I work at a private school in Bangkok that was severely damaged by the flood. I am happy to say that all teachers, both foreign and Thai, were paid their full salaries during the disaster. I make 45k per month which is a bit higher than average at my school. I work as a high school science teacher and even make a little more money coaching after school sports. Of course my school is not perfect.  We have poor communication between the administration office and teachers at times, non-existent consequences for poor student behavior, and a policy that every student passes the class regardless of their actual grade (promotes laziness!) However, I love teaching the subject I teach and I have some really amazing students. All in all, I love my job and love living in Thailand.

Dizzy Dean

Dear Ajarn.com, I really enjoy reading the letters and editorials on your website.  Unlike expat English teacher-oriented websites for a lot of other nearby countries, it seems like this one really fishes out the pertinent issues and attempts to take an object stance.

I lived in Thailand and taught there for a little over a year. I worked at two places: A university and the EP department of a high school.  I am married to a Thai national, and although we will surely visit her family there, I pray that I will never have to work there again.  My beef with working there pretty much echoes what others have said:  two-faced Thai teachers and coworkers, bad workplace communication, hostile and invasive supervisors that seem eager to see you go, lies about pay and conditions, generally low pay, improper or non-existent support, inconvenient and unreasonable visa system, etc.

The main reason I’m writing this letter, of course, is not to flatten the poor horse any more because certainly he is nearly paper thin by now. Rather I’d like to provide a very respectful criticism of your editorial section here. 

Often prospective teachers or others write in to inquire about salaries and working conditions for jobs there in Thailand.  Often those inquiries are about pay being relative to the cost of living and so on. What I notice is that all too often, the response to the inquiries make it appear that the normal situation for a teacher with normal teaching qualifications ie: a TEFL cert, Bachelors degree, some teaching experience, etc would allow that teacher to make upwards of 40~50k baht per month. 

For example, about a month ago, you ran a story comparing someone working in Bangkok who made 60,000 baht with someone working in the South who made 40,000 baht.  The article seemed to represent these figures as if they purported to a status quo (I believe in the end, the conclusion was made that 40,000 a month in the South was not enough money to survive). In stark contrast, however, a brief scan of the jobs being advertised here on your website brushstrokes a very different picture. 

Most jobs here pay 30,000 baht at best - and more still pay in the neighborhood of 20,000 baht. It is rare to find one that pays 40,000 baht in Bangkok, but there are a few jobs at business English schools for adults and so on.  Universities in Thailand almost universally pay between 25,000 and 30,000, with a few exceptions.

So, could you please adjust your explanations about what the salaries are like in Thailand, in the future?  I am sure a lot of people who plan to go there would really appreciate that.

Nick Busch

I really can’t see the point of teachers complaining about salaries. Time after time there are instances of corruption, bad behavior by directors and coordinators, unruly student behavior with no disciplinary procedures. Each posting takes us nearer to truth about Thai education; students with the lowest I.Q’s in Asia, and compulsory falsification of exam results to try to hide it. Why has the salary dropped? It’s very simple, as many have pointed out; you’re not teachers, you’re ‘entertainers’ and how much is a ‘babysitter’ worth? That’s why you’re being offered 15,000 to 25,000 a month! Forget your grammar and bring into the classroom a set of bingo cards instead . . . . . the students will be happy and if the students are happy the parents will be happy. If the parents are happy they’ll keep paying the school and somewhere along the line you’ll be given a little bit of it to struggle by on, be seen as a good, conforming ‘teacher’ and will have no more problems.

If however, you do look on yourself as a teacher and especially for the older ones amongst us, why put up with it? Granted, Thailand to me is the nicest place to live in but not to work. How about the oil states, or China, or up and coming Vietnam? There’s plenty of work for the more mature teachers and perhaps teaching in Thailand should be left to the blond/e backpacking Henrietta’s and Rupert’s of the world for their one year ‘cultural’ experiences. Perhaps Thailand indeed gets what it deserves.

