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[biboy]

hi. i have been reading in this forum for quite some time since i got that very interesting offer from a software company based in singapore, but the client site is in Bangkok, and work will be paid in Thai Baht. i would say that i've already learned a lot, but would like to ask questions more specifically about my field.

i am a Filipino Software Engineer/Consultant and been working for less than 5 yrs, for US-based clients with offices in the Philippines. i currently have a regular (and is considered secured) job but i am always eager to work outside of my country, mainly because i'd like to experience other work environments, get a little bit of travel, and to increase my savings.

my questions are these:

1. how much is considered a decent pay in Bangkok for an IT professional?

2. what are the deductions takan from the salary? i.e. income tax, healthcard deductions, etc.

3. what benefits should one ask an employer? i.e. how many vacation leaves, sick leaves, health benefits, etc.

4. if you are to live in bangkok alone, how much is the average monthly expenses? note that i am not a fan of clubs and bars, i mostly spend my free time browsing the internet and playing pc games.

5. is it not hard to communicate with Thais in general? i don't speak a single Thai word, only Filipino and English.

6. how would one know when a job offer in Thailand is real? Is there like a site that lists all legal Thai companies and recruiters?

Thank you very much in advance guys.

[gtm2k]

hi. i have been reading in this forum for quite some time since i got that very interesting offer from a software company based in singapore, but the client site is in Bangkok, and work will be paid in Thai Baht. i would say that i've already learned a lot, but would like to ask questions more specifically about my field.

i am a Filipino Software Engineer/Consultant and been working for less than 5 yrs, for US-based clients with offices in the Philippines. i currently have a regular (and is considered secured) job but i am always eager to work outside of my country, mainly because i'd like to experience other work environments, get a little bit of travel, and to increase my savings.

my questions are these:

1. how much is considered a decent pay in Bangkok for an IT professional?

2. what are the deductions takan from the salary? i.e. income tax, healthcard deductions, etc.

3. what benefits should one ask an employer? i.e. how many vacation leaves, sick leaves, health benefits, etc.

4. if you are to live in bangkok alone, how much is the average monthly expenses? note that i am not a fan of clubs and bars, i mostly spend my free time browsing the internet and playing pc games.

5. is it not hard to communicate with Thais in general? i don't speak a single Thai word, only Filipino and English.

6. how would one know when a job offer in Thailand is real? Is there like a site that lists all legal Thai companies and recruiters?

Thank you very much in advance guys.

1. The minimum pay is decided by the labour department. You might want to check on the labour department website for the minimum on Philipinos.

2. The least compulsory deduction will be social security (750 Baht) and income tax which is roughly about 9% of your gross salary.

3. Benefits vary from employer to employer... in most good companies health insurance is offered along with 10 days of annual leave and 4 days of sick leave

4. No matter in which part of the world you live, you should consider a minimum of 30% (of your nett salary) dedicated as fixed monthly expenses. This does not include your daily expenses but the basic bills of rentals and utilities. On average your expenses will be at least 150 baht a day.

5. The only language thais understand (the majority of them) is thai. English skills are poorer than vietnam and if you come here you should be prepared to pick up some basic thai. As a developer you will tend to interact with end-users and english will not always help.

6. There is no site to give you any list. But, you should be smart and educated enough to ask questions regarding your employment offer and make the right decision.

Another word of advice, if you are a parallel technologies developer (i mean non-microsoft) you should have more options here. But very honestly, thailand is more of a product based market and less of bespoke (unlike china, india, indonesia and phillipines). THe general population has a very cubish mindset about IT ,as anything from custom software to enterprise products like SAP and ORACLE is finally called a "program". So if you are coming to work for a development firm, be sure of your future growth options and learning curve that the prospective employer will offer you.

Cheers and happy hunting.

[biboy]

thank you very much gtm2k for giving answers to all of my questions. i am glad to notice that the company that is offering me a qork in Bangkok can be considered good, since it offers the benefits you described.

now going back to the salary, i am a little bit concerned with how much i can approximately save when working in Bangkok. you know, if can save less than how much i can save by working here in the Philippines, then i may decline the offer.

can you guys possibly estimate on the following:

1. Tax and deductions - if the tax is roughly 9% and there's a 750 Baht deduction for SS, would it mean that if i'm earning 40000 Baht then my net salary is roughly 35000 Baht?

2. Apartment/Condo rent - one-bedroom unit, near the business district (or the city, whatever it is called). do they have furnished units (like those with a few necessities like bed, fan, utensils, TV already)?

3. Food - when you know a few recipes, and dine out only occassionally

4. Utilities - Electricity, Internet, Cellphone

5. Transportation - normal expenses for daily trips to and from work

very honestly, thailand is more of a product based market and less of bespoke (unlike china, india, indonesia and phillipines). THe general population has a very cubish mindset about IT ,as anything from custom software to enterprise products like SAP and ORACLE is finally called a "program".

i really didn't get your last paragraphs, but i would like to say thanks anyway. i am more of a mainframe guy..knowledgeable in old programming languages commonly used in banks, credit card companies, etc.

