Working For An Ngo

[jochen]

Hello,

I am currently working in Thailand as a teacher, but I have a bachelor in Psychology and a Master in Criminological Sciences, which makes I have the degrees and experience to work for a NGO.

But does anybody know how good they pay. It seems impossible to find an answer on this. Seems like people working an NGO don't want to tell anything about this.

Even an answer if this job would make me more money than just teaching would be a help.

[12DrinkMore]

Hello,

I am currently working in Thailand as a teacher, but I have a bachelor in Psychology and a Master in Criminological Sciences, which makes I have the degrees and experience to work for a NGO.

But does anybody know how good they pay. It seems impossible to find an answer on this. Seems like people working an NGO don't want to tell anything about this.

Even an answer if this job would make me more money than just teaching would be a help.

Presumably you mean the club of leeches running around in 4WD vehicles, paid accommodation and living expenses, hardship expenses, travel expenses and all the other freebies they have on top of their salary, and all billed to the taxpayer. Ah, yes indeed, this is a tightly knit community who do not want outsiders, or even the people who fund their lifestyles, to know too much about what they do.

I am sure they are all good intentioned and do their very best, but I wish that they would all be sacked and the money spent where it is needed. :D

Or maybe give me a job, I can do it too!

[jdinasia]

NGO --- non-government ... 12drink ...

but a teacher should know the difference between 'well' and 'good'

[12DrinkMore]

NGO --- non-government ... 12drink ...

but a teacher should know the difference between 'well' and 'good'

Sure, I know what NGO stands for.

From the world source of factual information

"In the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its non-governmental status insofar as it excludes government representatives from membership in the organization."

Yep, they don't want to tolerate any interference....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGO

Although there are doubtless many many thousands of beneficial volunteers and workers within the NGO's, there are also a large number of "professional leeches" who try and suck as much as they can out of this for personal gain.

So I don't want to say it's all bad, but there is far too much waste and far too many wasters running around.

Edited January 9, 2009 by 12DrinkMore

[satiariyan]

I have a bachelor in Psychology and a Master in Criminological Sciences, which makes I have the degrees and experience to work for a NGO.

Sounds more like qualifications for some certain kinds of GO's.

[PattayaParent]

Hello,

I am currently working in Thailand as a teacher, but I have a bachelor in Psychology and a Master in Criminological Sciences, which makes I have the degrees and experience to work for a NGO.

But does anybody know how good they pay. It seems impossible to find an answer on this. Seems like people working an NGO don't want to tell anything about this.

Even an answer if this job would make me more money than just teaching would be a help.

Usually the ones that are reluctant to tell you how much salary they get is because they earn so little that it's not worth talking about.

[satiariyan]

Curiously, the non-volunteering NGO's in Thailand, I know about, are reluctant because they actually do get a decent salary (paid out of contributions, of course). My experience is limited to just one Thailand represented NGO, though - (which is a client and thus can't be further disclosed by me).

[JimmyTheMook]

I've met a few over paid NGO's in SE Asia who were working for the benefit of the underprivileged while staying in 6000 baht a night hotel rooms in the Bangkok Sheraton pissing money away on the buffets and booze.

[Treborz]

I used to do the books for a Guernsey based NGO that demines fields and educates the local community in the dangers of mines and teaching them what they look like.

It is called the Mines Awareness Trust and yes the employees got decent wages but they deserved every penny of it in my opinion. Also they got very little funding from the UK Government and relied largely on public donations and their own fundraising events. Some of their projects do get UN funding.

[PeaceBlondie]

I have only audited the books of one international nonprofit NGO. Their only full time employee earned about 20,000 US per year, in the US. I met one couple doing NGO work for Burmese, and I doubt they made 70K per mnth between them. Two missionary families with doctor's degrees - barely able to keep a child in a discount international school. For every bar stool story you hear (like the old lady who said she worked at the UN and had four doctor degrees), there are ten more folks living on a shoestring. I think.

