Teaching options - advice appreciated

[sidneybear]

Hi All,

 

I've been working in the tech industry (senior roles in business development, sales and general management) in Oz for many years. I have an MBA but no bachelor degree. What are my options for teaching in Thailand?

 

Edit> I'm a Thai dual national so don't neet a work permit or visa.

 

Cheers,

SB

[HappyExpat57]

You need the Bachelors to get a work permit. The ONLY way to teach legally without a Bachelors is as a Teacher's Aid/Assistant. Those jobs are rare. There will be some who will tell  you there are schools that will hire you without the degree, and if you work there, you stand a chance of being busted, thrown out of the country and blacklisted.

[sidneybear]

2 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

You need the Bachelors to get a work permit. The ONLY way to teach legally without a Bachelors is as a Teacher's Aid/Assistant. Those jobs are rare. There will be some who will tell  you there are schools that will hire you without the degree, and if you work there, you stand a chance of being busted, thrown out of the country and blacklisted.

Thanks @HappyExpat57 - one thing I forgot to mention is that  I have Thai nationality so don't need the work permit or visa.

 

I'm keen to understand options where WP/visa are not required.

 

Cheers,

SB

[allane]

Contact khurusapha at ksp.or.th  Don't waste time seeking opinions from the farangs here.

[hughrection]

5 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

You need the Bachelors to get a work permit. The ONLY way to teach legally without a Bachelors is as a Teacher's Aid/Assistant. Those jobs are rare. There will be some who will tell  you there are schools that will hire you without the degree, and if you work there, you stand a chance of being busted, thrown out of the country and blacklisted.

Nonsense, he has a master's degree and he's Thai. I am in a similar situation and he will get a work permit without issue. He could also work in any university here with his qualification.

Coupled with the fact that he clearly has a master of the English language and one can also assume he speaks Thai, there will be many opportunities for him.

Unfortunately, they will try to pay you a Thai salary and not one that a foreigner would usually get. However, over time, the salary will rise and you get all of the government employee perks.

Good luck.

[aidenai]

6 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

You need the Bachelors to get a work permit.

That's a myth.

What you need is at least a bachelor degree. An associate degree is therefore not enough.

 

1 hour ago, hughrection said:

Unfortunately, they will try to pay you a Thai salary and not one that a foreigner would usually get. 

Completely agree.

[aidenai]

1 hour ago, hughrection said:

However, over time, the salary will rise and you get all of the government employee perks.

Becoming a government official is a different chapter.

[BananaStrong]

I don't know how you have an MBA but no undergrad....anyhow, the UNDERGRAD is the important one.  

 

There are many, many problems at schools.  If you are Thai, maybe your salary will only be 16,000 and you won't get paid for the first three months (I heard this from a new Thai teacher).  If another passport, then if you LOOK Thai you might get complaints from parents....."We want a native speaker!!"  Yes, I know you are.   Anyhow, the headaches are going to happen.   I would apply under your FOREIGN passport, get the falang salary (30k or more) and then say, "Hey, I'm also Thai so we don't need all that paperwork."  If your fluent in Thai, then expect a zillion meetings.  lol.  

 

But without a degree.....yea, that's the problem.

 

Do I know at least FIVE falang teachers who found a way around this problem?  yes.  but that's another level of shady, and not recommended.  and not good for the kids.  why teach if you felt getting a BA wasn't important?  and if it was/is, then get one.   Hard to motivate kids that education is important if you haven't finished your undergrad.     It's an industry with tons of paperwork, why do it fraudulently?    the requirement is you MUST have your degree...

 

anyhow.   

[BananaStrong]

2 hours ago, allane said:

Contact khurusapha at ksp.or.th  Don't waste time seeking opinions from the farangs here.

