Teacher with 15,000 baht salary asks: You tell me how I can live on that?

[colinneil]

21 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

 

She is on the bottom rung of the teaching ladder. If she is good enough, with experience she could be earning up to 100,000 baht/month later on.

 

 

With experience she could be earning 100.00 baht later on.

Pray tell where you got that figure from, clearly you made it up.

No way can a Thai teacher earn anywhere near that amount.

Please stop posting nonsense, get your facts straight.

[My Thai Life]

On 10/13/2018 at 1:59 AM, Scott said:

The salary for many teachers is exceptionally low, especially considering how much money is spent on education. 

As you know Scott, Thai government school teachers are government employees. They are on a government scale. This scale is not particularly different from other government pay scales.

[My Thai Life]

18 minutes ago, colinneil said:

With experience she could be earning 100.00 baht later on.

Pray tell where you got that figure from, clearly you made it up.

Senior Thai government school teachers and school heads are usually 40k-50k, and that's with many years of experience.

[colinneil]

Just now, My Thai Life said:

Senior Thai government school teachers and school heads are usually 40k-50k, and that's with many years of experience.

Spot on mate, my wife has over 25 years experience, is a school director, and earns around that.

[Lunchbob]

She could live off of 15k certainly, but a teacher should make much more than this if society values their role as caretaker for children. If you have ever wondered why there are so many problems in the education system here you are reading about 1 aspect now. Imagine some administrator barking at her about improving her English skills or adding technology to her classroom (and so on) while she goes bankrupt, works 12 hours a day, etc...

 

I don't know this person from the article, but have you ever wondered about the quality of teachers you end end up with at this salary? Even if you have a passionate, educated, intelligent person who wants to teach they must defy all logic and take a horrible salary and don't forget the "poo yai" of that little provincial school and their background, their feelings about hierarchy and power, etc....Yuk

[Airalee]

4 hours ago, Lunchbob said:

She could live off of 15k certainly, but a teacher should make much more than this if society values their role as caretaker for children. If you have ever wondered why there are so many problems in the education system here you are reading about 1 aspect now. Imagine some administrator barking at her about improving her English skills or adding technology to her classroom (and so on) while she goes bankrupt, works 12 hours a day, etc...

 

I don't know this person from the article, but have you ever wondered about the quality of teachers you end end up with at this salary? Even if you have a passionate, educated, intelligent person who wants to teach they must defy all logic and take a horrible salary and don't forget the "poo yai" of that little provincial school and their background, their feelings about hierarchy and power, etc....Yuk

Numerous studies have shown that higher salaries for teachers make the teachers happier (of course!) but do not get you better teachers or improved outcomes with regards to the students.  

 

https://blogs.worldbank.org/impactevaluations/what-do-we-learn-increasing-teacher-salaries-indonesia-more-students-did

 

http://www2.um.edu.uy/jmcabrera/Research/Funding poor schools.pdf

 

http://www.nber.org/papers/w7082

[Ks45672]

14 minutes ago, Airalee said:

Numerous studies have shown that higher salaries for teachers make the teachers happier (of course!) but do not get you better teachers or improved outcomes with regards to the students.  

 

https://blogs.worldbank.org/impactevaluations/what-do-we-learn-increasing-teacher-salaries-indonesia-more-students-did

 

http://www2.um.edu.uy/jmcabrera/Research/Funding poor schools.pdf

 

http://www.nber.org/papers/w7082

Would happy teachers not be better than miserable ones? 

[MikeN]

On 10/6/2018 at 2:03 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

That reminds me of the pretty accountant who I met when she worked in a Soi Cowboy bar. As accountant she made 16,000B a month. She had a son and wanted to send him to a reasonable school. That was not possible working as an accountant...

And that reminds me of a waitress at the Nana Hooters who saw me doing some homework after my Thai language lessons, turns out she was a uni qualified Thai language teacher at a BKK language school, but moved to Hooters to make much more money wearing tight shorts and serving beer.

[Andrew108]

18 hours ago, Airalee said:

If she wishes to be the poster child for underpaid teachers, she should expect to receive some amount of well justified criticism.

Well this is enough vitriol right here. Poster child? I think she was just breaking ranks and making public her difficulties. You haven't explained why the criticism she received was well-justified. it's simply your bias that says she deserves criticism. And why exactly? Why should she be criticized? You might not agree with her but why should she be criticized in such a negative way? I don't get it.

