Phuket

PARA · #1 22-07-2005, 15:28

Hi chapps, after some advice for a friend. He's keen to do a teaching course to enable him to live in Thailand. He's just come back from Phuket and would ideally like to work there, with Bangkok being his second option. He knows all about the pay details etc but what are the realistic chances of finding employment quickly. He wants to do the course in Phuket.
The one stumbling block is that he has no degree. Is this a problem? No previous teaching experience either. What problems may be encountered?
Any help appreciated.

barfly · #2 22-07-2005, 15:35

Best to ask in:
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/

in the "Teaching in Thailand" forum. You should get a quick, realistic, answer.

Tyfon · #3 22-07-2005, 16:04

I had a look at this field and it seems about £300 per month is ballpark - barely liveable. Might look into IT opportunities instead, it seems a lot of bars and hotels are offering Internet connections.

K.

Denver · #4 22-07-2005, 19:59

I have to agree with Butterfly here and say that 'buying' a dodgy TEFL qualification or degree does not help the kids get an education, especially if thier parents are having to dig very deep in thier pockets for the priveledge of sending thier siblings to some young British bloke who is totally out of his depth with a biggish class who get very bored, very quickly.

I used some of my 'resettlement' money from the Mob to get a full TEFL qualification at Cardiff University. Newly divorced, I jumped on the TEFL 'circuit' and headed for Vietnam. I lived and taught in HCM City for about six months, sharing a flat with a Dutch bloke and a Canadian guy, both English teachers.

I very quickly realised that it doesn't pay at all well (if you get paid and after deductions etc etc) There are many pitfalls. They normally want 30 hours teaching from you as a minimum and to prepare fully for a one hour lesson should ideally take at least an hour. Therefore, for a 60 hour week for 300 quid or there abouts, is it worth it? I taught in Pusan, South Korea again for another six months and enjoyed the experience yes, but was scrimping and saving to pay my rent, travel and bills with little time off to go and 'explore' Most Far Eastern countries want you to teach at the weekends anyway and don't expect to be stood in front of a class unshaved, in shorts, flip-flops and a scabby t-shirt, suit and tie is normally the minimum and you will be supervised from the back of the class by the 'Headmaster' He will decide if you get paid or not.

Grass huts in Cambodia are great for about a month or so. There is fantastic feedback from the kids and parents. However, when it gets dark at eight o'clock with no electricity to read your only book for the seventh time by candlelight, no tetleys teabags and dodgy soup for tea, it can get a little bit boring after a while.

Tell your mate to read the article by Stickman, it is extensive and very, very informative, see how he feels after reading it. If like you PARA, your mate is ex-mob, wobbly boats, gun club or Inf etc then try to come out here for a year or two in a private capacity and you will be able to retire to anywhere in the Far East and live very comfortably.

All the best to you PARA and good luck to your mate, I think I know where he is coming from and respect his desire to get back to what he really enjoyed.

Utrinque Paratus,

Denver

PARA · #5 22-07-2005, 21:48

Cheers for the info Denver, you seem an interesting guy. I'm Welsh myself,assuming that you are? Teaching is looking a bit grim if he wants a decent lifestyle. I'm really looking into relocating to Phuket myself in the future. Looked into the bar/restaurant scene. Got some money together, but on the advice of others maybe not enough. Currently exploring other avenues and possibilities for the future.
Nice ending to your post by the way.

What reg were you in before doing contracting work? Stay safe mate.

PARA.

Denver · #6 22-07-2005, 22:58

Thanks PARA,

Difficult for your mate I do know, once you get an idea burning away in your skull and eating away at your heart, you start to find ways of making it happen. If there is a way, he will find it, he just has to keep working at it.

