Demand For It Network Engineers?

[dangbry]

I was wondering what the demand is in Thailand for IT networking engineers?

I have a Bachelors of Science in IT, 5 years experience in network support/engineer roles including TCP/IP, routing, switching, firewalls etc. and also server/desktop/ Microsoft AD experience as well. I am CCNP and MCSA certified. I also may have the possiblity of some VOIP experience in the near future but its not certain yet.

I am 29 and currently living in the UK and looking to move to Thailand next ear after I have saved a decent chunk of cash. I have been learning Thai through self-study for about 1 year, I can read very well, and speak and write to a little better than basic standards.

I have no experience of working in Thailand

If anybody who works in similar positions in Thailand could advise what demand is like I would really appreciate it, or any advice on how best to go about looking for work? Also any indications on what salary I should be asking for, most of the positions I have checked say 'Negotiable' and indicate that I would be expected to name my expectation, some pointers on what the going rate should be would be very helpful.

Also is BKK about the only place I could expect to find work or are there opportunities in other cities like Khon Kaen. My girlfriend is from Isaan but lives in Samui and ideally we would prefer to move there at some point in the future.

Thanks in advance to any who can help and happy new year to everyone

[britmaveric]

Try Singapore or Malaysia. Very hard to find a position in Thailand such as you describe because Thai(s) can do it much cheaper, and seriously doubt you would want to come down to a thai wage. BKK would be the best bet with a western international firm. Networking and knowing people is ideal way finding the work you want in thailand.

[dangbry]

Try Singapore or Malaysia. Very hard to find a position in Thailand such as you describe because Thai(s) can do it much cheaper, and seriously doubt you would want to come down to a thai wage. BKK would be the best bet with a western international firm. Networking and knowing people is ideal way finding the work you want in thailand.

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to reply, out of interest what would be a Thai salary for this type of job?

Also do you know what sort of money I could earn as a language teacher if I had the TOEFL certificate but no teaching experience.

Cheers

Bryan

[singa-traz]

Try Singapore or Malaysia. Very hard to find a position in Thailand such as you describe because Thai(s) can do it much cheaper, and seriously doubt you would want to come down to a thai wage. BKK would be the best bet with a western international firm. Networking and knowing people is ideal way finding the work you want in thailand.

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to reply, out of interest what would be a Thai salary for this type of job?

Cheers

Bryan

30-40K THB, maybe up to 50KTHB.

You may be doing better if you open you own IT Service company, but you don't have enough connections yet to do that in Thailand.

[Chang_paarp]

I would recomend you work hard in UK, take all the overime, hard contracts and build up enough cash to spend time in Thialand. It will be less stressful and aesier when you are here.

A TEFL teacher gets from 25K-45KBaht depending on the school, Ajarn.com has a lot of listings to get an idea of the salary range.

IT specialists start at 15K Baht per month for fresh faces with some experience, if you want to scare yourself look at the job ads in the Bangkok Post.

Think about that in terms of what you can earn on contract in UK or Europe.

One of the board members has a condo in Nakleua and works 6-9 month contracts to spend time there.

[Prakanong]

Try Singapore or Malaysia. Very hard to find a position in Thailand such as you describe because Thai(s) can do it much cheaper, and seriously doubt you would want to come down to a thai wage. BKK would be the best bet with a western international firm. Networking and knowing people is ideal way finding the work you want in thailand.

Brit - even in Singapore the wages for this type of job are not that high even if he could get in - remember even here you have to do a job a Singaporean can not do.

He could look on the MoM (Ministry of Manpower) website as it give a Q and A and gives a hint at eligibility.

Even so I bet wages are not that high here - I am on my MBA with some guys in this field with similar qual's to the above and I bet they are on no more than 4-5000 SGD. Singapore is not such a high wage economy as everyone thinks unless the company sends you there - it is possible to move up quickly but that would be another role.

