Working in thailand as a foreigner?

[Howitzer]

I understand that there are many that do this but they are typically employed by their companies from their home countries and live in thailand as expats.

The biggest hurdle is obviously the language well has anyone found work in thailand that wasn't an expat?

[CharlieH]

Probably a high percentage of teachers and most all of the "dive schools". Then there are all the "Hoteliers" and various other businesses that have been created here by "Foreigners".

[Soutpeel]

"The biggest hurdle is obviously the language well has anyone found work in thailand that wasn't an expat"

I came here with one company on a short term job and was hired on locally by another company as an "expat"

so yes it can be done, and to be honest the language thing hasn't been an issue in the last 14 years either

[Howitzer]

"The biggest hurdle is obviously the language well has anyone found work in thailand that wasn't an expat"

I came here with one company on a short term job and was hired on locally by another company as an "expat"

so yes it can be done, and to be honest the language thing hasn't been an issue in the last 14 years either

Could you perhaps just give some indication of what you do?

If the language hasn't been an issue and you don't really speak thai this means you don't have to speak to people in your job so you aren't front line like front desk or involved in sales.

[Soutpeel]

"The biggest hurdle is obviously the language well has anyone found work in thailand that wasn't an expat"

I came here with one company on a short term job and was hired on locally by another company as an "expat"

so yes it can be done, and to be honest the language thing hasn't been an issue in the last 14 years either

Could you perhaps just give some indication of what you do?

If the language hasn't been an issue and you don't really speak thai this means you don't have to speak to people in your job so you aren't front line like front desk or involved in sales.

O&G...and I speak to Thai nationals every single day so not sure what your trying to get at...

[pigeonjake]

im the same as souty,

ive been operations manager of a fabrication company,

welding expert for a british company that had a lot of trouble in a factory near rayong, they rang me out of the blue and offerd me a job to sort the welding isues out, i was there 4 months when i jacked, could of been there till the end of the contract as the main contractor a canadian company told the british company they wanted me there till the end, as i had sorted all the welding isues out and got the job running smooth but i was allready contracted to going to angola so couldnt stay, it was a good job and the thais were a pleasure to work with and new there job, they just needed a bit of advice about orbital welding and the problems that come with it,

there is work here, not just teaching,

you just have to be at the top of your game,,AND BE LUCKY

[Robert24]

I understand that there are many that do this but they are typically employed by their companies from their home countries and live in thailand as expats.

The biggest hurdle is obviously the language well has anyone found work in thailand that wasn't an expat?

Probably quite hard to search a job on the local market as a foreigner unless you have some unique skills that are in demand. If you don't have that you are far better of in Singapore or Hong Kong or you open your own business here.

What is your background?

[Howitzer]

"The biggest hurdle is obviously the language well has anyone found work in thailand that wasn't an expat"

I came here with one company on a short term job and was hired on locally by another company as an "expat"

so yes it can be done, and to be honest the language thing hasn't been an issue in the last 14 years either

Could you perhaps just give some indication of what you do?

If the language hasn't been an issue and you don't really speak thai this means you don't have to speak to people in your job so you aren't front line like front desk or involved in sales.

O&G...and I speak to Thai nationals every single day so not sure what your trying to get at...

so you have a good grasp of thai both spoken and written? Well if that's the case obviously language wouldn't be an issue for you would it?

[Howitzer]

im the same as souty,

ive been operations manager of a fabrication company,

welding expert for a british company that had a lot of trouble in a factory near rayong, they rang me out of the blue and offerd me a job to sort the welding isues out, i was there 4 months when i jacked, could of been there till the end of the contract as the main contractor a canadian company told the british company they wanted me there till the end, as i had sorted all the welding isues out and got the job running smooth but i was allready contracted to going to angola so couldnt stay, it was a good job and the thais were a pleasure to work with and new there job, they just needed a bit of advice about orbital welding and the problems that come with it,

there is work here, not just teaching,

you just have to be at the top of your game,,AND BE LUCKY

You're a welding expert and can see why you are in demand with contracts to travel world wide.

[Soutpeel]

"The biggest hurdle is obviously the language well has anyone found work in thailand that wasn't an expat"

I came here with one company on a short term job and was hired on locally by another company as an "expat"

so yes it can be done, and to be honest the language thing hasn't been an issue in the last 14 years either

Could you perhaps just give some indication of what you do?

If the language hasn't been an issue and you don't really speak thai this means you don't have to speak to people in your job so you aren't front line like front desk or involved in sales.

O&G...and I speak to Thai nationals every single day so not sure what your trying to get at...

so you have a good grasp of thai both spoken and written? Well if that's the case obviously language wouldn't be an issue for you would it?

No my Thai is cr*p to be perfectly honest...but none the less it not really an issue in my profession as everyone including the Thai nationals all speak very good English

[wow64]

Many of the foreigners are ex military so I hear... They are all employed in security.

