Underemployed English Teachers in Thailand

[DogNo1]

I write this knowing full well that many English teachers in Thailand are not desirous of leaving the country; however, the USA has just agreed to accept and resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees. By my calculations, 200 ESL teachers will be needed to help them become acculturated to life in the US. There will certainly be good-paying jobs in the localities

Where they are settled. Getting to the proper places with diplomas and references in hand quickly could land well-paying jobs for those who are willing to move - quickly. A couple of years with good pay and Social Security credits could improve one's future retirement lifestyle considerably. If the system works this time as it did with the Boat People, the states will be reimbursed by the federal government for the refugees resettlement costs for 4-5 years. During the years of the boat people, Long Beach City College held three-hour-long classes five days a week with extra classes on the weekends for those who couldn't attend every weekday. I suggest that teachers who are interested grab this opportunity before teachers flow in from other states. Being there and available when the hiring begins will be the key to success. In emergency situations, state teaching certificates can be had by presenting evidence of full-tie teaching experience. Good luck to all who decide to avail themselves of this opportunity.

[angsta]

No replies? They've all probably left for the airport already.

Jesus wept.

[BKKSnowBird]

It takes a lot of money to move back to the US.

[NeverSure]

Teachers who are ESL certified are in tall cotton. The Hispanic immigration is causing a lot of that. I don't think a person has to have a college degree in teaching ESL (but would need an Ed. degree) but those who do have the ESL can sure pick and choose. I know there's a good pay differential for it.

[janejira]

As far as I know, most major US cities already have organizations and classes in place dedicated to adult/family literacy and adult basic education in place, with trained professionals running the programs. Agreed that there may be a need to hire more educators for the programs, but it seems like a bit of a risk to move back to the US to take a chance at getting one of these roles.

Not to mention that many of these organizations largely depend on volunteers in the community to help with tutoring and often operate as non-profits.

[quandow]

Teacher pay in the U.S. is a national embarrassment. Considering the cost of living vs salary, you're better off teaching in Thailand.

[asdecas]

Most Syrians speak better English than Merkans already.

[canarysun]

Life is not about how much money you can make.....Life is short so just enjoy it! F.J x

[mankondang]

Many threads have been posted on here in the past complaining about the level of education, especially of English, in Thailand. When one considers the basic requirements of educationalist to have a sound knowledge in student cognitive processes and teaching modalities, one would consider that their basic training would be a 2 year Bachelor of Arts - Teaching (B.A), or more preferably a 4 year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.). University trained Thai and farang teachers have obtained these qualifications. However, many farangs who wish to reside and earn money, as if they are on a working holiday in Thailand, do so by teaching English merely by attending only an 8 weeks agency run course, TESOL or TEFL, ( One agency advertises, "Become Qualified Teacher in Just 5 Days").

Surely, would you wish to trust such a valuable matter your child's education to people who say: " Eight weeks ago I couldn't even spell teacher, and now I is one".

I respect the good, and well meant, intentions of the would be teachers, but not the agencies who take their money, and devalue the importance of child education.

No I'm not a teacher and have no vested interest in making money from it. I just care.

Edited September 12, 2015 by mankondang

[bangmai]

Teacher pay in the U.S. is a national embarrassment. Considering the cost of living vs salary, you're better off teaching in Thailand.

At least I made it till noon without hearing from the Michael Moore Fan Club. Teacher salaries vary widely from State to State, and even between the school districts within the States. Starting pay is over 40K per year in many areas, and close to 50K in some. Cost of living raises along with step increases are almost automatic. During the downturn, I bought a house in a good neighborhood in Phoenix for 18,000 USD. I then took on a job tutoring math at 18 usd per hour, with a guarantee of five hours per day, at the same location. 1000 hours of work for a house and a 700 square meter lot, walking distance to a Japanese style rail system? Cry me a river. The problem is with discipline, and political correctness run a muck. Lots of recent grads would give their left hand to be making that kind of money. I knew a girl, who graduated from the Cronkite School of Journalism at ASU and her best offer was 20 hours per week at 8.50 per hour, in Bullhead City. The athletic director at my high school was making 85,000 usd per year, to sit in his office and smoke cigarettes all day...and that was 35 years ago. A public school, too. The players even mowed the field, because they got tired of his excuses for the weeds being two feet high.

[Deserted]

Go back to the US to teach refugees? Needs to be a better reason than that...in fact a much better reason.

[tonray]

Refugees and emigrants can get free ESL lessons at most public libraries...almost all is done by volunteers. There are no massive new ESL hugh paying jobs to be found in that area. College students and High school students looking to bolster their resumes will fill the need. I did reading programs for latino and west Aftrican kids for several years at local library...all free to them and not a dime to me.

[bangmai]

True, and many churches have been running programs with volunteers for decades. A Chinese lady told my dad that the problem was with her English; not her hearing. He swore by the Colombian lady, though, and suggested I get involved.

