Salary And Life-style For Teachers

[Scott]

A previous thread was closed because it was beginning to deteriorate into mud-slinging and flames. At the request of a poster, I will start a new thread. Please take care not to attack, flame or bait other posters. Teaching is a profession and let's demonstrate our ability to keep the thread professional.

I assist in administering a group of schools (currently 7). Three of these are bilingual and the others are regular Thai schools which employ a handful of teachers for English classes. The schools are privately owned. The salary structure is this:

Asian teachers, specifically Filipinos, start at 15,000 baht per month.

Western teachers without a degree start at 30,000 baht.

Western teachers with a degree start at 35,000-38,000 baht

Various other nationalities (and it is based on nationality, not color) get varied wages:

--Indian and other Asian nationalities, including Japanese, Chinese start around 20,000 baht

--Africans start about the same as western teachers.

There are variations upward depending on the level to be taught and the expertise of the teacher. Upper Mathyom Math and Science teachers have started as high as 45,000 baht (one teacher). 38,000 baht for starting is the most frequent figure. The Japanese won't touch the job for 20,000 baht and as a result the Japanese subject has been taught by a Filipino who went to school in Japan and recently a Thai who majored in Japanese.

We get health and accident insurance, breakfast and lunch is free. We get every other summer (April) off, otherwise we teach the summer session.

We're in an outer area of Greater Bangkok, so cost of living is reasonable and quite a few teachers within a few months are living in a house/townhouse--sometimes sharing with another teacher and seem to be comfortable.

Everyone probably wants more money, but overall, complaints are limited.

Please feel free to post your situation, but try to put it in a context as to place and type of school.

[LazySlipper]

Dear fellow posters,

I sincerely wish to apologise if any of my comments on the previous thread touched any sensitive chords.

I will also try to abstain from foul language.

I like this forum and will be act in accordance.

I have been in Thailand many years and I had a good life but for now things have taken a turn. I have very little in matters of

savings but enough to get by. I am currently looking for work and find it difficult to find anything that will allow me to start saving

again so I can replenish the savings. I have no health insurance and have not had any in the last 1.5 year.

Even if health insurance companies are dodgy, I would still like to get some.

My current anger at the "job market" stems from the fact that we seem to be regressing instead of going forward in the

matters of salary and health care offered (or not in many schools).

It is currently difficult for me to get a job due to the fact that my last 2 jobs were short term. Regardless of qualifications, when

I go for interviews this is the first thing that the interviewers jump on. I could lie, but I believe in the law of return. Do

something good and something good will come back to you. Do something bad... lie...and it will come back to haunt you.

I do hope things will start to brighten up a little for everyone. We all need more money regardless of where we choose

to elect domicile.

Have a nice day!

[allane]

In reply to Scott's posting. I am a 15 yr. veteran of teaching in Thailand. I have taught mostly at the high school level, and have worked at three different schools. Your posting would appear to describe an average situation, with one exception that caught my eye.

I am presuming that the month of April consititutes most, or all, of your major vacation for the year. Being required to give that up every second year to teach summer school seems very harsh to me. I have never been required to teach summer school, not even for a few days.

Yes, the schools have a problem - they can't offer a summer school program, until they know that they have sufficient teachers willing to teach it. But in my view, making it compulsory would likely just lead to greater staff turnover. (Here I am speaking of foreign teachers only.)

But the other side of the greater staff turnover coin is that there is always a continuous supply of new hires. They can be told that teaching the summer school is a condition of being hired to teach the coming school year.

[Firelily]

I wish summer school was optional. Unpaid, salary cut, whatever. I am withering away on these short holidays. Way too much work, for both teachers and children, that's always my number one complaint about working in a Thai school.

[Scott]

Oh, we get the option of not getting paid and taking the summer school off. That's not a problem. After the first year of doing summer school there is a bonus for having done it, as well. I don't remember what it is but I think last year it was about 15,000 baht--so we have teachers who always want to do it.

We get about 2 weeks in October and about 2 weeks in March and about 2 weeks at the end of the summer school before the regular session starts. I use about because these have been getting shorter each year--a day or so here and there.

