Does anybody ESL in Thailand?

I hear Thailand is somewhat more colour blind to non white teachers, can anybody confirm or deny this? HK has been sort of written off already as I'm getting (continuing) noises that they want white faces.

Quite simply I'm sick of the dire state of the UK economy with sporadic work and uber falling wages. 30000bht (£600 is a hell of a lot better than the odd 1-2 weeks I can find a month in the UK)


Any thoughts?

Thanks.

I was out with a mixed group of Thai/western friends last night and posed your question.  One of them (a Thai) said that there are plenty of Indian ESL teachers around.  The key he said is not your colour or race, but that you are a native-born English speaker.  If you are, he said that you should be able to find work here.

Having said that, I have no idea what ESL teachers make here, but since you quote the 30,000 baht/month figure, I assume that you've done some research.  

Have fun, CGP

My advice, for what it's worth, is don't do it.

Read some of stickman and others postings on ESL teaching in Thailand and you'll get a picture of what it's really like.

[ Last edited by  atomic3d at 15-8-2010 14:08 ]

30,000 Thai baht = $945 USD = 605 UK pounds.  It's a liveable income in Thailand, but your entertainment budget would be next to nothing and you can forget about mongering.  That's actually less income than a part-time employee at McDonald's in a western country would make.  If you read up on Stickman's site and various other Bangkok and Pattaya forums, you'll learn that English teachers in Thailand have a pretty bad reputation for being cheap and even bar girls tend to look down on them.  However, they're one of the few countries that will readily accept non-caucasian English teachers.

Sure but in westernised nations you have western living costs, meaning there is a change in the purchasing power parity...

I mean the MTR in HK costs me $14.8 to get to TST, a similar UK trip will cost £5 ~ $61.75

The instablity of the UK economy right now means employers are taking the piss so when I used to make £14-£25 an hour I now make £5-6 an hour or they cut the number of hours.

Right now it is rather really common to have £25,000 jobs, pro rata. You turn up to an interview and they only want you for 1 day a week. And right now in the UK I'm spending MORE than I earn even though I take not so good jobs on now and again.

There are ways other than mongering to connect with women in Thailand...  

Have fun, CGP

There's this assumption that everything in Thailand is cheap but the truth is it isn't.

Many things certainly costs less than in America or the UK, but remember that a local job will also pay you local rates.  30,000 Thai baht a month divides into...  9,000-30,000 baht to rent an apartment/condo (and 9,000/month is only if you speak Thai or know a Thai who can get you the same rate Thais pay), food and groceries are cheap if you stick with Thai food and not falang-owned pubs with Western prices, phone and internet is affordable, taxis and public transportation is affordable so now just how much money are you left with?  And then there are the visa runs every three months as well as the initial startup costs of first getting there and then settling in.

What's your goal for working in Thailand?  If it's for the adventure then yea, go ahead.  If it's to save money then that's not going to happen.  Nor will teaching English build up your CV.

Don't be thinking impulsively just because the current state of the economy is bad.  I've been in dire situations myself and in the past took a part-time job at Starbucks just to make ends meet.  

When I said that Thai bargirls look down on English teachers, it has nothing to do with social status, it has to do with the fact that English teachers in Thailand don't get paid very well.  Funny enough, real certified, trained and experienced English teachers get paid the most in America, Canada and the UK.

I think you'll find the real money for good ESL teachers is in Japan and the oil rich arab countries.

Yes, but who would want to live in Saudi?

I think its obvious that you don't go into teaching English for the money...

Though saying that, NETs in HK are well paid. Korea has some good jobs as well. And of course there's always the option of teaching for an international school, opening your own school, etc etc.

You all make valid points, but the UK economy is not bad it is dire.

My industry accounting is being hit particularly hard as we depend on other businesses doing well to earn our crust. Problem is other businesses are not doing well meaning accountants all over are losing their jobs.Add in outsourcing (accountancy is extra easy to outsource with FTP thesedays) too many people studying accounting thinking it is safe and also improved software so many clients simply choose to do it themselves. And you have a receipie for disaster with uber pressure downwards on wages.

My return from my bike trek 2009 I got a job ok, but it was 4 days a week, steadily the hours have been falling and falling as the work load falls due to the bad economy. I now do 1.5 days a week.I can see this falling.

I also can cook and have worked as a chef to make ends meet, but even the restaurants are deader than dead here and therefore they cut back on their hours too. You see its bad when city centre restaurants can barely cover the wages with takings on Friday and Saturday nights! There used to be 7 chefs now there are only 3 of us left!

I suspect in 1-3 months when the real massive government cuts take place it will be even worse. I envisage that I can sit here in the UK on welfare until it gets better. Or I can vanish off for 6-12 months doing ESL and look what happens to the UK economy.If it's improved then come back do accountancy again. I can picture myself talking to a boss in 2011:

So what did you do while you were not working in accounts?

I went off to do ESL for a year sounds a hell of a lot better than I sat at home on the dole for a year

While if it is not improved then I have other options, as other posters have said I can go to Saudi for a year or two, and re-evaluate the situation then maybe open up a school somewhere of my own.

