[Help] I'm 21 and I'm seriously looking to become a Teacher

[SheungWan]

Hi Hootix,

First, I want to start out by saying that post #6 by Zeichen is solid advice which you should thoroughly consider. Second: Welcome to the board and congratulations on having found your calling!

Now.. Its important to understand that having found your calling is the first step. There are many ways to go about teaching in Thailand, some more easy than others. Some people have said that you cant get a job because you are not a native speaker - I can tell you that such a statement is not true, I am a NNES myself with a government school job on the same contract as the NES teachers.

Good news: It would be possible for you to land a teaching job here with your current qualifications - it might even be easy.

Bad news: The job would not be in a government school as you need a degree (in any field) for that.

This means that you will have to work at language schools. I have done that as well and, in my experience, it is much less enjoyable than working in a government school.

Reasons: First, students who go to language schools often have daytime jobs or school to attend. Because of this, you will have to work in the evenings and weekends to make enough money to survive. Second, your pay depends on the amount of classes that are available for you to teach - these will change depending on many factors. Because of this, you will not be guaranteed a steady income. Furthermore, you will often not be paid for breaks, lunch, preparation and transport. Because of this, working at a language school means more work for less money. You will not be able to save. You will be working illegally. Worst-case scenario, however unlikely it is: You may get fined, jailed or deported. Understand that language schools will lowball you because you are a non-native speaker with no degree.

Keep in mind, this is only the economic dimension. There will be no health insurance. You will not get sick-pay or paid holidays. You will get no visa and on every visa-run you run the risk of getting barred from re-entering the country because of too many tourist visas. Again, I tell you this from experience.

In conclusion, working at a language-school as a non-native English speaker could be a viable option for up to a year (if you really, really want it) if you have no problem living on an average salary of approximately 20.000thb with a lot of work and visa runs every three months. But building a career like this? Forget about it.

For what I have just written, I am really sorry. I am trying to break it to you nicely because I was once in your shoes and I took the easy way. Eventually, I had to return to my own country to make myself employable. Please, take the advice of the posters above me and really consider improving on your qualifications before departing.

You have a few options. The first option is to take the easy way and leave tomorrow, but only stay for a year. This would let you get some experience, you would get a taste of teaching and see if it is truly something for you. You would need savings to fall back on, you would need enough money for a plane-ticket home and you would need to go here with the mentality that it is only a one-year stint. Dont fall in love or get stuck here! The only reason for coming here for a year and slaving for shit money would be to try it all out - see if it is really what you want. Be aware that no one will hire you from abroad - you will need to come here and apply in person.

The second option: If you are already set on this and know that you want a career in teaching, I would advise you to get an education degree and aim for working at an international school here in five-six years. Finish the education degree, get a few years of teaching experience in your home country and find a school in Thailand that suits you. There might even be German or French international schools here.

Taking this path means a big time investment. You would have to stay in the cold north and work hard for what now seems like a long time, but you would be living the rest of your life in a cheap country with a biiiig paycheck every month. If you are as passionate about pursuing teaching as you claim, I would seriously investigate this option as it is by far the best one.

The middle-road is to finish your current degree. Having done that would mean that you meet the legal requirements to work at a government school, assuming that you take and pass a language test. Whether a school would hire you is a different question, the answer depending on the school and your ability to write job applications and impress people at job interviews. Being a non-native speaker will be a hindrance, particularly if you have any kind of accent. Keep in mind that there is a steady stream of applicants for these kinds of jobs, so you need to ask yourself why an employer should hire you over the (possible native) others.

I think this has covered most of your question. I implore you to seriously consider the second option - trust me, you will thank me in the end.

If you have any further questions or if I was unclear on any points, please let me know.

Best wishes!

Thanks!

I contacted via email a Teaching institute in South Korea, DYB Choi Sun. They replied and want an interview with me. I have read some bad and good things about them. I think i will do the interview and if everything goes well, i might try it out for few months but not more than one year.

I'm considering to do the Second option you described. What did you exactly mean by working at an international school and where? You meant doing my degree in an International School in Asia? That sounds really interesting and i have thought about that too. I have to investigate that route further. If you have more information or ideas about this, I would be grateful.

Good luck with the interview at DYB Choi Sun. S.Korea a good challenge. However, please do not go with the few months/one year unfocussed flaffing at it outlook. Not serious. Time to lose that teenage reluctance to commit to anything now. Go with the outlook of committing yourself to a two-year term. Anything less is a waste of time for them and you. You (and they) can review after a term/one year but the original commit should be enough to persuade any future employer that you are a stayer and not a drifter. Anything less than two years on a CV raises question marks.

[zeichen]

"Anything less than two years on a CV raises question marks."

