Working in Thailand as a teacher: Is it worth it?

For the past 10 years there has been a steady increase of Filipinos going to Thailand to search for teaching jobs.

  10 years ago it was possible for a Filipino teacher to gain a salary of 70,000 baht or 97,000 pesos for 1 month if  you are hired in an international school.

For this reason a lot of Filipinos who came here early now have steady jobs,  and have been able to put up their own tutorial schools.
Some after staying for 2 years know the Thai  language and have advantage among newcomers.

Year 2013

Unfortunately due to the increase in the number of Filipinos and other nationalities trying their luck here in the Land of Smiles today, you  can hardly find a school that will provide 30,000 baht or higher.

What are the benefits of teaching here in Thailand:

Many are asking if it is worth it to go and teach in Thailand, we produce thousands of teachers in the Philippines but the pay rate and the benefits continue to get lower and lower.

You can hardly meet a teacher that earns 30,000 pesos or higher, usually a Filipino teacher will earn along the salary rate of 8,000 to 20,000 pesos not including the taxes that have to be deducted.

The work will usually include staying at school from 8am to 4pm and attending extra curricular activities until Saturday.
A teacher in the Philippines hardly gets any rest, it is even said that if you like a supportive and loving wife or husband---do not marry a teacher ^__^

The workload of a teacher is immense, they  have to prepare the lesson plan, create the lecture itself, research, discuss, manage the classroom, attend seminars, see to it that their students are able to keep up and after that they still need to create and check the test papers.

A teacher does a lot of things,  and one would really think that only the tough would be able to survive this kind of working environment.
Apart from the work load itself, they still have to attend programs, take care of their own husband or wife, take care of their kids and make sure that they have a good working environment with their peers.

For this reason a lot of Filipino teachers are still enchanted with the promises of working in Thailand, almost every day a Filipino resident arrives in the Land of Smiles in order to try and gain respectable work.

Right now due to the fact that so many Filipinos are working in Thailand, the pay rate has considerably reduced.
You are now considered lucky if you are being paid 25,000 baht per month---25,000 baht per month is equivalent to 34,651 pesos.

Today due to the fact that some Filipino teachers without teaching degrees have infiltrated Thailand the salary rate has been reduced considerably.
Some Filipinos accepted the price of 8,000 baht for 1 month of teaching---  or just 11,000 pesos and because of that many employers here in Thailand began lowering their prices.

Right now Filipinos with degree or no degree can earn 15,000 baht (20,000pesos per month) and get a free working permit visa worth 31,000 baht or 43,000 pesos good for 1 year or depending on the contract provided by the school.

One reason why Filipinos chose to stay here is due to the fact that the living expenses is cheaper compared to the Philippines.

Computation:

Apartment 2500baht (good for 3 people)
Food expenses for 1 month ( 1,200 baht) for a single person
Transportation (2,000) for 20 working days
Electricity 335-400 baht ( 1 laptop, 1 water boiler, 1 electric fan, cellphone charger) the price will go higher if the person will use aircon and other electrical equipment
Garbage collection per apartment 100 baht

Expect to pay 6,200 for living expenses
You will also need to set aside at least 2,000 for other unexpected expenses

If you are just living on your own and you do not need to send money back at home then a 20,000 baht salary is good enough, however if you are sending money back at home then that can be a big deciding factor if you still want to go here or not.

If you are also married and have kids in the Philippines, you might want to rethink this choice of going to Thailand, and just try to find a way to start your own business without leaving your kids behind.

You can try working as a teacher in Thailand if you are still single, within your 20s until the age of 40 and have very few family members who need your help in the Philippines in order to survive.

If you need to send your children to school or you need to pay for the medical bills of  your family, then teaching in Thailand is not the way to provide this need.
Caregiving in Hong Kong  or Canada is still the best way to go, or try your luck at getting hired at some international schools in Saudi Arabia for Filipinos ( they usually pay 100,000 pesos per month)

A Single Teacher In Thailand:

If you are just living alone, you can keep at least 4,000 baht per month  or more if you will include weekend tutorials
You can begin starting to think of establishing your own business, you can even visit nearby beaches and resorts even if you are just earning 20,000 baht because the travel and hotel expenses here is very cheap.

You can go on a holiday for 4,000 baht and this will already include the hotel accommodation, food and transportation expenses (4,000 baht) in the Philippines that is already equivalent to going a resort to  Davao or Cebu for only 5,000 pesos for 2-3 days or less.

People in Thailand have a much easier time when it comes to going on a holiday, there are so many free parks and museums that people can go to unlike in the Philippines where shopping malls are the only recreational activities for most cities.

