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Posted

Greetings -

I was just offered a teaching position in the Chiang Mai province through teflcoursethailand.com.

I have an Associates degree and zero teaching experience.

The pay I was promised is 20,000 THB/month.

The question I have is, is this enough THB to actually enjoy myself in Thailand?

Thanks all.

Posted (edited)

It all depends on how you define "enjoy."

It's very low IMPO and I think you should ask the people offering you such a deal if they live on 20,000 baht a month in Thailand. :o

Edited by mopenyang
Posted (edited)

What salary would this be equivalent to in the U.S.? Any idea?

Also, I was told by this guy that I was lucky to get *any* position because I do not posses a BA or MA... this true as well?

Edited by ccvortex
Posted
What salary would this be equivalent to in the U.S.? Any idea?

Also, I was told by this guy that I was lucky to get *any* position because I do not posses a BA or MA... this true as well?

$US 638.00. This means nothing though because 20,000 baht in Thailand is 20,000 baht in Thailand which is not a lot at all. Like someone else said, if you live like a Thai it's good money, however, this country doesn't make it easy for a foreigner to live like a Thai.

Posted

hate to break it to you, but it doesnt sound like you have much leverage in this arrangement. 20K is the bottom of the totem pole here. 30K is typically what beginners receive; 25k if they get suckered in or go to the sticks. youre NOT in the sticks, BUT you technically dont qualify to teach in thailand without a BA so...

id look around, mate, cause youre bound to find a much better position thatll pay at least 25k when hiring season arrives in just a few months. this school will be nothing but trouble if theyre already telling you that "youre lucky to be here!" ha

Posted

20,000 baht a month is peanuts for a farang (foreigner) to live in Thailand. If you can eat rice and bugs off the vendors in the street, then you may be able to survive. Even if you had free rent, it wouldn't be enough.

A teaching job. Well, you have to keep up your appearance also. Do you do your own laundry/ironing?

I know people here will disagree with me, but I'd recommend looking elsewhere. And YES, the previously posters were correct, difficult getting a decent teaching job without a degree.

Posted (edited)

Well, I shopped around a little and am getting this from SEE (http://www.siameducationalexperience.org) after I filled out the eligibility forms:

"In my opinion, you can get 30k baht/month"

So I have gone from a supposed guaranteed 20k to a possible 30k in what? 12 hours?

Is 30k an OK amount? I certainly do NOT want to eat rice and bugs... I am not expecting to live in a posh place, or drive a big gas-sucking Crown Victoria there; but for cryin-out-loud, I don't want to live like a pauper either.

I'm sure you guys are sick of fielding questions like this from complete noobs, but I just want to make sure I am not getting the short end of the proverbial stick.

So again, I ask: would 30k be enough to live there and have some fun as well?

When I am told "In my opinion, you can get 30k baht/month" does that really mean I'm going to? or am I going to pay 1,500 US for airfare, 1,200 US for the training, however much for visa's, etc, only to find out there's no place on Earth that will pay me 30k?

My background in law enforcement usually helps when sniffing out a bull***t deal, but I am in unfamiliar territory here...

Thanks, folks.

Edited by ccvortex
Posted (edited)

you can get 30k as long as you dont look asian, expecially if your from USA dont settle for anything less then 30k. Everything is negotiable, look for another school and dont work more than 20 teaching hours per week, you should be fine then.(Anywhere in Thailand) BANGKOK will probably pay more, but with all the dodgy schools out there you will probably be illegal like the rest of us lol. unless u can find a school that will handle the paperwork which is rare.

Edited by DragonQuest
Posted
I'm sure you guys are sick of fielding questions like this from complete noobs,

Never met a noob, let alone a complete one. Or maybe i have and i just didn't know it. What if i am one... :o

Posted

as long as your accent is ok (understandable) and you can appear intelligent/clean, then you can get 30k without much trouble. you likely wont get a work permit, though.

