Why Was Nobody Interested In A Teaching Position?

[bundoi]

my income and my outgoings are two completely different things, surely that is obvious

144k USD per year is far more than the average salary in the US, so i will take that with a very large pinch of salt; unless perhaps the gentleman was seconded by an employer from his home country ?

to the gentleman who described me as "nuts", the people who i think are nuts are those foreigners who expect to earn more in Thailand than they do at home

if i lived in pattaya or similar i'm certain my outgoings would be very very much higher

i imagine that one of the reasons teachers have lower outgoings than retirees is that they don't have so much free time to spend money

oh i forgot to mention transport, my school have negotiated an extraordinarily good deal for me on my car, a large comfortable SUV

[sirchai]

Just thought of an article I've read a few weeks ago, where American fast food workers were trying to go on strike to earn more than the $ 7 something,which is the minimum wage

Isn't that even less than making 25K here, considering the cost and quality of living in the States?

I wouldn't leave my family here, as I couldn't afford it to take them to Europe. And I don't want to live in Europe anymore, better said, i couldn't.-

.

[SlyAnimal]

Guys, what I'm really having difficulty understanding is...

if you want a salary that pays a mortgage (on a house you can own), and a nice car, and a holiday in the sun once or twice a year and health care and pensions whose provisions you can understand...etc etc... why are you working in Thailand or SE Asia?

just stay home... I mean back home.

jpbs here

I made over US$12k/mo 20 years ago in Thailand. There are many well-paid jobs here today, but you need actual education and experience in a discipline other than English. Teaching English in Thailand when your only qualifications are you can speak English, will never be well-paid.

To all of you who insist you can live well on B25k/mo anywhere in Thailand; have you really convinced yourself you're living well?

Define "well" :-P

Everyone has a different interpretation of it.

Also I don't think people said anywhere in Thailand, the reference has always been to rural Thailand.

Working in Thailand for 25k, is much the same as working in a western country, while earning minimum wage or just above.

You can live on the minimum wage, maybe not comfortably, but you can live on it, you wouldn't want to support a family on it though. A job which pays slightly higher than minimum wage might be quite comfortable for some people, but terrible for others. It all depends on the individual. I've heard some Pattaya retirees say that they couldn't live on less than x THB per month, with x being anywhere from 50,000 - 100,000 (And that's often without a wife/kids to support lol).... it all depends on your perspective.

[ThaiKiwi]

Apologies for the font glitches. Let me reiterate and elaborate - I have interviewed many aspiring teachers. My experience is that Thais are the best teachers of English for Thai students. If there are any farangs out there who can speak even Patom 1 level, please let me know ;-)

I can.

[sirchai]

It's like "Godot", the god who wasn't there....-

[classic-chassis]

In short, it's a crap job, for crap money, in the boonies.

It also seems to be working for someone who is rather opinionated, regarding the qualities of NES and the benefits they can bring to young learners, or the lack there of, which will end in tears.

I work for a company that employs teachers in several capacities. We higher Non NES teachers of English for 25,000BHT per month. They do not teach in Bangkok either.

Qualified NES get 38,000 up.

The year is 2013, not 1990. The cost of living has risen since then, so should your pay scale.

[mrowe1973]

I'm a teacher in America and I'm going to Thialand on vacation this Friday December 20th and I'll return January 3rd. It's sad how teachers are paid such a small wage in every country. It's also amazing how the employer always attempts to justify the low wage by explaining " It's for the students, or you can live great on this salary in this location" The reality is people work for money and teaching is a job. Why don't everyone in every profession move to a rural country side and make next to nothing for the good of his fellow man?

[culicine]

If salary is the problem, why not go go home where u can earn more ?

I haven't interviewed an NES who can give half the value of a bi-lingual Thai , even though the NES wants twice as much !!

I love the first part of this "Go home where you can earn more?" I am sure you are not a thai national or NES speaker. Why should NES be giving more money? We can speak the NATIVE ENGLISH LANGUAGE!! Not half-assed attempts of saying a english word. I have to agree that most, including myself find grammer teaching a pain but we learnt this as a child. Thais teach the grammer we teach the speaking, its that simple.

Well Eddy , are you a teacher ? Are you NES ? If so surely you can earn more in your home country than you can in Thailand?