[Ijustwannateach]

I don't think 'not getting paid' as an alternative to teaching is a particularly good thing to be, even if not teaching. That's why it's called a vacation. It's one of the few exclusively good things about being a teacher and putting up with the generally low working conditions (worldwide) compared to many other jobs. Teaching is a high-stress job putting a lot of personal demands on people, and there needs to be a period of recuperation after the intensity of terms, exams, etc.

Schools which ignore this will lose their teachers through turnover, burnout, or mental illness.

As I stated in the other thread on salaries, across the spectrum of Thai and foreign teachers I have met people making from 6K-nearly 200K a month. The higher-end options tend to have higher qualification demands, reasonably enough- and are mostly in Bangkok.

[BlackArtemis]

In Chiang Mai it isn't unlikely to say knock 5000-10,000 off the salaries Scott listed.

There are a variety of jobs in CM ranging from 20-25k for Government schools and 30-50k for private schools.

The international schools will pay higher, but they won't pay an outlandish rate, however you can expect discounted or free tuition for you children.

I only had 2.5 years of teaching experience and only at one school, so my knowledge is a bit skewed. I did know others who taught at other schools and the general consensus is that while a Govt. school may pay less, they also require less. This can be in the form of how many hours, 15 for 25k/month vs 24 for 30-35k/month. Times you needed to be at work and when you could leave etc.

The one thing I loved was that I received 2.5 months PAID vacation. While I knew others who had to spend October break doing school camps, I was in the US and came back to a deposited paycheck. I was not needed at work during the summer either.

Now while CM pays less than BKK, it's a lot cheaper to live. I had a 4 story town house inside the old city for 10k/month and water/electric cost me 2k. That's with running 2 30-50BTU aircons at least 4hours a day and 2 smaller ones, one all night.

Food is also a bit cheaper, along with many other necessities, so in the end 30k goes a lot further in CM than in BKK.

A single person can live quite happily with 25-35K in CM, and some private schools even offer apartments. 30k can even be enough to not worry about money if you are in a relationship. However don't expect to have an easy time raising children, especially if you value education.

[OxfordWill]

I've always thought the respect given to those who teach is in its own way, a part of the compensation for doing the job.

[10027586]

Financially I'm comfortable but I work hard for it! I have paid vacation during the summer holidays. Wages are 34k and there are other local schools which pay more, but I choose my present school as it has better educational standards and honestly an extra 5k a month won't make that much difference to my life to make it worth risking being unhappy in my work.

I eat out every day in very nice (but cheap) restaurants. This is a very important benefit of the lifestyle I have, though has led to me putting a bit of weight on! My house is 3-bedrooms, bigger than I need, and costs 7k. I can afford a social life and regularly go back and forth to Bangkok for entertainment. I have a little Nouvo, and don't particularly want a car as it'd take ages to get anywhere. I couldn't afford one anyway, but like I say, it doesn't bother me. I have a cleaner to take the load off me a little.

I'd say at present it's worthwhile, and 3 years in I'm still probably a newbie by some people's standards, but I'm lucky enough to be in a fairly decent school and enjoying my work (switching from subject teacher [iT] to primary homeroom teacher helped a lot there!). I'd still recommend teaching to others who want to try it, as it's rewarding in its own way.

[BlackArtemis]

I've always thought the respect given to those who teach is in its own way, a part of the compensation for doing the job.

I am thrilled about how teachers are considered in society compared to the U.S. People are entirely too ignorant about the aspects of a teacher's work and life here in the U.S.

[Loz]

With Regards to HEalth care:

Its my understanding that all Govnt. schools are obliged to provice SSO goverment supported health insurance. Its pretty good too. Now, my first school, didn't but they did provide private insurance through AXA which was non contributory. The SSO deal I have now is paid half by me and half by the school. I think the cover is better but I have to change hospitals. Not a big problem as both are at the top of what is locally available.

This is in Korat, btw.

[bow]

Some agencies offer four months on, with about 30.000, and then two month off without pay (240.000 / year or 20.000 /month).

Edited March 20, 2010 by bow

[mizzi39]

In Isaan Govt. schools (English Program) usually start their teachers at about 30,000 baht per month for western native speakers and about the same for Filipinos teaching maths and sciences. Most EP's up here have their own budget separate from the regular Thai program, so it is the EP that sets the rate of pay. Pay raises of 2,000 baht per month every year along with your new contract.