[jochen]

Usually the ones that are reluctant to tell you how much salary they get is because they earn so little that it's not worth talking about

Yes, that might be true. Or maybe, it's just the other way around ??

There is some evidence of well-paid jobs, as some pointed out, no doubt about that. But those are probably the high rank jobs. It's the same in every company all over the world : the higher up in the company, the more money you make.

But I'm merely talking about a normal job at the office, or in the field. That's what I'm curious about.

[henryalleman]

in the old day's there where Catholic missionaries and Nun's who went to the poor countries with empty hand except some fund raising in their home village back home. They went when they where in there twenties and came back home after they worn out and broken by hard work and tropical diseases after 40 or 50 years.

They build schools hospitals, orphanages and so on with their own hands, in the most isolated places on earth and in the deepest jungles. Preaching was mostly a secondary task.

I remember the day's that almost every catholic family had some uncle missionary or an auntie Nun in their family.

And a few of them are still left, also in Thailand, one of them a single nun who works in the slums of BKK in total anonymity. Others in pattaya where they try to give sex workers a better future, or that Italian Catholic missionary who opens an orphanage in Pakret with almost no resources.

Now they are replaced by NGO workers who, compared with the missionaries have a very luxury life for a few years and than go on to make an career in the organisation? And NGO spend about 75 to 85% of their budget on overhead.

Organisations like UNICEF invite movie and other stars to be ambassadors and as reward they invite them on luxury tours to visit the hungry and the death poor, but themselves have great dinners and excellent accommodations.

Once I was offered to participate as an so called volunteer, I didn' get a salary but the extra benefits and all necessary and unnecessary expenses where paid, and they gave a daily living allowance, in total its was much more than a medium salary. I was so disgusted by it that I spoke my mind and was never invited again.

Almost all NGO's are funded by the budget of the department of development aid of governments.

And what kind of volunteers this NGO's send?

Some greenhorns who just left University who have no experience what so ever about life and no knowledge what so ever about the local culture and traditions, and those idiots gone tell the locals what to do and how they should spend their life to make progress.

Its all a scam

The OP should feel ashamed that he like to join them, just because its a way to stay in Thailand

The only organisations I still respect are "medicin sans Frontiere" and the many other doctors and surgeons who spend their holiday in some poor country to help the locals to perform surgery who they can not afford otherwise . I know a few of them, some of them are top in their field in my country, and they do this also in total anonymity. They beg steal and borrow to take the necessary drugs and equipment with them, some times even complete x ray machines, ultra sounds machinery, surgical tools prostheses and so on.

[henryalleman]

I used to do the books for a Guernsey based NGO that demines fields and educates the local community in the dangers of mines and teaching them what they look like.

It is called the Mines Awareness Trust and yes the employees got decent wages but they deserved every penny of it in my opinion. Also they got very little funding from the UK Government and relied largely on public donations and their own fundraising events. Some of their projects do get UN funding.

there is a Belgian military unit who is already several years in Cambodia doing de mining. They get paid from the budget of defence, they also work in Lebanon to de mine Cluster bombs.

Due to WW1 we are regarded as experts in this field, because 90 years after WW1 every year stil some 250 000 kg of all kind of bombs include chemical ones are still found in Flanders fields.

[jochen]

The OP should feel ashamed that he like to join them, just because its a way to stay in Thailand

Henry, I respect your opinion, and i am sure and know there is also some truth in it.

But before you jump to conclusion and start offending me :

I already live in Thailand, have a job here, make myself useful and can easily keep doing this. If my only concern would be staying in Thailand.

But on the other hand I worked as a social worker and psychologist, I did counseling for people who have a dependence to illegal drugs. I have 10 years experience in doing this in your home country Belgium, Henry.

And tell me what's wrong with trying to use this expertise over here in Thailand ?

And all the respect for the doctors of "Artsen zonder grenzen" who spend their holiday in a far away country trying to help other people. I did some work as a volunteer in India before, during my well-deserved holiday.