Your point about a western firm for BKK is spot on as local wages for this I bet are not much more than 25-30K

[Prakanong]

Try Singapore or Malaysia. Very hard to find a position in Thailand such as you describe because Thai(s) can do it much cheaper, and seriously doubt you would want to come down to a thai wage. BKK would be the best bet with a western international firm. Networking and knowing people is ideal way finding the work you want in thailand.

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to reply, out of interest what would be a Thai salary for this type of job?

Cheers

Bryan

30-40K THB, maybe up to 50KTHB.

You may be doing better if you open you own IT Service company, but you don't have enough connections yet to do that in Thailand.

You think the wages would be that high? - I would have thought lower

When I mention we pay our Thai staff 40k on starting with rises quickly over 2 years people on here express surprise - we demand ovesea's degree from them also.

[monty]

Actually there is a huge demand for qualified capable network engineers, namely with the ISP's and CAT who's running the biggest international gateway.

They simply don't seem to get the hang of it, with messed up routing tables, shaky dns servers and the likes.

Unfortunately, they are of the impression they are doing a brilliant job, so I guess they will never admit something is not quite perfect yet, and as a result they probably will never see the need for some additional outside experience brought in

[gregb]

There is some demand right now in the Thai IT sector, although you will need to accept a lower wage than you would like. One company I'm familiar with pays about 60k for a reliable senior network engineer, but you are expected to be on call 24/7 for that.

You also need to be pretty good. Just data networking guys are a dime a dozen. You need several Cisco certifications, the ability to do TCL scripts and experience with managing VoIP. VoIP is a rapidly growing area in Thailand right now so that would be helpful if you got experience first before coming.

I would estimate that outside of Bangkok, your chances of finding a job in the field are slightly less than getting caught in a blizzard on Samui.

So I would say if you have extraoridinary and unique skills you can probably find work, but as a farang you definitely need something to set you apart from the crowd. Unfortunately, in this area, the fact that you are a farang will not get you a higher salary, and in many ways will be seen as a negative since you will have difficulty interfacing with others.

Good luck whatever you decide.

[dangbry]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all your suggestions, really appreciate it.

I think I will try and get the VOIP experience and further Cisco qualifications etc. in the time I have and then try and find a job in IT.

If I can not find one that suitable then I will look into teaching either languages or IT somewhere, especially when the salary seems to be at least as good as an IT job with more flexibility on location. I'm looking to move to Thailand permanently anyway so it would be as good a time as any for a career change and for me IT is just a job and not a passion.

All the best throughout the year and thanks again !!!

[kiakaha]

I was wondering what the demand is in Thailand for IT networking engineers?

I have a Bachelors of Science in IT, 5 years experience in network support/engineer roles including TCP/IP, routing, switching, firewalls etc. and also server/desktop/ Microsoft AD experience as well. I am CCNP and MCSA certified. I also may have the possiblity of some VOIP experience in the near future but its not certain yet.

I am 29 and currently living in the UK and looking to move to Thailand next ear after I have saved a decent chunk of cash. I have been learning Thai through self-study for about 1 year, I can read very well, and speak and write to a little better than basic standards.

I have no experience of working in Thailand

If anybody who works in similar positions in Thailand could advise what demand is like I would really appreciate it, or any advice on how best to go about looking for work? Also any indications on what salary I should be asking for, most of the positions I have checked say 'Negotiable' and indicate that I would be expected to name my expectation, some pointers on what the going rate should be would be very helpful.

Also is BKK about the only place I could expect to find work or are there opportunities in other cities like Khon Kaen. My girlfriend is from Isaan but lives in Samui and ideally we would prefer to move there at some point in the future.

Thanks in advance to any who can help and happy new year to everyone

thousands of local thai lads who have the same and better qualifications/experience than you.

unless you start you own business or get "transferred in" with a multinational , you really need a bit of luck or to know the right person to get a gig here with your levels of experience.

but by all means, give it a go, you never know !