Sure we can earn more, but i bet my net savings are higher here than as a teacher in Australia....the tax man will take 35-40% right off the bat, then add in the high cost of petrol/electricity/rent, and I'd be down to virtually no savings at all. Mind you, i earn a bit more than 25K a month:) Then there is the stress of working in a western school as well. Think I'll stay here..

[smotherb]

Guys, what I'm really having difficulty understanding is...

if you want a salary that pays a mortgage (on a house you can own), and a nice car, and a holiday in the sun once or twice a year and health care and pensions whose provisions you can understand...etc etc... why are you working in Thailand or SE Asia?

just stay home... I mean back home.

jpbs here

I made over US$12k/mo 20 years ago in Thailand. There are many well-paid jobs here today, but you need actual education and experience in a discipline other than English. Teaching English in Thailand when your only qualifications are you can speak English, will never be well-paid.

To all of you who insist you can live well on B25k/mo anywhere in Thailand; have you really convinced yourself you're living well?

Define "well" :-P

Everyone has a different interpretation of it.

Also I don't think people said anywhere in Thailand, the reference has always been to rural Thailand.

Working in Thailand for 25k, is much the same as working in a western country, while earning minimum wage or just above.

You can live on the minimum wage, maybe not comfortably, but you can live on it, you wouldn't want to support a family on it though. A job which pays slightly higher than minimum wage might be quite comfortable for some people, but terrible for others. It all depends on the individual. I've heard some Pattaya retirees say that they couldn't live on less than x THB per month, with x being anywhere from 50,000 - 100,000 (And that's often without a wife/kids to support lol).... it all depends on your perspective.

Yes, 'living well' is relative, but I am sure very few would say living on minimum wage, or living not comfortably, is 'living well' anywhere. Those very few, I'd wager, have little other choice. So, again I must ask, have you really convinced yourself you are living well?

[harrry]

If salary is the problem, why not go go home where u can earn more ?

I haven't interviewed an NES who can give half the value of a bi-lingual Thai , even though the NES wants twice as much !!

I love the first part of this "Go home where you can earn more?" I am sure you are not a thai national or NES speaker. Why should NES be giving more money? We can speak the NATIVE ENGLISH LANGUAGE!! Not half-assed attempts of saying a english word. I have to agree that most, including myself find grammer teaching a pain but we learnt this as a child. Thais teach the grammer we teach the speaking, its that simple.

Well Eddy , are you a teacher ? Are you NES ? If so surely you can earn more in your home country than you can in Thailand?

Sure we can earn more, but i bet my net savings are higher here than as a teacher in Australia....the tax man will take 35-40% right off the bat, then add in the high cost of petrol/electricity/rent, and I'd be down to virtually no savings at all. Mind you, i earn a bit more than 25K a month:) Then there is the stress of working in a western school as well. Think I'll stay here..

If the Australian tax department considers you a resident of Australia still they will still tax you at that rate. Never mind you will get a credit for what you pay here.

[White Tiger]

As just about everybody else who has replied to this question has already said, the reason no one was interested in this job is because the salary was too low.

If the school would prefer a Thai teacher to teach English instead, then that’s the school’s prerogative.

You have to wonder why the school even bothered advertising for an NET since some of the posts on this thread suggest the school, or someone purporting to be closely connected with it, is heavily prejudiced against NETs.

It’s just as well that the school has a preference for a Thai teacher since it won’t get any NET’s applying for the position at the offered salary.

Did you really read the job offer and following posts? The school needs a native English speaker to teach English. The <deleted> post that Thai teachers are the best teachers is ridiculous.

But they could be the best teachers, if the MoE would send all of those guys who'd like to become English teachers to study abroad.

After four years in an English speaking country, holding a degree from same country, they wouldn't lose face anymore.

Our Thai English teachers, which aren't working at the school which is looking for an English teacher, can't have a conversation with me, or my American colleague.

Our so important meetings with the whole English teaching staff are always conducted in Thai, never in English.

Two of them have a Masters. One once told me that they don't speak anymore English once they got home. A very good excuse,but only for her.- .

I can't make head or tail of your post Sirchai, so I can't really respond. I have heard some Thais will draft a message in Thai first and then use Google translate to change it to English before posting things on line. Have you tried that?

Edited December 17, 2013 by White Tiger

[sirchai]

As just about everybody else who has replied to this question has already said, the reason no one was interested in this job is because the salary was too low.

If the school would prefer a Thai teacher to teach English instead, then that’s the school’s prerogative.

