Thailand Tourism Industry

[taysialouise]

Hay! im 21 and have plans to spend a few years Globetrotting. Im not gonna map it out too specifically because i want to be able to keep it spontaneous but i know i want to end up in Italy and i want to start in Thailand. Im living in Perth at the moment and im just waiting until ive saved up the cash i need. I really wanted some personal opinions from people that are living there now or have before. I need to know how im going to go getting work once i arrive. I have a tourism certificate from the Australian tourism college so im qualified to work anywhere within the tourism sector. Id be really happy to score a job at a hotel or in a resort but ive been told that they mostly only hire thais, not sure how true that is?

I would also really appreciate any advice on where might be the best spots to move to as i have never actually been there. I dont speak any thai yet. One of my friends has agreed to teach me in exchange for me helping her improve her English but i probably wont be very fluent by the time i get there so would be nice to start off in an area where im likely to meet up with other english speakers. Apart from that all i really care about is being somewhere as close as i can get to the beach! and hopefully somewhere reasonably cheap.

Any thoughts would be great!

[cooked]

sorry to shower you with despondency, boring old fart here. You won't get a job legally here unless you get TEFL or similar. An illegal job will be very badly paid. Without speaking Thai you won't even get that. Look through this forum and you will find plenty of advice to people like you that think they can just come to Thailand and get a job. I doubt that anyone else on this forum will give you other advice.
English speakers a plenty in the islands , Bangkok, Pattaya. Not all of them are nice.

[taysialouise]

Originally Posted by cooked

sorry to shower you with despondency, boring old fart here. You won't get a job legally here unless you get TEFL or similar. An illegal job will be very badly paid. Without speaking Thai you won't even get that. Look through this forum and you will find plenty of advice to people like you that think they can just come to Thailand and get a job. I doubt that anyone else on this forum will give you other advice.
English speakers a plenty in the islands , Bangkok, Pattaya. Not all of them are nice.

I didnt expect to just rock up there and get a job which is exactly why i came here to seek some advice. I figured that my best bet would be tefl so ive started reading books on it and if thats really my best shot at work then ill do a course and settle but i am passionate about the tourism industry and would love to be apart of it. All in all ill just be happy to be there. I intend to continue working on my thai once im there and once im confident with it then it wont matter to me where i live, ill be happier to retreat somewhere further out away from the typical tourist spots but to begin with, nice or not i want to be able to settle in without my language barrier being too big a problem.

[TomC]

Originally Posted by taysialouise

I didnt expect to just rock up there and get a job which is exactly why i came here to seek some advice. I figured that my best bet would be tefl so ive started reading books on it and if thats really my best shot at work then ill do a course and settle but i am passionate about the tourism industry and would love to be apart of it. All in all ill just be happy to be there. I intend to continue working on my thai once im there and once im confident with it then it wont matter to me where i live, ill be happier to retreat somewhere further out away from the typical tourist spots but to begin with, nice or not i want to be able to settle in without my language barrier being too big a problem.

As others have pointed out, you can't get a work visa unless you teach English. I don't have foot on ground so I could be wrong. But I was visiting this Australian blogger who talks about how he went unconventional route. Buying and selling stuff on ebay and blogging and able to make money at it in Thailand. So it's possible. If you have all the right skills like this guy has, such as computer, writing and street smart, then who knows, you may be able to pull it off too. But conventional method of going to work for somebody in Thai tourism industry just doesn't make any sense to me. Why would they hire a foreigner when they can hire Thais very cheap? And if you find out their pay scale, you may not want the job for that matter. I think it's possible to succeed, but not the conventional method.

[taysialouise]

Originally Posted by TomC

As others have pointed out, you can't get a work visa unless you teach English. I don't have foot on ground so I could be wrong. But I was visiting this Australian blogger who talks about how he went unconventional route. Buying and selling stuff on ebay and blogging and able to make money at it in Thailand. So it's possible. If you have all the right skills like this guy has, such as computer, writing and street smart, then who knows, you may be able to pull it off too. But conventional method of going to work for somebody in Thai tourism industry just doesn't make any sense to me. Why would they hire a foreigner when they can hire Thais very cheap? And if you find out their pay scale, you may not want the job for that matter. I think it's possible to succeed, but not the conventional method.

