Living In Thailand On Retirement Visa Looking To Start Teaching

[ianc66]

I'm posting looking for advice and reassurance.

I'm 56, a male UK citizen retired for the last six years in Hua Hin on a retirement visa have my own house, car, and long term girlfriend.

The recent stock market declines have affected me badly. My plan had been to rely on capital to fund myself for the next four years when a useful endowment matures and in the further future to rely on my let UK properties to fund me. However I now have funding gap. I will need to work to earn money, and in fact though upset about my losses, working again may suit me as boredom was creeping in.

My health is good, I have a degree, I'm presentable, reliable, and hard working. I worked in Bangkok for the Royal Thai Government for nearly four years in the early '90s. I believe my English is of good standard, my Thai though is very beginner.

My working life has been in computing but I'm six years out of it and computing is

often ageist, so I don't realistically expect to take up where I left off.

So teaching English here in Thailand seems to be a good option. My tentative plan, spend a month taking the best TEFL, TESOL, or CELTA course I can find, funding it is not a problem but I don't want to waste money, teach where ever (probably Bangkok) to gain experience for a year, then look to find work in Hua Hin.

Some questions:-

Is this plan basically sound?

Recommendations what course is best in my situation?

Some of the training schools offer a years 'guaranteed' work is this generally good a good idea?

Anybody out there had experience of converting a non-O supported by retirement extensions to a non-B for the WP?

Paperwork there are many threads here about the horrors of this, just as there are about other visa issues I myself have had very little in the way of problems in the past, but on balance how bad is it? (I rather liked PeaceBlondies' comment in the cultural test thread about not taking it too seriously)

Might there be an opportunity to do some computing teaching and support for the schools that hire me? Would it in fact it be worth emphasising this as a selling point, my recent background is Microsoft and I have an MCSE and CCNA but not a Computer Science degree (they didn't do them when I was in University, if they had I would have done one)?

Thanks in advance for all advice.

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

A reputable school would have no problem converting your "O" to a "B" visa. A TEFL/TESOL/CELTA is unnecessary. Some schools might want to see that, however. A bachelor's degree will open more doors for you than the TEFL. In order to get a WP, government schools can only hire teachers with a bachelor's degree. But, as with all things in Thailand, there are gray areas for the right people and schools. You don't have to leave Hua Hin to get a job, as you can probably find work there if you pound the pavement.

No TEFL school can actually follow through with an employment guarantee, although many do claim to guarantee employment. Your computer skills are a selling point, although some schools will only hire you for teaching computer classes if you have a degree in that field. Your personality and appearance ultimately are more important than degrees.

I chose the teaching route, but it was because I have not reached retirement age (50 years old). I have a B.A. and a J.D., but came over on a non-B and did a TEFL. Before I finished the course, I had 8 job offers. I ended up picking a low hour government school job (actual work about 20 hours a week) and teach 8 hours of corporate teaching in the evening. I am not in Bangkok, and have been pulling in BT-70K/month. My earnings are about to go over 100K as I have been selected to do teacher training nationwide, which will mean doing a 3-day weekend seminar once a month.

Bottom line is it is doable and a lot of your success depends on your motivation and willingness to work to get ahead. Finding the right school is the key. I went through two language centers before I landed the right job at a government school.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Schools will ask for a National Police Clearance.