Professional Employment Opportunities in Thailand

[Davecw000]

Hi there currently work in the UK as a Business Analyst (BA). 

Have a new build house in Ubon Ratchathani with my wife.

 

I hope to retire at 55 (in the UK) and move to Thailand, but I really enjoy the type of work I do, and would like to continue to work; possibly even on short term contracts in Thailand,  perhaps for a few years before truly retiring.

 

Was wondering (setting aside work permits/visa for a moment) if you think there would be any opportunities either in Ubon or even Bangkok (could travel back at weekends – flights are reasonable enough).

 

On retiring I will have a good pension and lump sum, and intend to rent out house in the UK which should command decent income (even taking into account agents fee’s etc) so should be ok financially, but I’m not into sitting in bars all day or walking around a golf course, prefer to keep busy.

 

So do you think there would be any BA opportunities or should I lean to play golf?

[dbrenn]

Thailand has great golf courses. 

 

Unless you have contacts or a very niche skill, it would be very hard to find a job as a business analyst in Thailand. 

[Davecw000]

Better get down the driving range and get some practice in then ...lol  

 

Had hoped there might be some short term contract work available from time to time so it wouldn't be all work or retirement/holiday 

 

Thanks for the reply

[hoxman]

Davecw000, message sent to you

[steven100]

Business Analyst in Thailand .... 

 

membership sign up at Siam river lakes golf club is now open ...

Edited May 17, 2017 by steven100

[recycler]

I see more people going back to their home countries than ever in the past 15 years because of lacking job opportunities and high cost of living.

[simoh1490]

You stand a better chance of getting a contract in Thailand whilst living in the UK, that's where the agents are and that's where many companies are headquartered who might need specific short term skills. Having said that, you'd need to speak Thai fairly fluently and your salary expectations would need to reflect the Thai market, you'd also need a lot of luck trying to find such a role. From experience, your chances of success are extremely low.

[FritsSikkink]

Loads of jobs:

 

http://th.jobsdb.com/TH/EN/Search/FindJobs?KeyOpt=COMPLEX&JSRV=1&RLRSF=1&JobCat=1&SearchFields=Positions,Companies&Key=business analyst&JSSRC=CASOP&posFix=1

 

 

[simoh1490]

5 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Loads of jobs:

 

http://th.jobsdb.com/TH/EN/Search/FindJobs?KeyOpt=COMPLEX&JSRV=1&RLRSF=1&JobCat=1&SearchFields=Positions,Companies&Key=business analyst&JSSRC=CASOP&posFix=1

 

 

Looking at the detail of them they are mostly entry level positions, require fluent Thai and/or are permanent positions.

[Crossy]

3 hours ago, Davecw000 said:

Hi there currently work in the UK as a Business Analyst (BA). 

Have a new build house in Ubon Ratchathani with my wife.

 

Being a Business Analyst in Thailand is likely to lead to you needing the services of a Psycho Analyst

 

Seriously, why not enjoy the golf if you don't need the income, maybe a bit of English teaching on the side at a local school give the kids a leg up into the big bad world (a work permit is unlikely to be forthcoming mind).

 

I'm still working being a young whippersnapper but I have a number of retired friends who don't bar hop and manage to fill every day with activities (yes including golf). I seem to spend every spare minute fixing something around the house (we only moved in in 2012) or building (yet another) chicken-palace or other home for pets or gardening kit.

 

[williamgeorgeallen]

cost of hiring and red tape issues involved in hiring foreigners is very high. now that thailand has a weak economy it is harder for foreigners to get work. however if a thai company goes to the hassle and expense of hiring a foreigner they will want you to be full time and expect you to work very hard to get a return on their time and money.

[tonray]

Many of the larger Thai companies: Makro, Central Group, have foreign managers relatively high up in the chain. These are folks who don't necessarily speak Thai but are business experts in a particular area, whether it be finance, retail marketing, etc etc. If you have high level skills it is possible. My GF (Thai) who is a store manager for a large Thai conglomerate had to prepare resumes in both Thai and English and also interview in English with a regional manager originally from Taiwan who did not speak Thai before she was hired. So at a high level Thai companies hire management expertise but at lower to middle levels very difficult.

