Some Career Advice Needed

[nedflanders]

ok say you were 31 years old and had a bit of money and wanted to invest that in educating yourself. not to buy any physical thing but for knowledge and skills. and you like the country and wanted to spend time in thailand.

this could be either getting work that payed very well e.g. oil industry, and let one spend several months there per year or something that would lend itself to a job in thailand or the skills to operate a business there

what would people say to that? some brainstorming please

the obvious is tefl teacher or diving instructer but ive decided they arent for me

[TEFLMike]

Good idea. I too, would like to know what alternatives there are, to teaching.

[demerdin]

I am in the same boat. i am moving to Thailand soon to teach (not TOEFL). The school is paying for my accommodation and a pretty decent hourly rate, but it is part-time. I have made a budget based on what I have read about cost of living in Bangkok and I know I will be fine.

With that said, I have been working in business stateside and am interested in saving and investing. I should be able to with the teaching gig, but it would be silly to not use my days earning money somewhere else (according to my contract I will be working all day during the weekends and evenings during the week... leaving 9-5 open for . . . me, learning, playing, working)

Where do people post jobs? Is there a hiring group stateside that hires for business in thailand?

dem

[GuestHouse]

I think the two objectives of getting into a job that pays well and having time in Thailand are at odds with each other.

Starting from not being qualified to getting into the position of having both the position/income + the choice of being in Thailand requires a commitment that will clash with the "wanting to be in Thailand" bit.

At 31 I'd concentrate on getting an education and a career in place, the chances are ten years down the line your views on what you want out of life will have change. An education and career will put you in the best position to choose when you need to be able to choose... that is later in life

[soundman]

Unless you have made a go out of some type of business in your home country, I'd give opening a business in Thailand a miss.

Most likely outcome is you'll bet the ranch and come up snake eyes.

Sorry if this sounds pessamistic, however, most people, once committed to something, rarely know when to pull the plug if things start going pear shaped & end up chasing a losing horse down the drain in the hopes that it may come good with a little extra luck.

If you are going to do Thailand for medium to long term, best spending a year or two getting aquainted (get a job if you can) with the place before throwing serious time and money at whatever business enterprise.

Cheers,

Soundman.

[wamberal]

Get an internationally recognised qualification which will allow you to find work in Thailand, but also in other countries (particularly your country of birth, which is probably where you will end up). Law, accounting, engineering. Forget about starting up a business in Thailand unless you can afford to fail, lots of people fail in business, both in Thailand, and elsewhere.

Maybe it is an exaggeration to say that there are broadly two classes of farang in Thailand, the rich - who are here because they can afford to be here, and the poor - who are here because they have no choice. I would far prefer to be in the former category. But apparently there are some happy, poor, farang living in villages, tending their fields. Apparently.

Edited October 10, 2008 by wamberal

[PeaceBlondie]

Soudnman wins the Most Mixed Metaphors of the Month award with these comments"

Unless you have made a go out of some type of business in your home country, I'd give opening a business in Thailand a miss.

Most likely outcome is you'll bet the ranch and come up snake eyes.

Sorry if this sounds pessamistic, however, most people, once committed to something, rarely know when to pull the plug if things start going pear shaped & end up chasing a losing horse down the drain in the hopes that it may come good with a little extra luck.....

Cheers,

Soundman.

[h90]

i would make the education as scuba dive teacher. At least good fun, you may meet interesting people and may open a shop later or get a different idea on what to do while speaking to many people.

[sgunn65]

I think Soundmans advice is, in the main, right. However it is possible to set up and be successful in a business in Thailand if:

You don't open a business that is the same as countless others in the area (another English bar in Pattaya may not be the best investment)

You don't rely on a tourist season

You have something different that you have a market for

You have the skills to run it

You are prepared to put in the work (I work 7 days a week at the moment)

Don't rely on luck

I did bet the ranch (well my life savings) and after 6 months the business is doing well and seems to be expanding at a pace that is both comfortable and manageable. That is not to say that it can't go belly up but I am increasingly confident that we are here to stay.

Hard working people who don't cane the profits and don't think they are here on holiday can and do make a success of things, but it is rare.

