Nicholas
Working in: Bangkok
Monthly Earnings: 35-45,000 baht a month
Q. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
A. I get a 35,000 baht salary from the agency I work for and they employ me to do a full-time job at a Thai secondary school. Fortunately the schedule is quite light so I'm able to bump up my monthly gross with private students.
Q. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
A. Very little. I'm lucky to stash 5,000 baht away.
Q. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
A. I live in an apartment with my Thai partner. It costs about 8,000 baht a month with bills.
Q. What do you spend a month on the following things?
| a) Transportation | 1,000 baht |
|---|---|
| b) Utility bills | Between 2-3,000 |
| c) Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping | We don't eat out much but we do bring a lot of streetfood home. I guess about 6,000 baht a month all in. |
| d) Nightlife and drinking | About 3,000. |
| e) Books, computers | I use the internet at school and I'm not much of a reader so this expense is virtually zero. |
Q. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
A. The 10,000 baht a month I make from privates is the difference between a good month and an OK month. I don't want for anything on the kind of salary I earn but I know I can't go on like this forever. I can't afford a holiday back home for a start.
Q. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
A. Food and transportation, although taxis are getting noticeably more expensive.
Q. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
A. In Bangkok, anything under 40,000 baht a month is a bit of a struggle. I would love to live in a better apartment but you can't have rent eating up a third of your salary.
Phil's analysis and comment
Nicholas has really said it all for me. You're only 'surviving' on 35-45'000 baht a month in Bangkok. It's going to be great for a few years, but not something you can do forever. What about the trips home when the folks get ill? Or are you going to rely on Auntie Doreen to look after her favorite nephew and send you the cost of an air ticket? Surely you can't live like that when you are in your thirties and forties - a slave to family handouts. I don't know the exact ins and outs of Nick's situation but perhaps by being employed directly and not through an agency, he could add 5-10,000 baht a month to his salary. And all that money he could relistically save.
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Ajarn Guests
Fear of change?
In Thailand the government has set 2012 as English Speaking Year with a goal of encouraging students to converse in English every Monday. Such policies are useful but the major leap of enacting legislation to make English an official language for Thailand is also needed
Software for student tests
The integration of internet and computers with education and English learning is something students find normal, and classrooms without some access to educational software may seem quaint. Some students may even feel they can get more ‘professional' teaching from the numerous online ELT sites if a school is behind in IT.
Whatever happened to the shopping mall teacher?
They are the shopping mall English teachers - gliding like pale, undernourished phantoms amid the hordes of weekend Thai shoppers. The main reason I empathize with the shopping mall teacher is because I was once one myself. I know how desperate and soul-destroying it can be.
About Ajarn.com
Ajarn.com was started as a small hobby website in 1999 by Ian McNamara. It was a simple way for one Bangkok teacher to share his Thailand experiences and pass on advice. The website developed a loyal and enthusiastic following. In 2004, Ian handed over the reins to Phil Williams and 'Bangkok Phil' has run the ajarn website ever since.
Ajarn.com has grown enormously and is now the most popular TEFL site in Thailand - possibly even South East Asia. Although best-known for its vibrant jobs page, Ajarn has a wealth of articles, blogs, features and help and advice. But one principle has always remained at Ajarn's core - to tell things like they are and to do it with a sense of humor. Thailand can be Heaven or Hell for an English teacher. It's always been Ajarn.com's duty to present both sides of the equation. Thanks for stopping by.
