Hi everyone,

 

Does anyone know if there is any recent survey (in the last 2-3yrs) of expat salaries in Bangkok, and what people typically spend? I'm hoping for guidance on a median level.

 

Thanks.

If you count professionals it´s going to be high, but if you bring all the teachers in to the equation it will fall drastically. A median alltogether I would assume will be not higher than 50k baht. However, that is easy to live on if you do not need a high class life.

It all depends on the type and level of career you're in (sector, job, age, responsibility, etc.)

 

From THB200K to THB10M (and more) a year

 

https://adecco.co.th/salary-guide

As a data point: a couple years back I've got an offer from a local tech start-up for a senior IT position (specialist, non-managerial or executive): 120k pm + stock options. So I guess 100-150k would be the range for senior IT specialists such as analysts, PMs etc. From the research I've done then, developers (programmers) get 40-80k depending on experience and platform.

 

Many factors.

 

• Hired by the Thai company direct?
• "Expat" living and working in Thailand for the home company paid outside Thailand?
• "Inpat" working for the home country outside Thailand?
• Expat on assignment or contract?

Lots of variables and all of them will have an impact on the salary, some significantly. Also you did not specify the field of profession.

 

Honestly hard to answer your question.   

 

As for living expenses, again depends on your expectations and where in BKK you would reside. Some will come on and state you can live for very little. Median guess with the limited info would be 75 to 100K baht to be safe.

 

 

Thanks everyone.

 

So, to narrow it a bit, I am talking about professionals in general. People with a bachelors degree working in say IT, accounting, "business", engineering or construction, sales, etc. I suppose you could include professional teachers working at Tier 1 international schools.

 

Mid range life style. Modestly well. Not reduced to sharing buckets at the khaosan road, but not breaking out the champagne at 5-star places either. A lifestyle commensurate with a similar professional back home.

 

Cheers.

 

On ‎11‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 4:57 PM, corkman said:

Thanks everyone.

 

So, to narrow it a bit, I am talking about professionals in general. People with a bachelors degree working in say IT, accounting, "business", engineering or construction, sales, etc. I suppose you could include professional teachers working at Tier 1 international schools.

 

Mid range life style. Modestly well. Not reduced to sharing buckets at the khaosan road, but not breaking out the champagne at 5-star places either. A lifestyle commensurate with a similar professional back home.

 

Cheers.

 

My opinion is not worth much, but I will try. I have been here almost 17 years. I came as an expat employee, making big money, then after 2 years my home-country contract expired. They re-hired me under local employment conditions. HUGE difference in salary.

 

Anyway, I think your objective is hard to define because of the extreme salary differences from contract foreign employees and locally hired employees. Most expats go home after their contract expires. The expats hired under local conditions make almost the same as Thais. Again, it depends on the company. Each local company has their reasons for paying them good or not good.  But if you are looking for a general guidance, I think you should expect local foreigners to make the same as Thais.

Out of interest, why Median and not Average or Mode?

Can't remember the various sources, but when comparing salaries V's Pension Jan 2018, I concluded that I would need 75k baht/ month in Bangkok, and 50k/ month in the provinces. Which was fine until the pound kept going down ???? since then (Engineering/project management comparisons).

There's also a teacher's website that has a salary /cost of living articles section ajarn.

On 11/10/2019 at 9:37 AM, Fab5BKK said:

It all depends on the type and level of career you're in (sector, job, age, responsibility, etc.)

 

From THB200K to THB10M (and more) a year

 

https://adecco.co.th/salary-guide

Yes, that's the best guide for level of salaries...????

Being one of those who insist that one can live in BKK with a small income, I will say that if you are working you will have additional unavoidable expenses that will make it much more difficult to live cheaply. Commuting, wardrobe, meals, etc., will add up quickly. For someone working in BKK, I would suggest that 60K baht per month is a minimum. Professionals (IT, Engineering, Legal, etc.) typically get more than 100K.

On 11/10/2019 at 1:57 AM, corkman said:

Mid range life style. Modestly well. Not reduced to sharing buckets at the khaosan road, but not breaking out the champagne at 5-star places either. A lifestyle commensurate with a similar professional back home.

The additional information above helps in answering part of your questions. Timendres makes some good points that there are always unplanned expenses that can add up quickly. Don't handcuff yourself trying to live too cheaply. I knew a few that tried it that way and in 6 months were totally miserable because their expectations could not be met. Give yourself some freedom.  the key to you being successful is being honest with yourself. You don't sound as if you are taking employment here to live in a box and eat noodle every day. Sure one could live in a 10k-15k baht a month studio and eat Thai food every day and walk everywhere they go but to your point you want to live a life in the middle. That being noted, 45k to 65k bht per month gives you a comfortable life in the heart of BKK. If you live on the outskirts of BKK you can probably shave off  15k to 20k bht. A lot would depend on where you will work and how close you can find a suitable place to live by it.

 

Salary wise you were not clear on working for a local company paid in Thai baht or hired by a company outside Thailand.  

 

Best of luck.  

 

 

On 11/10/2019 at 8:55 AM, shadowofacloud said:

From the research I've done then, developers (programmers) get 40-80k depending on experience and platform.

Isn't the visa requirement 50K minimum?

57 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Isn't the visa requirement 50K minimum?

No idea. These are ballpark figures, not official stats.

I competely agree with @JAFO regarding the monthly budget.

 

45-65k should get you a nice 1-bed in a decent area, cover transportation (I use a scooter, fanatically, most of the new 155cc automatics are really efficient, fairly environmentally friendly, practical, easy to use, quite dynamic and they look good), insurance and leave enough for daily expenses, food and regular entertainment. Personally, as a non-drinker (or a v. seldom-drinker), vegetarian (I cook myself most of the time, mostly some variations on local food) with no interest in night life, I easily get by with 45-50k in central-ish Bangkok. This goes down 30-35k in rural areas, mostly due to lower accommodation costs.

45k? lel that are peanuts, maybe my weekly budget ^^

Things change dramatically if you are married and have kids.  Doesn't matter if it is a Thai or farang.  You'll need funds for school or if on an expat package (if there are any left) paid by your employer.  You will also need to save for retirement whether your company provides a pension or not.  Therefore if you're making less than 300K baht a month you should head back to your home country.  

I would say 90-150K.

The spread is huge because so many variables to take into account - how many years experience, what industry etc.

19 hours ago, timendres said:

Being one of those who insist that one can live in BKK with a small income, I will say that if you are working you will have additional unavoidable expenses that will make it much more difficult to live cheaply. Commuting, wardrobe, meals, etc., will add up quickly. For someone working in BKK, I would suggest that 60K baht per month is a minimum. Professionals (IT, Engineering, Legal, etc.) typically get more than 100K.

I couldn't agree more but, in my younger years, I used to get free girls at work, so this balances things a bit...

Minimum wages

There are four different types, depending on the employee’s country of origin.

• 50,000 Baht/month: Western European Countries, Australia, Canada, Japan, and USA
• 45,000 Baht/month: South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong
• 35,000 Baht/month: Eastern European Countries, Asian Countries, South American Countries, Central American Countries, Mexico, Turkey, Russia and South Africa
• 25,000 Baht/month: African Countries, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam

...