The following job ad states "It is mandatory to possess a degree (regardless of subject) to teach in Thailand"

http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Job/250711-167

Is this true?

I have a TEFL certificate which I did in Thailand mid this year, the cert included real teaching practice with young adults.

I am now about to return to Thailand (5th Dec) to find a job and stay.

I am only really interested in locating in a southern regional area (Surat Thani, Nakhon si Thammarat, Krabi, Khao Lak).

I am male, 48 yrs old, been in the IT industry for 20 years and for the last few years managed an IT department for a major multi national.......loads of experience but no completed degree.

What are my chances of getting an english teaching job and a work permit?

No, the school appears simply to be stating its wishlist. Note how first they say that you MUST be a native speaker, then masterfully hedge their options by saying you must have lived in a native-speaking country at least 5 years. As far as anyone knows, it is still possible (though getting more difficult) to work legally (with work permit) at a public school as a TEFL teacher without a college degree, as long as the school will back you up on it and apply for the proper paperwork. I think this school is hinting they won't be willing to do that for those without a college degree.

What are your chances? Who knows? Some of the more qualified people I know (including myself) took unreasonably long periods to get any kind of work permit- some of them have never managed to get one. Until the government starts punishing schools for illegally employing foreign teachers, there's really very little motivation for the schools to go to the extra trouble. A recent government source (though you can judge for yourself how reliable such a source might be) claimed there were only 1000 legal foreign teachers in the Kingdom- I must know over 10% of them already, then.

Anyway, the whole degree-no degree discussion is, notwithstanding a thread that is presently open elsewhere (please do search for it) restricted as flame-prone, so I'm closing this topic now.

"S"