I'm not Welsh PARA, I de-mobbed in Sierra Leone but had to come back to the UK to tie off some lose ends at a unit in Wales, took the money and stuck myself on a residential TEFL course down the road in Cardiff because I had similar aspirations to your mate. Believe me PARA, the novelty wore off very quickly, great way to see a bit of the world yes, but leave your western culture behind in the UK and do as the locals do, otherwise, forget it. There are a lot of retired couples teaching as a means of getting around, good for them and alot of geeky kids (sorry to kids with a geek tendancy) but no life skills, still needed thier **** (Oops!) wiping for them. They are supposed to be ambassadors of the English Language and have a vocabulary consisting of "Sorted" "Ya know like" and "Eeeeerm"..................A tad embarassing.

I'm back at doing what I and I suspect you know best! Why spend 25 years doing a job, getting good at it and then moving into an area I know squat about. So I am back to body armour and armalites and doing BG (No, not bargirl! tch tch!) work here in Baghdad for 15 times the daily rate of pay I was on in the mob. PM me for more details PARA, I am guessing half your Regiment is here in one capacity or another.

Doing another recce to Phuket in September. Like you PARA looking to settle down somewhere, not sure where yet. Have a place in Croatia and a place in the UK (both let) So one will have to go. (Thinks for a nano second - the UK!) Can invest or lease, not sure yet, I get itchy feet too often to put down roots too far. I just know I am tired and looking forward to a break.

If you are in town 10-23rd September we can hook up and talk business over a beer or three

Ask at Patong Villa for Denver.

Head well and truly down PARA, but this B7 armoured Ford Excursion really helps!

Take care mate,

Denver

Denver · #7 23-07-2005, 14:44

Hi ButterflyBlond,

Thanks for your comments - Love you long time! 555...........Joking apart, the TEFL qualification is easy to swag, you can get a dodgy university degree in Japan for the price of a visa then jump on a boat or a plane and head to South Korea and start to teach (and Vice Versa, Korea will sell you a Japanese Degree for the price of a visa and an overnight stay) They, themselves, set up the 'compulsory rule' of all arriving teachers having a degree in English as a minimum to teach in thier country and now scam people into buying them on the grey market. Mine is on the wall, worth squat, but looks good!

Unless you have been formally taught how to teach, how the hell are you going to cope? What are you going to do on that first five minutes in front of 30 or so Japanese English students who probably know Shakespearian grammer better than you do? TEFL is all about using the English language in normal, everyday scenarios (at the bank, on the phone, reading a travel guide etc) Then the spoken word, reading and some writing of English. Any local school hiring you will see right through you in no time, the 'grapevine' will ensure you won't be picked up by any other school anywhere nearby! Not many other schools to move onto in Phuket, I am guessing?

I taught in Sarajevo, BiH to HGV drivers who just wanted to know what the UK Customs guys were asking them on the way in to the country from the ferries. How to ring thier UK head office and how to ask someone directions to thier drop off point if they got a bit lost, that was it!

I really do wish PARA's mate the best, he is hooked on the LOS, hits us all, we are not made of wood. I hope he finds a way, I really do.

Whoooooooose Yaaaaaaaaaa Baghdaddyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy??? Yeah! This place really.........................SUCKS!

Jasetheace · #8 24-07-2005, 15:51

Hi Para,

I moved to Thailand last year to do my TEFL course in Patong beach in the hope of being an english teacher as I wanted to live here with my Thai gf. Anyone can do this and then get a teching job as I did but it is very hard in Patong as there are not many schools here offering opportunties. Phuket town however is easy to find work and is only a 10 - 15 minute scooter ride from Patong. Heres what i did. After completing my TEFL I found it very hard to get work initially so decided to move to Bangkok as there are many opportunities there. I purchased a degree from khao san rd and then got hired from my first interview with a very good company who contracts you out to government schools around bangkok. They gave all of their new teachers a good orientation week before you started teaching which was a massive help to getting me started and they had all your curriculum and lesson plans supplied to you so the job was made easy and you had plenty of support including a thai assistant in the class who spoke english. salary was 33000 baht plus completion of semester bonus of 10000 baht. easily enough to live on, and in fact i supported myself and gf on this. i then got offered a position in phuket town as once you have initial experience i found it is much easier to get work. similar set up as bkk but not as well organised and although we were told what to teach you had to come up with your own lesson plan to deliver it to the students. pay was hourly @ 270 baht an hour and a bonus of 30 baht an hour at the end of semester meaning you are earning around 25000 baht a month. i got a cheap but nice apartment in phuket town and came over to patong to party every weekend. i left thailand after the tsunami and have recently returned and am currently in patong. there is not alot of work around at the mo down here but as always i see plenty of positions in the bkk post and i know of companies in bkk always looking for teachers. i can also reccomend places in phuket town that are often looking as well. next week i am off to teach for 6 days at summer camps in hua hin and chumpon where they pay you food and hotel and a small daily wage to make it worth your while, although i am mainly doing it for the experience. anyway yes it can be done and if you can learn to eat cheap meals and live in cheap apartments you can survive here teaching english. if you need to know anything else feel free to ask. good luck!

