Top 10 Jobs Shunned By Thais

[zeekgarcia]

??? your point being besides appearing to try to find a cloud in a silver lining

I am always surprised when people talk about how hard the Thai's work compared to anyone else. Do these people own businesses in Thailand? I own a couple of places in the BKK area and I can say without a doubt the average Thai worker is the laziest I have ever employed in any country I have employed people. They spend way too much business time on their personal phone calls, need to eat every 45 minutes and are incapable it seems of going to the washroom or do virtually anything without doing it in a committee. Sorry if that ruffles anyone's feathers but it is my direct personal experience..

Plus as the person said that you replied to with the above quote, Having a low employment rate is really moot when you consider part of the reason Thai's are so under paid is that they are over employed..

Perfect example, a few nights ago my wife son and I were shopping at Tops, on the way out the door there is a Dunkin Donuts there and my son likes that dam_n little donut holes or whatever they are called here. There were THREE staff members working in this little tiny kiosk. Yet the kiosk was self serve. So we picked up a tray, put the paper lining on it, picked up the tongs and picked up two of those little donuts for my son and one each for my wife and I. Then we walked it to the cashier.

Girl one took the tray from us and removed the tongs and put them back on the rack. She passed the tray to girl two, who put our donuts in a box, she then slide the box across the counter to girl three who looked in the box and rang up our total of under 100 baht. I tried to hand the note to girl three, but girl one was closer so she grabbed it and passed it to girl two who passed it to girl three, the change of course went in the exact reverse fashion. Of course that was after girl three counted ot the 3 twenty baht notes for change at least five times, just making sure she got it right I am sure.

Then girl three passed my box to girl two, who put it in a bag and she then passed it to girl one who handed it to us...

A couple of observations, it was a long long proces to grab four donuts.....

My wife commented that each of those girls likely made in the 5k to 6500 baht a month range...

Imagine if the company there hired ONE girl who could have easily done the job required at this little kiosk for 15k, the company would save money on salaries, would likely have a more motivated employee for the greater income (relative to Thai wages) and the poor customer would not have to sit through all that nonsense to get a simple order.

The downside of course is that we now have two unemployed spaceholders....

There in lies one of the biggest issues in Thailand... you see it in every store anywhere I've ever been, totally over staffed beyond belief with a staff that is so poorly paid they don't really give a crap about doing any work...

But the business owners (like I do) feel the need to hire so much extra staff as the Thai employees as a general rule simply don't care about their jobs that much as they pay so little....

Hmmmmm seems like some catch 22 stuff going on there...

Would love to see how to solve that one.. but like so many other things in Thailand that's the way they do it, I'm a farang I don't understand Thai way... to that all I can say is Thank goodness...

First I am not sure how to only quote part of what was said above so I will try to underline what I want to quote and Secondly I do not know much but the poster said he is a business owner and if they would actually hire less staff and pay more then the company would saved money and the workers would probably care more about working because they are getting paid more so

Since he has several business why does he not start this process in his business and prove how much money each company could save and show other business owners that it can be done.

[samran]

Many of those jobs Thailand refuses to give work permits to foreigners for!

What a system.

The attitude is if a Thai doesnt want the job nobody can have it. One good way of continuing to screw the economy

Great line. Problem is that it isn't true.

[zeekgarcia]

I have also read that people are saying that Thais do not want to do jobs like welders, warehouse workers, etc. If someone knows of companies that will hire a non thai to do these jobs and give them a work permit please let me know who to contact for more information.

[chrisinth]

A post has been removed for misuse of font sizes and colors. From the forum rules:

Posting in all capitals or in all bold, and using large or unusual fonts and colors is bad netiquette.

Use of bold font is bad forum netiquette which could also be considered as shouting. From forum netiquette:

1. Please do not post in all capital letters, bold, unusual fonts, sizes or colors. It can be difficult to read.

Use the default forum font when posting.

There are some people on this forum who might be misled by your statement. It is not bad form to use bold for emphasis on the occasional word, as in this sentence. It might be appropriate to point out that using bold or capitals in whole sentences is bad form, but occasional bold as a means of emphasis is accepted worldwide.

It might also be valid to point out that it is etiquette not NETIQUETTE.