Thanks for that. I appreciate the advice, its good. like i said i figured my best bet was tefl which im cool with was just hoping there was a chance somewhere. Im saving enough money to cover all my rent n other expenses for the time im there so im not hugely concerned about pay rates, but in saying that i dont know the scale of their payrates so you might be right, ill probably be surprised. Me and my good friend are starting up a blog weve been thinking about for ages so if all goes well with that then its something extra on the side too.

[taysialouise]

What about teaching Yoga?

[cooked]

sure, plenty of jobs teaching Yoga for non-Thai speaking foreigners, $10 000.- a month ok for you?

[taysialouise]

Originally Posted by cooked

sure, plenty of jobs teaching Yoga for non-Thai speaking foreigners, $10 000.- a month ok for you?

Wow. im just overwhelmed by your friendly attitude. thaks for your help mate! I dont appreciate your sarcasm, if you think my question is stupid, dont answer it. Couldnt be any more simple than that.

[cooked]

I am friendly my love, I thought your question was a sarcastic joke. Nobody else has taken the trouble to answer it I can't help noticing.

[stednick]

Originally Posted by taysialouise

Hay! im 21 and have plans to spend a few years Globetrotting. Im not gonna map it out too specifically because i want to be able to keep it spontaneous but i know i want to end up in Italy and i want to start in Thailand. Im living in Perth at the moment and im just waiting until ive saved up the cash i need. I really wanted some personal opinions from people that are living there now or have before. I need to know how im going to go getting work once i arrive. I have a tourism certificate from the Australian tourism college so im qualified to work anywhere within the tourism sector. Id be really happy to score a job at a hotel or in a resort but ive been told that they mostly only hire thais, not sure how true that is? I would also really appreciate any advice on where might be the best spots to move to as i have never actually been there. I dont speak any thai yet. One of my friends has agreed to teach me in exchange for me helping her improve her English but i probably wont be very fluent by the time i get there so would be nice to start off in an area where im likely to meet up with other english speakers. Apart from that all i really care about is being somewhere as close as i can get to the beach! and hopefully somewhere reasonably cheap. Any thoughts would be great!

taysialouise: First, good luck and enjoy your globe-trotting. Be careful, beware, and most importantly, be prepared. Have a well thought out plan with contingencies. You've found a good place to start. Read and read more. You will find a great deal of information in this forum. Thailand and Italy. The first thing you need to do is investigate the travel laws. As you stated you expect to "work" to supplement your savings, you will need visa's that allow you to work Check out the Thai and Italian Embassy websites and investigate the visa criteria. You must visit foreign countries "legally", abiding by their laws. The last thing you need would be to run afoul of a foreign countries laws, or wind up in a foreign detention center, jail or prison. You say your waiting until you've saved up the cash you need. Make sure you save enough to get you home in a hurry, to take care of a possible medical emergency (disease or accident), and to support you for the majority of the few years you'll be globe-trotting. The world is in a recession. Unemployment is rampant. Jobs are scarce and hard to find. Foreigners are at the bottom of the ladder when it comes to employment, competing with Foreign Nationals who speak the language. Be careful and don't hold high expectations for earning income in foreign countries. The monies you earn will be minimal for very hard work. Thailand: you need a work permit. Review the sticky thread "Employment: Restricted occupations for foreigners". #34 is "guide or conducting sightseeing tours". This thread also identifies the monetary fines and imprisonment sentences should you get caught working without a permit. Do NOT expect your Embassy to save your bacon. They can only do so much. In Thailand, teaching English is your ticket. This subject has been discussed at length throughout this forum. All the steps you need are detailed. Read, Read and Read. As far as yoga; Thailand has it's own versions and "Masters". Nothing here for you. Italy: haven't been there in years. Friends, and the grapevine tell me Italy is in a serious monetary crisis, high unemployment, and seriously overrun by both legal and illegal immigrants from Africa. For the Italian part of your trip you need to study the Italy Ex-pat forum for usable information. Good luck. Save a lot of money before you depart. Carry contact information on your person, ALWAYS register with your Embassy(s), leave frequent updates, addresses and contact information with your family at home. And, most important, is to "BE SAFE".