teaching in thailand

[darren cook]

Good day to you all

I'm considering doing a tefl teaching course here in bangkok so hopefully can find employment BUT i do not have any degree in any field i have emailed the course center they have stated that it is still possible to be employed with out a degree but this depends on how much the school wants you.Are there any foreigners who are teaching in thailand who do not have a degree but are employed by a school.Looking for reassurance .       

[Kwasaki]

Lot of my teacher friends lost there jobs a while back they did the TEFL teaching course also had degrees but not in English teaching.

Without going into long stories many past threads on the subject,  do a search.

As l understand it Thai gov keeps changing the rules.

As for English Teacher jobs there are still many schools who take English speaking people on without work permits or any teaching qualification up country, Bangkok l dunno.

. 

[darren cook]

4 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Lot of my teacher friends lost there jobs a while back they did the TEFL teaching course also had degrees but not in English teaching.

Without going into long stories many past threads on the subject,  do a search.

As l understand it Thai gov keeps changing the rules.

As for English Teacher jobs there are still many schools who take English speaking people on without work permits or any teaching qualification up country, Bangkok l dunno.

. 

Many thx

[williamgeorgeallen]

do some research into teaching before you choose to do it for a living. during my 10 years in thailand most of the western teachers i met were not doing very well and got paid very little money. a number were drinking heavily. a couple were outright conmen looking to scam a dollar every chance they got. the schools that hired them seemed to resent having to pay them more than the thai teachers.

[Stevemercer]

Yes, it is possible to get a teaching job without a degree in the bigger towns in rural Thailand. Of course, people who are experienced, under 50 and with degrees will always get preference. However, there are not enough to go around. As the school year approaches, schools will get more desperate. If you look youngish, present well and are polite/well spoken, you can always get a job in Isan.

 

The bigger schools want their teachers to be under 60 and with a degree. They often dispense with one of these rules, but not both. I won't state the obvious about the 'degree'.

[tonray]

You can easily get a job anywhere in Thailand without a degree. But you will be paid less than degree holders and circumstances may not always be to your liking. Example : I worked with a non-degreed teacher employed thru an agency but mid-year the school asked for another teacher because he did not have a degree and could not be legalized.

 

If you want to work quickly go thru an agency but again your pay will be about 10% less than a degreed teacher thru the same agency.

[scorecard]

 Don't rush to believe what the 'course centre' tells you.

 

Some places that offer TEFL are not too bad, many are totally unprofessional and have no qualifications or licensing from the ultimate respected organizations and are simply scam artists. Also be aware that this is an industry which is not controlled in Thailand.

 

I'm aware of a case 12 months ago, a 'TEFL' School (Indian owners) advertised on the internet, got around 20 participants, all from abroad, many yanks, when they arrived they had to pay an extra 10,000Baht. The 'TEFL' school then said they had reduced the course to 4 days and it was all approved.

 

'TEFL' school also told all the participants that they had a bulk work permit and all those that passed the course would be added to the bulk WP list for 2 years. Total bullshXt.

 

 Total scam. 

[janpharma]

TEFL is absolutely NO guarantee for obtaining a job...

[tonray]

Example: Ad Posted today somewhere in Thailand

 

 

compensation: 35000
employment type: full-time
internship
non-profit organization
telecommuting okay

Please contact us for further details. 
English Plus One is looking for teachers to start in May.
School: Mattayom Trakarn Phuetphon (50kms from Ubon city)
Salary: 35,000 (degree holders) 32,000 (nom-degree holders)
Total number of foreign teachers: 5
Contract: 8 May,2017-15 March, 2018
Visa and work permit will be covered by the company.


 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Go to Vietnam. Pay is much better and you avoid all the Thai visa nonsense.

[tonray]

9 minutes ago, Foghorn Leghorn said:

Go to Vietnam. Pay is much better and you avoid all the Thai visa nonsense.

Still need to deal with the Vietnam Visa process. And Vietnam also requires a degree to teach legally.

[kingstonkid]

your other issue may be a visa and visa extensions.

 

Suggest you go to a website that has the name ajarn it will give yousome suggestions there are only about 3 TEFL providers that schools are looking for.