SM megamalls has infiltrated the country like a virus and the number of parks has considerably reduced.
No wonder the people of Baguio protested against the cutting of the trees because people want to reclaim their open spaces like parks.

In Thailand you can sit in a park and not get bothered by anybody selling products or services, you can sit and relax, enjoy the trees and feel you natural environment despite the fact that you are living in a highly urbanized area.

Thailand is the land for cheap bargains and affordable food, you can feel what a middle class person feels during a holiday with a meager salary of 20,000 baht, something that is no longer possible for teachers in the Philippines.

In the Philippines your 20,000 pesos will hardly go anywhere, the house that you are renting can cost around 4,500 to 8,000 pesos, electrical bills can go as high as 1,200 while water bills is at 600 pesos. You need to have a part time work in the Philippines or a small business if you want to be able to support your family.

So is it worth it?

It is  still possible to live in Thailand for 100 baht a day and complete your daily meals, this is hardly possible in the Philippines right now.


This is still larger than the normal pay of a teacher in the Philippines but most of the time in order to be able to get this job you need to be able to enter a university or a government funded program.

It is worth it if you will be hired by a legitimate school that is willing to provide you with your working permit, it is worth it if you want to find peace away from a family problem or a love problem.

Perhaps for some this is not the Land of Smiles bu the Land of Forgetting, you can basically earn the same thing in the Philippines, its just that in Thailand you can earn without getting bothered by what is happening back at home.

Ramkamhaeng Nonthaburi Teacher's Project is one of those reputable agencies that offer jobs for Filipino teachers.
Teachers who are hired in this government funded project by Thailand are given 30,000 baht, 3,000 to 5,000 baht will then be cut to serve as tax but this 3,000-5,000 will be given as a lump sum payment when the Filipino teachers decides to go home, change work or retire.

This project usually consists of teaching Kindergarten kids from different parts of Nonthaburi Thailand.
 Teachers need to work from 8am to 4pm most of the time and they would be handling 25 or more kindergarten students per class.

Class schedules can include 4-5 sessions per day but there are some fortunate teachers who are just given one kindergarten class per day to assist and instruct.

Teachers Day in Thailand is very important, teachers are given flowers and gifts by students. Students give high respect for their teachers and if you are lucky enough to be in a decent school here in Thailand you will be able to experience their overwhelming love and respect for Filipino teachers.

Love and respect are still shown in many provinces in Thailand but not so much on Central Bangkok, if you want to be regarded for the work that you do and feel the Thai community...accept a job in the Province or at least 1  hour away from Central Bangkok.





Go To Thailand if:

1. You are ready to be a kindergarten or high school teacher

Qualities that you need to have:

Patience
Flexibility
Creativity
and willingness to learn

Teaching in the Philippines and teaching in Thailand are two different things. In the Philippines you can just stand in front and expect the students to follow you.

In Thailand you need to learn how to entertain the students, most of the time you are an entertainer and not a teacher.
You  need to be able to grab the attention of kids with your dance steps as well as  your songs, schools here do not care if you have a brilliant accent or writing skills----what matters to them is the question of the ability to entertain the students in order for them to participate.
At times you will be assigned to create English reports and you are expected to memorize the name of your students.

You need to be able to memorize hundreds of kindergarten songs as well as nursery rhymes and have to be willing to provide your own set of class exercises, worksheets, coloring materials, prizes and other interesting stuff that children aged 4-8 would be willing to learn and love.

If you can love Thai kindergarten students then Thailand is the place for you.

Teaching Kindergarten classes or (Anuban as they call it) is much easier and fun compared with teaching high school students ( high school students or Mattayom students) are usually aged 16-20 and this would require more tact and skills.

Most teenagers here have very little patience when it comes to learning English and most of the time if you are in an international school, you have to deal with the fact that they simply do not care about what you are saying unless you are very entertaining.

Doing high school teaching as well as University work can help you earn higher, it can range from 35,000 baht to 50,000 baht if you are good at negotiating your contract, but remember that you will no longer be able to enjoy your life here in Thailand..

University work in here means checking papers every day and taking your work at home, it means that you are going to earn money by spending your entire life at work.

A lot of teachers even foreigners usually give up on the University work because it is simply too hard to do due to the extreme language barrier and the tasks that are given.

Grab the University work only if you already have a grasp of the Thai language and if you are willing to lock yourself up in your house checking exam papers.

The best way for teachers is to go with Kindergarten students or Pratom 2-3 students or children aged 6-8.

....more related topics with regards to Teaching in Thailand for the next blog... ( thank you for reading)