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

I've been teaching at a small, boutique English teaching facility in Colombo for 9 weeks, directly off the back of the Ajarn website. My employer is a good guy, really decent and has looked after me well so far. All our communication is sensible and what's more he sourced me from the Ajarn site as I mentioned.

My "brief" is conversational English. I teach 12-14 year olds or 14-16 year olds or adults for 3 hours a day on most days, sometimes I have a morning class as well. It's seriously not "high pressure".

The salary is small but the package includes (very good) accommodation and meals, and because the cost of living in Sri Lanka is so low, it's livable. The cost of food for example is simply laughable, and I mean that in a very good way. Also transport in my case is provided most days.

Where I am is a long way out of the centre of Colombo, from anywhere remotely "downtown" and that is an impediment. I'm virtually in a "village", five kilometers from an outer suburb. And so life is quiet - very quiet indeed.

I imagine it's similar for many English teachers who land in a Thai province, an up-country town or village. The charm wears off pretty fast, replaced by inertia and boredom. This is a very big problem for creative people who've grown up in large urban atmospheres like me. However there is a benefit to everything and you just have to figure out how you can make something of the life here while hanging on to the things in life that you may want to do later on.

The students here are very sweet, very co-operative but if anything, a little too 'inward'. It takes a bit of work to get them 'moving' sometimes, but that's far preferable to aggressive, highly extrovert types, so you can’t have everything!

I would recommend Sri Lanka as a possible destination for English teachers. Oh, the other thing was the working visa was taken care of with no problems, unlike that ongoing Thai lunacy of how difficult it is for many teachers to secure a visa, the visa run silliness and all that jazz.

Sam McNally

Hi all. This is just a 'be aware and take care' story. The week before last I was offered a job with a teacher agency and invited to start immediately. But as I was already working for another school so the best I could do was give the agency a week’s notice and I eventually left my old school last Friday - car loaded with essentials for my new apartment and a relative installed to take care of it.

Five minutes before setting off for my first day at the new job, I got a telephone call from the agency saying that the position, for whatever reason, was no longer on offer. So now here I am - stuck in the village with no job, no income and feeling very distressed. And it is, of course Christmas week!

My better half is in a state of deep depression and it is all my responsibility and, indeed my fault. I should have got a contract from the agency before handing in my notice at my previous school……..but I didn't. If anything similar happens to you, quell the enthusiasm and think first. I certainly wish I had. Any jobs out there?!!

Dennis Faulkner

Hi fellow ajarn followers. I moved to Thailand in October 2007. I had "tested the water", so to speak, by spending 2x3-month vacations here. I remember my first six months in Thailand very well and indeed will never forget them.

The first six months is spent re-adjusting. Thai culture, lifestyle, climate, food and working environment are alien to most. Some days I found myself getting annoyed and frustrated at the smallest issues. I spoke about this to a friend. I was quickly reminded of life back home - the pressures, weather, cost of living, attitude, food and climate.

It has been said that the first year in Thailand is make or break for most. I agree. When you come to Thailand, ask yourself the question why am I doing this? You must have genuine reasons.

So many people come to Thailand with the wrong attitude. Thais are never going to change for you; it is you who must make the adjustments. Coming here playing the big ‘I AM’ is going to cause you nothing but misery. Coming here bringing an ‘I am going to modernize the Thais’ attitude will also cause you nothing but pain. There are many more observations but I think these are the main two attitudes that cause so much frustration amongst fellow teachers.

You need an open mind and allow yourself to accept Thailand 100%, faults and all. Then you can achieve a level of happiness that you yearn for, that you felt on those previous visits. Letting go of your western values is the key to success here.

Having spent nearly three years in Thailand, I decided to try my luck in China. The boom in the TEFL industry is most apparent there. You are head-hunted. The selection of jobs, pay, conditions, contracts, free flights and housing is incredible and it is you who is in demand. This is not arrogance but an absolute fact.

I have now worked in China for 18 months. It has been a rewarding experience. I left Thailand not because I was unhappy but to widen my experience and knowledge. The experience in Thailand helped me adjust very quickly to life in China.

However, I have missed Thailand with a passion. This does not take anything away from my experience in China. Both experiences have enhanced and endeared me to life in this part of Asia.

Is the grass greener on the other side? If you have the desire to change, adapt, accept and learn then you can achieve a level of happiness I never had in my home country.

Christian Brookes

In response to Hippolyte (Foreigners have to take care of themselves’ Postbox 29th November) No one is asking for a hand out or a free ride, but just fair play. I bet you that during the floods the Thai teaching staff still got paid. Yes, that’s right, double standards! For the record any Thai citizen can pay into the social security fund, and not just the civil servants. I have Thai friends who are farmers and factory workers and they pay into it. Hippolyte, you really need to do your research first. One more point - you wrote about the exploitation of Burmese workers. Well who are exploiting them, the foreigners or the Thais? Yes, you got it, the Thais are. Have you ever had a conversation with one of the Burmese workers? No, of course you haven’t. Guess what? I have and they feel a damn sight safer here and they have money to buy food and to support their families.

Keith

Being a former teacher in China on their way to Bangkok any day now, I think it is important to shed some light on this topic. China has just as many problems if not more than Thailand.

Do most schools care about their foreign teachers? No! Can you get work without a degree? Yes! Will you get deported if caught? Yes! Can you return afterwards? No! Do you get free accommodation? Sometimes! Are you respected? Rarely! Can you work legally over 60? No!. If there is a natural disaster like a flood in China will you paid? No! Is your teaching contract enforceable by you? No! Are the students any better? No, the same. Are the girls more beautiful? No! At the end of the day where you decide to live and work is your choice. As foreigners living in another country these are the challenges we must face. I was in the same position as many of you here in Thailand while I was working in China.

I learned a valuable lesson. While working in another country it is our choice to make a positive experience out of our time there. A few suggestions to my fellow ferangs. If you think the salary is too low, don't accept the job! Save money just like you should do in your own country. Why should you be any different because you are living in Asia? Try to adjust to that countries ideals and culture.

I tried to fight the Chinese government on many things and it was like running into a brick wall every time. I expect it is the same here in Thailand. I hate to say it but at the end of the day when working in a foreign country you must be a follower and not a leader. I a convinced of this, which is why I am going to give it a second shot here in Thailand. I learned from my past mistakes and plan to use the information I learned to make my new life in Bangkok as much of a rewarding experience as possible. It is what we make of our time teaching here. Good luck to you all who have decided to work in China. Please remember that famous proverb. The grass is always greener on the other side. Cheers!

Anthony