Anthropology Job Outlook in Thailand

[Taizyn]

Hello,

I'm new to the forums so please be gentle if I posted this in the wrong section. I'm not exactly sure where it belongs.

I'm a 30 year old veteran from the U.S.A. that fell in love with this country during my walk-about last year. I also fell in love with a girl here and will be making a life here with her. No she's not a bar girl. She's very traditional and neither one of us drink often. We never go to bars and avoid the typical foreigner hangouts. We live in a small village several hours away from Bangkok, in Central Thailand. I'm one of a handful of foreigners that lives in this area and as far as I know, the only one in the village. I very rarely see another and we generally keep to ourselves when we do cross paths.

Because I will be living here, the VA has authorized me to study from abroad and finish my education. I'm not sure if anybody here is familiar with the VA and Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation but they have some pretty strict rules for starting up the program - or restarting as is my case. I've got most everything done and prepped to attend school for a Bachelors in Anthropology and was hoping they'd follow with a Masters in Education with a TESOL focus. Unfortunately, I've been informed that I will have to pick between a Bachelors in English or Anthropology. If we return to the states, I must be willing to continue my profession there. I would love to teach English here, at a basic level, with the cultural diversity I'd be exposed to. However, I have no desire to teach English in America in a K-12 grade environment. I have completed all market research and job listing research for TESOL but now they want specific market research on Anthropology since that's the field they will be helping me with. The TESOL will be out of my pocket upon completion of my B.A. Anthro.

Long intro. Sorry. Just want to be clear on things though. My questions are: Is there a site that covers the career outlook for careers in Thailand, similar to onetonline.org or bls.gov? Are there Thai Anthropologists? Or even ex-pat Anthropologists here? Is it taught in the Universities at all? Basically, they need specific data showing job outlook, average salary, educational requirements, and current job listings for Anthropology here in Thailand. The only thing I have found so far is "Kelly Services Thailand Employment Outlook and Salary Guide" which does not list Anthropology. Unfortunately, the VA wants the specifics on Anthropology.

Also, is there any website that clearly states the legal requirements for teaching English in Thailand? Preferably a government website. I found plenty that were of different schools selling a product (themselves). So that's viewed by the VA as biased, possibly falsified information. If I could get a legal government website stating the exact requirements, maybe that would work in lieu of the other. As I understand it, I do not need a Bachelors in English, but rather a Bachelors in 'any' field plus a TESOL certificate. The job listings I see saying Bachelors in English as a requirement, as I understand it, is a preference within the school hiring for that position. But it is not legally required for a teacher to specifically have a Bachelors in English, to teach English.... is it? Or am I way off base?

Any help will be much appreciated. Anybody who's dealt with the VA before knows how much of a pain they can be sometimes. They deal very much in data and it must be accredited information for them to accept it.

Thank you in advance.

*Again, sorry if this is in the wrong section. Please feel free to correct/delete it if necessary.*

[cgphuket]

The trend is going towards needing a degree in education to teach English. The Thai plan is that eventually, an unrelated degree with a TEFL or CELTA will not be enough eventually. At the moment, it is still ok. As far as anthropology, Thailand has little value for social sciences and it is unlikely you would ever find work with that degree here, unless hired by a Western company that has interests in Thailand...

[SlyAnimal]

requirements to teach at a government school is a Thai teacher's licence. For which a provisional teaching licence of 2 years can be granted for holders of a bachelor degree in any field while teachers try to obtain a full teacher's licence. At present they usually allow teachers 2x provisional teaching licences, and then a 3rd if the teacher can show that they've been making good progress towards the full licence (and the teacher is still at the same school). However, the requirements may change in the future.

http://site.ksp.or.th/home.php?site=englishsite

That's the website for the Teacher's Council of Thailand (TCT or Krusapa), however it doesn't seem to be working at the moment, might just be my internet though. From memory, that had details on the requirements for a full teacher's licence and the requirements for a provisional licence.

Anthropology wise, I don't know anything about job options etc. Are you looking for job options for yourself, or for research purposes on the general field of study? (E.g. I'm sure there are job openings for Thai people, and there will be jobs advertised in Thai, but I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for?).

Also out of curiosity, what is the VA? It pretty important for understanding your post, but I couldn't work out for the life of me whether it's a university or a scholarship or some charitable organisation or something.

Edit: Or maybe Veterans Association? That'd make sense, although they must have a significantly more comprehensive setup than what we do in NZ if that's the case lol.

[Taizyn]

Yes, it is the Veterans Association. Thanks for all the great info. Yes, they are very comprehensive. Their goal with Chapter 31 is not to give me a degree but to rehabilitate me into a new career. So they require extensive research on the subject well before they justify the education for it. They want to see the end result of the career path before their willing to assist with a degree. I was able to find out a little about the local Anthropologists in Thailand but I still have much research to do. A few of the Universities have Language and Culture Departments so I know the field exists here. It's just a matter of finding the jobs. As you said, their probably in Thai. I'm having my fiance help me as best she can but this isn't exactly a common field in Thailand apparently.

