FOREIGN TEACHERS IN THAILAND
Sweet-Sour Truth About the Labour Market in Thailand for Foreign Teachers
High supply means low demand … and low salaries. Yet, there are some other features of Thai reality that might surprise you.
I realize that many foreigners cause problems in schools in Thailand. For example, I witnessed firsthand how a foreign teacher arrived at school so drunk that he could barely walk.
Furthermore, salaries for foreign teachers in Thailand have remained unchanged for decades, and as a result, it attracts not the best individuals from English-speaking countries.
In this article, I will describe real cases from my life and what I personally know about how this market works here, opening the veil of salaries and different issues about foreigners and agencies.
Let’s fly!
How Foreigners Apply for a Job
There are two main ways to find a job: find a school or an agency.
The first option may be suitable for those who have previously worked in Thailand. However, the most common method of finding a job is through an agency. You can find them on Facebook and some websites.
The most popular job search website is ajarn.com
Yet bangkok.craigslist.org is a less popular option. Why? The reputation is notorious — you can find a job there, but fake documents are available for purchase too.
Specifics of the Labor Market
In Thailand, there are likely more exceptions to the rules than rules, and paperwork is no exception.
I have Thai friends who work as teachers in various schools and have submitted documents in various provinces. For example, in eight years, I have never been asked for a Police Clearance Certificate for a visa or a Work Permit, whereas other provinces require the document. Some officers request TOEIC, while others do not.
There is another intriguing aspect in Thailand: agencies and schools only accept foreigners who are already in the country. Exceptions may apply to super-duper professionals in private or international schools, but those who are not in the country are typically not considered.
You should know that because of the lack of a work invitation, most new foreign teachers arrive on a tourist visa and then change to a work visa if all of their documents are in order.
So, technically, they are working illegally while their work visa application is being processed. However, this has been the case for decades, and no one is concerned about it.
Expats in Thailand with a family or pension visa fall into a special category of teachers. This visa is frequently enough for them to teach in public schools. Qualification is secondary.
Salaries of Foreigners
How much do foreigners get paid in Thai schools?
It’s very simple: parents pay for a foreigner. In general, it is important to understand that the foreign teacher market is first and foremost a business.
Before the start of each new semester, parents pay a separate fee for a foreigner, say $10, and keep the money in reserve. Some of the $ 10 goes to the school for monitoring the teaching quality of foreigners and so on. It can be much more than $10 if we’re talking about large, prestigious, or private schools. The school budget allows them to hire foreigners.
According to Thai law, if a school or organization wants to hire a foreign teacher, it must meet certain requirements, one of which is the most difficult for village schools: a specific budget; higher is possible, lower is not. Many small schools cannot afford a foreign teacher.
So, in fact, I am hired by the parents, while the school and/or agency oversees the teaching process, recruits teachers, and so on.
Now, let’s talk about the numbers, I mean the teachers who work, and their salaries. Yet, before I begin, I’d like to point out that teacher salaries have remained unchanged for the past twenty years. Nobody considers inflation or the rising cost of living, as a result low salaries cause lower and lower quality of foreign teachers.
For the conversion, I used the current exchange rate of 36 baht to one dollar. I also want to make a reservation right away that these categories are conditional, and it may well be that, say, a Filipino will earn more than an American. However, I tried to give a general idea and share my observations.
18 000–29 000 baht (~500$-805$)
The vast majority of such salaries are accepted by citizens from the Philippines, and most foreigners from the Asian region are also accepted. I would like to point out that in my career in Thailand, I have met some cool teachers from the Philippines, and I don’t know why they come and accept these salaries.
As far as I know, teachers in the Philippines get lower salaries at first, but they go up, and medical coverage is available. Whereas in Thailand they have very dim prospects.
I also know that at one point in time, there was an influx of Filipinos who had some past involvement with drugs. They could face the death penalty in the Philippines, so some Filipinos are simply fleeing prosecution. I would like to kindly emphasize, however, that I am recounting different experiences for objectivity, not to inflame.
I‘ve simply met completely different teachers over the years.
30 000 — 36 000 baht (~833$-1000$)
It is worth noting that many schools allocate a budget in the neighborhood of 360,000 baht per year per foreigner. So some schools make the contract 30k for 12 months, and some pay 36k but ten months a year. I am quoting a range of prices for a 12-month contract.
Experienced Filipinos, Europeans, and some individuals from English-speaking countries also receive salaries from 30k up to 36k a month.
There are many different categories of English-speaking representatives who are willing to work for such a salary. They can be pensioners who have a Thai wife, for example, who live and work part-time. Young NES and Europeans agree to work for such money while traveling.
They usually are those who have no teaching experience — so-called backpackers.
In terms of salaries, Europeans are similar to English speakers in this category. Schools with such salary offers are located throughout Thailand. Yet, schools near the sea have no problem hiring NES citizens for such salaries.
36 000 — 40 000 baht (~1000$-1111$)
This category primarily includes Europeans with a pleasant appearance and a neutral accent, as well as English-speaking individuals who are prepared to work somewhere other than the sea.