So what's the problem exactly? Is she too materialistic? Too much desire? Too focused on money? What is it exactly? Should she work for free? Perhaps she should not have other interests. Bizarre.

Like I've said the starting salary in BKK should be 20K and after 10 or so years an experienced teacher should be making 30-35K. That's with continued training and a proven track record of success. 

[Lacessit]

10 hours ago, colinneil said:

With experience she could be earning 100.00 baht later on.

Pray tell where you got that figure from, clearly you made it up.

No way can a Thai teacher earn anywhere near that amount.

Please stop posting nonsense, get your facts straight.

There's a British expat in Chiang Mai who I know for a fact is earning 120K a month with one of the big private schools. You could be right about government schools.

Feel better now?

[grollies]

From the first five pages, I fully identify and agree with @kannot

[colinneil]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

There's a British expat in Chiang Mai who I know for a fact is earning 120K a month with one of the big private schools. You could be right about government schools.

Feel better now?

This thread is about a Thai teacher, got sod all to do with ex-pat teachers.

You were wrong about Thai teachers salaries, just accept that, stop being smart.

[EVENKEEL]

26 minutes ago, strabel23 said:

This is a pretty basic looking house. Not much skill needed. You get what you pay for I guess when it comes to hiring builders.

I find it hard to believe workers were paid 200bht/day unless they were not Thai or maybe 15 yr old kids.

[Scott]

Some off-topic, nonsensical troll posts have been removed.   If you do not wish to stay on the topic, you can expect a suspension.  

[Lacessit]

18 hours ago, colinneil said:

This thread is about a Thai teacher, got sod all to do with ex-pat teachers.

You were wrong about Thai teachers salaries, just accept that, stop being smart.

I accept that. Move on, I have.

[tingtong]

"There is the rent, food, cost of fuel, the commitment to her father and sending other kids in the family to school.

Then there is building a house for the family. 

How on earth do you expect me to stay out of debt, she laments. 

She said her salary would go up 1,500 baht a year but that was hardly going to make ends meet. "

 

a few thoughts:

in Europe/West, no wonder many leaves with the parents, at least early working years. not always bcos that is their dream to do, but bcos that is what their economics afford.

 

one cant be responsible to sending all other family kids to school, anyway, teacher's kid often enjoy free ride here. and government school isnt that pricey. how those working at the gas station should live, or 7/11, or the guard at her very school??

 

as a young teacher, the commitment to his father is a nice phrase, but the "old man" likely should be in his mid 40's, likely capable to work. before she became a teacher, the family managed, should not be worst that she can take care of her own.

 

the food. well, cooking isnt fashionable here, however, at 50thb a dish, she should be done with that from approx 150thb a day, not that teachers pay in the school for their plate. no michelin star, no pizza delivery 3 times a week, but still wont need to collect ants, frogs, kratin. many does.

 

the rent. a decent fully furnished condo room i rent, is 8000thb/month, enough for a single person, included the utilities ( no aircon used) and way better than average thai style accommodation. it would be steep, but on countryside we rent a thai style house next to local main road for 3000thb/m + utility... take a median between the rural house and the city condo with gym and pool....5000thb....33% salary....usually deemed doable in the west.

 

the fuel. likely jumped in the first 0% interest for teacher red number neighbor impressing sexiest nissan march that was offered. or mazda 2.

probably she isnt a math teacher, not that they count a lot better when it comes to financials. but hey, did you see the neighbor's face?

 

building a family house. really? where did the family live the past years? suddenly that cant do any longer? 

the truth is, a beginning teacher is one of a million same here, and that is how much she earns. a good 2x more than a tesco worker, or a restaurant help.

once she find her somchai/prince charming, together may be cheaper to rent, eat ( is she learns to cook). she is considered a catch afterall.

or the least she considers herself a catch. she is a teacher!! synonym to hiso, in her mind.

 

alternative.

change profession. 

last i checked cutting rice pays bellow the minimum salary in our area, and sugarcane isnt any better. else she get talent, and can sing, kareoke may pay better. (ah-ah, oh-oh.)

 

summary.

welcome to the real world. may take some time, but she will learn eventually she is lot better off than many others, less fortunate.

[jrjrjr]

Give me a visit, you will get a tip !

And anyway, when renting a 2000 thb room and eating dirty Thai food, you will still have 10000 to save monthly !

 

 

[metisdead]

An inflammatory grammar police post has been removed.