But hey, as I'm living here in Thailand now, I need to earn a living as well. I don't think you went working in Belgium every day as a volunteer, did you ? So, why can't I find a job which I'm good in, have the experience and can make a difference.

So instead of criticizing me, maybe you can help me out. As you're not a fan of the NGO's (point taken), and you seem to know your way around here, are there any other ways of making myself useful without going through these organisations ?

[Jimjim]

I knew a guy with many years experience working as a missionary and six working for a relief organization in Asia. Experience helps a lot. He also knew Thai and about 3 or 4 other Asian languages. He got a job at a branch of a worldwide NGO which is quite well known in Bangkok. I don't know his salary, but one of the benefits was about 40,000 baht for housing which they just gave him in his paycheck. He got a place for about 30,000 and pocketed the rest. His salary was surely above 100K/month. So, yeah, the pay can be good but it's best to know other languages besides English and to have some experience.

And, not all NGOs are funded by governments of the country in which they work. Many organizations sort that out themselves.

[torrenova]

My feeling is that it is like a little (though not so little) club where everyone is quiet about the rewards because of the perceived public outcry. They reward each other and expect to be rewarded in return, much like a company's executive remuneration committee. Who is going to say anything to rock the boat ?

Take British MP's for example. I don't think anyone really complains about their headline salary, perhaps £70k or something (I don't know). What they do complain about are:

The rate of salary increase, voted for by themselves.

The overly generous final salary pension scheme including payments for loss of office, all at a time when Gordon Brown destroyed the final salary schemes forever in the UK.

Allowances for assistants who are often family members.

Fixed allowances for overnight accommodation even though they may get it cheaper or own a pied a tere.

Free travel.

Then the gravy train of being able to work outside on their businesses (unless cabinet ministers) or obtain directorships.

Pigs with their snouts in the trough.

[raylo]

Hello,

I am currently working in Thailand as a teacher, but I have a bachelor in Psychology and a Master in Criminological Sciences, which makes I have the degrees and experience to work for a NGO.

But does anybody know how good they pay. It seems impossible to find an answer on this. Seems like people working an NGO don't want to tell anything about this.

Even an answer if this job would make me more money than just teaching would be a help.

There are a number of NGO's in Chiang Mai and yes they do abuse the system slightly PLUS they get the "volunteers" from the religious and other generic supporting organisations that supply funding and manpower.

If you go to Phnom Penh you will find loads of the beer swilling bureaucrats driving round in their 4WD's with jobs or businesses in their home country plus pulling a tax free consultancy.

There is a subscription based company - I forget the name but am on their mailing list - that has links to all the advertised NGO jobs around the world.

If you pay a monthly fee you get all the latest jobs immediately. If you only subscribe to the email you get the older jobs.

Enjoy

[henryalleman]

Jochen,

I've been an "vakbondsafgevaardigde" for many years. So you can regard this as volunteer work because I receive no money or benefits for it, only a lot of problems and headaches.

I hope you don't regard the following as an personal attack, because it isn't.

but you know and I know that your job as a social worker and counselor in Belgium can be hardly considered as volunteer work because you did got a well paid salary for it. It was just an career like any other.

As for your information there are some government institutions who help drug addicts, one of them is in Nonthaburi, also there are some temples who do the same.

I don't know how long you are living in Thailand, so maybe you don't know that western trained psychologist are not so much in demand over here. Simply because the culture differences are too different. the cultural gap is huge. BTW do you speak fluent Thai what is necessary to communicate as an psychologist? Thai are brought up in the Buddhist/Confucianism way of thinking that is in no way related to our way of thinking.

and you seem to know your way around here, are there any other ways of making myself useful without going through these organisations ?

Do I detect some sarcasm in this sentence But anyhow i give some advise.

So why you don't keep your present job, because you said you can easily doing so, and if you really like to help people in need you can do it always in your free time. There are plenty of opportunities to do so in Thailand.