Most Europeans in this category have previous teaching experience in Thailand. They usually teach math, PE, physics, and other subjects in English. Frequently, they don’t teach English for conversation.
Such salaries are willing to pay those schools with an English language program, and parents pay significantly more for their children to participate in this program. However, as you can see, salaries are not significantly different from those at schools without an English program.
At this point, I’d like to explain that the concept of NES in Thailand is extremely adaptable. In addition to the traditional list of English-speaking countries, there are frequently Eupraean-looking teachers, such as myself, who have lived in Thailand and have a neutral accent.
In fact, any caucasian with a neutral English accent is often considered as NES in Thailand.
40 000–60 000 baht (~1111$-1667$)
For this salary, Europeans and English-speaking teachers who have experience, all in order with documents, pleasant appearance, understandable accent, and, as a rule, up to 45 years old, can already be counted on.
Let me clarify about the accent. You understand perfectly well that if you were born in England, it does not mean that you have clear and competent speech. People may have speech defects or just some very complex and incomprehensible dialect.
There are especially many vacancies for foreigners teaching phonics in elementary schools and kindergartens. Therefore, such schools take those teachers who can pronounce words and endings clearly and slowly.
Most English teachers can do this.
I have a friend from Russia whom I inspired to come to Thailand a long time ago, about 6–7 years ago. He used to be a salesman in Moscow, and he knows how to speak.
His first job was 36,000. After two years, he found a job in Bangkok for 45,000, and now he has 50,000 baht in the same school. In contrast, my salary hasn’t changed for the last 6 years.
My friend teaches Math for Grade 10 at a Christian school. By the way, it is Christian schools that generally offer the best conditions for foreigners. I shall not talk about all schools, but I know about one Christian school where my friend works. He is very satisfied with the attitude and working conditions, and no one raises the issue of religion and does not impose it.
Yet, I also know of at least one Christian school where they ask you a question on the labor application: Do you agree that Catholic Christendom is the only true religion?
Of course, you should keep your distance from such schools. I emphasize that I say this for a more objective picture because I believe that the majority of Christian schools in Thailand respect teachers’ beliefs.
60 000–150 000 (~1667$-4167$)
Such salaries are offered by private and international schools, and very rarely, but you can find such salaries in Thai colleges or special schools at the university. Most likely, you will teach IT or some narrow specialty with a diploma and experience in the field.
Teaching experience in the country of birth is added to the classical requirements.
I believe that those teachers are born-to-teach educators.
People with salaries in schools that resemble the castles in Harry Potter’s world appear to me to be celestials. I’ve never seen them, but I’ve seen advertisements and heard that people are paid such salaries.
I just haven’t seen them.
In all so-called categories above, the requirements in terms of qualification may be different. For example, some schools might ask for a TESOL certificate, and some do not. Some schools will require you just to have blue eyes and a model’s appearance, and it might be enough, while others will require work experience, especially in Thailand.
It should be noted that for foreigners older than 45, it is more difficult to find a job in all categories except that for celestials 60k+ baht. I believe that those schools that offer such salaries value professionalism only.
Yet, plenty of advertisements for not top-schools indicate that positions are for foreigners who are not older than 45 years old.
In fact, those teachers above 45 yo also find jobs, but usually for humble salaries of around 30–35k baht.
Issues with Foreigners
If you are an English-speaking educator in your home country, say America, you would not even consider moving to another country to work for a $1000 salary, would you? (Please respond in the comments; I’d be interested to know.)
I assume that, if you leave your country and dare to move, you should receive better benefits in your new job in Thailand than in your home country, right?
If schools paid the same money to foreigners as 20–30 years ago, they would definitely meet fewer and fewer quality individuals, NES from financially successful countries with high GDP, in the first place.
If this trend of salaries goes on, Thai schools will face more and more troublemaking foreigners at schools. Even nowadays, Thailand has a huge turnover of foreign teachers. Sometimes, foreigners change their schools themselves for better conditions; sometimes, they are fired. It’s quite standard that a teacher, or allegedly a teacher, works only half a year and gets fired.
Why fired?
Let me just tell you about some foreigners I’ve seen at my school, and you’ll understand why my school has been hesitant to hire more NES teachers over the last three years.
I won’t name names for ethical reasons; instead, I’ll give you a general overview of just three teachers:
- He was a 60-year-old Australian who was allegedly drinking on the job and had document issues — a fake diploma, or so. He lacked the ability to control his emotions as well.
- South African in his 30s, he was loose with students, showed signs of sexual harassment to both teachers and students, lacked teaching skills despite claiming extensive experience, and had a fake degree. Compared the girl’s skin to that of a monkey — lack of manners.
- He was an American in his early thirties and had mental health issues. He could suddenly take out an invisible mirror and begin combing his hair with an invisible comb. He could also pretend to be someone else and converse with them while speaking with you. This may make you smile right now, but when such a person teaches children — it’s frightening.
Have I got any good examples? Sure.