PARA · #9 24-07-2005, 16:28

Thanks Jase, some great info there. I'll pass it on, much appreciated.

Denver, I may well be in Patong around that time, would be good to meet up for some beers and a chat, I'll keep you posted mate.
PARA.

Sirgezza · #10 24-07-2005, 17:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasetheace

Hi Para,

I moved to Thailand last year to do my TEFL course in Patong beach in the hope of being an english teacher as I wanted to live here with my Thai gf. Anyone can do this and then get a teching job as I did but it is very hard in Patong as there are not many schools here offering opportunties. Phuket town however is easy to find work and is only a 10 - 15 minute scooter ride from Patong. Heres what i did. After completing my TEFL I found it very hard to get work initially so decided to move to Bangkok as there are many opportunities there. I purchased a degree from khao san rd and then got hired from my first interview with a very good company who contracts you out to government schools around bangkok. They gave all of their new teachers a good orientation week before you started teaching which was a massive help to getting me started and they had all your curriculum and lesson plans supplied to you so the job was made easy and you had plenty of support including a thai assistant in the class who spoke english. salary was 33000 baht plus completion of semester bonus of 10000 baht. easily enough to live on, and in fact i supported myself and gf on this. i then got offered a position in phuket town as once you have initial experience i found it is much easier to get work. similar set up as bkk but not as well organised and although we were told what to teach you had to come up with your own lesson plan to deliver it to the students. pay was hourly @ 270 baht an hour and a bonus of 30 baht an hour at the end of semester meaning you are earning around 25000 baht a month. i got a cheap but nice apartment in phuket town and came over to patong to party every weekend. i left thailand after the tsunami and have recently returned and am currently in patong. there is not alot of work around at the mo down here but as always i see plenty of positions in the bkk post and i know of companies in bkk always looking for teachers. i can also reccomend places in phuket town that are often looking as well. next week i am off to teach for 6 days at summer camps in hua hin and chumpon where they pay you food and hotel and a small daily wage to make it worth your while, although i am mainly doing it for the experience. anyway yes it can be done and if you can learn to eat cheap meals and live in cheap apartments you can survive here teaching english. if you need to know anything else feel free to ask. good luck!

You teach English?

No offence, but your post is littered with grammatical errors and is not paragraphed. Is the education simply geared towards helping the Thai children to be able to communicate with tourists?

Denver · #11 25-07-2005, 03:32

Jez, Sorry, Gez

and Jasetheace,

I know it is difficult enough for people to live their dreams by getting out and about into the world and try to make a living to get by. I fully respect you for doing what you are trying to do Jase. Good for you that you are doing it for the experience, not so good for the kids or the parents of the kids who spend money to be taught by who they assume to be, a time served, fully qualified and 'professional' English teacher.

I did read your post Jase and simply marked it as my TEFL tutor would have done with my course work. Needless to say, I think you know what he/she would have written at the bottom of the page (Marking handed in work is part of the TEFL course work as you know)

I did want to jump right back onto this thread and have a go at you, however, you have given PARA some useful information to provide his mate. He can now, hopefully, make an informed (and the right) decision I hope! As to following the TEFL route or not. Added to the fact that Gez (and I assume others) picked up on what I was going to say anyway.