Is this your opinion?   should he not waste time reading either of our messages?  lol

[SuperSilverHaze]

If you teach on a Thai passport you will 99/100 be paid Thai wages. I know two "Thai" teachers  paid as foreigners. One is US citizen. This is because s/he avoids visa and wp drama. The school is elite and ok with it. The other a naturalized UK pp holder and s/he had to teach on the foreign pp for the foreign wage.

 

Personally, I think you may struggle to find work due to no bachelor's degree. The schools may not understand how that came to be. Next, you'll probably need some form of education verification of degree. Khrusapa may not have your degree in db which will automatically disqualify regardless of nationality.

 

Just fyi first year foreign teachers 30-36k per month. You ok with that? I'd expect Thais are making 9-14k first year.

[roger101]

It amazes me how many people give advice and don't read the post properly in the first place. He states quite clearly in the third post that he doesn't need a work permit.

[HappyExpat57]

1 hour ago, roger101 said:

It amazes me how many people give advice and don't read the post properly in the first place. He states quite clearly in the third post that he doesn't need a work permit.

The first post led to a LOT of confusion. When sydneybear (SB) initially posted possession of an MBA but no Bachelors, I thought SB's understanding of an MBA was different than a typical MBA, and I STILL don't understand how anyone can get an MBA without first earning a Bachelors. Something just doesn't pass the smell test.

[Scott]

If you work for most schools, you will need a Teacher's License and to obtain that you need a Bachelor's Degree in Education. 

 

If you are Thai, then the salary may be a problem.  We had a number of teachers who had dual citizenship.  Only one was actually paid the foreign wage.  The rest got more than the Thai teachers did, but less than the Western teachers.  

 

Unfortunately, a lot of it depended on how Asian they looked. 

[sidneybear]

1 hour ago, Scott said:

If you work for most schools, you will need a Teacher's License and to obtain that you need a Bachelor's Degree in Education. 

 

If you are Thai, then the salary may be a problem.  We had a number of teachers who had dual citizenship.  Only one was actually paid the foreign wage.  The rest got more than the Thai teachers did, but less than the Western teachers.  

 

Unfortunately, a lot of it depended on how Asian they looked. 

Thanks.

 

I'm 100% caucasian farang - was naturalised as a Thai while living there a few years back but have British ancestry.

 

Looks like I'll have to start studying for the bachelor's, or a Graduate Diploma in teaching. What about business training - I have an MBA plus years of business experience - would any business schools accept someone like me, on farang rates?

[sidneybear]

13 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

The first post led to a LOT of confusion. When sydneybear (SB) initially posted possession of an MBA but no Bachelors, I thought SB's understanding of an MBA was different than a typical MBA, and I STILL don't understand how anyone can get an MBA without first earning a Bachelors. Something just doesn't pass the smell test.

An MBA with no bachelors is actually a lot more common than you might think - many reputable business schools and universities in places like Oz and the US accept MBA students who have several years of relevant management or business experience. Such was my case - I dropped out from my bachelors in Chemistry (a wrong choice for me) then ended up in the tech industry. I worked various jobs, got technical certifications, which led on to senior roles inn sales and management. I provided references and was accepted by my school based on my past experience being equivalent to a bachelots degree,

 

Apologies too for not mentioning the Thai citizenship - my focus was more on being accepted as a teacher than work permits and visas.

[sidneybear]

15 hours ago, BananaStrong said:

maybe your salary will only be 16,000 and you won't get paid for the first three months

Yikes

[sidneybear]

17 hours ago, hughrection said:

Nonsense, he has a master's degree and he's Thai. I am in a similar situation and he will get a work permit without issue. He could also work in any university here with his qualification.

Coupled with the fact that he clearly has a master of the English language and one can also assume he speaks Thai, there will be many opportunities for him.

Unfortunately, they will try to pay you a Thai salary and not one that a foreigner would usually get. However, over time, the salary will rise and you get all of the government employee perks.

Good luck.

I am a native speaker of English, and speak Thai conversationally. The grey area here seems to be: is a bachelors mandatory because there is a rule that says so, or will they accept a masters as "a bachelors or higher"?

