bgale2009 Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 I am currently a United States Citizen at the age of 20. My original plan was to graduate from my university (a state university in MA, with a good reputation) as an English major with a minor in education, spend a semester in Thailand, and go to the Boston School of Language so that I could take Thai for my required language (instead of my universities offered languages which are all romance). After graduating I wanted to go down to live permanently in Thailand. The idea crossed my mind that it would be easier (transitionally speaking) to just transfer to a university in Thailand instead of doing an entire work around to learn the language better and establish myself there. I am very set on the idea, but I have one issue: I am far from wealthy, and I would need to pay for housing and food on my own. To do this I could work part time in my off-hours (making enough for food, and split rent with my girlfriend who lives in Bangkok). The only problem is this: Can you find part time (legal, not under the table) work in Thailand with a student visa? If a work visa was needed, how much more difficult would it be to obtain for a student who only wished to work part time while attending university? Being able to support myself financially is my big issue because my university costs would be covered by student loans, but after that I believe I am on my own for housing and food. Thank you for taking time to read this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgale2009 Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share Posted April 6, 2011 Forgot to mention, any one who has has considered, or has done something similar to what I want to do, please share your experiences with me I would be glad to know what I am in for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamakashi Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 (edited) Hi Bgale, My name is Kama and I'm 26 years old living in Thailand. I'm married to my Thai wife and I'm working at a government school teaching English. I'm not sure about working in Thailand with a student visa. Right now I'm trying to find out how I can further my education to receive my bachelor's degree in web design (communications). Also if the college in Thailand will accept my credits from America and WILL America recognize my bachelor's degree from Thailand hahahaha. I don't want to get a bachelor's degree here and then move to America and have hear them say, what bachelor's degree? hahaha. I'm also trying to find a college online in America to receive my BA degree. The problem is the time difference ( 23+ hours). Anyways it was hard for me when I came to Thailand. I brought only 100,000 baht ( $3000 ) dollars with me. I got married to my Thai fiance in Bangkok. Then I went to Rayong to get my TEFL certificate to teach English. Then I got a job to work as an English teacher. I got lucky and ran out of money pretty fast. Anyways, many people will try to stop you from living your dreams. I say just go for it! I did and now I'm living my dream. I've been in Thailand for 6 months now and my wife is 5 months pregnant. I just got my 1 year non-B visa and soon will update my work permit. I'm happy that I have a job and I can work here in Thailand for 1 year and be with my wife. I will work at this school for about 5+ years until we start our business in Thailand. We have already begun to start some businesses online. Learning the Thai language is tuff. I need to find out if getting my BA in Thailand is a good idea or not. I would love to go to college here and learn the language at the college. Also it's rare to see young farans ( foreigners ) like me in Thailand. most of them are old haha. Oh I forgot to mention... You and your girlfriend could start teaching English at home. Me and my wife started teaching English at home. We charge 1,000 baht a month and they get 20 hours of English. It's a great way to make 10,000 baht to 20,000 baht. Edited April 7, 2011 by kamakashi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mizzi39 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Hi bgale2009 i sent you a PM. Mizzi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 You can not work on a student visa unless as part of study program. You can not (legally) work from home teaching or selling without a work permit (doing so risks arrest/deportation if not jail). The time in Thailand is about 12-16 hours ahead of the US so does make it difficult at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWMcMurray Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 As to your question about finding legal work (with work permit, not under the table)... it will be nearly impossible without a degree and doubly so, for part time work. Most part time work for English teachers is all under the table without a work permit. The teaching jobs that will issue work permits are for full time jobs, which would be impossible if you will be going to school full time. If you are 20, then I would assume that you only have about 2 yrs left to finish your degree. Given your situation, I would highly recommend finishing your degree in the US. That being said, you could do an official study abroad for up to 1 yr (depending upon your school), which means that you could actually live in Thailand for 1 of your 2 remaining years. Also since you would still be a full time student at the US university, that means that you would still be able to collect all of you normal financial aid package while you are in Thailand. If you are registered at a University overseas, you may not qualify for many of the US financial aid programs, in fact you could put yourself in hot water. I actually transferred over to Thailand to finish my degree, but when I transferred over to my Thai University, I actually had to start paying back my student loans. I tried to appeal the decision and was told in no uncertain terms that payment was only deferred as long as you were enrolled in a US university and being a full time student at an overseas university did not count. Luckily, I was in a situation where this was not really a big deal and I could afford to pay back the loans, but from your OP it sounds like you would not be in a position to start paying back your student loans until after you graduate. As advised earlier, I did transfer over here and finished my degree in Thailand and have actually been working Thai Company ever since, so it is definitely possible to do. The only reason why I am not suggesting for you to do the same is due to the fact that you have advised that you will need to "work your way through college" and there is really not much in the way of legal (with work permit) part time work for people without degrees in Thailand. Once you have finished your degree, you could then easily come over to Thailand and should be able to find teaching work without much of a problem. If you had some funds to live on and did not need to work, I would say go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackdawson Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 (edited) slow down son . finish ur bachelors where u are . a degree from ANY US school , save maybe liberty baptist , will , over the course of ur life , increase ur earnings potential a gazillion times compered to say a BA from Ram U . college grads. make 8-10 grand a month here (baht ) = $300 US plus if u got no money, this ain't the place for u Edited April 7, 2011 by jackdawson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdinasia Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Forgot to mention, any one who has has considered, or has done something similar to what I want to do, please share your experiences with me I would be glad to know what I am in for. Finishing your degree in the US is, as suggested, the wisest course of action. If you want a semester or even possibly a year abroad then you might want to look at the iie.org website for the Freeman Asia scholarship or the Gilman which will fund some time abroad. After you have the degree in your hand, consider a MA in Education if you are really planning on making a move to Thailand permanent while you are young. Your earning potential in Thailand will double. I am not trying to discourage you from your heart's desire but creating personal wealth is far easier in the US than in Thailand. Personal wealth enough to make sure that not only will you have enough to live here comfortably, but also enough that you can keep an escape route open if things don't work well here for you is vital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWMcMurray Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 a degree from ANY US school , save maybe liberty baptist , will , over the course of ur life , increase ur earnings potential a gazillion times compered to say a BA from Ram U . college grads. make 8-10 grand a month here (baht ) = $300 US This is a myth.... I graduated from University here and am working for a Thai company here .... and to be honest, I am doing just fine salary wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 OP Post #1: Can you find part time (legal, not under the table) work in Thailand with a student visa? Post #3 Oh I forgot to mention... You and your girlfriend could start teaching English at home. Me and my wife started teaching English at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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