Graduates Of Top Thai Universities

[GuestHouse]

I doubt there are many people here on TV who have much real (that is not imagined) experience of working with graduates of Thailand's top universities and fewer still who have real experience of working with graduates of Thailand's top universities alongside graduates of top universalities from overseas.

Those who do will understand the difference.

Those who do not will be talking about things they think they understand based upon preconceived ideas and more likely prejudice (and that goes both ways).

Graduates of Thailand's top universities do very well in the limited Thai labour market, they have the pick of the jobs and they take the pick of the jobs - Hence my view that very few TV members come across these graduates, because those same jobs are in the vast majority of cases in organizations that do not employ foreigners - and if they do, very few foreigners.

Graduates of the top international universities are not limited to their local job market but do very well internationally - including in Thailand - and if you find expats in those AAA Thai Companies to which Thailand's top graduates head, then those expats are likely to have graduated from top international universities.

A university education is not just a bit of paper, its a great deal more than that - but then the bit of paper is a great deal more than just a bit of paper - If its the right grade and from the right university then it will open doors closed to those who do not have it. And it is a mistake to believe this is something that only has an impact in the first years of a graduate's career. Graduating from the top international universities opens doors for life - and not just work doors either.

[Manchester]

I doubt there are many people here on TV who have much real (that is not imagined) experience of working with graduates of Thailand's top universities and fewer still who have real experience of working with graduates of Thailand's top universities alongside graduates of top universalities from overseas.

Those who do will understand the difference.

Those who do not will be talking about things they think they understand based upon preconceived ideas and more likely prejudice (and that goes both ways).

Graduates of Thailand's top universities do very well in the limited Thai labour market, they have the pick of the jobs and they take the pick of the jobs - Hence my view that very few TV members come across these graduates, because those same jobs are in the vast majority of cases in organizations that do not employ foreigners - and if they do, very few foreigners.

Graduates of the top international universities are not limited to their local job market but do very well internationally - including in Thailand - and if you find expats in those AAA Thai Companies to which Thailand's top graduates head, then those expats are likely to have graduated from top international universities.

A university education is not just a bit of paper, its a great deal more than that - but then the bit of paper is a great deal more than just a bit of paper - If its the right grade and from the right university then it will open doors closed to those who do not have it. And it is a mistake to believe this is something that only has an impact in the first years of a graduate's career. Graduating from the top international universities opens doors for life - and not just work doors either.

I am a little bit surprised at your response. Graduates of the top Thai universities will do well in any event. The main reason for this is because they come from affluent and influential families which as we all know here .............counts for everything.

There is absoloutely no way that a Thai student at say, Chulalongkorn Uni, is going to fail.

There is no way that a student from a very influential Thai family is NOT going to C. U

As for the rest of your post................I agree.

[seonai]

I have had the chance to work with graduates from 'top' Thai Universities in my career at the UN and also in thai newspapers... what's your point GH ?

[Monroe]

I have had the chance to work with graduates from 'top' Thai Universities in my career at the UN and also in thai newspapers... what's your point GH ?

He doesn't mention it in the post, but once in the topic header. He's interested in knowing what they're like.

Now that I think about it, I have family that graduated from some of the international schools, but I have yet to meet a single person from Chulalongkorn. It's not really fair that those with connections and little merit otherwise find their way into this places of higher education (the international schools, too), but such is life. I don't plan on going to college, anyway.

*edit*

Ohh wait, I think it stems from this:

"I liked Guesthouse's last response so much that I am moving it into a new topic (as it is off-topic in this rapidly degenerating and aging thread- which I am closing).

For those of you who are truly interested in getting degrees in Thailand (whether in Thai universities or as part of a distance program) we have a long, rambling, pinned thread on the subject in the Teacher's Forum.

'Steven'"

Edited October 25, 2007 by Monroe

[seonai]

Oh, is it a bit like 'why don't I meet Oxford and Cambridge Grads in my local pub' ? I'm obviously in the right job in Thailand then...

[Monroe]

Oh, is it a bit like 'why don't I meet Oxford and Cambridge Grads in my local pub' ? I'm obviously in the right job in Thailand then...

Bleh, I'm sure you'll find some of them along with the ex-KGB

To his credit, he didn't start the thread and put into context it doesn't sound like that at all.

Though on the UN, does anyone here feel that they sort of fail where it matters? <--- (off topic?)

Edited October 25, 2007 by Monroe

[Prakanong]

Oh, is it a bit like 'why don't I meet Oxford and Cambridge Grads in my local pub' ? I'm obviously in the right job in Thailand then...

When the lads get together in Bangkok at Crimbo there are usually 4 Cambridge graduates with us - none from Oxford though?

