English Teacher's Salaries in Bangkok

[Thainess]

Pretty soon, all farang pubs are going to be closed down, as there won't be any Westerners in BKK beyond the 20.000 THB salary "English teachers" who can only afford to drink on the steps of 7-11. Sad but accurate.

[Number 6]

On 12/13/2019 at 2:10 AM, Thainess said:

20.000 THB salary "English teachers"

English teachers in Bangkok make considerably more than this. Even first year teachers often start at 35+. It's quite easy to make 38-42+. Many jobs in the 45-55k range and more than a two dozen schools in BKK will pay upwards of 60k for experienced teachers and or teaching early years. It's okay. You just don't know but had to take a swipe anyway.

 

[Thainess]

16 hours ago, Number 6 said:

English teachers in Bangkok make considerably more than this. Even first year teachers often start at 35+. It's quite easy to make 38-42+. Many jobs in the 45-55k range and more than a two dozen schools in BKK will pay upwards of 60k for experienced teachers and or teaching early years. It's okay. You just don't know but had to take a swipe anyway.

 

 

You're making out that's a good salary? The figures you quoted are a bit better than 20k but still terrible!!!

[jastheace]

37 minutes ago, Thainess said:

 

You're making out that's a good salary? The figures you quoted are a bit better than 20k but still terrible!!!

ok, and you ( as an English language teacher) are making how much and where ?

[Number 6]

3 hours ago, Thainess said:

 

You're making out that's a good salary? The figures you quoted are a bit better than 20k but still terrible!!!

Rubbish. Yes, 38-45k is hardly an impressive salary but this is for 1-2nd year teachers.

 

Many doctors that make less than 60-70k pm. Certainly out of one hospital. You're just defending a weak, flippant, caustic remark. 55-70k is an excellent salary for Thailand teaching in public, public / private schools. Add 2-3.5 months paid holiday and 25 national holidays. 

 

Many foreigners are not making this money unless doing 3D jobs. Technical laborers.

Edited December 15, 2019 by Number 6

[FritsSikkink]

8 hours ago, Thainess said:

 

You're making out that's a good salary? The figures you quoted are a bit better than 20k but still terrible!!!

There are a lot of foreigners here that have another job which pays very well.

[kingstonkid]

No one is forcing you to be here.  Even 35 k is a good salary by Thai standards and is quite liveable even in Bangkok

[Chazar]

15 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

No one is forcing you to be here.  Even 35 k is a good salary by Thai standards and is quite liveable even in Bangkok

so why do they ask foreigners for 65k a  month then? for extensions

[terryw]

The basic teacher salary in Hanoi is 2000 USD a month after tax. Many like me can earn double this amount. 

I don't see a rush of teachers moving from Hanoi to Bangkok but I do know many who have quit Thailand and moved to Vietnam.

[sunnyboy2018]

The thread is based on a false assumption and false assertion. The OP must live in a bubble if he thinks the majority of 'farang' in Bangkok are teachers.  He is wrong if he thinks the majority of 'farang' pub goers are teachers. He is wrong or talking about unqualified teachers when referring to a 20k baht salary. 30k is a starting point. 300 to 500 baht per hour for private tuition on top of that plus smart ones do IELTS which is very lucrative.

[Cats4ever]

I am sure there are good English teachers about; there are some shockers also. I have met some with broad northern english accents, germans with a solid accent and more. Cambodia has been much more successful in spreading reasonable english, particularly when you consider they were a French colony and the horrors of Pol Pot.

Edited December 17, 2019 by Cats4ever

[Happy Grumpy]

I know 2 English teachers.

 

Paid hourly at around 750thb p/h, both teach English online for 75-85k per month.

 

Don't need to leave their living rooms, no dealing with Thais. Who on Earth would trundle off in the heat to some Thai school to dance around like a monkey for 40 or 50k. ????

Edited December 17, 2019 by Happy Grumpy

[thenewgoo]

65K probably wouldn't drag a well qualified and experienced teacher to Bangkok unless they wanted the experience rather than the money. Qualified new teachers included. Thailand gets what it pays for.

[CrunchWrapSupreme]

Ah, disregarding the trollish nature of the topic, there is a valid point here. The new school year is approaching fast, and as a teacher it's time to get those cover letters and CVs polished. We wrap here at the end of March, then comes the Songkran holiday, then the next school year for Thai government schools, and many privates, begins in May.

 

I really wish I could get an answer in these next few months, given the drawn out visa process, but unfortunately in my experience most schools wait until the last minute. As others have said on here, one generally doesn't move up unless it's to another school. I'm actually making 36K at a government school way out here in Issan. 60-80K should be expected in BKK. They really can't offer less than that when the cheapest rents are 8K-10K.