As far as the teaching goes, the link doesn't work for me either but thank you. I did find some information on the qualifications that should work though.

Thanks again for everything.

[SheungWan]

The only way in for an anthropologist IMHO would be if you had a PhD in the subject from the USA plus a long and distinguished record of publication in the subject plus a focus on anthroplogical issues that affect Thailand plus a record of collaborative projects both past and current with Thai colleagues. You might then get invited for a semester as a distinguished guest professor. If you have published significant research in Thai plus are married to a Thai and have a Thai family, then your chances of an appointment also improve.

[Somtamnication]

Besides, Thais believe the sun circles around Thailand. You will be hitting your head on the wall, daily, trying to teach them about outside-of-Thailand stuff.

Heck, these people don't know they had a falang as a defense chief 120 years ago!!

[Taizyn]

Maybe if you left the typical falang hangouts and experienced real Thai culture, as well as given them an honest chance without judgment, you'd understand just how arrogant that response was. I have met many Thai people in my travels. Most have been very eager to learn about where I'm from and are excited to learn about my culture. Just as I am excited to learn about theirs. Bangkok, Krabi, Phuket, Ko Samui, Pattaya, and all the lovely places bleeding with white people is hardly a place to judge Thai people and Thai culture. 20-30 years ago, most those places were unspoiled paradises full of Thai culture. If you want to know why Thai people in those areas act the way they do, take a step back and look at what the "falang" has done to the area.

Now back to the topic, just to let anybody know who actually cares to know. From an academic level, most the major Universities do have a Sociology and Anthropology section. This is not an opinion based statement. This is a fact, verified through the University websites. Having somebody who reads Thai definitely helped with the verification and searching through all the different Universities. I also went to the Thammasat University's Rangsit Campus to see it with my own eyes. The Sociology and Anthropology Department wasn't easy to find and there was no way I could've done this without a translator. We were able to get all my questions about the subject answered and had a really good time enjoying the campus scenery and local University atmosphere that was bleeding with cultural diversity. As suspected, a Master's is required and Ph.D. is preferred to get the specific job title of "Anthropologist". However, much like other parts of the world, an Anthropology major leads into many different career paths/choices. With a Bachelors, a person can immediately go to work in one of the many fields listed at this site:

http://www.aaanet.org/profdev/careers/
Education/Outreach is the first one on this list.

Or a person can continue to graduate school, picking a more specialized focus of Anthropology (Cultural, Physical, Linguistic).

The Thammasat University Sociology and Anthropology Department Website is listed here:
http://socanth.tu.ac.th

Thanks again to those who actually tried to help or contributed something useful. My research is now complete.

Edited October 21, 2014 by zynorial

[Somtamnication]

[pillenwerfer]

Sorry this is not very informative but there is at least one anthropologist (non Thai) posting to TV.

He studies the "Behaviour of Asian Males", but not by learning the language/s and living with them for years, but "While I'm having a ciggie on my balcony"

[SheungWan]

Maybe if you left the typical falang hangouts and experienced real Thai culture, as well as given them an honest chance without judgment, you'd understand just how arrogant that response was. I have met many Thai people in my travels. Most have been very eager to learn about where I'm from and are excited to learn about my culture. Just as I am excited to learn about theirs. Bangkok, Krabi, Phuket, Ko Samui, Pattaya, and all the lovely places bleeding with white people is hardly a place to judge Thai people and Thai culture. 20-30 years ago, most those places were unspoiled paradises full of Thai culture. If you want to know why Thai people in those areas act the way they do, take a step back and look at what the "falang" has done to the area.

Now back to the topic, just to let anybody know who actually cares to know. From an academic level, most the major Universities do have a Sociology and Anthropology section. This is not an opinion based statement. This is a fact, verified through the University websites. Having somebody who reads Thai definitely helped with the verification and searching through all the different Universities. I also went to the Thammasat University's Rangsit Campus to see it with my own eyes. The Sociology and Anthropology Department wasn't easy to find and there was no way I could've done this without a translator. We were able to get all my questions about the subject answered and had a really good time enjoying the campus scenery and local University atmosphere that was bleeding with cultural diversity. As suspected, a Master's is required and Ph.D. is preferred to get the specific job title of "Anthropologist". However, much like other parts of the world, an Anthropology major leads into many different career paths/choices. With a Bachelors, a person can immediately go to work in one of the many fields listed at this site:

http://www.aaanet.org/profdev/careers/

Education/Outreach is the first one on this list.

Or a person can continue to graduate school, picking a more specialized focus of Anthropology (Cultural, Physical, Linguistic).

The Thammasat University Sociology and Anthropology Department Website is listed here:

http://socanth.tu.ac.th

Thanks again to those who actually tried to help or contributed something useful. My research is now complete.

So, your anthropological studies in Thailand so far have revealed to you that 20-30 years ago places like Pattaya were unspoiled paradises full of Thai culture eh? Pauline Kael the American film critic when she reviewed the movie Dances With Wolves referred to Kevin Costner as having 'feathers in his hair and feathers in his head'.