Netiquette is correct; I have been informed by my son, as it relates to internet "PC" conversation. Will be in the dictionaries next year (if not already there)

[chrisinth]

I heard a rumor that Thailand will be relaxing laws regarding work permits next year. Apparently part of a process to increase foreign investment and trade. Will have to wait and see.

News to me, but good news if it is correct. Can't see it though. I asked if it were possible for me to get my work permit replaced recently (it had some water damage) and was told i would have to re-apply to conform to the change in issuing rules. I was advised to keep the work permit as-is and wait for it to become full so it could be replaced for that reason.

Not sure what the changes are, but i still have the damaged one

[fire and ice]

Yeap, many, many Thais have jobs selling vegetables at the market or bowls of noodles along the soi. Rather than wasting their time going to the labor/unemployment office they work for very low wage jobs, usually self-employed low wage jobs. Others just don't aggressively look for jobs nor go to the labor/unemployment office so they are not counted as unemployed. But selling vegetables and noodles beats no job at all and that's how Thailand ends up with a very low unemployment rate. You do what you got to do to put food on the table.

These grey market jobs aren't necessarily low paid. A noodle stall can bring in decent money. All kinds of small businesses in Thailand aren't recorded in statistics but they do ok. Someone with a successful noodle stall is going to be making more money than a civil servant that is registered with the government.

I think he was referring to people who merely work at a noodle stall, not the owner (who almost always works there too). ie: the assistants. Although much of the time these are family businesses anyway.

[webfact]

The topic at hand is "Top 10 Jobs Shunned By Thais"

If you have an issue with a news source, please contact them directly.

off-topic comment deleted

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[Nisa]

??? your point being besides appearing to try to find a cloud in a silver lining

I am always surprised when people talk about how hard the Thai's work compared to anyone else. Do these people own businesses in Thailand? I own a couple of places in the BKK area and I can say without a doubt the average Thai worker is the laziest I have ever employed in any country I have employed people. They spend way too much business time on their personal phone calls, need to eat every 45 minutes and are incapable it seems of going to the washroom or do virtually anything without doing it in a committee. Sorry if that ruffles anyone's feathers but it is my direct personal experience..

Plus as the person said that you replied to with the above quote, Having a low employment rate is really moot when you consider part of the reason Thai's are so under paid is that they are over employed..

Perfect example, a few nights ago my wife son and I were shopping at Tops, on the way out the door there is a Dunkin Donuts there and my son likes that dam_n little donut holes or whatever they are called here. There were THREE staff members working in this little tiny kiosk. Yet the kiosk was self serve. So we picked up a tray, put the paper lining on it, picked up the tongs and picked up two of those little donuts for my son and one each for my wife and I. Then we walked it to the cashier.

Girl one took the tray from us and removed the tongs and put them back on the rack. She passed the tray to girl two, who put our donuts in a box, she then slide the box across the counter to girl three who looked in the box and rang up our total of under 100 baht. I tried to hand the note to girl three, but girl one was closer so she grabbed it and passed it to girl two who passed it to girl three, the change of course went in the exact reverse fashion. Of course that was after girl three counted ot the 3 twenty baht notes for change at least five times, just making sure she got it right I am sure.

Then girl three passed my box to girl two, who put it in a bag and she then passed it to girl one who handed it to us...

A couple of observations, it was a long long proces to grab four donuts.....

My wife commented that each of those girls likely made in the 5k to 6500 baht a month range...

Imagine if the company there hired ONE girl who could have easily done the job required at this little kiosk for 15k, the company would save money on salaries, would likely have a more motivated employee for the greater income (relative to Thai wages) and the poor customer would not have to sit through all that nonsense to get a simple order.

The downside of course is that we now have two unemployed spaceholders....

There in lies one of the biggest issues in Thailand... you see it in every store anywhere I've ever been, totally over staffed beyond belief with a staff that is so poorly paid they don't really give a crap about doing any work...

But the business owners (like I do) feel the need to hire so much extra staff as the Thai employees as a general rule simply don't care about their jobs that much as they pay so little....

Hmmmmm seems like some catch 22 stuff going on there...

Would love to see how to solve that one.. but like so many other things in Thailand that's the way they do it, I'm a farang I don't understand Thai way... to that all I can say is Thank goodness...

First I am not sure how to only quote part of what was said above so I will try to underline what I want to quote and Secondly I do not know much but the poster said he is a business owner and if they would actually hire less staff and pay more then the company would saved money and the workers would probably care more about working because they are getting paid more so

Since he has several business why does he not start this process in his business and prove how much money each company could save and show other business owners that it can be done.