Thanks for the PM Para, not a problem and fully understand. See you out there then!

The case for the defence of the English language rests. Fullstop.

Tyfon · #12 25-07-2005, 14:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by gez

You teach English?

No offence, but your post is littered with grammatical errors and is not paragraphed. Is the education simply geared towards helping the Thai children to be able to communicate with tourists?

He did say that he bought his degree... :wink:

K.

Jasetheace · #13 25-07-2005, 22:08

Hi Guys,

Please excuse me for merely trying to offer some first hand advice from personal experience. Although I am not fantastic on a computer I can assure you my spelling and grammar is always acceptable whilst I am teaching. You may or may not know that generally a farang teachers role is to teach what they call "conversational english". I do take my work very seriously. The company I worked for were constantly assessing myself and the other three farang teachers and we were also observed by the teachers in the school. I always received very positive feedback on my teaching methods and was asked to conduct sessions to teach the teachers at the school who wanted to improve their english. I was also happy to spend lunchtimes and time after school to help my students if they wanted me to.

Feel free to mark my post or whatever makes you feel good but like I say my only intent was to try and help someone who wants to know a bit about what the situation is like. Yes my degree is fake, but you require one to get a work permit. I also know guys teaching here with real degrees who couldnt give a rats ass about their students so I think each individual should be judged on their merits. It is not always easy to come and make it in a foreign country and I was helped immensly by other people offering advice from their experiences.

Anyway Para I will be in Patong for a while and always happy to meet someone for a beer and a chat.

Cheers!

Denver · #14 26-07-2005, 01:26

Good post Jase,

No hard feelings from me and I tried not to jump down your throat too hard. You are still enjoying it and that is the main thing. Enthusiasm goes along way in front of the kids.

You are doing what you want to do and I fully respect that. Your advice offered to PARA and his mate is sound advice, hopefully, it will allow him to make an informed decision with regard to TEFL. Hey, I had a great time too, until the western expenses started catching up on me.

I'm always up for a beer Jase, no hard feelings. After a few beers inside us, we all start to speak the same language anyway

Take care.

Jasetheace · #15 26-07-2005, 02:16

Denver, no offence taken mate. Everyone is entitled to their opinion which is the beauty of the forum.

Like I said I only wanted to help as I am in Patong now and have a fairly good idea of the current situation regarding teaching here. Also I know it can be a big call for people to get out of their comfort zone in Farangland and most people want some idea of what they are getting themselves into.

I do not claim to be a great teacher and am not fully qualified as I do not have a real degree. I would pose the question however - how many fully qualified farang teachers want to give up their career to work here on around 30k baht a month. If you read the Bkk post daily and check www.ajarn.com you will see they are screaming out for "native english speakers". Some schools dont care too much about how good a teacher you are either. I was hired at my first interview by a reputable company which has branches all over greater BKK even though they knew I had no experience. As far as they were concerned 'attitude' and 'life experience' was more important to them and you know what was most important to the school.... appearance!

Like Stickman says there are some real idiots out there teaching in Thailand and I feel sorry for those students that really want to learn but are subjected to poor teachers who prepare their lessons over beers with mates in Nana Plaza or Soi Cowboy, then turn up to class 20 minutes late, stinking of grog, and sweating all over the place. Personally I used to prepare well for my lessons and restrict my partying to weekends as I dont want to look like a fool in front of my students.

My contract in Phuket town was only 20 - 25 hours a week which meant I could be sitting on the beach with my girl everyday by 3pm and used to spend a couple of hours in the evening preparing my lessons and marking.

Anyway ive crapped on for too long but the point I want to get across is that if you put your mind to it and take it seriously you can do it here in LOS. I know, because I have taken the chance and it has allowed me to spend alot more time in Thailand and Phuket than if I did not have the balls to get out and do it just because I dont have a degree!

Cheers from Patong!