That leaves a small percentage of non ex military expats working here... If you are a sucessful professional in your home country.. You can get a job here easily.

Sent from my c64

[Soutpeel]

. If you are a sucessful professional in your home country.. You can get a job here easily.

Sent from my c64

You do know that opinion is in exact contradiction with the opinions of TV's "resident experts" who believe the only expats who get posted to Thailand are the wash outs/failures who have nowhere else to go and are all alcoholic, whore mongers...

The fact is, if your skills are needed in Thailand, as you have correctly stated, a good paying job can be had in Thailand

The problem with most of the naysayers is that in their own imaginations they actually believe they are needed or have some unique skills or believe they should be given a high paying job just because they are a "whitey"

Edited April 26, 2015 by Soutpeel

[chrisinth]

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"The biggest hurdle is obviously the language well has anyone found work in thailand that wasn't an expat"

I came here with one company on a short term job and was hired on locally by another company as an "expat"

so yes it can be done, and to be honest the language thing hasn't been an issue in the last 14 years either

Could you perhaps just give some indication of what you do?

If the language hasn't been an issue and you don't really speak thai this means you don't have to speak to people in your job so you aren't front line like front desk or involved in sales.

O&G...and I speak to Thai nationals every single day so not sure what your trying to get at... width=20 alt=blink.png>

so you have a good grasp of thai both spoken and written? Well if that's the case obviously language wouldn't be an issue for you would it?

You seem to be assuming that Thais can't speak, read or write English?

Strange......................

[chrisinth]

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Many of the foreigners are ex military so I hear... They are all employed in security.

That leaves a small percentage of non ex military expats working here... If you are a sucessful professional in your home country.. You can get a job here easily.


Sent from my c64

In all my years here I don't think I have met one ex military expat who are employed in security in Thailand.

Not saying it doesn't happen, but I can't think of many sectors that would need foreigners for security full time. Majority of security work is contract anyway.

[Howitzer]

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so you have a good grasp of thai both spoken and written? Well if that's the case obviously language wouldn't be an issue for you would it?

You seem to be assuming that Thais can't speak, read or write English?

Strange......................

true but shouldn't things be the other way around?

[Soutpeel]

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so you have a good grasp of thai both spoken and written? Well if that's the case obviously language wouldn't be an issue for you would it?

You seem to be assuming that Thais can't speak, read or write English?

Strange......................

true but shouldn't things be the other way around?

Working in a technical environment as I do, with all process/procedures/codes etc, all being in English, the answer is no, and the other thing to be taken into account in a lot of cases, some technical documents are very difficult to translate or even be understood when put into the Thai language and are far easier even for Thai nationals to work with when in English

[Howitzer]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

so you have a good grasp of thai both spoken and written? Well if that's the case obviously language wouldn't be an issue for you would it?

You seem to be assuming that Thais can't speak, read or write English?

Strange......................

true but shouldn't things be the other way around?

Working in a technical environment as I do, with all process/procedures/codes etc, all being in English, the answer is no, and the other thing to be taken into account in a lot of cases, some technical documents are very difficult to translate or even be understood when put into the Thai language and are far easier even for Thai nationals to work with when in English

technical environment. What sort of job is it?

[Soutpeel]

Technical environment. What sort of job is it?

O&G

[CharlieH]

off topic nonsense removed.

[CharlieH]

MOVED to Expat forum

[MaeJoMTB]

The fact is, if your skills are needed in Thailand, as you have correctly stated, a good paying job can be had in Thailand

Problem being, most people asking questions in posts like this are usually totally unskilled at anything.

And often unemployable in their home countries too.

I'm assuming if OP was qualified to do anything at all, he would have stated that in his OP.

Edited April 26, 2015 by MaeJoMTB

[Costas2008]

Technical environment. What sort of job is it?

O&G

Soutpeel, is O&G, Oil And Gas. or O&G, Obstetrics & Gynecology?

[NoshowJones]

Many of the foreigners are ex military so I hear... They are all employed in security.

That leaves a small percentage of non ex military expats working here... If you are a sucessful professional in your home country.. You can get a job here easily.

Sent from my c64

Foreigners working in security???? What kind of security? not the whistle blowing kind surely.

I thought security was one of the jobs Foreigners could not do here in Thailand.

[CharlieH]

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[Tomtomtom69]

"The biggest hurdle is obviously the language well has anyone found work in thailand that wasn't an expat"

I came here with one company on a short term job and was hired on locally by another company as an "expat"

so yes it can be done, and to be honest the language thing hasn't been an issue in the last 14 years either

Could you perhaps just give some indication of what you do?

If the language hasn't been an issue and you don't really speak thai this means you don't have to speak to people in your job so you aren't front line like front desk or involved in sales.

O&G...and I speak to Thai nationals every single day so not sure what your trying to get at...