[Goldbear]

I know a guy in Issan who is doing it without a degree. He's in his early 40s and doesn't make much money. He enjoys doing it and living there. 

 

He doesn't have a long range plan though. That's problematic due to his age. But that's another issue. 

 

Good luck. I've never taught but it looks like fun. 

[tonray]

1 hour ago, kingstonkid said:

your other issue may be a visa and visa extensions.

 

Suggest you go to a website that has the name ajarn it will give yousome suggestions there are only about 3 TEFL providers that schools are looking for.

Those TEFL schools at the bottom of the ads are not part of the job ads....part of the site adverts put there automatically because the TEFL schools pay them to put them there. 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

8 hours ago, tonray said:

Still need to deal with the Vietnam Visa process. And Vietnam also requires a degree to teach legally.

First comment. Vietnam visa 12 months multiple entry, no strings about US$300. Work visa no problems. Far easier than agony and hardship of Thai visas.

Second comment not correct. Salary depends on level of qualification.

I have lived in Vietnam 10 years and have known many teachers and teaching recruiters over that time period.

[steven100]

19 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Lot of my teacher friends lost there jobs a while back they did the TEFL teaching course also had degrees but not in English teaching.

Without going into long stories many past threads on the subject,  do a search.

As l understand it Thai gov keeps changing the rules.

As for English Teacher jobs there are still many schools who take English speaking people on without work permits or any teaching qualification up country, Bangkok l dunno.

. 

Thailands education system has been raising the standards required for foreign teachers working here. This is due to inadequate english speaking qualifications used by most want to be english teachers.  And many were just doing it to survive, they are not english teachers at all.

Good to weed out the rubbish and get proper professional english teachers.

[Ace of Pop]

Lot of my teacher friends lost there jobs a while back they did the TEFL teaching course also had degrees but not in English teaching.
Without going into long stories many past threads on the subject,  do a search.
As l understand it Thai gov keeps changing the rules.
As for English Teacher jobs there are still many schools who take English speaking people on without work permits or any teaching qualification up country, Bangkok l dunno.
. 

Gor Blimey ,Luv A Duck,you n Trans could learn em Cockney in arfur mo,I cud teach em spelinz.[emoji67]‍[emoji310]


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Kwasaki]

2 hours ago, steven100 said:

Thailand's education system has been raising the standards required for foreign teachers working here. This is due to inadequate English speaking qualifications used by most want to be English teachers.  And many were just doing it to survive, they are not English teachers at all.

Good to weed out the rubbish and get proper professional English teachers.

They only try to raise the standards in what Thais believe to be posh schools as l see it,  the hiring of western speaking people as teachers is nothing but another scam IMO.

 

A qualified professional English teacher with a teaching degree would only work in schools, colleges, and Universities that pay them more or less the equivalent of western salaries if not their nuts IMO. 

 

I am speaking from my own 2 day experience hired as a Thai English teachers assistance which turn out to be a joke,  l walked out. 

[Kwasaki]

30 minutes ago, Ace of Pop said:

Gor Blimey ,Luv A Duck,you n Trans could learn em Cockney in arfur mo,I cud teach em spelinz.‍

Funny you say that,  l've got my great Thai nephew saying  " Ellow  mate  ow  R  ya ". 

[sandemara]

Why would you want to work in education in Thailand? The vast majority of teaching jobs in Thailand are scams. Foreign or native English-speakers are exploited shamelessly by employers, either private or public. Some highly-qualified specialist teachers can earn good salaries but these are major exceptions to the rule in Thailand. Teaching is not covered by any specific labour laws or regulations in Thailand.  And people wonder why education standards are so poor at any level throughout Thailand.

[quandow]

PM sent.

[davidst01]

4 hours ago, sandemara said:

The vast majority of teaching jobs in Thailand are scams.

A slight generalisation. Whats your evidence to back this up? 

 

Some teachers are scammed but most have a contract in place, health insurance, monthly pay etc. 

