Getting a job as a junior programmer in Thailand?

[ev1lchris]

Is it possible to get a job as a junior programmer in Thailand?

[PoorSucker]

You will need to get minimum 40.000 baht in salary to get a work permit and extension of stay.

You can get a Thai Senior programmer for half.

[ev1lchris]

Half of what?

[PoorSucker]

Half of what?

Your minimum salary.

Unless you have a special skill they will hire a Thai, no need for work permit.

[PoorSucker]

You can search here.

http://th.jobsdb.com/th/jobs/information-technology/1?JSSRC=HPJC

[mjnaus]

You will need to get minimum 40.000 baht in salary to get a work permit and extension of stay.

You can get a Thai Senior programmer for half.

You don't need any specific salary to get the work permit itself... I know local teachers who have a proper work permit with salaries well below 30.000. The income requirement only applies when applying for an extension of stay based on monthly income. And this could be possibly be prevented by getting the extension of stay based on marriage and 400.000b in the bank.

Either way, not exactly a helpful answer to the OP's question.

To answer the OP; yes, there are junior programmers jobs available for foreign workers. That said, you will be competing with Thai peers, who are generally ok working for next to nothing (since competition amongst Thai programmers is high as well). Your best bet would be to contact as many foreign owned software/web development companies in Thailand as possible. There are quite a few of these in Bangkok along and many of them are hiring.

[PoorSucker]

I know local teachers who have a proper work permit with salaries well below 30.000.

Teachers are exempt from minimum salary requirement.

[yellowboat]

There are quite a few of these in Bangkok along and many of them are hiring.

Which companies are these ? Do you have any names ?

[pkspeaker]

i thought computer coder's, software developers were in such high demand they can get jobs anywhere

[SWW]

There are a few international companies that are always looking for senior programmers with relevant experience. Getting a junior position is more difficult, as you would be competing with locals who don't need a work permit, and can accept a lower salary than you would.

The largest such companies include Thomson Reuters (who tend not to employ foreigners), DST International, Agoda, Amadeus. There are many smaller ones, but you would have to look for those yourself. It does not hurt to enquire at all the companies.

Don't be disheartened by some of the naysayers here - although to be fair it IS difficult to find a job here as a foreigner. Once you have worked in the area a bit, you get to know lots of people in the industry - the expat world is really small. The problem is getting in on the ground floor. Keep at it - don't give up.

Also - working for BOI companies is easier as far as the WP and extensions go.

Good luck.

[SWW]

i thought computer coder's, software developers were in such high demand they can get jobs anywhere

Experienced programmers, sure.

Someone with no experience is not (yet) a programmer, though. It takes experience - and then they are in high demand.

Also, finding a job in Thailand is generally fairly difficult for non-Thais.

[TheRascal]

You will need to get minimum 40.000 baht in salary to get a work permit and extension of stay.

You can get a Thai Senior programmer for half.

Senior Thai programmers will work for 20k a month? Let me know where as I know a number of companies who would snap them up.

Bearing in mind a university educated staff member starting in an office job will be on around 15k with a reasonable grasp of English 20k is more than possible.

I have one friend in charge of 100 programmers and associated staff, the Thai project managers start at 50k and junior developers at 60k. I asked another friend how much a decent html guy would run at per month (2-3 years experience not really a programmer and generally significantly cheaper) and he said minimum 35k a month. I'm happy to be proved wrong but from what I've seen this ballpark is way off.

To the OP I think you'd struggle if you had no experience at all, if you had a related degree and (I think) 2 years experience you would be in a much stronger position. If you have no degree I think you would need to prove you had exceptional skills and in most instances your application would be passed over without a second glance.

[ev1lchris]

Yeah, I made an interview but there was no filtering.

I've heard recruiters here say that they can't find programmers amongst the local Thais and that they would pay a lot for programmers. Probably experienced ones though.

[TheRascal]

What's your skillset?

There's definitely a shortage of local skills in some areas from what I've been told.

[ev1lchris]

Skillset... Oh boy.

Let's see, I finished a lot of the Codecademy tutorials. I've done some exercises on Codewars and HackerRank.

I'm still pretty green.

[PoorSucker]

Skillset... Oh boy.

Let's see, I finished a lot of the Codecademy tutorials. I've done some exercises on Codewars and HackerRank.

I'm still pretty green.

You probably should get a degree first.

[TheRascal]

Skillset... Oh boy.

Let's see, I finished a lot of the Codecademy tutorials. I've done some exercises on Codewars and HackerRank.

I'm still pretty green.

You probably should get a degree first.

Agree - a standard company is going to generally have to have 4 Thai staff members for an expat - so they are going to make that person count. Just look at how many people pop up on threads on the expat facebook groups as soon as any kind of programming job or task is mentioned.

