Moving to Thailand to Teach English! NEED ADVICE!

[sir lancelot]

Look, Thailand is generally a breeze, and even a 20 year old with a decent enough grasp of English could come here and find a teaching job, *************** You won't earn top dollar but can still live comfortably, have a much better job than in a factory, meet a lovely Thai girl, go to the beach for cheap, travel and see something different. Hey, why not!

One important thing, you should do a TEFL course (1 month, abut $1,500), there a few to choose from,

*********

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[falangjim]

You're being deceived if anyone here on this forum tells you that you can "live comfortably" on less than 30K baht a month. And if you find a lovely Thai girl to spend time with, kiss whatever you save of that pittance goodbye.

Holidaying in Thailand is a breeze. Living and teaching here is definitely not. Immigration and visa issues will be one massive headache. I'm baffled by the people who try to do it. Cambodia visa runs every month? What a waste of time and money. These kinds of teachers usually last less than a year and then move on.

Why don't you take a vacation here first. Test the waters. Don't cut your ties back home with the boring factory job because it is that steady job that is keeping you afloat. Coming to Thailand with little money and no experience is a recipe for an adventure, but a misadventure. Take a look at some of the foreign losers on Kao Sarn Road trying to scrape 25 baht together for a plate of phad Thai. Yeah, that's living.

[stednick]

Money ...

Money is a funny thing. I never seem to have enough. My wallet and my pockets seem to have these invisible tiny leaks in them that money slowly seeps through. My pockets always seem to have less in them then the last time I checked. Maybe some of them Thai spirits I hear about are up to tricks.

Anyway, the point is, there are many items that are small/low cost that never seem to make it onto the budget sheets. These small incremental expenses do add up and add up to a considerable amount of "unexpected" expenses. They are budget killers.

Jim - you are "Right On" in your post. Double the 30k to 60k, then my definition of "comfortable" may be achieved.

[TomC]

Originally Posted by falangjim

Why don't you take a vacation here first. Test the waters. Don't cut your ties back home with the boring factory job because it is that steady job that is keeping you afloat. Coming to Thailand with little money and no experience is a recipe for an adventure, but a misadventure. Take a look at some of the foreign losers on Kao Sarn Road trying to scrape 25 baht together for a plate of phad Thai. Yeah, that's living.

This could work for some 20 yo as an adventure but most likely not for the long term basis. Some of these kids can rely on moms and dads to bail them out. But then you always have some who have to scrape by as you described. That's the price you pay for adventure or misadventure.

[sammycandice]

What part of Thailand are you looking for a job, best advice I was giving is if you don't have a degree then go into the school ad prove to them how serious you are about the job. let me know if you live in bangkok and I can help you out

[Jerleaw]

Dude think twice... there are already a lot of people looking to chase dreams.. Get a job over there and come on Holidays... It remains always a better option. Living somewhere and coming on holidays is a world of difference.

[Ovidia77]

Check out: ajarn.com Lots of info there.


I taught in Thailand and it was OK for a while. In 2005 I was earning 28k/month and once you're fed up with the 20 baht rice meals, it is not a lot of money. Just don't take it seriously and you'll be fine. Make sure you set some money aside to get out of Dodge

Good luck!

[TomC]

Originally Posted by Ovidia77

Check out: ajarn.com Lots of info there.


I taught in Thailand and it was OK for a while. In 2005 I was earning 28k/month and once you're fed up with the 20 baht rice meals, it is not a lot of money. Just don't take it seriously and you'll be fine. Make sure you set some money aside to get out of Dodge

Good luck!

Exactly. Ditto on ararn dot dom. I've seen this same question often. I think it can be a good experience for a young person as long as it doesn't affect their career in their homeland. As gap in employment is not a good thing for anyone's career. Perhaps, you can explain away a year in Thailand but not much longer than that. I think it can be advantageous to use this as a lesson for future retirement in Thailand. My ballpark figure is it cost half to retire in Thailand compared to back home. And definitely save enough money to get out of Dodge.

[Song_Si]

The “Thailand English Teaching Project 2012” in the news today.

Two links: from Bangkok Post

More than 100 language teachers have arrived from England under a programme to improve the standard of Thai students' English ahead the launch of the Asean Economic Community in 2015, education permanent secretary Sasithara Pichaicharnnarong said on Monday.

The. teachers, all volunteers, were recruited under the Thailand English Teaching Project 2012.

Ms Sasithara said starting tomorrow, July 24, the teachers will head out to about 100 schools spread throughout the country, where they will teach English tor students for six weeks.

The British Council is preparing the teaching curriculum and providing teaching assistance.

more

and from the British Council

The British Council, together with Thailand’s Ministry of Education, has launched the “Thailand English Teaching Project 2012”. The project will bring UK undergraduates and recent graduates to support the teaching and learning of English in Thai schools.

The first 67 British volunteers will arrive in Bangkok on the weekend of 21st – 22nd July and take part in an induction programme on 23 and 24 July. After this, they will leave to work as English Teaching Assistants in host schools around the country. They will stay for an initial 8-week period until mid-September.

The project will support the skills development of Thai school pupils who face the future of an integrated ASEAN and a more internationally competitive global world in which English will be a basic skill. For the UK volunteers, the project will help to develop more rounded and employable UK graduates with an international outlook.

more

Hope we see some follow-up on this, and whether any of these teachers choose to stay on in Thailand longer-term.

[Glen10]

Hey bro, if you want to come to Thailand, then come to Thailand. I suggest you come for 2-3 months and see how you like it. If you're a young backpacker it's easy to make it here on 20-25(on average-more in Bangkok) bucks a day--less after you get settled in and learn the ropes. Come with a buddy if you can. Buy a Let's Go or Loney Planet travel guide off of Amazon and find a ticket off of Cheapseats
If you want some more info, get back with me and I'll help you out. Don't let someone try to feed you a bunch of baloney and try to tell you that you need big bucks here. You don't!
If you like it here you could extend your ticket and stay for a year(or more) and study Thai--it's cheap!