[OriginalPoster]

hi. i have been reading in this forum for quite some time since i got that very interesting offer from a software company based in singapore, but the client site is in Bangkok, and work will be paid in Thai Baht. i would say that i've already learned a lot, but would like to ask questions more specifically about my field.

i am a Filipino Software Engineer/Consultant and been working for less than 5 yrs, for US-based clients with offices in the Philippines. i currently have a regular (and is considered secured) job but i am always eager to work outside of my country, mainly because i'd like to experience other work environments, get a little bit of travel, and to increase my savings.

my questions are these:

1. how much is considered a decent pay in Bangkok for an IT professional?

2. what are the deductions takan from the salary? i.e. income tax, healthcard deductions, etc.

3. what benefits should one ask an employer? i.e. how many vacation leaves, sick leaves, health benefits, etc.

4. if you are to live in bangkok alone, how much is the average monthly expenses? note that i am not a fan of clubs and bars, i mostly spend my free time browsing the internet and playing pc games.

5. is it not hard to communicate with Thais in general? i don't speak a single Thai word, only Filipino and English.

6. how would one know when a job offer in Thailand is real? Is there like a site that lists all legal Thai companies and recruiters?

Thank you very much in advance guys.

Since you'll be working for a Singapore company, you need to demand a Singapore salary, not one based upon your nationality and your work location. To do otherwise would invite your employer to not treat you seriously.

Edited May 22, 2009 by OriginalPoster

[DragonQuest]

10k+ for a filipino

[monkfish]

With 5 years experience a normal Thai salary would be 40-60K

There are a lot of threads on TV about living costs, Tax etc.

Learn Thai

โชคดี

[think_too_mut]

10k+ for a filipino

That's not true. Philipino sowtware guys are highly regarded, at least with western companies. They work out of the box, good skills and good English.

[biboy]

thank you guys for all the responses. right now i'm still doing my research and not accepting the offer yet. with little knowledge plus this and the other sites to back up my decision, i am still concerned whether i'll be able to have a better work, bigger savings, and stay alive in Thailand. i'm not even sure if i'll be able to learn the language, which i think would be a major issue for me since i only speak my local tongue and English.

[Sheikhan]

my questions are these:

1. how much is considered a decent pay in Bangkok for an IT professional?

2. what are the deductions takan from the salary? i.e. income tax, healthcard deductions, etc.

3. what benefits should one ask an employer? i.e. how many vacation leaves, sick leaves, health benefits, etc.

4. if you are to live in bangkok alone, how much is the average monthly expenses? note that i am not a fan of clubs and bars, i mostly spend my free time browsing the internet and playing pc games.

5. is it not hard to communicate with Thais in general? i don't speak a single Thai word, only Filipino and English.

6. how would one know when a job offer in Thailand is real? Is there like a site that lists all legal Thai companies and recruiters?

Thank you very much in advance guys.

1. With your experience +30k should not be problem to get, more off course is always nice. I would try to negotiate salary paid on Singapore level. If they want you (know u are good), ask more money

2. My tax rate is about 13% from gross income. That covers everything.

3. Insurance is quite normal benefit. I do get that from company. My annual leaves started from 10 days first year and yearly gets more days. I have no idea what is the normal annual leave system here? Is it different in every company?

We don't have any sick leave days, when i am sick i will not work.. still get paid.

4. Room rent 6000thb/month, electric 1500thb, water 200thb, internet connection 500thb, daily foods 200thb. There is some price examples, then of course need money for transportation etc. Plus what u spend for everything else.

5. Sometimes communicating with Thai can be quite difficult because of very poor English skills, but its not that big problem. I have most workmates Thais and luckily most of them speak good English

Edited May 26, 2009 by Sheikhan

[SGDude]

Where can you find a company that pays about 50000 THB + per month for a programming job? It seems like for non-Thais, the only option is to try to find a non-Thai company.

[biboy]

@Sheikhan: thanks for your answers, those gave me ideas on how much one will have to spend to live for a month, and therefore gave an implication on what's the minimum amount that i should be accepting.

by the way, i am a little surprised that there are companies in Thailand that do not give extra bonuses and cost of living allowances, and other work-specific incentives. these things are common for companies in the Philippines, be it locally- or foreign-owned.

and also, do all Thai companies follow the 40 hour-week work schedule (i.e. 8am-5pm, mondays to fridays)?

[BKKRICK]

10k+ for a filipino

Racist a-hole

[biboy]

10k+ for a filipino

That's not true. Philipino sowtware guys are highly regarded, at least with western companies. They work out of the box, good skills and good English.

i believe so too. and even if it's true, that would result to Filipino professionals not going into Thailand for work. It will not make sense for us to go outside if that's the case.

[joeyhcmc]

Hi Biboy,

Page mo ako sa [email protected].

Nasa Bangkok ka na ba?