30k is NOT a lot. BUT you can make another 5k-10k doing privates if you try to do such. if youre not picky, then 35k is plenty to get by on for awhile. in reality, though, you need 50k to reach a good standard of living. many on this board will think im nuts in saying this, but unless you can eat on 80 baht/day and never travel or plan for the future, then 30k will not be enough. some guys live on less than 30k and are completely happy, but then those same guys could live on $1000 in the states. you get the idea.

personally, my base salary is only 30k but i work in the sticks (trat) and have only been at my school for 4 months. i make about 5k extra per month doing privates. but then, im just waiting for my consulting biz to take off so im not in teaching for the long term. honestly, i couldnt imagine being forced to live on 30-40k indefinitely as a teacher. id go insane. likewise, you should get some other stuff going while youre teaching.

Posted

I'm not just saying this because SEE is our forum sponsor. However, 30K with an associates degree is now possible in Chiang Mai (but not four years ago). As for a work permit, it pretty much depends on how good a relation the hiring school has with the Ministry of Labour (especially in CMai). 20K was an unacceptable salary in CMai four years ago, for anybody, full time, although some guys worked for 23K anyway. And for 18K.

Posted

are you set on chiang mai? or are you open to other parts of thailand? ajarn.com is far and away the best source for jobs. it's best to try and deal with the school directly as the agencies sometimes charge a rather hefty premium to bring in teachers, i.e. you'll get more money if you sign a contract with a school only.

Posted
are you set on chiang mai? or are you open to other parts of thailand?

I'm not set on anywhere in particular, no. As long as it's an Asian country, I could care less.

I originally wanted to go to Taiwan, but I have heard that can be a very complicated place to

live and work. Japan was another option as I have a friend living there and working for Intel, Japan.

However, the cost of living in Japan is extraordinary, and getting a work permit is next to impossible.

My goal is to live in an Asian country, not merely to visit one for a year or two. Thailand came up only because I have heard it's an 'American-friendly' country.

I am also not dead set on teaching. As a matter of fact, I hate public speaking, and would rather do something else--what else can a yank do for work in these countries, though? Not a whole lot, from what I hear.

I really appreciate the advice and input from you guys.

Posted

i know tons of teachers who are "trapped" into teaching indefinitely because they've settled down (gf/kids) and they never started a career in the west. unless you want to be teaching into your 70s (ha) or are waiting out a nice inheritance, you really must diversify your efforts to make money.

americans are pretty high on the totem pole here, if not the highest. however, that doesnt really equate to much when it comes to making money unless you come with a bundle already.

Posted (edited)

So by your "trapped" comment, I can assume that teaching is not really a good way to make a living? What's wrong with teaching into your 60/70's? or am I being naive here thinking that it's possible?

What can a person diversify into? I had assumed that teaching was the only 'real work' available in the majority of Asian countries.

EDIT: I am not looking to start a career here in the states--more like end one. I am 39 and want to start anew somewhere... different?

Edited by ccvortex
Posted (edited)

unless you are a western trained teacher with all the credentials, teaching will never net you much more than 40-50k/month. like i said earlier, 50k can provide for a really nice lifestyle; not king-like but very nice nonetheless. but to reach this level you gotta be either very good or very dedicated (both dont hurt). from the sounds of it, your personality doesnt exactly fit the mold of a classroom teacher so thatll make it harder. most gigs require you to stand in front of 30+ students and entertain for 50 min.

youre not that old at just 39. im assuming you dont have a family...if so, then you can easily live on a teachers salary (with private tuition added on top) as long as you can take the teaching. as for diversifying...well, its not easy. do a search on this forum and youll find tons of threads about just this. as a rule of thumb, if you dont have tons of money to INVEST in thailand, itll be quite difficult to build up a decent income, i.e. something over 50k, especially if you try to make it within thailand. the secret is to make your money elsewhere but reside in thailand. this is what im working on right now. i do consulting (asia and europe) and some web stuff on top of that.

it could be as simple as making a list of your skill sets and mapping out how you could translate those into income in thailand. start with your actual job and branch out from there.