An ex-GF of mine in Thailand wanted to go to Cambridge as she said gentlemen went there. I pointed out she knew a few Cambridge graduates and they were boozy pervies. Her opinion of them changed when she knew they had been to Cambridge - they were now gentlemen.

I am just Red Brick so what do I know - undergrad and now MBA

I work with Thai graduates of their top Uni's - most of them also have oversea's degree's too. Worked with a Chula girl who had a Harvard MBA and she started off on the very bottom rung ie as an entrant like any other.

I know of two of the Thai girls now moved to our European HQ - both on merit and both very well thought of.

The company I work for is pretty much a meritocracy - especially in the R&D department where I work. Nobody gets promotion due to family.

As its also a MNC with offices worldwide and in most countries in Asia I also get to compare the Thai's both withing Asia and worldwide. I can honestly say in the department I know best the Thai's are up there with the best. Based on performance over the last few years and awards won at work probably second only to Australia in the APAC region and the Aus staff are mostly PHd's.

Edited October 26, 2007 by Prakanong

[Neeranam]

I doubt there are many people here on TV who have much real (that is not imagined) experience of working with graduates of Thailand's top universities

I have had the chance to work with graduates from 'top' Thai Universities in my career at the UN and also in thai newspapers... what's your point GH ?

I currently work with such people. In the office I work, 4 of the staff got their PhDs from English unis, although not top ones.

In my immediate family there is a constant debate on which is better - Chula or Tham.

I think the OP has a chip on his shoulder because he doesn't have a degree and doesn't live in Thailand, as well as thinking he is better than the rest of us.

Starting this year, ALL Thai staff where I work MUST have a PhD.

work with Thai graduates of their top Uni's - most of them also have oversea's degree's too. Worked with a Chula girl who had a Harvard MBA and she started off on the very bottom rung ie as an entrant like any other

OP, go bile yer heid.

Edited October 26, 2007 by Neeranam

[mackayae]

I doubt there are many people here on TV who have much real (that is not imagined) experience of working with graduates of Thailand's top universities

I have had the chance to work with graduates from 'top' Thai Universities in my career at the UN and also in thai newspapers... what's your point GH ?

In my immediate family there is a constant debate on which is better - Chula or Tham.

Mahidol is up there too.

[mackayae]

I doubt there are many people here on TV who have much real (that is not imagined) experience of working with graduates of Thailand's top universities and fewer still who have real experience of working with graduates of Thailand's top universities alongside graduates of top universalities from overseas.

Those who do will understand the difference.

Those who do not will be talking about things they think they understand based upon preconceived ideas and more likely prejudice (and that goes both ways).

Graduates of Thailand's top universities do very well in the limited Thai labour market, they have the pick of the jobs and they take the pick of the jobs - Hence my view that very few TV members come across these graduates, because those same jobs are in the vast majority of cases in organizations that do not employ foreigners - and if they do, very few foreigners.

Graduates of the top international universities are not limited to their local job market but do very well internationally - including in Thailand - and if you find expats in those AAA Thai Companies to which Thailand's top graduates head, then those expats are likely to have graduated from top international universities.

A university education is not just a bit of paper, its a great deal more than that - but then the bit of paper is a great deal more than just a bit of paper - If its the right grade and from the right university then it will open doors closed to those who do not have it. And it is a mistake to believe this is something that only has an impact in the first years of a graduate's career. Graduating from the top international universities opens doors for life - and not just work doors either.

I am a little bit surprised at your response. Graduates of the top Thai universities will do well in any event. The main reason for this is because they come from affluent and influential families which as we all know here .............counts for everything.

There is absoloutely no way that a Thai student at say, Chulalongkorn Uni, is going to fail.

There is no way that a student from a very influential Thai family is NOT going to C. U

As for the rest of your post................I agree.

Thaksin's daughter went to Chula, briefly, until she was forced to leave. She did not meet the academic entrance requirements.

[Neeranam]

Mahidol is up there too.

Not for Law.

Thaksin's daughter went to Chula, briefly, until she was forced to leave. She did not meet the academic entrance requirements

I used to teach her in a special English program back in 97 at St.Josephs Convent.

[Prakanong]

What might be interesting is looking at the cost of these Thai graduates and compare them with the costs in other countries.

Then look at the productivity?

I have the figures at work in a presentation showing the costs across Asia plus a couple of example costs ie a European country and the USA. These are all for the same type of staff

Now of course to be in all the european markets and the USA we need the staff there so there is no avoiding those costs.

Nevertheless the Thai's look excellent value for money in the industry and particualar role I am talking about. This is also being shown by the expansion in Thailand of the work they are doing - the Philippines are also on the same track.