Judging by the length of his post - a multi business owner with way too much time on his hands while responding to something that wasn't even said.

Edited February 17, 2012 by Nisa

[Payboy]

In my opinion the Top Ten most undesirable jobs in Thailand would be,

1. Thai "Massage Parlor" Cleaner

2. Roadkill removal officer

3. Construction worker

4. Toll booth worker

5. Nana Plaza/Kowboy/Patpong toilet cleaner

6. Razor blade, ping pong ball, fish, etc swallower and projectile launcher

7. Septic Tank Maintenance.

8. Crocodile farm limb donor.

9. Garbage collector

10. Political canvasser.

Your forgot "leader of the opposition".

[Xonax]

In our village in Bangkok, we noticed that since the flooding the village is not as clean as before. We asked why to the management. They replied they are short of people for the maintenance and also gardeners ... They can't find anybody.

Same for the maids, almost impossible to find a Thai maid nowadays. There are some places where we are not allowed to walk the dogs, the warning signs are both in Thai and Burmese.

Why don´t you clean after your dogs immediately after dropping?

[SabaiBKK]

The Department of Employment conducted a survey unemployed individuals in Thailand. There're approximately 171,000 people who are unemployed as of December, 2011. At the same time, there are as many as 75,000 employment vacancies in various business sectors that have been shunned by the Thais without jobs.

171,000 unemployed? 75,000 job vacancies?

Are these figures supposed to be for the whole of Thailand, or just one small district, of Bangkok?

jb1

Probably all of Thailand which does have an incredibly low unemployment rate.

Yeap, many, many Thais have jobs selling vegetables at the market or bowls of noodles along the soi. Rather than wasting their time going to the labor/unemployment office they work for very low wage jobs, usually self-employed low wage jobs. Others just don't aggressively look for jobs nor go to the labor/unemployment office so they are not counted as unemployed. But selling vegetables and noodles beats no job at all and that's how Thailand ends up with a very low unemployment rate. You do what you got to do to put food on the table.

selling vegetables and noodles actually is VERY lucrative ! they dress like they have no money but believe me a noodle stall couple can earn profit of 1500-3000 baht PER DAY after expenses are cut. Hell even the glass/plastic/aluminium collectors around my home can make 30 000 -70 000 a month collecting garbage for recycling ....

[Payboy]

The Department of Employment conducted a survey unemployed individuals in Thailand. There're approximately 171,000 people who are unemployed as of December, 2011. At the same time, there are as many as 75,000 employment vacancies in various business sectors that have been shunned by the Thais without jobs.

171,000 unemployed? 75,000 job vacancies?

Are these figures supposed to be for the whole of Thailand, or just one small district, of Bangkok?

jb1

Probably all of Thailand which does have an incredibly low unemployment rate.

Yeap, many, many Thais have jobs selling vegetables at the market or bowls of noodles along the soi. Rather than wasting their time going to the labor/unemployment office they work for very low wage jobs, usually self-employed low wage jobs. Others just don't aggressively look for jobs nor go to the labor/unemployment office so they are not counted as unemployed. But selling vegetables and noodles beats no job at all and that's how Thailand ends up with a very low unemployment rate. You do what you got to do to put food on the table.

selling vegetables and noodles actually is VERY lucrative ! they dress like they have no money but believe me a noodle stall couple can earn profit of 1500-3000 baht PER DAY after expenses are cut. Hell even the glass/plastic/aluminium collectors around my home can make 30 000 -70 000 a month collecting garbage for recycling ....

Thinking twice now about my TEFL license.

[SabaiBKK]

I heard a rumor that Thailand will be relaxing laws regarding work permits next year. Apparently part of a process to increase foreign investment and trade. Will have to wait and see.

they will allow ASEAN members toi access some previously " reserved to Thais" jobs ahead of 2015 .... doesn't mean they are changing the rules for farangs, don't expect too much about it.

[YellowFeverCAD]

First I am not sure how to only quote part of what was said above so I will try to underline what I want to quote and Secondly I do not know much but the poster said he is a business owner and if they would actually hire less staff and pay more then the company would saved money and the workers would probably care more about working because they are getting paid more so

Since he has several business why does he not start this process in his business and prove how much money each company could save and show other business owners that it can be done.

