Teaching In Thailand - What You Need To Know

[SlyAnimal]

The Basics of Teaching in Thailand:

Introduction:

This thread is designed to answer many of the initial questions which new teachers will have regarding teaching in Thailand. Once you have read this thread please feel free to post any questions you may have, regarding teaching in Thailand, as a new topic and our members will do their best to assist you with your enquiries. If you notice any errors in this thread, or information which becomes outdated, please post in the draft thread or pm me, and I can then look into updating this post. This thread is locked, as it is designed as a reference material.

Education Requirements:

To obtain a work permit, and thus be legally allowed to work in Thailand you generally need to have either a Thai Teachers Licence or a Provisional Teacher’s Licence (Waiver). Language Schools & Universities don’t necessarily require either in order to obtain a work permit, as they are private institutions.

To obtain a Provisional Teacher’s permit, you need to be a Native English Speaker (NES) and have a Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent). Applicants from countries other than USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Ireland, must submit a TOEIC/TOEFL or IELTS proficiency test certificate. A provisional teaching permit is valid for 2 years and is tied to the educational institution (So if you move schools, a new permit is required).

To obtain a Permanent Teacher’s Licence (Renewed every 5 years), there are various different paths. Most of which require you to hold a Bachelor of Education, Graduate Diploma of Teaching and/or a Teacher’s licence in your home country.

I will try to create more information regarding the specifics of obtaining a teachers licence/waiver in the future.

Character Requirements / Police Check:

Part of the requirements for your visa, is that you provide a record from your home country showing that you don’t have any convictions. This is rarely asked for; however you should have this ready just to be safe, as it can otherwise be quite time consuming to obtain while not residing in your home country.

Experience Requirements:

To obtain your visa and work permit there are no experience requirements. However schools may specify a minimum level of experience when they advertise positions.

Age Requirements:

In Thailand, people generally retire at 60. Therefore it is very difficult to get a job when you are 60+, and you may even have difficulty finding a job if you are in your 50s, although this will largely depend on your qualifications and experience.

Ethnicity Requirements:

Some schools prefer people to be Caucasian, regardless of whether they are Native English Speakers (NES) or not. Most aren’t going to discriminate, however many will prefer to take applicants who don’t look Asian.

Expected Salaries and workload:

Salaries vary by region, however a general expectation would be 25,000 – 35,000 THB per month when working outside of Bangkok. And 35,000 – 45,000 THB per month when working in Bangkok, as the cost of living is generally higher in Bangkok (Fringe areas of Bangkok are likely somewhere in between). International schools, can potentially pay substantially more.

Workload generally ranges from 18 – 24 teaching hours per week. Some schools will expect you to stay on campus from 7:30am – 4:00pm, while others may allow you to leave campus when you have free time.

Likewise, some schools will require you to sign in, and sign out every day, even when the students are on holiday. While others will allow you to take this time off. Every school is different, and you likely won’t know until you start working there.


Where/When to apply:
The Thai academic year, for government schools and universities, usually starts in mid-late May, and finishes in late early – mid March. With a 3 week mid semester break in October. Therefore your best opportunities to look for work, are in March/April/May, or in September/October, as vacancies often open up around this time.

You can find many websites online, which advertise teaching jobs online. A quick search using local key words associated with teaching, should provide you with many websites related to working as a teacher in Thailand (Remember both “Ajarn” and “Kru” roughly translate to “teacher” in Thai).

However the best method is often to simply turn up at schools and ask them. Make sure that you’re well dressed, have a copy of your CV and are prepared to teach a demonstration lesson if required. You then have a decent chance of finding a school which is open to the idea of hiring a new teacher, even if they wouldn’t necessarily advertise the position (Or they may know of other schools nearby who are looking).

Also when you apply for a job, you will need include a colour photo with your CV when you send it to schools. Also be prepared for large amounts of photocopying of documents, which you will then need to sign and date every page to verify the copy. These are both standard practices in Thailand which differ from the west.

Edit:

Here is a link to a thread which has information regarding study materials for the teacher's licence exams.

Here is a link to a thread with information on what documents you need to submit to immigration for a Non Immigrant B Extension, based on working as a teacher.

Here is a link to a website which you can use to verify whether your degree is recognised within Thailand or not. The website is in Thai, so you'll need a Thai friend to assist you.

I'll work the information from these into a more summarised / concise version at some point.