 

I'd rather not go back to BKK and get stuffed into the BTS every morning, but I'll take it as a last resort. I'd really like to go to Khon Khen.

[Raymonddiaz]

5 hours ago, Chazar said:

so why do they ask foreigners for 65k a  month then? for extensions

That doesn't concern teachers..There is no minimum salary for the extension of stay ( Non B ext).

[Just Weird]

2 hours ago, Cats4ever said:

I am sure there are good English teachers about; there are some shockers also. I have met some with broad northern english accents

There's a fair few with dreadful SE and SW English accents also

[Just Weird]

1 hour ago, Happy Grumpy said:

Don't need to leave their living rooms, no dealing with Thais.

Who do they teach, then?

[Nakmuay887]

1 hour ago, Happy Grumpy said:

I know 2 English teachers.

 

Paid hourly at around 750thb p/h, both teach English online for 75-85k per month.

 

Don't need to leave their living rooms, no dealing with Thais. Who on Earth would trundle off in the heat to some Thai school to dance around like a monkey for 40 or 50k. ????

Do those online teaching gigs include a work permit? I suspect they do not 

[Nakmuay887]

Just now, Just Weird said:

Who do they teach, then?

Chinese online. 

[Nakmuay887]

1 minute ago, Just Weird said:

Who do they teach, then?

Sorry, I worded that poorly. They are often teaching people in China, online. 

[Happy Grumpy]

9 minutes ago, Nakmuay887 said:

Do those online teaching gigs include a work permit? I suspect they do not 

They don't need one as they're working remotely. Just go to one of the 1000's of co-working spaces around Thailand.

 

Fully legal to do, as already explained by immigration police. ???? 

 

 

 

“It turns out that the reason for the raid wasn’t because we were working online, it was because they thought Punspace was illegally hiring western staff without work permits. They did not know the concept of a co-working space or why we would pay to use an office,” he said on his blog.

The owners of Punspace were helpful, he added, bringing lunch for those affected and giving them a free month’s use of the facilities.

Chiang Mai immigration officials said at a press conference in August that “digital nomads” – people who can work remotely from anywhere – would be able to do so on a tourist visa.

 

https://www.chiangmaicitylife.com/citynews/general/immigration-officers-raid-popular-co-working-space/

[Happy Grumpy]

14 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

Who do they teach, then?

They do it remotely for foreign companies with foreign customers.

 

Fully legal to do on a Tourist Visa as explained by immigration police. 

Edited December 17, 2019 by Happy Grumpy

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, Just Weird said:

There's a fair few with dreadful SE and SW English accents also

It is these dreadful Liverpool accents you would have to be wary off.

[Alex2554]

"I thought this country spawned the f##king language, and so far nobody seems to speak it".

[Chazar]

3 hours ago, Raymonddiaz said:

That doesn't concern teachers..There is no minimum salary for the extension of stay ( Non B ext).

you  mean teachers dont have to live in thailand on that  amount..........incredible

[natway09]

Teaching English for a couple of years "as an experience in life" is great in Thailand.

But if you are young without assets do not stay too long as hard to build a nest egg

[Suradit69]

10 hours ago, Chazar said:

so why do they ask foreigners for 65k a  month then? for extensions

Because they want foreigners staying here who have money to spend, not because they want to ensure you're comfy. The 65 k is for people contributing nothing to the economy but the money they spend. 

 

If you're married to a Thai and possibly have children they make a concession and only expect you to show 40 K a month. Apparently people do manage on that or less, since a whole lot of them who post on TV whine about managing 40 k for immigrations while claiming they can get by with less.

[moontang]

10 hours ago, Happy Grumpy said:

They do it remotely for foreign companies with foreign customers.

 

Fully legal to do on a Tourist Visa as explained by immigration police. 

Yep, a tourist visa, as in one... bad time to be a visa runner.  The one teacher I know. here, did not graduate high school.  Two of his mates have recently abandoned apartments after being refused visa or entry. I see the paperwork hassles as the top problem in the industry.  As long as there are plenty willing to work illegally. there won't be a clear path and wages will keep swirling down. 

[Happy Grumpy]

9 hours ago, moontang said:

Yep, a tourist visa, as in one...

Not everyone here is on tourist visas ya know....

 

Study

Marriage

Kids

Retirement if 50+

Elite.

 

For example studying Thai and a few hours online work is a nice free and easy existence for them. Or while studying in a university here. ???? 

[Raymonddiaz]

18 hours ago, Chazar said:

you  mean teachers dont have to live in thailand on that  amount..........incredible

I meant no minimum salary to be able to have an extension of stay at the immigration office...