Pay For A Placement Or Look On My Own?

[zaz]

Ok I'm faced with 2 options (1) come to Bkk and look for a teaching job on my own, knock on doors etc etc or (2) pay the company I did my TEFL with for them to get me a job. I had a chat with them and said I wouldn't want anything less than 35k and would consider a 40k upward position. Got a call back today and they've got a 40k job for me starting in April if I want it....not bad eh? I've asked for all the details of the package, school etc so just waiting for that. It will probably cost me £500 or so but it takes out the hassle and uncertainty.

What do you reckon? Should I go for it? I guess 40k isn't bad for a new starter with no experience like me?

[Hong Kong Phooey]

Hmm, sounds like your TEFL provider will be laughing all the way to their bank.

£500 from you and let's not forget that it's usual practice in Thailand for schools to pay monthly "commission" to job placement agencies for finding the school a teacher. Highly unlikely that would be less than 10,000 Baht per month from the school to the agency.

If you've got a TEFL and better still, a certifiable degree, you'd probably walk into a job as soon as you landed. So long as your face fits, you'll be hired.

Consider your option very carefully.

[zaz]

So long as your face fits, you'll be hired.

That's the other risk for me....genetically I have a nicer sun-tan than most farangs and I know this might not do me any favours when looking for work in Thailand...I wouldn't have let that fail me, however, and give in to the race game. I would and still intend to come and give it a shot. It's just that having a job secured beforehand is a hassle-free option. At the end of the day the 40k salary is very good (the school must obviously be paying toward 50k for the actual position then?). What are the chances I'd secure a 40k+ teaching job otherwise? Maybe I could I dunno.

By the way what is the start of the academic year? I want to come early January but I'm wary of coming at a time when recruitment isn't going to be happening on a large scale. I don't mind sitting around for a few weeks though.

[Ijustwannateach]

It's almost, almost, almost always a better idea to come on your own and get a job than it is to get a job through a placement or an agency beforehand. The reasons are legion:

1. You will have a better idea what your cost of living is based on your location. 40K in the boonies can be way more money than you'd ever need; 40K in Bangkok is bare-minimum.

2. You will know how stable the job is- rather than landing in some horrible situation that has to hire from abroad because of the insanity of some director or department head, you can judge these for yourself or talk to other employees first. I recommend research on TEFLWatch before accepting any job offer.

3. You can use the money they would take as a fee to live on while you're job hunting, and you can use the money they won't be taking from your salary from month to month. Of course, that won't help if the school PREFERS to hire an agency (so they can get part of the 10K as a kickback, naturally. )

4. You will know if you *want* to live in the area. Accepting a job is also accepting a location, and cost of living is not always the only factor you'd want to consider.

The only reasons I can think of even to consider accepting the job beforehand are:

1. Laziness/insecurity: you don't want to risk the uncertainty or do the pavement pounding. You're paying a big premium for those indulgences, though, IMHO.....

2. Guaranteed, no-screwing-about, absolutely above board paperwork in order- visa, teacher's license, work permit, all done properly. Sorry, there's no way I know of to check that they can do this- they will all quite readily tell you not to worry about it and string you along for months. That's another reason not to be under any organisation's thumb- you can walk away from jobs that don't work out legally the way you want.

40K is at the high end of typical starting TEFL, but if you have a real degree and some related experience and talk the talk well during interviews, you could probably manage it even for your first job. Once you know the ropes a bit and know which schools to avoid, a reliable 50K in the first couple of years (in the city) is not too much to expect.

Good luck.

"Steven"

[zaz]

Top banana Steven!! Thanks very much for the quality advice!

[Ijustwannateach]

We live to serve.

[Loaded]

I can't think of any time when you would need to pay someone to find you work in Thailand.

Edited October 15, 2006 by Loaded

[johnnyk]

No way I would take a job without checking things out in person.

Would you buy a car sight unseen? Of course not.

As Yogi Berra said, "You can see a lot just by looking."

You would want to see the premises (clean? orderly? well-lit? spacious? etc etc), the materials and aids available, meet and chat with teachers, feel the vibe, check the location for transportation links and many other things.

You can't do this from abroad and there's much more to the job than just the salary quoted.

Also, in Thailand things quoted to you are often mere "guidelines" and have a way of "evolving" into something quite different that you could find yourself locked into for awhile.

You have much more bargaining power if you can walk away from an offer.

Bring enough money for 2 months so you can live comfortably until the first pay cheque arrives.

In BKK I would say about US$2000 or 1000 sterling +/-

Good luck.

[Khutan]

Although not related to teaching, in IT this would be called a "Walk-In" where you are sold (we call it Pimped) to your next job.

The problem is there is no proper way to set expectations between the employee and the employer. So when you find some "quirky" conditions, the response from the "Pimp" will be something like "Oh thats normal for here", and really as long as they are making margin out of you then they won't really care.

[zaz]

All makes total sense, thanks guys. Unanimous verdict and final decision - I won't be paying for a placement!! Cheers.

[kayo]

Welcome Back Zazzers!!!

Where you been the past six months or wot?

See you in Bedlam now, I guess... (500 posts..)