Why do some foreigners bother to come and work in Thailand?
We had another guy quit at work today. He lasted one week. I hate this certain mentality of some foreigners who come here to work, but expect to be able to do so without doing any actual work. Why apply for a job, waste everybody’s time being trained up, getting a work permit, getting a visa, only to turn around and walk out the next day?
Is the concept of work so alien in Thailand? The guy who quit today had the revelation that he could earn more money teaching. Well, gee, I could have told him that before he’d even sat down at his desk. Sure, I could quit my job today and earn double my salary working as a language teacher, but what would I ultimately gain out of doing something I’m really bad at and have no desire to do in the long run?
If you want to earn real money, then why the heck would you choose to come to Thailand? I have nothing against the guy who quit, but we all put time and effort into helping him out, correcting his work and trying to train him up – I guess I feel kind of betrayed, which is silly, because it is ultimately his choice.
On the other hand, I can kind of understand why the guy quit. We do, after all, work on a tropical island, and yet work takes up almost all of our time. We aren’t living the high life here by a long shot, but it’s certainly not a bad existence.
It just seems so absurd for a young foreigner to switch career paths in Thailand based on his salary. I guess this is part of the problem a lot of companies face in Thailand. Many people are simply looking for vacation work, and for quick, easy money, language teaching is the obvious route.
Perhaps I’m just upset because it means my workload gets bigger once again, but I wish people would use some common sense when they come to work in Thailand.
Techno' tags: Thailand, Phuket, Work in Thailand
I know part of the reason why I am coming there is to escape the driven workaholism of the US. Frankly, while I would enjoy having a job, I don't want my life consumed by it. Maybe that is where that guy was coming from. He probably didn't realize it would take over his life.
hey matt how much do you make exactly ? I thought that when you were hired "legaly" your salary should be pretty good accordy to thai laws… or maybe this is this local contract stuff … can you explain a bit …
Tristan, I am hired legally, but most of my money comes from other projects (web work, freelance gigs, etc.). My salary isn't much, but it's more than enough to live on. However, it isn't enough to be making any big plans, ya know?
But, I'm not complaining about my salary. If I was, I'd find another job, like the one I had in Bangkok.
he probably looking for easy work and more money, and easy quit like teaching. In some language companies you can stay sober just few hours when you were in class ( working )
Let's guess how much Matt earns per month:
- 25 000 baths as journalist (halft the salary of an english teacher in BKK)
- and probably 800 to 1000 US dollars per month through link selling and Adsense
So, more or less 50 000 baths per month for the clever blogger.
Good guess vanalli?
and how much would an english teacher be paid? (i don't want to teach english, just curious :) )
Nothing beats my 5-hour editorial assistant
I reckon it's a bit of both, the fact that you don't need to work as hard as you do in the west and also it's a damn good place to be based and not need loadsa cash.
I know many fellow photographers who use asia as a base, it's a great place to be a tax exile (doing the visa run every 60 days is beneficial to being a non-resident of any country) and life is cheap.
Hey Matt. I am with you. I am here for the lifestyle. If it was money I would be at home. I make near the 45-50,000 baht mark per month but I made more than that in a week back home in Australia.
Here it's lifestyle and shitty pay but the lifestyle makes up for it. We have trouble keeping people teaching as they are not cut out for it or think there is a greener pasture else where.
50,000 baht! Let's put this into local perpective before we all throw our hands up in horror at the injustice of it all. I know two Thai ladies working in good admin jobs. They are both presentable, intelligent, highly competent and ably qualified with very good post-graduate degrees and a few years of experience in their roles. They consider themselves doing very well indeed on 9000 baht a month! Yes, folks, that's 286 dollars a month. So if some western reject with a penchant for easy sex with teenagers, cheap beer and more than a handful of hours in the pub as an "English teacher" wants to complain about 50,000 baht, then he's not going to get any sympathy from me.
You understand that I'm not complaining about my salary, don't you? And I'm also not a teacher.
come on Matt, is my guess about your monthly income right or not? ;-p
(feel free not to answer, of course! actually i don't really expect any answer here)
Perky i'm glad you made the comparison between "english" teachers and cheap sex.
:0)
what do the the working readers of this blog do for a living? just shout out your job titles…i'm a dj and photographer
Perky. I am not complaining. I am very happy. I work hard and teach privately 7 hours each Saturday. I only have Sundays off. If I wanted to earn good money I wouldn't live in Thailand. I can live here and enjoy a great lifestyle and actually save some money as well.
The Thai team teachers in the English programme earn 6000-8000 per month Mon-Sat. They work damn hard and I feel sorry for them. The cleaners at work earn 3,000 a month.
I said shitty referring to what I earnt in Australia. It isn't the case here, I know 45-50K is a lot of money to the normal Thai.