[Scott]

1 hour ago, sidneybear said:

I am a native speaker of English, and speak Thai conversationally. The grey area here seems to be: is a bachelors mandatory because there is a rule that says so, or will they accept a masters as "a bachelors or higher"?

It is necessary for most schools running K-12 schools.  It is only necessary for getting the Teacher's License.  

 

Quite a number of years ago, we had a teacher who had an MBA without a Bachelors.  At that time, we were able to get him a TL, but I very much doubt we could do that now.  We've had teachers who only had copies of their Master's Degree with them when they arrived in Thailand; the Krusapa did not accept them and they had to get the Bachelor's degree.  

 

[sidneybear]

2 hours ago, Scott said:

It is necessary for most schools running K-12 schools.  It is only necessary for getting the Teacher's License.  

 

Quite a number of years ago, we had a teacher who had an MBA without a Bachelors.  At that time, we were able to get him a TL, but I very much doubt we could do that now.  We've had teachers who only had copies of their Master's Degree with them when they arrived in Thailand; the Krusapa did not accept them and they had to get the Bachelor's degree.  

 

Thanks. Looks like I'll either have to get a bachelors or teach a specialised subject privately related to my work.

 

Are TL necessary for all kinds of teaching, such as adult learning, or just teaching K-12?

[Callmeishmael]

Just teaching K-12. 

 

[ikke1959]

If you want to teach in a Government school or temple school, you better try to find another job.. Teaching will be very disappointing, as you probably expect that students listen and participate in the lessons unless ou can speak Thai... Thai students are not interested, except a few, to learn.  Please be warned.. Besides that ask the area where you want to work.. As far as I know is that you need a Teacher's License for being a teacher, even if you have Thai nationality..And that will be maybe more difficult, as nowadays they want you to have a teaching degree.

[sidneybear]

14 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

If you want to teach in a Government school or temple school, you better try to find another job.. Teaching will be very disappointing, as you probably expect that students listen and participate in the lessons unless ou can speak Thai... Thai students are not interested, except a few, to learn.  Please be warned.. Besides that ask the area where you want to work.. As far as I know is that you need a Teacher's License for being a teacher, even if you have Thai nationality..And that will be maybe more difficult, as nowadays they want you to have a teaching degree.

Good advice. I did do a stint English teaching in Thailand (unlicensed back then) around 30 years ago. My students were both children and adults, mainly Japanese, but some Thais. I probably wouldn't have the patience to teach Thai kids again, so will look into teaching adults. 

[n00dle]

not sure why with your background you would want to teach. It is generally very underpaid.

Why not look into alternate ways like writing to leverage your experience ?  As a tech writer I make 30-50k per week for an effort of around 20 hours. My income is limited only by my unwillingness to work more.

Most teachers outside of the international school system struggle to make that in a month

[sidneybear]

25 minutes ago, n00dle said:

not sure why with your background you would want to teach. It is generally very underpaid.

Why not look into alternate ways like writing to leverage your experience ?  As a tech writer I make 30-50k per week for an effort of around 20 hours. My income is limited only by my unwillingness to work more.

Most teachers outside of the international school system struggle to make that in a month

Good advice, thank you. For me, I'm just exploring options, but definitely would want to make decent money, so school teaching may not be best for me, especially if I'm ineligible for a TL and might get a Thai rate. I might do something more specialised as you advise. 

[ikke1959]

1 hour ago, sidneybear said:

Good advice. I did do a stint English teaching in Thailand (unlicensed back then) around 30 years ago. My students were both children and adults, mainly Japanese, but some Thais. I probably wouldn't have the patience to teach Thai kids again, so will look into teaching adults. 

Maybe there are some industry or businesses in your area that are interested in classes for their workers... I did adults too in a company and that was very funny and much better than the 20 years in schools with 50 kids in a class