Its Happening - Law to Tax Overseas Income Now in Progress

[Traveller86]

Hi,

While I'm aware of how frequently similar threads are started on this forum I thought I'd give it a shot anyway.....

I would like to spend a couple of years (or longer if possible) living and working in Thailand and therefore seek to uncover my options.

I'm a 27 year-old native English speaker from Australia who currently holds a Bachelor degree in marketing and economics as well as a Masters in International business. While I have spent a few years in hospitality and retail within the liquor industry and a couple of years in the financial services industry, I have no particular skill-set as my employment to date has comprised entry level work.

I suppose what I do have to my advantage is a basic to intermediate level of spoken Thai and some experience in teaching non-native English speakers (refugees and other new migrants) as a classroom assistant. Having said that, while I would consider attaining a CELTA qualification and applying for teaching positions, it would not be my most preferred occupation. If anyone could therefore suggest potential avenues in other commercial industries such as suitable internships or recruitment agencies, I would be most grateful.

Thank you.....

Pete

Edited August 11, 2013 by Traveller86

[Dukgae]

you could try applying to the advertising and PR agencies - the majority of the staff are Thai but there is also a need for a few native English speakers to write and polish English materials and help interface with international clients, and your experience with other industries will be some help if they have clients in those industries. Starting salary will probably not be much though.

[Traveller86]

Ah, I see.... I'll try to do some research and perhaps shoot them an email expressing my interest if they have previously recruited for similar suitable positions. I understand what you are saying about the salary, and I also understand that many young Thais are well educated these days. Truth be told I would be quite content with 30,000 to 35,000 in my first year or even a bit less depending on where the job could lead. I would of course not depart empty handed but rather save up an appropriate sum to fall back on if need be.

Thanks for your reply Dukgae....

[householder]

Get yourself to Myanmar, networking and seeing the lay of the land there...

[Thai at Heart]

Very very hard in Thailand.

[samran]

The one advantage you have is that Thailand gives Australian's under 30 access to Working Holiday Visa's. Get one of them and that will at least let you get on the ground to hunt around for a job. Random emails rarely work unless there is an excellent resume attached to it, but at least the WHV will let you work doing any old thing to tide you over while you build up a profile. Do a search here on TV for WHV's, some bloke figured out a way to turn a one year visa into a 2 year visa.

[Traveller86]

Householder,

Cheers for the suggestion but for now I'll explore my options in Thailand as this has been my priority for a while due to a number of reasons, one of them being the time spent becoming familiar with the Thai language. Nonetheless if a number of months from now this becomes too tiresome, I will consider Myanmar or Cambodia, but that'll be a whole new ball game.

Samran,

Thanks for pointing that out as this would be a great option for me, however like the case of Thai's applying for the Work and holiday visa to Australia (subclass 462) there always seems to be a huge excess of candidates relative to positions available despite our government increasing the intake over the past few years. I would assume the same for foreigners applying to Thailand and many disappointed souls missing out. Nonetheless I think it would be very much worth my while to look into this....

Thai at heart,

Not very encouraging but realistic I suppose....

Edited August 12, 2013 by Traveller86

[PattayaPhom]

Timeshare, teaching, real estate is about it. There are a few SEO call centers operating in BKK and CM that often advertise but their turnover of staff sems very high.

[Traveller86]

While I was only reading through quite briefly, I recall (a few months ago), seeing vacancies in jobs4farangs.com/‎ accross more industries than those which were mentioned above however this website doesn't seem to be working at the moment..... I have read on this forum from a number of people that seeking employment opportunities online, is highly unlikely to lead to any success...

[huanga]

It's a topic that has been re-hashed by many on this forum.

To make it short, unless you are recruited in your home country to be sent here on an ex-pat package, I would work in your home country that would command a better career track and higher salary than here. We all know the fringe benefits that Thailand can offer but not when you are starting out at the age of 27.... then, that's just my opinion.

Get specialized so the multinational company in Thailand would like to use your service is probably the easier way to enjoy your life in Thailand. With the soaring prices these days, 30-50,000 per month salary will not really let you enjoy Thailand. Then again, this is another often-rehashed topic too.

[geriatrickid]

English language foreign marketing and PR workers are being laid off by hotels, while Chinese and Russian language speakers are being recruited.

As the ASEAN agreement comes into play, non ASEAN workers will be forced out of the market. I think you are making a mistake career wise. However, you need to get the Thai bug out of your system, so you might as well get one of those crappy teaching jobs and get a taste for the Thai application of hierarchy and social position. Once you live it for a year or so, you will have a better understanding of what it's like in Thailand. Maybe, you'll like it, or maybe you won't.

Fortunately, I don't have to take instructions from Thai nationals. It's not easy. There is no such thing as a peer group. The social hierarchy is as defined as the pecking order in a flock of chickens, or the roles established in an ant colony. Sometimes, that makes co-worker interactions easier, and sometimes, it makes things difficult, particularly for higher skilled jobs where the boss can be less experienced and less qualified than the foreigner, and not willing to listen to sound advice. The pecking order dictates who may be heard. Develop a thick skin, because Thai workplace politics can be a blood sport. It is not uncommon to have people smile and say nice things to you and then bad mouth you when you are out of earshot.

[Traveller86]

geriatrickid,

I have been told about this aspect of Thai culture (I think it's common to just about all Asian countries). Personally I'm not one to resist "authority" and quite capable of eating humble pie but i know many westerners who come from more developed social & work settings where there is far less power distance would have a problem with it. Studying in Malaysia for 5 months or so probably gave me a little taste of itas well.

The politics in Thai workplaces on the other hand, will be a challenge to overcome and my girlfriend has also discussed this using her own experiences in the companies which she has worked for in Thailand. I would have thought however, that being a foreigner would make one less vulnerable as you would be perceived to be outside of their cultural circle and not a direct competitor. I may be wrong though...

The work and holiday visa mentioned above would be ideal if it weren't for being restricted to one given employer for a maximum of three months. Nevertheless, with sufficient savings it could be worthwhile using it to stay longer and explore other options while there already....

Anyhow, comments and feedback much appreciated......

[Traveller86]

Huanga,

Yes, I totally agree.... While being hired by a multinational and relocated to BKK would be a perfect scenario, it would be a very long time from now before being in such a position. I'm sure rigorous saving in the meantime (by this i mean quite a number of years) could lead to a passive income generating asset which would also help.

However the next decision would entail choosing a career path here in Oz which would lead to a skill-set that would be in demand in Thailand, in the future.

Given how quickly the country is developing and the increasing level of education among its own locals, who would be able to fill more position than now, I'm not sure this would pan out as planned......

[ajarnpot]

what ever you do kiddo avoid de veres. they make you pay for everything phone line, office space desk etc. also were thrown out of dubai, singapore, hk i think. you are better off going with a boiler than them.

the best thing you can do to get an advantage is learn the local language maybe malay too,

when you've got the language skills you can do a lot more, many Thai speak good English and many have v good quals from good schools etc

[Traveller86]

Thanks for the warning above. My Thai is currently sufficient in social settings but probably not yet for the workplace but this is constantly being worked on. Malay?.... I would have thought that other than the bottom 3 or 4 provinces, there'd be little need for it in Thailand.