Hello,

I'm a native German speaker but lived for several years in the UK. I have a master's degree in business and worked for a London based bank. I always liked teaching so I'm considering taking a teaching job in Thailand. My question is if it would be better to teach English (given that I have a good command of the language but am not a native speaker) or if I should aim for a business teaching job at a university (given that this is my background and I have work experience in this field).

Many thanks,

Philipp

Being of German nationality should not be a problem if your command of English is good.

The choice as to what you want to teach is really down to what you feel most comfortable with and with which age group.

I think teaching Business in a university would be best. If that doesn't work out for you can always switch to teaching English.

In my experience, teaching business at university is paid better. It's also more fun (at least for me).

In my experience, teaching business at university is paid better. It's also more fun (at least for me).

Hi Tom,

many thanks for your answer. Would you have any advice on which unis are recruiting?

In my experience, teaching business at university is paid better. It's also more fun (at least for me).

Hi Tom,

Many thanks for your answer. Would you have any advice on which uni's are recruiting?

Your English is pretty perfect and puts alot of Brits to shame, well done.

Germans are the best English speakers i have ever come across while travelling. One time at the Lao/Nong Khai Border i had been speaking with a woman backpacker. We went up to purchase our visas from the office window seperately. When we regrouped afterwards i asked her how much her visa was and was annoyed to find i had paid $5 more than her so i made off to make my complaint. Well it transpired that the perfectly spoken lady with oxford accent i had been speaking with for 30 mins was a kraut. Clever frauline.

In terms of 'respect', I would think teaching business has much more prestige.

Nope, I don't look down on English teaching at all; but the overall image in the country seems to have been pulled down by the numerous English language "schools" which employ a lot of so called "native speakers" (read: whites who can't speak/write English).

However, I believe this only to be true for business teachers who have been in business themselves; whether in the past or at the same time while teaching.

Today's youth are very clever and can spot right away (and gossip behind your back) if a business teacher is merely a "career business teacher" who went straight to teaching business without any real experience; and who merely teaches (or rather, reads) the textbook to the class without any practical inference to his/her own experience in the real business world.

In my experience, teaching business at university is paid better. It's also more fun (at least for me).

Hi Tom,

many thanks for your answer. Would you have any advice on which unis are recruiting?

No, I don't. You might have to contact the universities by yourself, and BBA/MBA programs, conducted in English, are on the rise. Someone else on this forum might know. There is also a "Teaching in Thailand" forum (not under Business/Jobs) that might be more usefull for you.

Please also note that you have to have a PhD (in any field) in order to teach on masters level in Thailand. If you want to teach bachelor students, a masters is sufficient.