We already have done this in one of our businesses and it DOES indeed save us money. You should no assume things.I did comment it was a catch 22 as it won't work in all industries as Thai are not very good at being in their own they much prefer to do everything in a group

Do you actually live here? Most of this stuff is pretty well accepted

[SabaiBKK]

Thinking twice now about my TEFL license.

Hell yes, the guy selling moo ping next to my local seven eleven works from 7 to midnight with his little cart and coal fired BBQ ... he has approximately 250 customers by evening and the minimum per head is 20 bht . cut the raw pork, plastic bags, wooden sticks coal and 100 baht to the sidewalk mafia he may be left with 1500-2000 baht a day ..... no wonder he can take 1 week breaks for holidays every 2 months.

Edited February 17, 2012 by SabaiBKK

[YellowFeverCAD]

Judging by the length of his post - a multi business owner with way too much time on his hands while responding to something that wasn't even said.

I'm sorry if you're a poor typist... practice you'll get better.

The point of my post is directly related to one of the core issues in OP, if you are not able to see that, then I guess you need to take some reading lessons along with your typing lessons.

Another other tidbits of worthwhile insight to share with the group?

[OZEMADE]

Well if they applied for Numbers 5,7,8,10. on the original post in the mines in OZ. If qualified in any of these fields they would get a job no problems. The mines are screaming for employees and the lazy ones on the dole back home wont travel to the outback too hot. What a crock, it's too easy back in the city on the dole.

[Nisa]

Judging by the length of his post - a multi business owner with way too much time on his hands while responding to something that wasn't even said.

I'm sorry if you're a poor typist... practice you'll get better.

The point of my post is directly related to one of the core issues in OP, if you are not able to see that, then I guess you need to take some reading lessons along with your typing lessons.

Another other tidbits of worthwhile insight to share with the group?

If you were responding to content in the OP then why respond (quote) something I posted that was completely irrelevant to your very lengthy rant?

[Nisa]

Yeap, many, many Thais have jobs selling vegetables at the market or bowls of noodles along the soi. Rather than wasting their time going to the labor/unemployment office they work for very low wage jobs, usually self-employed low wage jobs. Others just don't aggressively look for jobs nor go to the labor/unemployment office so they are not counted as unemployed. But selling vegetables and noodles beats no job at all and that's how Thailand ends up with a very low unemployment rate. You do what you got to do to put food on the table.

These grey market jobs aren't necessarily low paid. A noodle stall can bring in decent money. All kinds of small businesses in Thailand aren't recorded in statistics but they do ok. Someone with a successful noodle stall is going to be making more money than a civil servant that is registered with the government.

I think he was referring to people who merely work at a noodle stall, not the owner (who almost always works there too). ie: the assistants. Although much of the time these are family businesses anyway.

True, also everybody has got to start somewhere and the workers at these stalls often go on to open there own stalls.

[Nisa]

It is relevant to point out that the Thai unemployment rate for the last 5+ years has basically been between .05 to 1.5%. Thailand's economy continues to boom compared to much of the world as even new investments poor in .. especially those that might previously have gone to China.

Much better to have a workforce able to "shun" certain jobs than be in a country with near double digit unemployment rate whose displaced workers average more 6+ months (while having no medical benefits) before they are able to find a new job even at significantly less pay.

But no doubt the Doom and Gloomers brigade will find some hatred to share toward Thais to find clouds in silver linings.

[janverbeem]

The Department of Employment conducted a survey unemployed individuals in Thailand. There're approximately 171,000 people who are unemployed as of December, 2011. At the same time, there are as many as 75,000 employment vacancies in various business sectors that have been shunned by the Thais without jobs.

171,000 unemployed? 75,000 job vacancies?

Are these figures supposed to be for the whole of Thailand, or just one small district, of Bangkok?

jb1

Probably all of Thailand which does have an incredibly low unemployment rate.

Not so difficult to have a low unemployment rate if you need 5 people to do a job 1 person fulfill in the western world.

??? your point being besides appearing to try to find a cloud in a silver lining

My point?As another poster has pointed it out for me already,Thais are underpaid and that allows the employers to over-employ,and that is because he needs to.Now wait untill the government suggested minimum salary rise get into effect.Lets see if there will still be 5 people behind the 7/11 counter.Unforunately for the employer,cutting on the amount of staff doesn't work in Thailand as they will not be able to complete a job,but the result from that is for another topic.