Working at a Community College is a whole different can of worms than being a K-12, contract teacher. The CCs are shifting towards a model, where the teachers are just subcontractors, that are paid on a per class basis, and it would be almost impossible to get enough classes to make ends meet in a high cost of living area. Even though the hourly pay is good, there is just too much downtime. Basically, the states (like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois) are going bankrupt because of their legacy employees.....it's more about the cost of the people, who aren't working, than those who do. I think it is good to have people from the private sector come in and teach a class or two (at the CC or Adult Ed), as opposed to career "educrats," who are unemployable in the private sector.

[SheungWan]

Life is not about how much money you can make.....Life is short so just enjoy it! F.J x

Repent at leisure.

[ozyjon]

''The USA has just agreed to accept and resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees.''

Living in Europe right now all the media talk about are the refugees, it's around us 24/7, but something that's being hushed up or not directly mentioned is the fact that most of them muslim, how will they integrate, maybe another growth opportunity would be assistance filling out welfare paperwork and translating their Arabic documents to English, i see a huge task ahead.

[Mudcrab]

''The USA has just agreed to accept and resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees.''

Living in Europe right now all the media talk about are the refugees, it's around

us 24/7, but something that's being rarely mentioned is the

fact that most of them are muslim, how will they integrate, maybe another growth

opportunity would be assistance filling out welfare paperwork and translating

their Arabic documents to English, i see a huge task ahead.

I see a huge problem ahead...as did many people back in the early 60's but nobody listened. Reap what you sow.

Teaching english is going to be the least of Europes problems.

[lostinisaan]

Teachers who are ESL certified are in tall cotton. The Hispanic immigration is causing a lot of that. I don't think a person has to have a college degree in teaching ESL (but would need an Ed. degree) but those who do have the ESL can sure pick and choose. I know there's a good pay differential for it.

And I thought they'll all be heading to Germany???? You might want to have a look here:

http://www.vox.com/2015/9/11/9309973/syrian-refugees-us

[Nick167]

Before we complain about Thais and learning English...lets focus on how many of these expat farang teachers are really qualified to teach English. I went to a few private language schools here for my adopted son and newphews and the expat farang teachers there were a joke! I now got a Singaporean Chinese qualified English teacher who is doing a great job tutoring them.

[Scott]

Considering that the US will take approximately 75,000 refugees next year, the 10,000 will be a part of that total number. I don't know how that compares with last years numbers, but the number of people allowed into the US is set by Congress and the President designates a number of that total for refugees.

These 10,000 will likely be taking lessons in the camps once they are being prepared for resettlement. That will start when they are still out of the US.

There will probably be some job opportunities, but not necessarily a lot.

[DogNo1]

I don't know how many jobs will be available but when I was working in the Los Angeles area in the 80's I made a living by scheduling classes at various community colleges and adult schools. I was able to fill my week pretty well year after year teaching mornings and evenings. During school breaks, I was entitled to unemployment benefits. So far as teaching in the camps and by volunteers in libraries, etc., despite this there were lots of well-paying jobs available. The students appeared to prefer the colleges and adult schools. The jobs wound down as the number of SE Asian refugees dwindled but they are bound to pick up again with federal dollars paying for the English and citizenship lessons for the new refugees. The USA has vowed to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees but will probably be shamed into accepting more.

The Chronicle of Higher Education newspaper will list the jobs as they become available and they will be advertised locally in newspapers as well. Announcing the jobs is a legal requirement in the USA. When I left the USA in 1996, full-time jobs at the community colleges were paying $65,000 per year to start with health and retirement benefits. Part-time teachers were paid around $20 per hour and under California law the schools had to make fractional payments to CalSTRS depending on how many hours you taught. That's why I have been receiving CalSTRS pension payments for the past eight years and also receive a payment from the Private Schools and Colleges Association in Japan. I taught at Payap in Chiang Mai 1983-84 and realized that if I wanted a comfortable retirement, I had to move on. My retirement IS comfortable. Good luck to everyone.

[DogNo1]

Incidentally, the number of SE Asian refugees accepted was not limited and I suspect that the number of Syrian refugees admitted will be on top of the yearly limit as well.

[puukao]

In 5-years most of these 10,000 will be making at least $10 per hour, hopefully much more.

While the Thai English teacher who possesses 100-years of experience will make 25,000 baht a month.

There is no question money is better in America. But life can be more stressful.

I say go to America, start a school, enroll 100,000 jokers willing to pay 50,000 USD a year, and then retire in Thailand!!!

super easy

or, as i always say, just do a Youtube teaching channel and make millions.

[connda]

"...the USA has just agreed to accept and resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees. By my calculations, 200 ESL teachers will be needed to help them become acculturated to life in the US"

Bravo. Thinking outside the box!