Not true in the EFL field in Asia. More than 2 years at any school is absolutely rare. I will agree that the longer terms of employment are looked on favorably but if you have 10 years of experience and 10 different schools, most directors only care that you have 10 years experience.

Better positions, International Schools, jobs in the Middle East that pay higher and expect more might question spotty employment records but not most schools in Asia.

Korea has the strictest requirements to get a visa in Asia currently. You cannot get a E2 visa teaching EFL without a passport from one of the 7 English speaking countries, nor can you without a degree.

[Scott]

I see a lot of resume/CV's and I don't usually question the jobs unless there is a lot of changing of jobs. I also look to see if people have actually completed their contracts. If you break a contract, that doesn't look good.

But getting some valuable experience under your belt is a very good idea.

[GanDoonToonPet]

I see a lot of resume/CV's and I don't usually question the jobs unless there is a lot of changing of jobs. I also look to see if people have actually completed their contracts. If you break a contract, that doesn't look good.

But getting some valuable experience under your belt is a very good idea.

It's unfair to blame the teachers IMO. One semester here, one semester there is one thing but if a teacher completes their one year contract and moves on, there is nothing wrong with that. Circumstances may also be beyond the control of the teacher which they can't be blamed for.

I spent my first 2 years here at a well known chain of affiliated schools. The pay and conditions were horrendous and I would have left after the first year, were it not for the waiver. The next school was better but still treated the teachers badly and there were next to no resources. My current school seemed perfect but, unbeknownst to me, has been in financial trouble for the last few years. They didn't renew the contracts of numerous highly paid, secondary subject specialist teachers and hired replacements via an agency. The new teachers' salaries are considerably less than ours!

This time last year, I was granted many interviews and given several good offers but not so this year. During the one interview I got this year, I was asked 'Why have you changed schools so often?'. I explained my reasons, diplomatically, but unfortunately was not offered the position.

If 'changing schools so often' is the reason I'm not being offered interviews, then this seems unfair...

[lostinisaan]

I see a lot of resume/CV's and I don't usually question the jobs unless there is a lot of changing of jobs. I also look to see if people have actually completed their contracts. If you break a contract, that doesn't look good.

But getting some valuable experience under your belt is a very good idea.

It's unfair to blame the teachers IMO. One semester here, one semester there is one thing but if a teacher completes their one year contract and moves on, there is nothing wrong with that. Circumstances may also be beyond the control of the teacher which they can't be blamed for.

I spent my first 2 years here at a well known chain of affiliated schools. The pay and conditions were horrendous and I would have left after the first year, were it not for the waiver. The next school was better but still treated the teachers badly and there were next to no resources. My current school seemed perfect but, unbeknownst to me, has been in financial trouble for the last few years. They didn't renew the contracts of numerous highly paid, secondary subject specialist teachers and hired replacements via an agency. The new teachers' salaries are considerably less than ours!

This time last year, I was granted many interviews and given several good offers but not so this year. During the one interview I got this year, I was asked 'Why have you changed schools so often?'. I explained my reasons, diplomatically, but unfortunately was not offered the position.

If 'changing schools so often' is the reason I'm not being offered interviews, then this seems unfair...

Self destroyed.

Edited April 20, 2015 by lostinisaan

[NeverSure]

What are the rules regarding college in the EU? Could the OP go to college in the UK and be immersed in English while getting a degree? I think he said he's French but in Germany? Could he also be in the UK?

Good luck OP, and please think of your whole life, not just today.

[MikeDK]

I'm considering to do the Second option you described. What did you exactly mean by working at an international school and where? You meant doing my degree in an International School in Asia? That sounds really interesting and i have thought about that too. I have to investigate that route further. If you have more information or ideas about this, I would be grateful.

Ill try to clarify:

If you are certain that you want to spend the rest of your life teaching, then it would make sense to invest three years in a teaching degree in order to get a much higher salary than that of an untrained teacher. Consider it a three-year investment with at least 20 years of significant returns on it.

In order to gain top-tier salary you would need to work at an international school as they pay much better than government schools.

International schools are very selective about their candidates and will normally require an approved teaching degree from your home country as well as a few years of teaching experience. This means that you would have to get a teaching degree from whatever country you reside in now and spend a few years teaching in that country. It would also mean that you couldnt come to Asia for the next four-five years, but once you get here you will be making around twice as much as you would working for a government school.

As it is, in order to work legally in Thailand you need a degree. This means either finishing your current degree or starting and completing a new one. The short route is to finish your current degree, but as it is not a teaching degree you will not get work in international schools. The longer route is to do the teaching degree and apply for the international school jobs. Not finishing a degree means working illegally and with the issue of renewing visas, it will be a short-term stint.

I wrote the above very hurriedly, I hope it made sense. Let me know if it didnt