We had a young American lady in her twenties visit our school for a semester. She stated clearly from the start that she came for the experience and travel, not the money or teaching career in Thailand.
Well, she was wonderful.
She was always prepared for class, never hesitated to seek advice, and always answered any grammar or slang questions. The problem is that some foreigners look arrogantly at Thai teachers when they ask for advice. So she was not like that; she was a good person first and foremost, and she never looked down on others. That was something I didn’t notice, at least.
How could the problem be solved?
If I were the principal, I’d get the parents together and say:
If we want to hire dedicated foreign teachers with experience who will really teach, no alcohol during work, no sexual harassment, and so on — we need to pay an extra $5–10 per semester.
I am sure that even the poorest farmer, with a smile, would pay $10 a year to sleep and work in peace, realizing that their child is in good hands and a foreign teacher would really teach with passion.
This would attract a fundamentally different caliber of teachers. Unfortunately, otherwise, more and more problems and psychological trauma in children cannot be avoided. Another aspect that is common to most foreigners is a lack of understanding of the Thai mentality.
Thailand is not easy for an outsider to understand. In short, you should be easygoing. Yet, there is another player in the market — agencies.
Issue with Agencies
Throughout my life, I have worked directly with my school and through one agency — both have advantages and disadvantages.
I have something to say because I am currently speaking with agents and potential hires, as well as reviewing the salary offer.
At the moment, I can say that most agencies communicate professionally, and I believe there will be no issues with them. While the work of other agencies makes me concerned.
For example, I got the answer after they received my CV and answered in such a way that I and other applicants needed to come to a certain place in Bangkok with a laptop to demonstrate the lesson. There were no contract details such as a salary range or teaching hours. There was no interviewing either.
You know, such an approach reminds me of the process of a car pulling up to a glorious street in a city, where the driver is greeted by a pimp and then blows a whistle and says, “Girls, line up. You’re going to be picked.”
There are agencies that cheat on the salary and terms and conditions. However, there are some good agencies that do their jobs honestly and find the right school for the candidate while also handling all visa issues and other paperwork.
You should know that because of market-unique conditions if a school pays you 45,000 baht through an agency, there is no guarantee that the school will pay you the same amount directly.
In other words, if the agency does its job faithfully — it fairly earns a monetary reward for its work — because paperwork in Thailand is a special sort of torture.
As for agency cheating, I know different situations. For example, those Australian and South African guys told me they were cheated by agencies. It might be true, but they lied to the agency in the first place.
I don’t justify agency cheating, yet, please note that those guys were with fake documents. That is why they can’t go to the police because, in fact, they are criminals with fake documents.
You know, in the darknet, you can buy any diploma here in Thailand from an anonymous seller. I guess that such sellers might give all the information about such foreigners to the “agencies,” and cut the pie together.
Nothing personal, just business.
Nevertheless, there are good agencies I believe. At least now, I see that some agencies have a well-organized process of hiring.
Instead of Conclusion
In this article, I just didn’t describe the difficulties with paperwork and visas because it’s such a big topic that it’s better described separately.
Yet, as you can see, the reasons why children suffer from suspicious foreigners are quite obvious — low salaries — which haven’t changed for the last twenty or even thirty years. This means that schools attract fewer and fewer professionals.
So, how to fix it? How to attract good teachers?
The answer is quite straightforward—offer them decent salaries and conditions.
To attract foreigners who will truly teach with dedication, Thailand’s schools should pay a decent wage.
This has been realized in Vietnam, where foreign teacher salaries are approximately twice as high as in Thailand. By the way, nowadays, people from Belarus go to Vietnam as immigrants for work. I clearly remember that 30 years ago, markets in Belarus were full of immigrants from Vietnam.
As for the cost of living in Thailand, it is more expensive for foreigners than for Thais for a number of reasons.
Take me, for example. I recently developed a papilloma, and it costs approximately 9,000 baht to have it laser-treated in Bangkok. Then I went to the dentist to have a couple of teeth restored for around 67,000 baht at a rural clinic.
At that point, I clearly realized I needed to change something in my life.
You should realize that as a foreigner, I don’t have any social package such as health care coverage, while my Thai wife has. I also will not have a pension, and I will not become a citizen of Thailand because of rules and laws. Plus, with every next year, it would be more and more difficult to find a job because schools prefer young NES and foreign teachers in general.
So, If you are a professional educator from an English-speaking country who wants to do charity work (for a small salary) or simply want to get away from your hectic lifestyle and relax in a tropical climate, Thailand is the best option for you.
For you, it will be a vacation in a tropical country, as you will not be expected to do much in school. For a conditional thousand dollars per month, you can live a comfortable life without excesses. It is also sufficient to travel within Thailand, and for adventure, emotions, and impressions, you should come here.
However, if you are considering moving permanently to Thailand, I would carefully consider the above information before moving to Thailand for teaching and living.
Yet, what do you think about the situation with teachers in Thailand?
Copyright © Alex Baidun 2024. All rights reserved.