Edited by samsara
Posted
unless you are a western trained teacher with all the credentials, teaching will never net you much more than 40-50k/month. like i said earlier, 50k can provide for a really nice lifestyle; not king-like but very nice nonetheless. but to reach this level you gotta be either very good or very dedicated (both dont hurt). from the sounds of it, your personality doesnt exactly fit the mold of a classroom teacher so thatll make it harder. most gigs require you to stand in front of 30+ students and entertain for 50 min.

youre not that old at just 39. im assuming you dont have a family...if so, then you can easily live on a teachers salary (with private tuition added on top) as long as you can take the teaching. as for diversifying...well, its not easy. do a search on this forum and youll find tons of threads about just this. as a rule of thumb, if you dont have tons of money to INVEST in thailand, itll be quite difficult to build up a decent income, i.e. something over 50k, especially if you try to make it within thailand. the secret is to make your money elsewhere but reside in thailand. this is what im working on right now. i do consulting (asia and europe) and some web stuff on top of that.

it could be as simple as making a list of your skill sets and mapping out how you could translate those into income in thailand. start with your actual job and branch out from there.

I also do web design (content management systems such as Joomla, Xoops, MODx, etc) ... are you hiring? :o

Posted

im a flash/photoshop/illustrator specialist cause the other stuff bores me to no end. havent done much of late, but im gonna pick it up so i can increase my consulting advertising. i know some people that just do joomla, getting jobs from freelance sites, and make some decent money.

Posted
Well, I shopped around a little and am getting this from SEE (http://www.siameducationalexperience.org) after I filled out the eligibility forms:

"In my opinion, you can get 30k baht/month"

So I have gone from a supposed guaranteed 20k to a possible 30k in what? 12 hours?

Is 30k an OK amount? I certainly do NOT want to eat rice and bugs... I am not expecting to live in a posh place, or drive a big gas-sucking Crown Victoria there; but for cryin-out-loud, I don't want to live like a pauper either.

I'm sure you guys are sick of fielding questions like this from complete noobs, but I just want to make sure I am not getting the short end of the proverbial stick.

So again, I ask: would 30k be enough to live there and have some fun as well?

When I am told "In my opinion, you can get 30k baht/month" does that really mean I'm going to? or am I going to pay 1,500 US for airfare, 1,200 US for the training, however much for visa's, etc, only to find out there's no place on Earth that will pay me 30k?

My background in law enforcement usually helps when sniffing out a bull***t deal, but I am in unfamiliar territory here...

Thanks, folks.

I'm sure there are places on Earth that will pay you 30K, but probably not in Chiang Mai. You may wish to check out that local forum; I'm pretty sure that salaries in general are lower there (check questions about qualifications thread pinned at the top of the teaching subforum for a LOT more details).

With no experience and no qualifications, you'll be at the bottom of the salary heap wherever you go. In Bangkok, that's about 30K. As other posters have said, things are becoming more difficult for those without a college degree.

Can you enjoy life on this? Who knows? You haven't clearly defined what "enjoying life" means. Safe to say, even 20k will not require you to eat bugs, and even 30k doesn't give you a chance of driving a Crown Victoria. You seem rather bright; I'm sure that you can do the currency exchange and figure out the dollar salary. It may help you to know that average office workers in Bangkok now get from 8-10k- but most of them will have a college degree.

Is it worth paying for a flight and getting your TEFL? Who knows? From the way you're posting, money means a lot to you- if that's the case, teaching in Thailand is probably not right for you at this time. I think since this is your major concern you need to check out OTHER sections of the forum addressing your economic questions- there are certainly enough "how much money do you need in Thailand" and "is $500 a month enough" types of threads in the GENERAL section of the forum. When you have some questions which are focussed more on educational concerns, come back and have another chat.

"S"

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