A year or two contract in the aforementioned places, then a visit to Laos on your return for a six-month Thai tourist visa and you combine the pleasure of living in Thailand without getting burned out or suffering a heart attack from the stress of teaching unruly class sizes of 50+, 26+ hours a week. I used to teach in Thailand and I see boatloads of foreigners leaving. One day I hope the Thai government will realize that entertainment and falsifying exam results might be part of the reason that Thailand is the bottom of the league table in education. They might then also come to the logical conclusion that singing and clapping hands all day with backpackers needs some serious reconsideration. Until then, au revoir Thailand.

John in China

My TCT waiver/exemption letter dated January 25, 2010 is for 2 years, but in 2011 Mukdahan immigration office only gave me my new visa until January 25, 2012.  I had to get a new TCT letter (another 2 years) to allow me to finish the current academic year in early March. I would recommend to the TCT that their letters should state a more explicit time frame, like including an ending date for example.  It would be better if their letter specifically said something like: “for X academic year(s) ending on March 31, 20XX.“ which is when I think many contracts end. Mukdahan immigration is only doing their job to the letter of the TCT waiver, but students could lose a teacher before the academic year ends if the TCT decides to reject the school’s new application for its teacher. Also, I now have to pay again for the privilege of completing this term with my students.  My school sadly doesn’t pay for my visa and work permit like many other schools.

Jim

This is the story of the ghost of an ex-English teacher who hunts the Principal of a Thai school.
Definitely, it was a strong curse! For the first time in the last year, the Principal had to bite her tongue, make the sign of the cross three times and promise never to touch the foreign teachers ‘desks!
One day, all the teachers from the foreign department couldn’t believe what they saw with their own eyes. All the teachers desks were messed up and moved to different positions from where they used to be, according to a pre-established unknown rule from above.

Foreign teachers had to bite their tongue and to protest silently, in the way they considered the most decent and the most appropriate to the respective situation.For example, teacher P came to school for the next four months, dressed with his snow coat, ski mask, winter collar and gloves, since the aircon blew like a -30 degrees celsius Siberian blizzard, straight onto his back! But that didn’t bother Thai staff at all. They were happy and they were giggling about the foreign teachers’ situation. Doesn’t matter some of them had to pay several visits to the doctors, even take some days off, for catching strong colds or rheumatic pains caused by the aircon that continued to blow impassible, straight onto their backs for several months. That’s why the school pays so much money to insure the foreigners, so they can enjoy their aristocratic privileges!

Teacher P continued to endure this harsh treatment several months and when the right opportunity came up, he handed in his resignation in the most honest and decent way. But this time teacher P had his V from vendetta. Earlier this morning, as teacher K. showed up at the office, he couldn’t find his desk!? Again!? Why? Obviously, it had been moved by somebody without his permission. Since only the Thai coordinators were around, he presumed they might have something to do with the Unidentified Freaking Operation, shortly called U.F.O.

Don’t get me wrong, but teacher K. believes in all sort of ethereal things like aliens and other extraterrestrial beings, and, if the coordinators couldn’t admit that they were involved somehow in his desk levitation, then for sure the Devil itself put his tail between his legs. Finally, the coordinators admitted they were the authors of the strange phenomenon but with one amendment: they received orders straight from the school’s Principal. With the pressure building up like a locomotive whistle, teacher K. heads down to Principal’s office, ready to explode, threatening the school with his imminent and unconditional resignation.

Unexpectedly, the Principal found her words in a perfect English, explaining she has never given any controversial order to move his desk around the office. More than that, she assured him of taking all the necessary measures for reestablishing the normal course of his desk (life)! Shortly after, she ordered to the coordinators to move the desks back, so there will be no mystery about who ordered to move the desks around the office! Obviously, there was no extraterrestrial involvement. Just a matter of authentic high level Thai management or as they say: Mai pen rai, Sucker!

Any resemblance to actual characters or situations is purely coincidental.

Steve Bold