But just one chink in the armor, especially considering there are millions of legal and illegal, non-English speaker in the US: Do they give a rip about assimilating into the US culture and society? You'll need to factor that into your calculations.

Edited September 12, 2015 by connda

[connda]

Most Syrians speak better English than Merkans already.

Touché!

[connda]

Life is not about how much money you can make.....Life is short so just enjoy it! F.J x

I'm thinking that anybody who chooses a career teaching English as a second language isn't aspiring to the financial pinnacle of say, an Harvard MBA grad aspiring to work for Goldman-Sachs. I'm pretty sure that Jamie Dimon would disagree with you.

Edited September 12, 2015 by connda

[connda]

Go back to the US to teach refugees? Needs to be a better reason than that...in fact a much better reason.

The refugees are getting government housing, benefits, and medical. Which means they would be living better than anyone who went back to teach them.

Pathetic pay, high cost of living, and get sick one time and your financially ruined. For younger folk who are serious about making more money, there are other options: Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia for instance. For those teaching here, it isn't about the money.

[connda]

I don't know how many jobs will be available but when I was working in the Los Angeles area in the 80's I made a living by scheduling classes at various community colleges and adult schools. I was able to fill my week pretty well year after year teaching mornings and evenings. During school breaks, I was entitled to unemployment benefits. So far as teaching in the camps and by volunteers in libraries, etc., despite this there were lots of well-paying jobs available. The students appeared to prefer the colleges and adult schools. The jobs wound down as the number of SE Asian refugees dwindled but they are bound to pick up again with federal dollars paying for the English and citizenship lessons for the new refugees. The USA has vowed to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees but will probably be shamed into accepting more.

The Chronicle of Higher Education newspaper will list the jobs as they become available and they will be advertised locally in newspapers as well. Announcing the jobs is a legal requirement in the USA. When I left the USA in 1996, full-time jobs at the community colleges were paying $65,000 per year to start with health and retirement benefits. Part-time teachers were paid around $20 per hour and under California law the schools had to make fractional payments to CalSTRS depending on how many hours you taught. That's why I have been receiving CalSTRS pension payments for the past eight years and also receive a payment from the Private Schools and Colleges Association in Japan. I taught at Payap in Chiang Mai 1983-84 and realized that if I wanted a comfortable retirement, I had to move on. My retirement IS comfortable. Good luck to everyone.

The 1980 in California is not 2015. The pay has not changed but the cost of living has skyrocketed. Best of luck living there.

[SOTIRIOS]

....that is quite a stretch...

[bangmai]

I don't know how many jobs will be available but when I was working in the Los Angeles area in the 80's I made a living by scheduling classes at various community colleges and adult schools. I was able to fill my week pretty well year after year teaching mornings and evenings. During school breaks, I was entitled to unemployment benefits. So far as teaching in the camps and by volunteers in libraries, etc., despite this there were lots of well-paying jobs available. The students appeared to prefer the colleges and adult schools. The jobs wound down as the number of SE Asian refugees dwindled but they are bound to pick up again with federal dollars paying for the English and citizenship lessons for the new refugees. The USA has vowed to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees but will probably be shamed into accepting more.

The Chronicle of Higher Education newspaper will list the jobs as they become available and they will be advertised locally in newspapers as well. Announcing the jobs is a legal requirement in the USA. When I left the USA in 1996, full-time jobs at the community colleges were paying $65,000 per year to start with health and retirement benefits. Part-time teachers were paid around $20 per hour and under California law the schools had to make fractional payments to CalSTRS depending on how many hours you taught. That's why I have been receiving CalSTRS pension payments for the past eight years and also receive a payment from the Private Schools and Colleges Association in Japan. I taught at Payap in Chiang Mai 1983-84 and realized that if I wanted a comfortable retirement, I had to move on. My retirement IS comfortable. Good luck to everyone.

The 1980 in California is not 2015. The pay has not changed but the cost of living has skyrocketed. Best of luck living there.

There are specific laws that prevent persons, who work in education, from receiving unemployment compensation during school breaks. A friend bought a beautiful 1896 Victorian home, 2 blocks from the N. Berkeley BART, in 1980, for 50,000 USD....the new owners, who paid 900,000 are also paying 13,000 per year in real estate taxes. Unless you have fairly deep roots in California, it is one of the last places you would want to live and work. The areas that are remotely affordable have zero chances for employment....Stockton, San Bernardino........ Pensioners and Parolees.............

Edited September 13, 2015 by bangmai

[DogNo1]

I drew unemployment in California during each school break. The law was changed in the early 80's. What is good about teaching in America is that graduate schools have late-afternoon and early evening classes so you can fit in study with your teaching schedule and the state schools are affordable. Once you have an MA with experience or a Ph.D. you are qualified for full-time jobs in Japan that pay $130,000 a year with health insurance and pension benefits. Ambitious people can constantly improve their qualifications and employment situations.