I have a couple of friends who have just arrived in BKK, after spending a few years in Samui. They are looking for a teaching job, but have no qualifications. I have advised them, right or wrong (correct me if the latter), that they could find a job teaching with no experience or TEFAL, although the pay would be low (15-25K month?)

I don’t wish to upset any established, professional teachers with the assumption that low paid work can be saught without qualification, however as far as I am aware this is factual.

From what I have read on this forum over time, I was under the impression that a TEFAL/experience is not a pre-requisite providing they don’t mind earning a low salary for a year or two.

If I am right in these assumptions, I would appreciate it if you guys could advise me where they should go to look for employment. I guess there may be a renowned school or two, in terms of employing guys like this?

They could both perform very well…. Otherwise I would not have suggested it to them. Both are articulate, good vocabulary, both native English speaking with time on there hands and a willing to live in BKK, regardless of initial salary.

The only downside, maybe, is that they are both rather old, compared to most young English teachers – one 48, one 44. I presume this may influence a pottetial employer in a negative fashion; the guys I see on the sky train teaching always seem to be 20 year old kids. Then again, for 20K a month, who knows?!!

Any ideas?

You can easily get 35,000+ without any qualifications. So many places are so desperate. He11, I've met plenty of non-native speakers making more than that. (Dutch, French, Bulgarian, Romanian...)

As for age, again I'm sure it would be easy to land a job. Maybe not as easy as for a young pretty-boy, but easy nonetheless.

I have a couple of friends who have just arrived in BKK, after spending a few years in Samui. They are looking for a teaching job, but have no qualifications. I have advised them, right or wrong (correct me if the latter), that they could find a job teaching with no experience or TEFAL, although the pay would be low (15-25K month?)

I don’t wish to upset any established, professional teachers with the assumption that low paid work can be saught without qualification, however as far as I am aware this is factual.

From what I have read on this forum over time, I was under the impression that a TEFAL/experience is not a pre-requisite providing they don’t mind earning a low salary for a year or two.

If I am right in these assumptions, I would appreciate it if you guys could advise me where they should go to look for employment. I guess there may be a renowned school or two, in terms of employing guys like this?

They could both perform very well…. Otherwise I would not have suggested it to them. Both are articulate, good vocabulary, both native English speaking with time on there hands and a willing to live in BKK, regardless of initial salary.

The only downside, maybe, is that they are both rather old, compared to most young English teachers – one 48, one 44. I presume this may influence a pottetial employer in a negative fashion; the guys I see on the sky train teaching always seem to be 20 year old kids. Then again, for 20K a month, who knows?!!

Any ideas?

I thought a TEFAL was a sandwich maker

LoL...they'll get something...but will they know what they're doing that's the main thing.

All the best though to them and their students!

Ages of 48 and 44 is not that old.

Like anything else in life, a positive attitude and a smile goes a long way, especailly here in Thailand.

They will need degrees to get hired at a good school.

They probably should take a TEFL course like Text and Talk but it is not necessary.

They could also just go to 3-4 schools, explain their situation and ask to be introduced to the 2 best teachers there. Then pay them some amt like say 1000THB/hr to have the teachers explain about the some of the details of teaching English in Thailand. Lesson plans and classroom mgt (keeping order in the class), school politics, etc. It is not rocket science.

Going cold into the classroom with no experience at all will likely be painful for the students and your friends. But maybe not depending on the quality and common sense of your friends.

Thanks for the advice guys... sounds far easier than i expected. Truth be told, they have both secured non-teaching jobs in BKK already, and have been working for a week. Without going into specifics, the job they both have involves sales and has turned out be questionable, to say the least. It actualy sounds fairly dodgy. They are desperate to find a teaching job quickly and escape this 'employment' asap..... hence the lack of research into this, and my posting here! If they came to BKK with the intention of teaching, they would have looked into it before leaving.

As things have turned out, it needs to be sooner rather than later.

Can anyone suggest a school/s that may be employing non qualified guys right now?

Any ideas where to look, more specificly?

Without going into specifics, the job they both have involves sales and has turned out be questionable, to say the least. It actualy sounds fairly dodgy.

Investment brokers are they? That trade seems to have grown up quite large again by the sounds of things.

Boiler rooms....tsk tsk!!!

On par with time share maggots I'd say. I find it interesting how many of these 'suits' think teaching

and teachers are lowly and have little respect for them.

They need to apply for all the openings they can, on websites that list employers. It's two weeks before school starts.

Mid-forties isn't too old. Mid-sixties is old (except in my case, of course ).

It won't be easy, and now they haven't time to take a proper course. Teaching in Thailand is never easy for the first year or two. I wish them luck.

On par with time share maggots I'd say. I find it interesting how many of these 'suits' think teaching

and teachers are lowly and have little respect for them.

Yeah when I first came here I went for an interview....didn't trust them though (although the money was pretty superb compared to what I was earning (15-20K a month for 5-6 days a week).....it just felt plain WRONG!) and stuck with what I had. I'd rather earn crap money in a morally 'nice' way, than tons in a morally 'nasty and horrible' way!

When they all got busted years ago it was quite amusing to see a lot of them applying for teaching work...was quite a pleasant feeling to knock them back (oh how the mighty have fallen).

i recall visiting the khao-sarn road many years ago (just the once), and always remember seeing considerable numbers of teachers wanted ads. pay was relatively low but then they weren't looking for the 'cream' of the teaching profession.