[fletchsmile]

In terms of both salary and long term career prospects, IT would offer more than Englih teaching. If you could broaden it to be more general IT that might help. I know a small foreign owned business with just under 100 people, who paid their IT person around 40-50k, but he also oversaw other things in addition to networks. He was a very bright, and very good local guy, with very strong English. Your difficulty would be what you could add over and above that. But opportunities may exist. Bear in mind for a small or medium sized company, they will be limited by number of work permits they can get, so will not necessarily want to use them up for jobs locals could do. and administratively you cost more.

If you could get work in a larger foreign company as a locally hired foreign national, you would potentially get more than this 40-50k figure. Your chances of working in a local (Thai) company are very slim.

[Prakanong]

"If you could get work in a larger foreign company as a locally hired foreign national, you would potentially get more than this 40-50k figure."

Good idea - how common is the "Local +" contract in Thailand?

They are becoming more and more common in places like Singapore. The school, housing allowance, maid etc is not given but a multiple of local salary is.

[fletchsmile]

"If you could get work in a larger foreign company as a locally hired foreign national, you would potentially get more than this 40-50k figure."

Good idea - how common is the "Local +" contract in Thailand?

They are becoming more and more common in places like Singapore. The school, housing allowance, maid etc is not given but a multiple of local salary is.

I think the distinction between local hire (LHFN) and expat is blurring. I've had both in my time, including a LHFN with housing, car allowance etc. That said generally expat packages are better as they tend to include more linked to family, and longer duration.

In Singapore LHFN seem to be becoming more common, as there is a wider pool of skilled people wanting to go there, and more good quality jobs. Combined with Singapore being a regional hub. i.e bigger market, more jobs, better job prospects = easier to get people there. The gap between foreign talent and locals is less wide in certain specialised industries.

For Thailand I think LHFN is increasing, but less so than Singapore. For specialised industries, the gap between local and expat is still wider than Singapore. Additionally it often seems that if a foreign firm is going to take a foreigner they do so at the top end. There seem to be less middle management jobs available for foreigners compared to Singapore. Probably a reflection of the narrower job market.

Maybe a bit of a generalisation, but I think in Thailand, quality jobs go more to seasoned expats with a track record of experience in their field, i.e 35yrs old to 40 years upwards. In Singapore while they also take this age Group (whether expat or LHFN), there is also much more room for the 25-35 years as say LHFN, who don't really justify a full expat package, but are still attractive to employers on lesser terms.

Simplifying further: Singapore recognises the potential of younger foreigners who may not justify a full expat package, so they take them as LHFN. Thailand doesn't really recognise/want this potential, but is perhaps starting to realise that it can sometimes get the expat it needs but can't afford, by taking a LHFNs. Local firms in Thailand also don't usually want foreigners, whereas Singapore firms are more open to the idea.

Edited January 7, 2008 by fletchsmile

[Prakanong]

"Maybe a bit of a generalisation, but I think in Thailand, quality jobs go more to seasoned expats with a track record of experience in their field, i.e 35yrs old to 40 years upwards. In Singapore while they also take this age Group, there is also much more room for the 25-35 years as say LHFN, who don't really justify a full expat package, but are still attractive to employers on lesser terms.

Simplifying further: Singapore recognises the potential of younger foreigners who may not justify a full expat package, so they take them as LHFN. Thailand doesn't really recognise/want this potential, but is perhaps starting to realise that it can sometimes get the expat it needs but can't afford, by taking a LHFNs. Local firms in Thailand also don't usually want foreigners, whereas Singapore firms are more open to the idea. "

Interesting - I have noticed younger expats here in Singapore with "Proper" jobs while those inv Thailand have tended to be chancers in the ost part in that age group - its always a bit of a give-away when they thrust 3 different busines cards at you for completely different jobs or industries

Interesting you should talk about "Regional Hub's" as that is exactly the policy Singapore has which we were discussing on my MBA yesterday with regard to TNC's (Transnational Companies) and the global shift towards Asia.

I am even thinking about doing my dissertation in this area with regard to the pharma companies and "Asian Clusters"'