While many of my kids have special needs (but rich parents => a deaf mute would be welcome in class if she was paying the tuition). and cannot even read English. The l e a r n i n g itself is something each student must do himself. Like a coach, I might be screaming on the sidelines like a demented coach. But it's the players who gotta p l a y.

Good luck finding someone who will do all this work for 25 grand!

Salary - ( Room & Electricity) = remaining amount

25,000 - (6,000 & 1,500) = 17,500

remaining amount / 30 days = daily allocation for transport, clothes, food, and all else.

17,500 / 30 = B 583.33

Daily allocation for transport, clothes, food, and all else = USD $ 18.15 -/- EUR € 14.00 -/- £ 11.25

...Shocking!

Okay, bathing in shame and remorse, I might as well share actual figures:

Rent: 1,500 B (dual use - the landlady is next door and operates a catering cum restaurant business, supplying a school with meals). At 5 am, there will be stuff inside my house, clammoring with metal plates. But they will also be subjected to the awful sight of my big belly when I'm staggering to the bathroom in a state of undress

Rent a knackered Honda Wave for 500 B. The odometer stopped at 83,005 km. That was likely years ago.

Get a meal at a small restaurant for 25 B. And it's about 1.3 km to school. The school bike would suffice, if only those inner tubes wouldn't lose pressure... Ride a few km, gotta put air into them!

Am I smoking discarded cigarette butts and drinking whiskey meant for "spirit houses"? Not yet!

Seriously, would love to get a gig in some language school or something to complement the meagre income. But there are folks from African countries working hours a week for 2,000 B a month.

Okay, OP - go for it. (I meant well warning against buying a string of new bikes to rent them out, that's all. I think letting your customers sort out this part by themselves would dramatically reduce the risk in your business).

Three words. - Vodka Coke Ice

Vodka? The last Bloody Mary I tried tasted vile. Nah, make that a Bacardi Coke

Well, this is hogwash. I got my card in less time than 3 months after the WP was issued.

But there have been issues with greedy admin staff i. "forgetting" to deduct the SS contributions. Getting cash is better, isn't it (especially when there won't be a receipt, ever). ii. When I needed treatment, the hospital had no record and I had to pay the private rate for the treatment.

You better check the hospital has you in their system.

Oh, and they love to take SS contributions before they are theoretically due (e.g. before a WP is being issued).

Am sick of these games but hope a university won't act like some rural government school.

I wish I could help you with some facts. I'm in a lower bracket - one of those people in lowly paid jobs at government schools. 30 k plus free housing wouldn't interest you, of course.

90 k for 2 was pretty good IMHO. And while there is definitely a need, there has been a drive to lower salaries as well. My own limited experience has been that NES are getting replaced with folks who work for less. Just saw an ad for SURIN on Ajarn.com where 15,000 B is offered and a education degree demanded. (Good luck with that).

Are you sure the experience will count?!? Doubt it, not at some International School. But YMMV.

I buy them in Germany on www.ebay.de from a company named Golden Peanut. 3 x 1 kg with free shipping for 29 euros I think. 99% purity.

I've been taken it for months and love it. It really works well.

But no to price gouging. 100 grams for like 300 Baht?!? Forget it!

When will they put their cardson the table? Is there a date when the announcement will be made? (Apologies if I overlooked it in this thread).

Sorry for your loss and the trouble this has and will cause you.

When will they look beyond some nice looking certificate? How about investigating degrees of certain African universities?!? A nice looking certificate is all they want and need? Mmm. They talk national security and then this!

so sorry for the OP's loss and troubles. Can't say I'm surprised!

I've had to pay >5,000 Baht to have my degree sent over by DHL from the UK. But then, there are 'teachers' here who can't even hold a conversation. Some weren't a single day at a university. Who checks their degrees?!? Oh, they are looking for something splendid and expensive looking ?!?

They really need to start verifying degrees in the interest of those who have genuine ones. Not checking certain countries' degrees can't go on as before, unless the TCT wants to lose the rest of its credibility.

While I'm an avid biker and potential customer, I would like to make some suggestions:

a) Reduce fixed costs and overhead - form an alliance with a motorcycle rental business or

move to Chiang Mai.

c) There are some such operators and I'm not sure how they are all doing. The low rent is a killer. Personally, I wouldn't touch the motorcycle rental business! What does your marketing research reveal?