[FritsSikkink]

1 hour ago, simoh1490 said:

Looking at the detail of them they are mostly entry level positions, require fluent Thai and/or are permanent positions.

Have you read all 100+ of them? We have a foreign business analyst and it isn't entry level, I know other people who do this work in Bangkok too and they aren't entry level too.

[viciobkk]

I live and work in Bangkok for a big marketing company.

 

I think is pretty simple:

- you work with people (clients, employees, managers, any team work): you need to speak the Thai language. Any job with international recruitment that requires talking with people is underpaid or ends quickly (I saw many people going back in the last five years). If you speak Thai, it's easy to find a job in Bangkok where international companies with foreigners executive need 'connections' with the base made of Thai employees, clients, suppliers. 

- if you don't work with people and you have real skills (at any levels) that allow you to produce any results: you are a star here. High demanding in any sector. You can work from home and have a few meetings per week as a permanent or freelance employees. If you can handle even a small team of specialist, tech Thai that's the better opportunity to work in Thailand, but you need to know the local culture and make a shift in the general workplace psychology.

 

If you move to Thailand and the income from your job is n't matter, and you don't need any work permit or visa, I bet you will have fun. Take a new job time to time, be part of the useless big meetings that here are very popular, join to exciting company charity events, company outing, team building, show off your English at presentation with foreigners, and any activity that doesn't produce any result. In the past, it was the common Bangkok enterprise style, but today with a depressed economy and surrounding competition there are not any more funds. 

 

I forgot one way, if you have a high-ranking, elite Thai close friend, everything I said above doesn't apply. You can get an easy job for real money, and nobody will go to check. 

 

 

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, FritsSikkink said:

Have you read all 100+ of them? We have a foreign business analyst and it isn't entry level, I know other people who do this work in Bangkok too and they aren't entry level too.

No I haven't read all of them. I'm merely trying to make the OP aware that whilst it is possible, the chances of success are much lower than in the market he understand in the UK and I'm also trying to point out some of the obvious hurdles. I was a contractor many years and was able to get lots of work in China, Hong Kong and Thailand but only via my UK based contacts. On those occasions I was looking for new work it was almost impossible to penetrate Thai business either through contacts locally or through direct marketing and I worked at quite a senior level - Hong Kong and Singapore were a lot easier to penetrate but Thailand was always problematic.

[timkeen08]

I assume that your wife is Thai since you already have a house in Thailand. Get a 1 year type O VISA from the Thai Embassy in the UK, try living here for a year, and do your job searching while in Thailand. Make sure that the move is actually made for you, that you really do want to continue working, and that you want to stay in Thailand long term. Then you can decide which is the best VISA extension.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

[FritsSikkink]

4 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

No I haven't read all of them. I'm merely trying to make the OP aware that whilst it is possible, the chances of success are much lower than in the market he understand in the UK and I'm also trying to point out some of the obvious hurdles. I was a contractor many years and was able to get lots of work in China, Hong Kong and Thailand but only via my UK based contacts. On those occasions I was looking for new work it was almost impossible to penetrate Thai business either through contacts locally or through direct marketing and I worked at quite a senior level - Hong Kong and Singapore were a lot easier to penetrate but Thailand was always problematic.

It is a lot easier to get a job in Thailand if you are already living there. the website I send the link from is a pretty good one, know a couple of people who got a job through it. There are quite a lot western companies hiring.  

[Davecw000]

Can I just start by saying "Many Thanks" for the serious, thoughtful replies and advice - I have been following this site for many years but never registered or posted, as replies are not always helpful to say the least.  But those replying have given hope.... That said, I'm sure there is still time for others to dive in.....

 

My original post was prompted by (dare I say) BRITEX, as I read about trade delegations etc etc visiting, amongst others, Thailand, so thought that by the time I retire here in the UK, there may be some opportunities, least in the short term as companies look to increase production and productivity with hopefully greater investment.

 

Had really thought about doing some charity work, teaching basic English or whatever,  So may settle for that, perhaps buy and old classic car and restore ...lol  

 

Thanks again.