Are you a teacher who once taught in Thailand but decided to seek out pastures new? Has the grass been greener on the other side? Maybe you swapped Thailand for the financial lure of Japan or Korea? Read about those who have left Thailand, and their reasons for moving...
John Dixon
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved to Thailand from Australia in May of 2002 and was recruited by University of Melbourne on behalf of Joseph Upatham School in Nakhon Pathom and finished there in Feb 2012.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
Ten years at the same school, but chances of promotion or doing anything other than teach English there were zero. Worked with some really great people and some complete nut jobs as well. My school was overall good and many teachers have been there for 10 years plus. But if you want something more than to cruise along for the rest of your life till your pension arrives, it is not the place for you.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
Two reasons, my Thai other half of six and a half years died and as stated no chance of going up or even sideways career wise. The boss, while having her good points was always inconsistent on saying one thing and wanting or expecting you to do something else. Remember you are only there to make them look good. I did get a good offer of a job in 2008 at Trinity International in Bangkok but had to turn it down because of caring for my other half. I have sons back in Australia and family as well so that was the main reason for coming back in Feb of 2012.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
I don't see any advantage of coming back to Australia. It is expensive, over-regulated, over-policed and everyone is over-worked (if they have a job) and no one really smiles and the weather at least in Melbourne is crap. Not afraid to admit I have made a mistake so will be back to Thailand one way or another ASAP.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
I miss the warmth, my Thai and farang friends and the smiles. As a professionally trained teacher, give me teaching Thai students to teaching in a school in Australia any time.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Test the waters first. There are many good schools to work at in Thailand (and some not so good ones). But do your homework first and the more qualifications you have, the better the job you will get. Teaching in Thailand can be a great experience. But if you have not been sent there to work by an international company you won't make a fortune, Like the old joke goes - how do you make a small fortune in Thailand? Answer; start with a large one! Also take take the time to learn at least some basic Thai.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Currently in Melbourne and having to do (more) training (Two degrees and a teaching qualification not enough) to teach refugees English. Though this is a stop gap. Turned down one job last week in Chaiyaphum as I don't really want to be working for an agency. The Thai school year is starting soon and the International School year in August so as soon as a satisfactory job comes up, I will be back in Thailand.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Give me Thailand to Australia any day.
Lin
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
Guangdong, China; August 2011
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
Seven years in Bangkok.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I hit the top of the pay scale for international school teachers hired in-country. I was tired of school owners with no education background that run schools too much like a corporation. Also, too long in Thailand does not look good on a CV for international schools.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Better pay, lower cost of living in a secondary city, more professional colleagues. My school now knows that the amount of good foreign teachers here is not abundant and genuinely tries to retain its faculty.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Beaches, the calm and slow pace of daily life and the food. Fewer squat toilets versus where I am now!
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
I think that Thailand is an easier country for someone starting out to find their feet. The language and the people are easier to deal with than the Chinese.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
I can't say for sure. People I know call me with 'job leads' thinking I'll come back but I'm under contract and trying to add to my CV. I'd really have to hear high praise from someone I trust about a school to go back. I think timing will also be a big part of whether or not I come back permanently but I do visit often.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
I'm not sure what the future holds for teachers in Thailand, but that's been said a lot. I really thought that my last job in Thailand would keep me settled there. Turned out that the last 'next big, new school' was a huge disappointment and I realised that I was constantly seeing the same problems in Bangkok. Many people that I know that lived there and left say that Thailand is a good place for a holiday but a bad place to work.
Rebecca
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
From the U.S. to Thailand and back to U.S.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
One year.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
Initially, I was taking a new teaching position in Taiwan. However, an expat Taiwanese living in the U.S. who helped me with the contract the Taiwanese university forwarded to me (which was in Chinese for an English teaching position!?), recommended that I not take the Taiwan job because he did not believe the contract would be honored. Well, that was enough to scare me away from that teaching position. So I went back to the U.S in hopes of establishing myself at a University in the U.S. Well, that was seven years ago and I'm still only teaching part-time, am low-income, have no benefits and no retirement plan!
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
None. I'm a teacher by profession and the education sector in the U.S. is quickly collapsing. Yeah, there is the private sector in the U.S. and it is growing -- but at the expense of the public sector of education, which I just can't abide by.
In addition, my partner and the father of my two children is Thai, grew up in Bangkok, where we met, and has not been able to make it here in the U.S. The problem with the U.S. is that if you come here with work experience and a college degree from Asia, good luck finding a job here outside of waiting tables. My Thai partner comes from a good family and had an exceptional education in Thailand, but none of that counts for anything in the U.S. He was a manager for his mother's company in Thailand (a multi-million baht company), has a university degree, but today is serving tables at restaurants because his experience and education from Asia means nothing to the U.S job market, and he makes more waiting tables part-time than he would working in the translation or international trade markets. It is so ridiculous! The U.S. is myopic.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
The dedication and respect for the institutes of learning and the work that they do to keep a society above a 3rd world status. You can't beat the fact that your students in Thailand, and all over Asia, fundamentally respect their teachers, what they do, and what they stand for. The majority of students in Thailand do the work you ask, read the texts you ask them to read and do not take naps in your classroom.
It is quite the opposite in the U.S. In the U.S., a teacher has to compete with facebook, itunes, and angry birds for the attention of her students. Many U.S. students do not do the work you ask, are not prepared for class, often never even buy the books that are required for the class, and are not even apologetic about it. They actually seem quite proud of themselves!
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Go teach in Thailand if what you want to do is teach. In Thailand, you will teach in an environment where it will be rewarded for what it is -- a profession that helps to raise the standards of living for families, whole communities and a nation. Yeah, Thailand has its problems. But so does every other nation on this planet.
