Teaching

[Cornflakes]

Hi everyone, seriously thinknig of coming to live in Bkk, have previously lived in Thailand with my gf and had a business in Ko Phangnan which wasn't too successful so we closed it down.

Anyways to get to the point, I want to come over to teach english, I know all about the TEFL courses and about the visa process and how it is like gold dust to get/ have WP or TL

I was wondering, I know people who have degrees will obviously get paid more and work in better schools/universities, but if I have done TEFL course (In Bkk) and teacher training in (UK Local College) will this help improve my chances of earning a higher income or will they just look at the fact that I don't have a degree?

I'm 99% sure I will be coming over as soon as I have saved some more money as I don't want to be strapped for cash and it will also give me time to get some teacher trainnig in my college. Even if this doesn't help me improve my chances of higher earning I would like to do it anyways to build my confidence and get used to preparing lessons and teaching strategies.

So basically i am asking can I get more than 30,000 baht or will it help my chances if I have done teacher training even if it is only a 12 week course which I will get certified in at the end of.

Any replies welcome

[Spit the Dog]

At the lower/middle end of the teaching scale in Thailand as long as you look the part and appear confident in the classroom, I don't think the schools really care what qualifications you have on paper.

If you want to get into the +50,000 baht teaching jobs then your lack of degree will go against you.

To be honest, I completed my TEFL course in Bangkok but I don't think the merits of it are worth the paper it's written on. I have been to a few job interviews and have never been asked to produce my original TEFL certificate.

However doing any teacher training is definitely recommended for your own personal development. If I hadn't have done my TEFL, I wouldn't have had a clue what to do when I started teaching. It certainly helped me feel more confident when I began teaching English.

Edited January 2, 2006 by Spit the Dog

[Cornflakes]

So your saying then that without a degree I have little chance of getting paid more than 30-40,000 baht per month?

I don't think it is even worth coming to teach if I can't earn more than that amount.

I don't expect to earn 50,000 to start off with and I would fully expect to be getting paid the average of 30,000 but after a couple of months I would definetly be looking to get paid a little more than this.

So is it achieveable to get piad more than 30,000 without a degree? Or does it fully depend on how confident and how good my skills are?

Also would like to know is the TEFL course difficult? Can people fail on it? I would definetly give it 100%, I don't go whoring, I rarley driink and I don't usually stay up til all hours.

Thanks for the reply

[Spit the Dog]

So is it achieveable to get piad more than 30,000 without a degree? Or does it fully depend on how confident and how good my skills are?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Unfortunately, all of the International and top private schools won't touch you if you don't have a degree.

I know this won't sound very honest but the best thing to do if you don't have a degree is to go down Khao san road and buy yourself a fake degree. The Ministry of Education requires every teacher to have a degree before they will issue a work permit. Don't worry, you won't be the first farang in Thailand to be using a fake degree. Not sure of the exact figure but I reckon about 30% of English teachers in Thailand are using fake degrees.

Nevertheless, if you are good at your job and happen to come across the right job at the right time, then it is possible to earn 50,000 baht.

Also would like to know is the TEFL course difficult? Can people fail on it? I would definetly give it 100%, I don't go whoring, I rarley driink and I don't usually stay up til all hours.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you pay your money and complete the TEFl you shouldn't fail. At the school that I done my TEFL, everyone was awarded different grades when the course was completed.

[Cornflakes]

Thanks for the advice mate

But buying a fake degree isn't what i want to do, i don't want to have that on my mind the whole time that i'm teaching, what if I get caught,what if this happens, what if that happens. etc etc

So it's either get a real college degree or settle for 30,000 baht per month.

Iv'e read alot about people that don't have degrees but still manage to get about 50,000 baht. Is this by doing private sessions on the weekend? or any time of the week?

I really want to come over and work though, maybe if I just say a couple of thousand pounds that will help boost my income per month and just dip into it when I really need to?

Thanks again

[robitusson]

Thanks for the advice mate

But buying a fake degree isn't what i want to do, i don't want to have that on my mind the whole time that i'm teaching, what if I get caught,what if this happens, what if that happens. etc etc

So it's either get a real college degree or settle for 30,000 baht per month.

Iv'e read alot about people that don't have degrees but still manage to get about 50,000 baht. Is this by doing private sessions on the weekend? or any time of the week?

I really want to come over and work though, maybe if I just say a couple of thousand pounds that will help boost my income per month and just dip into it when I really need to?

Thanks again

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There's a very similar thread about this going on at the moment. Lots of qualified experienced teachers are working for 30, 000 a month. That's just from one job, 5 days a week. And you get the odd teacher who's earning at the bigger end of the scale, 40 - 50 thousand, who doesn't have any qualifications. What employers really want anyway in my opinion, is someone who turns up, is on time, is presentable and professional and is consistent in their teaching. This is 10 times more valuable than someone who is fully qualified and experienced and comes in 5 minutes before the class, reeking of booze, grabs the book and goes into the classroom. The only problem is you need a degree to get the work permit. I just got my work permit and I had to get two cover letters from my college, a letter from my embassy confirming my name on the degree and the original document. So a fake degree isn't worth spending the money on.

[Ijustwannateach]

Plus, um, it's illegal.

OP should read the pinned Questions About Qualifications thread, which to make a long story short, more or less confirms that according to his own estimations, it isn't worth it for him to come to Thailand.

"Steven"

[kenkannif]

I know people with degrees earning 30-40K a month, I know people without earning 40K plus!!!

Got to work it mate!

[PeaceBlondie]

Ken knows a lot of people without degrees who do okay, and some people with degrees who fail. Then again, Ken knows a lot of people, and on this issue, I agree with Ken to disagree.