I can be very harsh on the Thai's in general but for the ones I know best in my current role I can only heap praise on them.

This was not the case elsewhere though and have seen the privileged wasters

Edited October 26, 2007 by Prakanong

[mbkudu]

Mahidol is up there too.

Not for Law.

Thaksin's daughter went to Chula, briefly, until she was forced to leave. She did not meet the academic entrance requirements

I used to teach her in a special English program back in 97 at St.Josephs Convent.

Well, I guess you didn't do a good enough job teaching her then.

[think_too_mut]

There is absoloutely no way that a Thai student at say, Chulalongkorn Uni, is going to fail.

On my last trip to BKK there was a 26yrs old Thai girl sitting next to me. She boarded the same airport bus at Toyota City hotel so I (rightly) assumed she is related to Toyota and works for them in Thailand.

Her English was perfect (and her Japanese almost there too), hard to believe she has never lived abroad (nor ever been to any western country). Her reasoning was so mature it was hard to believe there was a 20 year gap between us.

When it came to Japanese and Western cars and losses Detroit is incurring, she said one of my favourite lines - "GM, Ford and Chrysler pay more money to health funds than for steel to manufacture their cars". She could have read it only in one particular issue of The Economist.

6 hours flight felt like a breeze.

She is a Chula graduate.

[samran]

same here. Work with some very swtiched on Thai's.

Given the jobs boom in OZ, a few are headed down there to work. Singapore and Honkers attracts them also, as does the US. Most invariably return home though. Many more though, simply stay in BKK and do well here.

Particularly frustrating for me, as we all speak English at work. Don't really get a chance to use my Thai much these days.

[madjbs]

Thank god, a positive thread for once.

I can’t comment on graduates but I have found that at least 95% of students that are currently studying for their degrees in the top universities to be extremely hard working and knowlegbable on their subject, almost to a level which is very rarely seen in normal western universities. Of course there is the 5% group that miss most lectures and try to scrape through without doing any work but this group can be found in any unis in the world.

Edited October 26, 2007 by madjbs

[Old Man River]

In my immediate family there is a constant debate on which is better - Chula or Tham.

I think the OP has a chip on his shoulder because he doesn't have a degree and doesn't live in Thailand, as well as thinking he is better than the rest of us.

I am with you on this. Most of the Thai's I know went to the top Universities in Thailand and then received their masters abroad. Some stayed abroad, finding good jobs. Others returned to their families in Thailand and have also found good jobs. I am not sure why this should offend the OP.

The same constant debate goes on in my immediate family as well. Since my wife went to Chula, I have to side with her although I hate having to wear pink at some of their functions.

[lotus eater]

When judging the intellectual worth of a graduate of a particular (top) university keep in mind the selection criteria and procedures of the university.

In america the universities finance themselves from their invested funds and student fees. They then use the surplus to attract bright non-fee paying (and perhaps poorer) students with scholarships. The fee-paying student will be less bright - and some will be outright dim. (A certain yale and harvard graduate from a rich, well connected family comes to mind; he holds the most powerful job in the world.)

In England the top universities now have an entirely meritocratic selection criteria. No one now gets into oxbridge based on their wealth or connexions. (Though this wasn't so 15 years ago.)

In France the 'grands ecoles' also have a rigorous selection process with special exams.

Therefore a harvard graduate may be an outstanding american graduate - but he may be mediocre too, if he was a fee paying student. A cambridge graduate of today or one from ecole normale can be assumed to be among the brightest 3% of his generation at university.

The thai system - from what I read in this thread - seems akin to the american.

Edited October 26, 2007 by lotus eater

[samran]

In my immediate family there is a constant debate on which is better - Chula or Tham.

I think the OP has a chip on his shoulder because he doesn't have a degree and doesn't live in Thailand, as well as thinking he is better than the rest of us.

I am with you on this. Most of the Thai's I know went to the top Universities in Thailand and then received their masters abroad. Some stayed abroad, finding good jobs. Others returned to their families in Thailand and have also found good jobs. I am not sure why this should offend the OP.

The same constant debate goes on in my immediate family as well. Since my wife went to Chula, I have to side with her although I hate having to wear pink at some of their functions.

This is a pretty interesting topic, and I'm going to make a pretty broad but probably representative remark - mainly to the 'Thailand is going down the gurgler' crowd.

Sign up to facebook and then join the Thailand group.

Now, take a look at the number of young, dynamic, cosmopolitan Thai's there. If you can, read their profiles. Just about all of them are well educated, many in Thailand and then abroad. They are working here in all sorts of ventures, doing interesting things. I dare say this grouping is growing expodentially.