I think he was wondering why after 14 years you still can't speak Thai (fluently)? Of course, please correct me if I'm wrong and you do indeed speak Thai with your work colleagues?

[Tomtomtom69]

Could you perhaps just give some indication of what you do?

If the language hasn't been an issue and you don't really speak thai this means you don't have to speak to people in your job so you aren't front line like front desk or involved in sales.

O&G...and I speak to Thai nationals every single day so not sure what your trying to get at...

so you have a good grasp of thai both spoken and written? Well if that's the case obviously language wouldn't be an issue for you would it?

No my Thai is cr*p to be perfectly honest...but none the less it not really an issue in my profession as everyone including the Thai nationals all speak very good English

Sorry I didn't bother to read the other replies when I asked that question in my previous reply so you have thus answered it. Clearly you still can't speak much Thai after 14 years. Wow...I just don't understand how anyone can live in a country and not speak the language fluently after such a long period of residence? I understand that you may be OK with just English at work, but how do you get simple things done when you're not working? For example, shopping, grabbing a cab, reading small road signs in Thai (that you obviously can't read)?

[Soutpeel]

Sorry I didn't bother to read the other replies when I asked that question in my previous reply so you have thus answered it. Clearly you still can't speak much Thai after 14 years. Wow...I just don't understand how anyone can live in a country and not speak the language fluently after such a long period of residence? I understand that you may be OK with just English at work, but how do you get simple things done when you're not working? For example, shopping, grabbing a cab, reading small road signs in Thai (that you obviously can't read)?

I said my Thai is crap, I didn't say it was non-existent, unlike some on TV I am not that quick/arrogant to claim fluency in Thai, as I know myself I am not, I am good enough to get by and it hasn't hampered me I can assure you, I have a Thai drivers license, I drive myself...I can even ask for diesel at a petrol station in Thai , and never seem to get lost...

Would I get a job in Thailand if it required fluent Thai ? No... But I did a job in Thailand because of my skill/experience set and my employers doesn't seem to have a problem as I am not fluent in Thai, so obviously the skills/.experience are more important...

[Howitzer]

Sorry I didn't bother to read the other replies when I asked that question in my previous reply so you have thus answered it. Clearly you still can't speak much Thai after 14 years. Wow...I just don't understand how anyone can live in a country and not speak the language fluently after such a long period of residence? I understand that you may be OK with just English at work, but how do you get simple things done when you're not working? For example, shopping, grabbing a cab, reading small road signs in Thai (that you obviously can't read)?

I said my Thai is crap, I didn't say it was non-existent, unlike some on TV I am not that quick/arrogant to claim fluency in Thai, as I know myself I am not, I am good enough to get by and it hasn't hampered me I can assure you, I have a Thai drivers license, I drive myself...I can even ask for diesel at a petrol station in Thai , and never seem to get lost...

Would I get a job in Thailand if it required fluent Thai ? No... But I did a job in Thailand because of my skill/experience set and my employers doesn't seem to have a problem as I am not fluent in Thai, so obviously the skills/.experience are more important...

Kind of heart to gauge your thai from the examples given. You just simply point to the type of disel/pertrol they have there or speak english they will understand. With google map and all sorts of other maps around and with all smart phones having map features getting lost is getting harder and harder you don't even have to ask for directions.

Can you have a conversation with a thai person on everyday matters?

[Soutpeel]

Kind of heart to gauge your thai from the examples given. You just simply point to the type of disel/pertrol they have there or speak english they will understand. With google map and all sorts of other maps around and with all smart phones having map features getting lost is getting harder and harder you don't even have to ask for directions.

Can you have a conversation with a thai person on everyday matters?

Why are you TV's resident Thai language examiner ?..., Quite obvious is your English skills are not up to snuff failing to recognise tongue in cheek/sarcastic remarks in a comment, so before questioning someone Thai skills, you should take look at your own English skills dear boy...

but to answer your question yes I can have a conversation.

[MaeJoMTB]

Sorry I didn't bother to read the other replies when I asked that question in my previous reply so you have thus answered it. Clearly you still can't speak much Thai after 14 years. Wow...I just don't understand how anyone can live in a country and not speak the language fluently after such a long period of residence? I understand that you may be OK with just English at work, but how do you get simple things done when you're not working? For example, shopping, grabbing a cab, reading small road signs in Thai (that you obviously can't read)?

I said my Thai is crap, I didn't say it was non-existent, unlike some on TV I am not that quick/arrogant to claim fluency in Thai, as I know myself I am not, I am good enough to get by and it hasn't hampered me I can assure you, I have a Thai drivers license, I drive myself...I can even ask for diesel at a petrol station in Thai , and never seem to get lost...

Who doesn't have a Thai drivers license?

"Dee-Sil kap" that's really learning the language.

I can top that and order strawberries too, "straw-bear-ree kap".

I think that makes me one of the nearly fluent, chai mai?

Edited April 26, 2015 by MaeJoMTB