A teacher's salary in Thailand may not amount to very much in $$'s or euross. However, it amounts to a very comfortable middle-class life-style in baht. 30,000 baht is a good income in Thailand, but it only comes to about 800 or 900 in U.S. dollars, which is well below the poverty range. You can travel to most places throughout Asia and experience all the same joys that we do in the U.S. on that income. You would have a hard time traveling on it in the U.S. or in Europe though.
On the other hand, in the U.S., not only does a teacher make a low middle-class income, but she will always be suspected of not doing her job, and being in education for the paycheck, or because she is incompetent. Your income will only be enough to pay for your necessities--car, house, gas, food, and clothes and insurance for car, medical and home. Your "free time" will be consumed with paper grading, meetings, etc. Even going on a weekend camping trip is a major ordeal--forget about going to Disneyland or skiing! If your not making over $75,000 with benefits in many parts of the U.S., then you are low-income and only just getting by.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Absolutely! I'm so disillusioned with the whole profession of teaching here in the U.S. Teachers in the U.S. do not make a good living, receive no respect from society, and are not consulted about curriculum decisions. The politicians only pay lip service to what the teachers in the classroom tell them needs to be done. Then, the same politicians go around complaining about how teachers are getting all these benefits and are not teaching our kids--like teachers are a bunch of bloodsuckers who are in it just for the paycheck. Seriously?!! Teachers in the U.S are horribly mistreated right now.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Do not go to the U.S. thinking that you will find a nice job teaching. As a teacher, you are better off in Asia. Maybe things will change in the U.S., but I predict that it won't happen in our life times. I'm starting to hear similar problems in Europe now, too. So, Asia seems to be the one part of the world where education is still a top funding priority. So be it, Asian nations will rise up as the next global powers.
Go where what you do is rewarded and not just in economic terms, but also in terms of being respected for the service you provide the community.
My partner and I have both come to realize that the grass is not always greener.
Sam
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
Korea, Thailand, Korea, USA
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
One year
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
Trying to advance my career
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
I am progressing professionally, gaining real-world skills, actually working in my field, making a real income and saving for retirement.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Feeling alive for the first time in my life. Seeing the gritty side of life first-hand made me feel like a human. I woke up everyday feeling invigorated rather than like a robot. Back in the U.S., as I am sure is the same with other countries, we put ourselves in this safe cocoon where we remove all things unpleasant from sight. Corruption is still there, but it is less obvious.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
First, I would recommend China and not Thailand. Although China does not pay as much as other places, there are many, many opportunities in different areas of teaching and teaching leadership. Not to mention it is not too difficult to move out of teaching if you would like.
Second, if you are going overseas to get the experience, not because you really want to be an English teacher, give yourself a deadline. As you can see on here, it is all too easy to get sucked in and you end up in a Bermuda Triangle type life. You have no idea where the past years have gone and you really do not have much to show for it. When you do return back home, it is almost as if you have a black hole on your resume because those skills do not transfer well.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
It would be a dream come true, but only if I am to return on a corporate assignment with a western company.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
I had a wake up call recently that changed my life. I was stuck in my fun life in Korea before I realized that this was not what I wanted. Gaining international experience was important to me, but I also had dreams and ambitions. Yeah I was a university professor, but that was not my dream.
I can only compare it to being on an addictive substance. Leaving my life overseas was like going cold-turkey. I had the withdraw symptoms at home and I did try to get back in the game. It still hurts sometimes, but I am doing well. At first I had to take a lower paying job but I just found a job that pays $15,000 more a year than I ever made overseas. I'll be starting grad school this year too at a very good school.
Folks, this is your wake up call. For those of you who came overseas for the experience and not to really be a teacher, take a look at your life. Are you really where you want to be professionally? How long have you been "weathering out" the bad economy? Are you really gaining any skills that will make you competitive? Is your quality of life improving?
You had your time and it was fun, but it is time to wake up. It is time to live. For those who know who I am talking to - it is time to wake up.
Sean
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved back to Los Angeles, CA in June of 2011.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
For about 3 years.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
To be honest, I was having a pretty good time as a single guy in Thailand. but like so many others, I fell in love with a sweet Thai girl who works in one of the 5-star hotels in Bangkok. Once I had a 'link" into the life of a Thai person, and the mistreatments and nasty behaviors she would have to deal with from her employers I needed to get her out of there. Her chance for a better life, fulfilling any of her dreams, and growing as a person were next to none. And I believed her growth would not only be slowed down, but she may regress from her current state. She deserved a chance to experience a better way of life, professionally and emotionally.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Every place has some good and bad. For me I am working at a job that pays five times as much as I would make in Thailand, and my wife is making three times as much. But of course things are more expensive here. But we do get to have more experiences, food, entertainment, and travel here. She also gets to grow her independence and self confidence.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
I do miss my free time and my mini vacations around Asia. I miss the varity of expat friends from around the world. The random silly stuff we hear,see,smell, and taste.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
If you are young and you have zero experience and you have a decent amount of money saved in the bank, then yes. Plan a 2-3 year tour, but save your money because you'll need it for your next move to Vietnam, China, or Korea.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Oh yes, I love Thailand. I hate the people..( This is what my wife says too now that she is out) Thailand is an amazing 5 senses at 100% 24 hours a day. It is great at first because you are so jazzed up and love the feeling. It's like a major drug at first. But it will crash you out after a while. I will visit often, and maybe set up a retirement there, but will limit myself as regards the amount of interaction with the "nation" .
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Do not go to Thailand if you are broke, you'll never get out because you can't make enough to move anywhere else. Starting a business is so hard that it's not worth it. Teaching is a joke and don't expect any..ANY results. And if you get annoyed easily or get angry quickly - please don't move to Thailand.
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