While they are enjoying the partying lifestyle now (who blames them, they are young!!) these people are the next generation who are going to take over Thailand. You can bet your Banharns, Chavalits and Thaksins never had this perspective on life.

All I can say is, I'm optomistic.

[xyborg]

<br />same here. Work with some very swtiched on Thai's. <br /><br />Given the jobs boom in OZ, a few are headed down there to work. Singapore and Honkers attracts them also, as does the US. Most invariably return home though. Many more though, simply stay in BKK and do well here.<br /><br />Particularly frustrating for me, as we all speak English at work. Don't really get a chance to use my Thai much these days.<br /><br /><br />

<br /><br /><br />

MY wife'sd got a degree from Thailand a poor uni she had to pay for herself, she's' switched on and gets really pi**ed off at all the Thais who aren't, jut sees them as lazy and useless unab le to do the most basic of tasks. No degree necesary to be switched on.

[samran]

<br />same here. Work with some very swtiched on Thai's. <br /><br />Given the jobs boom in OZ, a few are headed down there to work. Singapore and Honkers attracts them also, as does the US. Most invariably return home though. Many more though, simply stay in BKK and do well here.<br /><br />Particularly frustrating for me, as we all speak English at work. Don't really get a chance to use my Thai much these days.<br /><br /><br />

<br /><br /><br />

MY wife'sd got a degree from Thailand a poor uni she had to pay for herself, she's' switched on and gets really pi**ed off at all the Thais who aren't, jut sees them as lazy and useless unab le to do the most basic of tasks. No degree necesary to be switched on.

sounds like my mum....

[CarlBkk]

I've worked with many Thai Batchelor, Masters and PHD students in UK, and known a fair few in Thailand. I have to say some of them have been an absolute nightmare: although intelligent, they're arrogant with it and quick to think about themselves first and foremost. Invariably these are the students from the more wealthy families who are given a BMW and free ride into companies, and think about money money money. Others from middle-of-the-road families it seems, who may have money but don't show it/hand it out as much have been an absolute pleasure: logical thinkers, reliable, hard-working and kind. All students came from Kaset, Tammasat and Chula. Overall I'd say that finding students in this category with the right set of social skills/personality to deal with different levels of hierarchy is quite difficult. However, I am talking about students in the 23-26 yr age range still persuing their studies.

[GuestHouse]

I think the OP has a chip on his shoulder because he doesn't have a degree and doesn't live in Thailand, as well as thinking he is better than the rest of us.

A couple of points Neeram.

1. I am only the OP here because Monroe (moderator) decided to start a new thread with my post to an existing thread that was falling into personal insults. Monroe obviously saw some merit in my post, but I hope you'll accept that as a 'response' it has a context and since my post has been moved 'it has lost that context'.

2. You are way off the mark regarding my education.

3. You are right, I am not in Thailand – but then you may recall that was my choice and it is not one I regret.

4. 'Thinking he is better than the rest of us' - You have no real idea what I think, perhaps you are feeling insecure?

[sbk]

1. I am only the OP here because Monroe (moderator) decided to start a new thread with my post to an existing thread that was falling into personal insults. Monroe obviously saw some merit in my post, but I hope you'll accept that as a 'response' it has a context and since my post has been moved 'it has lost that context'.

Monroe's not a mod GH

And just a reminder to other posters, insults and flames directed at people on this forum are not tolerated. So, please remember that when posting and lets drop the personal insults.

[GuestHouse]

Oops, your right.

Well somebody moved my post to become an OP. Nevermind, let the discussion continue.

[mellow1]

I am very pleased to read that these universities are cranking out all these remarkably intelligent people.

Since my family and I live here it is of interest to me, especially when I contemplate my son's future and the possibilities thereof. I knew there were some smart people here before this thread, and I have had the pleasure to meet a few. I'm just wondering why so many things are so screwed up in the country. I guess they are putting all that intelligence into keeping it so.

[Ijustwannateach]

Oops, your right.

Well somebody moved my post to become an OP. Nevermind, let the discussion continue.

It was me, I admit it! I really liked your post and didn't want it lost in that other thread. Sorry about the loss of context!

"S"

[GuestHouse]

^ It seems people either love 'em or hate 'em.

[britmaveric]

I know a few Chula grads. Poor ladies end up being secretaries.

[scousemouse]

I doubt there are many people here on TV who have much real (that is not imagined) experience of working with graduates of Thailand's top universities

I have had the chance to work with graduates from 'top' Thai Universities in my career at the UN and also in thai newspapers... what's your point GH ?

In my immediate family there is a constant debate on which is better - Chula or Tham.

Mahidol is up there too.

Thammasart soo soo !!!!!!!! .