BOI software companies don't have the thai staff requirement but they can only hire an expat if they have a related degree plus 2 years experience or no degree plus 5 years experience.

This sounds kinda negative - and I don't mean it to because I have a huge amount of respect for anyone who takes the time to learn new skills. There is an alternative, if you can get freelance clients outside Thailand that's an option - please note I'm not advocating working illegally, there are setups where you can get clients then they will hire you, bill your clients for you, take a cut and then pay you a salary out of the other end - with that they provide a visa, work permit and office space.

[ev1lchris]

I have a non relevant degree.

[Chicog]

Is the OP Indian or Filipino?

Because that's who he's going to be competing with if it's not Thais.

[SiSePuede419]

I've heard you have to stay at expensive hotels, like the Oriental, if you want to be a Digital Nomad. Then everyone will know you are rich, and then you can make lots of money.

At least that's how it was explained to me on TVF, so it must be true...

555

[SiSePuede419]

I have a non relevant degree.

That means you have no credentials.

Start your own company. Produce a product. Gain market share. Sell out to Google.

You have to go in the back door. Only brilliant people with experience & credentials get to enter through the front door. The industry is competitive....

[Chicog]

If your only motivation is to get a job in Thailand in IT, get into Security.

That's where much of the demand is these days.

[ev1lchris]

If your only motivation is to get a job in Thailand in IT, get into Security.

That's where much of the demand is these days.

Security is so much fun. I play with Kali Linux all the time. It blew me away when I broke into WinXP. I wouldn't mind a job like that.

[thelionofjudah]

The fact that your asking about geographical location in regards to working on the internet means you may of not thought this through very well...

I've been coding since I was 5 and am now 27, never worked in a office once. And I don't know any (decent) programmers on less then 60k baht a month.. even lazy ones. No one wants degrees, You need a github account and good forks / pushes and you should get a certification in you language of choice.

[dotpoom]

Sorry...bit of a mistake made with this post (in wrong place).

Edited October 8, 2015 by dotpoom

[SheungWan]

I have a non relevant degree.

What subject, where and what did you get?

[IMHO]

@OP: it sounds like you want a trainee or apprenticeship position - good luck with that!

A junior developer has actually had years of formal, relevant*, education - complete with a certificate to match - before they get a job.... Then, they usually do one or two internships** (i.e. work for practically/actually free) before they actually go apply for a job. They are expected to hit the ground at least walking, not crawling or motionless

The guy who suggested you should probably start by freelancing / developing for yourself probably has the right advice. Either that or go do a degree.

* loose definition, based only on the names of the courses they attended.

** Progressing from an internship is sometimes the only way to get a junior developer gig at most big companies.

Edited October 9, 2015 by IMHO

[thailanddogerator]

For half ? In your dreams maybe !

The truth is that you will mostly get nothing for double price !

You will need to get minimum 40.000 baht in salary to get a work permit and extension of stay.

You can get a Thai Senior programmer for half.

[thailanddogerator]

You are actually right.

My Thai friend gets 100k+ and keep changing company almost yearly to get more and he can find a job on a single phone call.

You will need to get minimum 40.000 baht in salary to get a work permit and extension of stay.
You can get a Thai Senior programmer for half.

Senior Thai programmers will work for 20k a month? Let me know where as I know a number of companies who would snap them up.

Bearing in mind a university educated staff member starting in an office job will be on around 15k with a reasonable grasp of English 20k is more than possible.

I have one friend in charge of 100 programmers and associated staff, the Thai project managers start at 50k and junior developers at 60k. I asked another friend how much a decent html guy would run at per month (2-3 years experience not really a programmer and generally significantly cheaper) and he said minimum 35k a month. I'm happy to be proved wrong but from what I've seen this ballpark is way off.

To the OP I think you'd struggle if you had no experience at all, if you had a related degree and (I think) 2 years experience you would be in a much stronger position. If you have no degree I think you would need to prove you had exceptional skills and in most instances your application would be passed over without a second glance.

[rwdrwdrwd]

Indeed, decent senior developers earn way more than 20k a month. If somebody is truly a senior level dev in in-demand tech - that is to say, senior level compared to other developers internationally, that can be earned as a daily rate by working remotely for western orgs. There are plenty of senior dev roles in Thailand around the 100k mark.

As for getting a job as a junior dev in Thailand? No chance. Why would they hire you over a Thai national?

Either go back home, do a CS degree, get on the bottom rung and put 5 - 10 years in, or start your own project and make it so good that a lack of a CS degree is immaterial and then get on the bottom rung.

You'll need 5-10 years solid experience to be able to get a job here as a dev, but being frank, by that time (if your head is screwed on) you'll have realised that the way to make money is not to take a 100k THB onsite position in Thailand, but to work remotely for 4 - 5x that for western orgs and still be undercutting Silicon Valley and London rates.

Edited October 11, 2015 by rwdrwdrwd