All other things being more or less equal, valid qualifications make it easier to get and keep a decent job. And at the end of the day, when it's all said and done, and the fat lady sings, keeping a job is not so much about paper qualifications, but how well you smile and control your temper and play the game. If you're not a good team player, don't come to Thailand unless you're bringing a million quid with you.

[kenkannif]

Yeah the money is there, but you gotta work for it and put yourself about.

Marmers pushes 70K a month I think

Saying that though PB is right....the more paperwork you have the easier it SHOULD be to get WPed up etc. (although not always).

Edited January 4, 2006 by kenkannif

[PeaceBlondie]

So this is where Ken and I agree: more proper paperwork/qualifications OUGHT TO make it easier to get the interview, the job, the WP, the TL, and sometimes it does make it easier. Overall, though, there just isn't a whole lot of rhyme or reason to TEFL in Thailand; it's arbitrary and whimsical and unpredictable.

TEFL in Thailand is pretty much screwed up, with improper selections, unexplainable cancellations of good programs and contracts of good teachers, nearly impossible working conditions, etc. It's no place for a Western professional, and barely-qualified folks like Ken and I were lucky to get half-decent jobs or better. Ken has a good job, and I don't need to work (though I'd prefer to).

What are the odds that a guy without a degree, without a TEFL cert, and without teaching experience, could make 300,000 baht in his first year in Thailand? Less than one chance out of ten. I still haven't made 300,000 baht in any twelve months in Thailand, never had a WP or a TL, never got my visa extended....and I was a darn good teacher!

Edited January 5, 2006 by PeaceBlondie

[mbkudu]

So this is where Ken and I agree: more proper paperwork/qualifications OUGHT TO make it easier to get the interview, the job, the WP, the TL, and sometimes it does make it easier. Overall, though, there just isn't a whole lot of rhyme or reason to TEFL in Thailand; it's arbitrary and whimsical and unpredictable.

TEFL in Thailand is pretty much screwed up, with improper selections, unexplainable cancellations of good programs and contracts of good teachers, nearly impossible working conditions, etc. It's no place for a Western professional, and barely-qualified folks like Ken and I were lucky to get half-decent jobs or better. Ken has a good job, and I don't need to work (though I'd prefer to).

What are the odds that a guy without a degree, without a TEFL cert, and without teaching experience, could make 300,000 baht in his first year in Thailand? Less than one chance out of ten. I still haven't made 300,000 baht in any twelve months in Thailand, never had a WP or a TL, never got my visa extended....and I was a darn good teacher!

If one followed the law to the letter, then yes, those numbers would be right. This means WP, TL and a dismal government school job at 25,000-30,000 a month. I am not by any means bragging here; just trying to show a past perspective: seven years ago I was pulling in 60,000 baht per month teaching all private gigs.

Doing it this way for a long term future is sketchy and that's why I stopped and went into other work. Decent money can be made in Thailand teaching, but I'm not sure the amount of labor required to get that amount of money is worth it. In the near future teaching will play a secondary role in my income. It is a decent way to live for the retired on fixed income, independently wealthy bored expats, someone who has good qualifications and nails a real job at a real school with real benefits or as part time work for students. For the young upstart teacher in Thailand it's an uncertain future. So, what else is new?

[kenkannif]

TEFL in Thailand is pretty much screwed up, with improper selections, unexplainable cancellations of good programs and contracts of good teachers, nearly impossible working conditions, etc. It's no place for a Western professional, and barely-qualified folks like Ken and I were lucky to get half-decent jobs or better. Ken has a good job, and I don't need to work (though I'd prefer to).

I was very lucky indeed. And you're right....no rhyme, no reason. I know so so teachers on good money, and good on teachers on so so money.

What are the odds that a guy without a degree, without a TEFL cert, and without teaching experience, could make 300,000 baht in his first year in Thailand? Less than one chance out of ten. I still haven't made 300,000 baht in any twelve months in Thailand, never had a WP or a TL, never got my visa extended....and I was a darn good teacher!

No disrespect but in Bangers it's a doddle and also to be fair (and again no disrespect intended) PB I think if you didn't have a pension coming in and had more of a dire need to work....you'd have got that 300,000 Baht in twelve months. What do you think? A lot of our lot pull in 40-50K a month (with no degree just a TEFL) with extra work in the evening/weekend (although not 12 months a year).

[PeaceBlondie]

Ken, you're right. If I had worked in Bangers, instead of working out of Chiang Mai, I'd have made at least 6,000 baht more every month, only to see it soaked up by increased rents and allergy medications. And if I'd had to survive on my Thai income only, I'd have been tempted to work myself sick, 7 days and nights per week, and that's not a life. When I was an IRS auditor with six kids, I waited on tables for 25 more hours per week. Won't be fooled again.

I stand by my statement that a totally unqualified newcomer to Thailand TEFL would be darn lucky to bring home 300,000 a year, but if he's in Bangkok, maybe 360,000 baht. What's discouraging is when a far better qualified teacher (on paper) comes to Thailand, and even in his second year he can't make 300K by commuting 35 km to work every day, working hard and smart without a WP or proper visa extension. THAT sucks.

[machangezi]

Cornflakes wrote:

So basically i am asking can I get more than 30,000 baht or will it help my chances if I have done teacher training even if it is only a 12 week course which I will get certified in at the end of.

I know many guys earing upto 35K / month, 19 hours / week, without any formal degree or training.

[Ijustwannateach]

Whether it's a seriously low 25K or a still pretty darn low 50K, the salaries are too low to justify teaching here for its own sake (and indeed, I don't know anyone here who is SOLELY here to teach as a career- but then, that's been the case in most places I've met teachers).