I find it very difficult to put money away, but it is enough to get by on. Fortunately I have some income from the States to supplement my teaching salary.

30-35,000 baht a month in Issan is not to bad, since the cost of living is much cheaper than Southern Thailand, Bangkok or the surrounding areas. For example you can rent a nice house up here for 3,000-5,000 baht a month.

Edit: 30-35,000 baht based on 14-15 teaching hours a week. 10 paid leave days, and 10 paid sick days per contract term.

I know of some shoddy private schools up here that pay 20,000 baht per month and you are obligated to work Saturdays, and you must stay on campus from 0800-1630 regardless if you have classes scheduled or not.

Edited March 20, 2010 by mizzi39

[Martian]

Two things here:

1. Somehow, somewhere I read a post from a teacher who taught in Thailand some 20-30 years ago and said the salary ranges were the same then as they are now. If so, then the profession of teaching in Thailand for foreigners has not advanced (given all things are reasonably equal). This will not change as long as there are foreign teachers available at the current salaries...it's how markets work.

2. Having shared something I read, I have to say I am quite comfortable with my school and situation. Salaries are from 28-33 for first year teachers, 2-3 weeks (paid) off in October, March is also an off month which you can be paid for as long as you have signed a 1 year contract for the following year before their deadline, April is usually off (without pay) with the exception of a 2 week orientation for incoming students which, when it comes down to it is elective for returning teachers and whomever works gets paid. I am also a part of the Thai Social Security system with good health coverage for which I pay half the monthly premium. There are a couple of additional weekend camps you are required to attend each year but, if you enjoy teaching and your students, it is a fun thing to be with them outside of the classroom setting.

If I had to change one thing about the contract it would be to not have to be at the school from morning to late afternoon but rather have a specified amount of scheduled "office hours" so students can come see you for additional help (much like universities in the USA). I can better prepare my lesson plans etc in the quiet of my home that has a much better internet connection for resources and communication.

I live in a larger town about 90 minutes out of Bangkok and cost of living is very reasonable. I have a Thai wife and we outright own the land and house we live in.....so..... there are some costs I don't have which I paid up front for such as rent. My wife and I each have a motorcycle (don't want a car) but have access to a car and truck if needed.

If you are looking for a pleasant simple life and aren't afraid of work, teach in Thailand. If you need to build a nest egg go elsewhere or get lucky with a much higher paying job here.

[BlackArtemis]

Two things here:

1. Somehow, somewhere I read a post from a teacher who taught in Thailand some 20-30 years ago and said the salary ranges were the same then as they are now. If so, then the profession of teaching in Thailand for foreigners has not advanced (given all things are reasonably equal). This will not change as long as there are foreign teachers available at the current salaries...it's how markets work.

2. Having shared something I read, I have to say I am quite comfortable with my school and situation. Salaries are from 28-33 for first year teachers, 2-3 weeks (paid) off in October, March is also an off month which you can be paid for as long as you have signed a 1 year contract for the following year before their deadline, April is usually off (without pay) with the exception of a 2 week orientation for incoming students which, when it comes down to it is elective for returning teachers and whomever works gets paid. I am also a part of the Thai Social Security system with good health coverage for which I pay half the monthly premium. There are a couple of additional weekend camps you are required to attend each year but, if you enjoy teaching and your students, it is a fun thing to be with them outside of the classroom setting.

If I had to change one thing about the contract it would be to not have to be at the school from morning to late afternoon but rather have a specified amount of scheduled "office hours" so students can come see you for additional help (much like universities in the USA). I can better prepare my lesson plans etc in the quiet of my home that has a much better internet connection for resources and communication.

I live in a larger town about 90 minutes out of Bangkok and cost of living is very reasonable. I have a Thai wife and we outright own the land and house we live in.....so..... there are some costs I don't have which I paid up front for such as rent. My wife and I each have a motorcycle (don't want a car) but have access to a car and truck if needed.

If you are looking for a pleasant simple life and aren't afraid of work, teach in Thailand. If you need to build a nest egg go elsewhere or get lucky with a much higher paying job here.

It's also not about getting lucky, but put in the time to get a degree that grants you access to those higher paying salaries.