[h90]

I think Soundmans advice is, in the main, right. However it is possible to set up and be successful in a business in Thailand if:

You don't open a business that is the same as countless others in the area (another English bar in Pattaya may not be the best investment)

You don't rely on a tourist season

You have something different that you have a market for

You have the skills to run it

You are prepared to put in the work (I work 7 days a week at the moment)

Don't rely on luck

I did bet the ranch (well my life savings) and after 6 months the business is doing well and seems to be expanding at a pace that is both comfortable and manageable. That is not to say that it can't go belly up but I am increasingly confident that we are here to stay.

Hard working people who don't cane the profits and don't think they are here on holiday can and do make a success of things, but it is rare.

To add: after making an exact business plan add that final step to the calculation:

Incoming money/2

Costs*2

That makes the numbers more realistic.

[jasreeve17]

Having been in a similar position half a dozen years ago I consider that I made a mistake to come here as I did - in a not too dissimilar way to yourself.

I'd suggest:-

1) Don't come. As GH suggested build a strong career first, then in ten to fifteen years time you can spend your hard earned money.

2) If you do come, study in an area that you enjoy and plan to live here / somewhere doing a job that you love, with a lifestyle that you love. It's pointless to leave a first world country to come here seking a 'better life' if you don't know what you like / love. If you love scuba then do as H90 suggests (I did a PADI instructor ten years ago and never used it...). If you have another love then focus on that area - remeber that you come here to 'opt out' and improve your lifestlye, so make sure that it really is improved.

Living in Thailand is not in any way similar to holidaying in Thailand.

Goodluck.

[spiderman2]

I received physiotherapy in BKK off a Farang that was recommended to me he got 1500bht for 45 minutes work.

There is a huge market of Farangs wanting Physio, Osteopathy and similar practices done by a Farang.

[Spee]

ok say you were 31 years old and had a bit of money and wanted to invest that in educating yourself. not to buy any physical thing but for knowledge and skills. and you like the country and wanted to spend time in thailand.

Without getting into other responses, I would suggest treating an "investment" in education the same as any other investment. Ask the same questions you would of any investment:

- how much? (in total and in percentage of your total bankroll)

- in what?

- at what risk?

- at what ROI? (return on investment)

- how long for that ROI to kick in?

For example, there are many people who "invested" $50k-$100k in a crappy education with an unemployable degree. How long is it going to take to get a return on investment on that education? 10 years? 20 years? Never?

On the other hand, there are people with no experience investing $10k-$15k to change careers into something like IT and are now making low 6 figures. It won't take long to recoup that investment and start showing a reasonable return. There are also people who went to work right out of secondary school and are also gainfully employed making 6 figure income.

I would also ask, what is "a bit of money?" Is it enough to last you for 3 months? 6 months? 1 year? 5 years? The more you have, my suggestion would be to just fly your fling in Thailand for a month or two while thinking about what you want to do for the rest of your life. On the other hand, the less you have the easier it could be to take a shot at some higher risk opportunities, as long as you keep something in reserve to get restarted should you fail.

My suggestion would be to take a small percentage of your "bit of money," something like 10-15%, have your fun in Thailand while deciding what to do with the rest of your life and the other 80-90%, perhaps investing half in stocks and half in some form of education.

[JetsetBkk]

You could try opening a small shop...

[kingwillly]

ok say you were 31 years old and had a bit of money and wanted to invest that in educating yourself. not to buy any physical thing but for knowledge and skills. and you like the country and wanted to spend time in thailand.

this could be either getting work that payed very well e.g. oil industry, and let one spend several months there per year or something that would lend itself to a job in thailand or the skills to operate a business there

what would people say to that? some brainstorming please

the obvious is tefl teacher or diving instructer but ive decided they arent for me

dont they do a 4 week oil industry course in Bang Pai then?

[sgunn65]

ok say you were 31 years old and had a bit of money and wanted to invest that in educating yourself. not to buy any physical thing but for knowledge and skills. and you like the country and wanted to spend time in thailand.

this could be either getting work that payed very well e.g. oil industry, and let one spend several months there per year or something that would lend itself to a job in thailand or the skills to operate a business there

what would people say to that? some brainstorming please

the obvious is tefl teacher or diving instructer but ive decided they arent for me

dont they do a 4 week oil industry course in Bang Pai then?

Can anyone tell me more about courses for oil rig employment? My son is leaving the army in the spring and wants to get on the rigs.