So essentially the goal is to sit tight and do something marginally better than sitting at home on welfare and will open up some options for me while here the options only seem to be diminishing.


BTW

Thailand is a backup right now if a few of my other leads don't work out.

That sucks... I'm sorry.  Good luck!

Cheers, CGP

Can I ask where your family are from originally?

No dis-respect to Indians but where I live in Pattaya, many of them are tailors and are regarded as a major pain in the backside. Also, they are not welcome in many bars and go-go's which I can walk into unimpeded will suddenly produce a "members only" board if they try to go in. This may be unfair but it's a fact of life where I am.

I know a few Indians all of whom are great people with whom I would happily go out for a few drinks.

Bangkok may be different though.

Alan

I take it coming to Australia isn't an option? If your under 30 I think you can get a working visa for 1 year. There's always work to be found for a good accountant.

Australia has the best economy amongst the developed countries at the moment.

[ Last edited by  atomic3d at 19-8-2010 20:34 ]

I lived in Thailand for about two years back in the 90s.  I visit about once a year as my uncle and aunt live there permanently.

The 30k you are quoting is achievable, although if you think the London economy is bad, you should realize that the Thai economy is not exactly flying either with all the turmoil there.  English teachers can be paid a huge range salary-wise, and anything between 20,000 and 150,000 / month is the number I hear from my uncle who lives there.

Given that you say your specialty is accounting, I would put you on the bottom end of that salary structure, so count on 20,000 and hope for 30,000.  

If you are willing to live farther away from the city core, you can find a decent apartment for about 10-15 thousand / month.  Staying away from anything imported will also help to stretch your budget.

However, I'm not sure why you would want to move to a foreign country to work in a low-paying field that you are not trained in.  If you can speak the language, this is a plus, but somehow your post would lead me to believe you don't.

I would have to agree with previous posters that the perception that Thailand is so cheap is incorrect.  If you want anything even approaching your current standard of living in the UK, you probably will blow through what salary you would command as an untrained English teacher.

I imagine your better option would be to take minimum wage jobs in the UK to put some food on the table, or go on the dole and learn some job skills that might be applied in an in-demand field.  If you really want to teach English in Thailand, you would be better off going on the dole and take some vocational course in teaching.  That would up your chances when you do head over to Thailand.

For most people, Thailand is not a backup, it is an escape from the grim reality of where they live now.  However, Thailand usually has a reputation of becoming a nightmare for those who move there without the proper preparation and/or resources.

I'm not trying to be negative, but going to Thailand to teach English is not considered a career move.

I understand this, I've thought this through many times.... but simply I'm painted into a corner here.

The job market is absolutely dead here, there are the odd min wage jobs and I have taken night courses to improve my qualifications but when there is bugger all demand then it is pointless. I've done this for nearly a year now taking on not so great jobs hoping to wait out the recession but it simply isn't working.

Therefore I can sit and rot here in the UK or I can go overseas and do something else with my time... if I stay here I will rot like my cousins who are more qualified than me (MAs) and working stacking shelves in supermarkets.

Sure it may not be the best career move but given the alternatives I'd say it is one of the better ones.

I'll probably have to vote with atomic3d on this one.

If the UK is absolutely not in the cards for you, for whatever reason, you might want to look into temporarily moving over to Australia, Canada, or perhaps Singapore.

The economy isn't that bad, you speak the language, visa issues aren't likly to be tricky, and give you a far better shot of putting your life back on track.

I really don't see how Thailand is even an alternative given how little you know about Thailand.

Seriously, third, or even borderline second-world countries are an absolute hell without a lot of money.  You might want to rethink your alternative list.

Sorry but that's not true as far as Enland and France are concern. In France, a full time employee of Mac Donald's would makethe minimum wage which is 1 343,80 euros before tax and 1 055,42 € (equivalent to 1,341.29 USD and 862.873 GBP)
So a partime employee would only get a fraction of that 1 055,42 €.  
I have also worked 4 months in a Mac Donald in London when I went there to learn a bit of english years back. I was one of the the very few to work there full time a my salary was something like 800 GBP.

I know what you mean though. But one have to know that 30000 BHT is a good salary for a Thai citizen but it would be very low for a westerner. Because a westerner won't live like locals. A thai with that salary would own or rent a much cheaper place that the ones that are avalaible to westerners. He would eat cheaper too and will monger as much as most wester.

Personnaly, I doubt I would enjoy my time in Thailand with less than 2000 euros monthly because of the mongering. If it were not the mongering, I could do with much less.

But in your case Kennichi, it might be tough but doable if you're prepare to cut on mongering. From your posts I assume yourfairly young and from asian descent (chinese ?). So, you could do without mongering much by limiting yourself by shagging normal thai chicks. I mean, if you're there for an extend time you have the time to hunt and pick up civie girls. So you won't need as much as if you were aiming to pay for play.
Being of asian descent is not to be sneezed at for you as civie girls might turn down foreigners because of the fear to be looked by other thai people as a WG. So with a westerner who can pass a thai guy (with chinese ancesters) I assume the civie gals would be more willing to with you than with a white foreigner.

[ Last edited by  conqueror77 at 20-8-2010 22:26 ]