Edited February 17, 2012 by janverbeem

[Macmundi]

Selling veggies is good because you get to hike the price when living standards go up. If you live on a salary, you cannot just increase your own wage.

Thai people cannot afford to hire locals anymore. We learn it from other countries. Taiwan and Japan once invested in Thailand because they couldn't afford manufacturing in their own countries. Now even the Thais cannot even afford local labor. Therefore if there were anymore investments from overseas, we shall be expecting more in retail rather than manufacturing. 'Spend more than produce'. When this is the case, it's all downhill.

[Oberkommando]

But no doubt Thais in general work much longer hours for considerably lower pay than folks in the west.

Economies of scale.

Are you trying to perpetuate a myth that Thais have a work ethic?

[Nisa]

Not so difficult to have a low unemployment rate if you need 5 people to do a job 1 person fulfill in the western world.

??? your point being besides appearing to try to find a cloud in a silver lining

My point?As another poster has pointed it out for me already,Thais are underpaid and that allows the employers to overemploy.Now wait untill the government suggested minimum salary rise get into effect.Lets see if there will still be 5 people behind the 7/11 counter.

I know it appears to make you feel good to believe Thailand is broken and headed for dire times but if you actually checked, you'd find a lot of employers are already paying their workers at the higher wages. 300 Baht a day is now normal, at least around Bangkok. My daughter attends university and when she wants extra spending money she just hands out fliers for 700 baht a day. She also took a job at the mall during December when school was closed wrapping gifts for about 350 baht a day.

The standard of living is certainly not that of the more modern countries in the world but I can also tell you that Thailand doesn't have a homeless problem like the US and their cost of living is significantly less. Simply having a good insurance policy for your family in the US can run you 30k baht a month. This is more than the take home pay of a minimum wage wage working in the US while medical is free here as well as housing and food.

Thailand has an incredibly low unemployment rate (one of the lowest in the world) and instead of thinking that is a good thing ... you only want to see doom and gloom. What is great about being in Thailand is the only time I need to see such negativity is when I choose to come to this forum.

[Nisa]

But no doubt Thais in general work much longer hours for considerably lower pay than folks in the west.

Economies of scale.

Are you trying to perpetuate a myth that Thais have a work ethic?

Nope, simply stating indisputable facts.

[Oberkommando]

The standard of living is certainly not that of the more modern countries in the world but I can also tell you that Thailand doesn't have a homeless problem like the US and their cost of living is significantly less.

I can tell you Thailand most certainly does have similar problems, and Bangkok is chock full of slums hidden by the sides of khlongs and behind the street fronts where people live in abject and disgraceful poverty.

The difference of course is the people in Thailand have to put up with it, while the homeless in the US at least have a voice.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

This is the top 10 jobs with the most vacancies, not the top 10 shunned. Most unemployed would be unqualified for most of those. The top 10 shunned would stuff that Burmese, Cambodian, and Lao immigrants do, fishing, house keeping, construction etc

> This is the top 10 jobs with the most vacancies, not the top 10 shunned.

True

> Most unemployed would be unqualified for most of those.

Not necessarily, more likely they would be able/willing to take such jobs if the income were higher. Different people have different alternatives to working for a living, and the "safety net" here is much broader than in the West, as it comes largely from family and private charity.

[Oberkommando]

Nope, simply stating indisputable facts.

You'll be able to provide evidence to support the fact that Thais work longer hours than Westerners then?

Thanks in advance.

[Nisa]

But no doubt Thais in general work much longer hours for considerably lower pay than folks in the west.

Nope, simply stating indisputable facts.

You'll be able to provide evidence to support the fact that Thais work longer hours than Westerners then?

Thanks in advance.

It really is pointless to go on with you about this considering it is common knowledge to anyone who has a clue about workers in Thailand.

Get real and a life ... pleaseeeeeee, go argue with somebody else about the color of the sky while perpetuating your doom and gloom views and advertising your unhappiness in life.

Edited February 17, 2012 by Nisa

[Oberkommando]

Get real and a life ... pleaseeeeeee

It really is pointless to go on with you about this considering it is common knowledge to anyone who has a clue about workers in Thailand.

So you cannot provide evidence as I thought.

My company employs about 500 workers in Thailand, and a few Worldwide.

How many does yours employ?