[steven100]

4 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Funny you say that,  l've got my great Thai nephew saying  " Ellow  mate  ow  R  ya ". 

in the UK ....  ello mate .... ow ar ya mate ......   I fink I can do dis,   

I fink i can teach ......

 

And they say the Brits can speak English .....   don't think so.

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, steven100 said:

in the UK ....  ello mate .... ow ar ya mate ......   I fink I can do dis,   

I fink i can teach ......

 

And they say the Brits can speak English .....   don't think so.

 I taught my Thai nephew some cockney Londoner English,  nothing like what is called the posh Queens English l can never speak that,  my London cockney accent gives me away.

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, davidst01 said:

A slight generalisation. Whats your evidence to back this up? 

 

Some teachers are scammed but most have a contract in place, health insurance, monthly pay etc. 

[brewsterbudgen]

A slight generalisation. Whats your evidence to back this up? 
 
Some teachers are scammed but most have a contract in place, health insurance, monthly pay etc. 

I disagree. It was a massive generalisation!

[vesparally180]

17 hours ago, Goldbear said:

I know a guy in Issan who is doing it without a degree. He's in his early 40s and doesn't make much money. He enjoys doing it and living there. 

 

He doesn't have a long range plan though. That's problematic due to his age. But that's another issue. 

 

Good luck. I've never taught but it looks like fun. 

Fun????,try teaching at government schools in Isaan where the students treat you with open contempt and are lazy.

[vesparally180]

9 hours ago, steven100 said:

Thailands education system has been raising the standards required for foreign teachers working here. This is due to inadequate english speaking qualifications used by most want to be english teachers.  And many were just doing it to survive, they are not english teachers at all.

Good to weed out the rubbish and get proper professional english teachers.

Nonsense,employing people who have degrees in subjects other than English does not raise standards.Having a degree in nursing,social studies,marketing etc etc does not make someone a good English teacher so pray tell me how many teachers have you met with a degree in English?

[jwest10]

21 hours ago, Stevemercer said:

Yes, it is possible to get a teaching job without a degree in the bigger towns in rural Thailand. Of course, people who are experienced, under 50 and with degrees will always get preference. However, there are not enough to go around. As the school year approaches, schools will get more desperate. If you look youngish, present well and are polite/well spoken, you can always get a job in Isan.

 

The bigger schools want their teachers to be under 60 and with a degree. They often dispense with one of these rules, but not both. I won't state the obvious about the 'degree'.

 

Yes indeed the old chestnut and often (but not always) the so-called older teacher has much more stamina and indeed patience and is far more committed to dedicated educating the students who really want to learn and frankly in some schools and am talking of so-called High Schools in that one is very lucky, if 6 to 8 students really want to learn some English.
In my experience, the older person is much more dedicated and in fact, goes out of their way to explain things over and over again and also in their free time are often asked can you explain what my Thai-English teacher has just tried to teach me.
 

Many younger teachers, who indeed do have degrees, but a paper qualification is not proof that one can teach and for that matter in any profession does not mean they are superior to anyone else who does not have one but has loads of experience to offer.
Also mai ben rai  has been continually used and I have been gobsmacked in certain teachers and indeed some Directors and if they do not want to learn, then you can not force them.
This is very true of course but the students who really want to learn are penalized  and yes, same to a degree in the Western World 
However, here in Thailand everyone passes.
 

Yes the rules do keep changing and one has to have a degree, but there are ways around it and if the school really wants you they would go out of their way.
Often it is the expense and paperwork that seem to put them off and the fact the local teachers can be paid a much smaller salary and have noticed Thailand seem to like the Philippine English teachers and I have nothing against them at all, but good and bad everywhere, but they seem to like American/ English and just saying.

 

[vesparally180]

Darren,get yourself a degree if you can hold back and have the time.The degree can be in anything but having one will give you so many more options,more opportunities,better pay and conditions and even the option of working in other countries.Tefl is a money making operation and they are not going to prepare you for working out in the sticks where your patience will be tested to the limit.The apathy and rudeness of many students that I have met is  a real test of patience and endurance yet that is preferable to the sleazy western teachers I have encountered on my long and arduous journey.I do not have a degree and after nearly four long years I'm very close to quitting.