I am sorry I might have confused Perky. We have a starting pay of 30,000 baht for teachers but it is hard to keep them as they think this isn't enough as they live an extravagent lifestyle and it is gone before most know it.
I am tight. I live like a Thai. The only extravagence I have is playing golf and betting 50-100 baht units a hole. That's the most exciting my life gets.
Perky I don't want sympathy at all. I was comparing wages here to home. Sorry for misleading you.
Oh Lord, no! My post wasn't directed at you at all. T'was just a rant in general at the "teacher" scumbags who come to Thailand and do nothing but complain about their salaries and life in general in LOS. They're best avoided. But I'm quite sure you're a peach of a guy.
Perky. When you say "teacher scumbags". Does this means every teacher from Farang land. Or only the ones who complain about the salary they earn. Have you ever met a decent farang teacher? I am not sure you have.
Your comment about "some western reject" is fair as I have seen plenty come and go. Not all teachers are like this thank god but I do agree they are difficult to find.
It sounds like you have been burnt by one to have such strong feelings on it. Anyway Perky it's good to hear your thoughts.
Speaking as a qualified teacher with a B.Ed, I can't say I am a big fan of the majority of the English teachers in Thailand. If they were doing their own thing, I wouldn't mind so much, but it is annoying when a few asses give the rest of us teachers (and foreigners) a bad rep. I have friends teaching English in places like Taiwan and Korea, and when they come visit they are always shocked at how differently and poorly they are treated by the locals. But then, I guess I shouldn't blame it all on these sorts, not when I see the quality visitors lining the bars on Sukhumvit and elsewhere.
Yes, a bit scary for some people who come for the "lifestyle" and then discover (shock, horror) that they might have to work hard at their job. I work 6 days a week, 9 hours a day – my salary is "OK"… I could go work offshore and earn 4 times as much, but no "lifestlye"!
Actually, Jason, I have met a number of teacher scumbags here in Thailand. I have chosen not to make any of them my friends. But to answer your question: no, I have not met a decent farang teacher in Thailand.
Actually, that's not altogether true. I did meet one not so long ago. She was a truly inspiring young lady who I would care to recommend to any of my clients looking for a reputable language teacher for thier children.
But other than that, nope…haven't met any farang teachers I would dare put in front of my own kids.
Hey Perky, I hear what you are saying. We have trouble finding "good" teachers that aren't full of shi*.
I have seen many come and go over a few years but again it is sad when you see some of the teachers that are hired by Thai schools.
There are too many "cowboys" out their sadly that don't give a rats ass about the kids and just want to finance an extended holiday and they are really giving a bad rap to foreign teachers.
My private students are all from other schools, They are in groups of 4-8 and all came by word of mouth. I still get people who I have never met roll up to my house as they heard from a friend of a friend that I taught privately.
I have 7 students I have been teaching for nearly 2 years now, great kids with great personalities and they want to learn. It makes learning English so much easier like this.
Too many kids are being pushed into studying English by parents and when you ring them to say that "little Johhny" is having a few problems and he needs to do a little extra work at home, it is met by 'yes' but nothing seems to happen.
I have many parents come to the school for meetings, the kids who are struggling and offer parents advice on how they can help their kids. I don't offer to teach them, I won't do it. I only do what I can in the classroom and that's it.
The parents are often very grateful as not many "farangs" do this. They teach walk out of the class and that's it. End of story.
I hope that with the "new" harder Visa checks it will weed out the "bad eggs" and will make things better for the Thai education system. One can only keep fingers crossed.
@Thai Chat:
Keep guessing :p I don't make that much from Adsense though.
to be honest…
I LOVE THAILAND
I love thailand and I hope to work and live there
On the subject of teachers and assholes…its really unfair to attach a job to behavior.
True, Thailand attracts more than its fair share of pure-bread asshole. But they are way outnumbered by the dangerous 'changeling' assholes who are created from man not profession. By 'changeling' I mean those that slowly have their latent asshole-ism brought to the fore as a result of living in Thailand for a few years.
To be honest, I think most of us who have lived in Thailand have touched upon their inner-asshole…and persons professing perfect performances are postulating prolapses…and the very pricks whom I am addressing…the asshole in denial!
The reasons behind the closet assholes creation in Thailand are manifold. Firstly, it is very rare that a Thai will stand up to anyone else and say "Hey c'mon you are going to far!"…let alone to someone from abroad. In Thailand you are responsible for keeping yourself in check. So add to unchecked behavior, a mix of arrogant foreigner and a dash of Thai obsequiousness and you have the water, soil and sunlight with which the budding asshole will blossom. Fossilize all this with like minds and the magic words "Men like monkeys club together"…Et voila…Trou-du-cul a la Thai.
There is a proliferation of assholes in all domains in Thailand, it is not work sector reliant.
To conclude, my advice is follow the immortal words of Ice Cube: "You gotta chickity-check yo'self before you rickity-wreck yo'self!"