You can live in Bangkok on 30K a month - but I wouldn't
Postbox letter from Ken
It always cracks me up just how heated these debates get on what a person can or cannot live on in Bangkok (or Thailand in general). And of course people frequently have these same arguments when it comes to what a “livable wage” is in their own countries as well.
15,000 baht a month is degrading
Postbox letter from Loy
Filipinos buy food, rent apartments and pay bills and we even send money back to our loved ones. How far do you think 15,000 goes?
Online teaching saved my life
What would I have done without it?
How having more than one source of income, in this case an online tutoring job, saved my ass during cancer treatment.
Times are changing.
Postbox letter from Steve Bangkok
There's a whole new world of opportunity out there for the jaded TEFLer
Get realistic Thailand!
Postbox letter from Ryan
I think Thailand needs to be more realistic about what it's looking for with TEFL teachers. You don't really need any qualifications to teach TEFL at the real TEFL level other than being a native-speaker and having a CELTA, etc.
A life of hard work
Postbox letter from Marcus
The old notion of "As I get older I want to be working less for more" doesn't apply to foreign teachers in Thailand. You want more money? You have to take on extra work. Simple as.
Don't accept paltry salaries
Postbox letter from John
Many teachers are not too concerned about how much money they make because they are only here to have a good time
Take the first job you can get
It's all about getting a foot in the door
There are "Teachers in Thailand" rooms that I belong to that say don't settle for anything less than 40K when it comes to a teaching job, and although I do agree with them, that's easier said than done.
The Filipino issue
Are they native speakers?
In my opinion, Filipinos sometimes get agitated because of the general attitude towards them. I agree that it can get frustrating when your umpteenth job application is turned down. You pick up the phone to try to find out why your services are not wanted and you are told that the school doesn’t hire Filipino teachers.
Teacher tax issues
Working your way through the teacher tax minefield
It is not unusual for certain schools to under declare a teacher's salary and consequently the tax documents provided to the teacher do not always agree with amounts paid to the Revenue Department. Sometimes the Revenue Department do not even know the teacher existed.
