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Teaching in Thailand Teacher Placement has been placing teachers in Thailand for over ten years now. It is one of the loveliest countries in the world, and we admit to being biased. If you ask us where should I go teach, we’re going to insist you try Thailand before any place else! The cost of living is a third of what it is in the West. The people are generous and friendly, and you’ll never ever have to deal with a snow shovel again! The weather is uniformly tropical throughout Thailand. If you chafe easily make sure you have plenty of talcum powder with you. Thais are a very clean people and they find it very offensive when foreigners – farangs – neglect to take a shower after a long sweaty hike. Stay out of the direct sunlight as much as possible – take a tip from the Thais, who seek out shade during the day whenever they can. Currency The baht is the basic currency of Thailand. Notes are twenty, fifty, one-hundred, five-hundred, and one-thousand. There are one, five, and ten baht coins. Also a new brass-colored two baht coin, which farangs often confuse with satang – which is a half a baht or quarter of a baht. Your laundry lady will be glad to get your coins when you pay for your washing, but the local noodle shop is not going to like it. Most of the time you’ll simply keep dumping your coins into a jar or bowl until it overflows, and then take it to the bank to exchange for baht notes. Teaching Salaries in Thailand A native-speaking ESL teacher should expect to earn anywhere from 30 to 40 thousand baht per month; it depends on education & experience. At 30 thousand baht a month a beginning teacher can rent an apartment for around six thousand baht a month, pay taxes of about 1 thousand baht a month, and probably eat out every day for around 60 baht per meal. You can rent a motorbike for about 4 thousand baht per month. You won’t get rich, but you’ll certainly live well. Visa/Passport Issues in Thailand If you’ve done your homework, surfing the Net, you are probably scared to death about the hurdles and hoops you must navigate to get the proper work permit and visa to live & work in Thailand. Teacher Placement admits it’s not easy, and it’s not something you can really do on your own. Most often your school is going to help you get all the proper paperwork done & processed, and you should most definitely make it part of your contract bargaining to ask them to absorb the cost of all the fees and travel involved. Some schools will take care of everything; some schools will take care of part of it; and schools that won’t do anything for you had better be paying you way more than 30 thousand baht a month before you sign up with them! Teacher Placement has a competent native staff that can sort out your visa questions & problems. Depending on your agreement with Teacher Placement, we may take care of all your visa and work permit issues ourselves. The bottom line is you don’t need to worry about running afoul of the Thai Immigration authorities as long as you either have your visa work done by your school or by Teacher Placement. Thai Food Oh boy. Where do we start? The food is usually very spicy, but you can always ask them to lighten up on the chili peppers. Rice is the staple, and the jasmine rice that Thai farmers grow especially for home consumption is practically a meal by itself. Instead of listing the endless dishes you could savor, we simply suggest you go to your local noodle shop (every other storefront serves food in Thailand) and go through their menu. Street food vendors are usually safe, but use common sense; if it looks dirty and unwashed, just move on to the next stall. Never drink the tap water. Bottled water is cheap and available everywhere. Ice cubes are usually made out of purified water, but if you notice your server shaking cubes out of a plastic ice cube tray instead of getting them out of a large plastic sack, send your drink back and ask for ice from the store. Thailand Travel Buses are cheap and go everywhere in Thailand. In Bangkok stick to the sky train/subway. If you must take a taxi in Bangkok, use a metered cab; insist that the cab driver start the meter the minute you are inside. The taxis are all air-conditioned. There are small trucks, called song taews, that run regular routes in smaller cities – the fare is usually five baht per person. You sit in the back of the truck, which is decked out with seats and a wire cage around you with a sun roof. There are also motorcycle taxis and regular taxis, and the drivers are anxious for your business. Ask someone local how much it should cost to go somewhere before you engage a taxi or motorcycle – and then politely stick to that price while bargaining with your driver. If they continue to try to overcharge you just start to walk away and they’ll meet your price. If you’re feeling rich you can always rent a car & driver for an hour or a day. A car from the Bangkok Airport to Ban Phe, where our headquarters are located, and which is about a 160 kilometer drive, will cost you about 2500 baht. In Ban Phe itself, you can rent a car and driver for about 500 baht per hour. It’s doubtful you’ll be able to afford your own car in Thailand, but you can certainly own a motorcycle. Please wear a helmet; we’ve visited way too many of our placement teachers in the hospital over the years. Get Started Now |