You have to wonder why the school even bothered advertising for an NET since some of the posts on this thread suggest the school, or someone purporting to be closely connected with it, is heavily prejudiced against NETs.

It’s just as well that the school has a preference for a Thai teacher since it won’t get any NET’s applying for the position at the offered salary.

Did you really read the job offer and following posts? The school needs a native English speaker to teach English. The <deleted> post that Thai teachers are the best teachers is ridiculous.

But they could be the best teachers, if the MoE would send all of those guys who'd like to become English teachers to study abroad.

After four years in an English speaking country, holding a degree from same country, they wouldn't lose face anymore.

Our Thai English teachers, which aren't working at the school which is looking for an English teacher, can't have a conversation with me, or my American colleague.

Our so important meetings with the whole English teaching staff are always conducted in Thai, never in English.

Two of them have a Masters. One once told me that they don't speak anymore English once they got home. A very good excuse,but only for her.- .

I can't make head or tail of your post Sirchai, so I can't really respond. I have heard some Thais will draft a message in Thai first and then use Google translate to change it to English before posting things on line. Have you tried that?

Guess it's time to close this topic. White Tiger, please learn how to read, then try to understand what you've read, before you post next time on line. Better you're off the line, to be perfectly honest with you..So why did you post, if you can't really respond? Don't drink and drive, dude.-

Edited December 17, 2013 by sirchai

[SlyAnimal]

Yes, 'living well' is relative, but I am sure very few would say living on minimum wage, or living not comfortably, is 'living well' anywhere. Those very few, I'd wager, have little other choice. So, again I must ask, have you really convinced yourself you are living well?

For myself, yes I'm definitely living well.

I enjoy my job, I sometimes even wake up and "want" to go to work. Then when I'm at my job, I feel like I'm respected by my co-workers, respected by my students and respected by my community.

I never feel like I'm having to work "hard" at my job, it is very rare that I come home and feel "drained" from my work. In fact, I even have the luxury of coming home during the day, as with only 17 contact hours per week, I'm essentially working part time.

When I come home from work, my gf is waiting at home, since I earn enough in my part time job, that she doesn't need to work. We can then choose to either eat at home, or go out to a restaurant every day, both of which are equally delicious options.

After school I usually either play computer games or go running, depending on how motivated I'm feeling, it's nice to be in the countryside but still close urban enough to get decent internet access. I could of course spend the afternoons teaching special classes for extra money, but I'm a bit lazy, so when people ask I usually just refer them to other teachers, or just explain that I'm not interested at present, but maybe next year.

On the weekends we get a bit bored just staying at home, as although countryside living is cheap, it's not all that exciting. Therefore we often travel to neighbouring provinces visiting friends or checking out the various temples and "touristy stuff" around Isaan, as well as enjoying the opportunity to eat at either western restaurants or nice Thai restaurants. It's quite funny, as I never used to drive in NZ, and all of my friends there have second hand cars, but I've got a brand new car (Which I used funds from NZ for the deposit, but pay the monthly repayments from my salary).

During the 3 months holiday I have each year, I usually do a little bit of travel, either within Thailand or to other Asian countries. If I wasn't making my car repayments, or if I was doing some after school tutoring, I could probably pay for my holidays with my salary, but as I generally don't need to touch my NZ investment funds during the year, I usually just pay for my overseas holidays using funds from NZ (Particularly as holidays in Asia/Thailand are so cheap when you're already based in Thailand! When I was living in NZ I would never dream of travelling to 2-3 different countries each year!!

So in answer to your question.... yes I've convinced myself that I'm "living well".

Of course, I'm making 36k per month, not 25k. If I was making 25k, I wouldn't have been able to afford the car on my salary, but would still be able to afford everything else. In fact, travelling to neighbouring provinces etc would have been even cheaper, as the car guzzles significantly more petrol than my motorcycle. But the car is more comfortable and safer, which is important as I've got a good life going, and would hate to end it as roadkill.

Edit: Sorry if this post sounds a little bit "smug", but I really am very happy with my lifestyle. I wouldn't want to work for 25k long term if it was my only source of income, mainly because there's simply more available elsewhere, but it's definitely possible to live a nice lifestyle on 25k. Although as I always said in my previous posts, if you're not single, then 25k isn't good long term without alternative income, as it leaves very little for savings.

[SlyAnimal]

Closing topic as per request of OP.