Teaching english in Bangkok

Hi guys,

I have a couple of questions for anyone who has taught english in Bangkok as I am looking to move over there in the next few weeks
Did you apply for jobs before you got there or jsut went around to every school you could find when in Bangkok?
Whee did you live? And do you have to pay a lot of money up front for an aprtment.
Did you earn enough to live on comfortably?
What is the expat community like over there? I will be moving over by myself as a 22 year old female and I was wondering if there would be other people my age there?

Thanks!

Anyone?
Iv also got an interview Monday with an agency that places teachers in school. Are these usually ok? I dont really have the money to head to Bangkok and spend a couple of weeks looking for a job

It’s generally accepted that it’s much better to arrive with no job, and hit the streets dressed nicely with your CV in hand. A lot of the jobs advertised on ajarn.com you have to be careful as they can be dodgy. the problem with this approach, of course, is that you will need money to support yourself not only until you get a job, but until your first payday which will probably be a month after you start. Bangkok is not cheap. Not to mention the visa issue. Presumably you will arrive on a tourist visa. This means that when you get a new job they will send you on a visa run to Laos/Cambodia to get a Non-B visa, which will then be converted into a work permit (if you are at a reputable school anyway). Make sure any employer pays for this.

It’s pretty expensive to live there on a teacher’s salary (usually somewhere between 30,000 - 35,000 per month). It depends how much you care about the money, really. If your salary is just to live, you’ll be fine. If you need to save any cash, you’ll have problems.

I didn’t teach in BKK myself, but I taught 2 hours away and have friends that teach there now. Apartments can be expensive if you want to live in the big expat areas, but quite cheap if you don’t mind living in areas where you are the only foreigner. Food can be very cheap if you eat from street stalls, but very expensive if you always eat western food (BKK has loads of that!).

As for that agency you speak to… be VERY careful. Most ESL teachers agree that recruiters should generally be avoided as they are just out to make money for themselves. Generally it’s much better to make contact directly with schools. If you must go through them, ask for e-mails and phone numbers of 2-3 teachers that currently work in the school. If they say no, run a mile, as that’s a sign that they’re shady.

Thanks a million for all your help, really good tips there!
If i was to go over without a job what do you think the mimimum amount of money id need would be?
And where do you look for jobs when over there? Are they advertised in newspapers?
Did you manage to ever travel at weekends on your wage?

Thank you! :)

If I were you, I’d take around 500 quid as an absolute minimum. I like to party ;) (also make surer you have enough on top of that for a flight home if it all goes wrong).

There are different ways to look for jobs. One is to use ajarn.com and eslcafe.com to get phone numbers, then go and meet the people at the schools. Another way is to meet other teachers there and ask about jobs. Also, yes, jobs are sometimes found in the (English language) Bangkok Post newspaper.

Yeah you will have enough to travel a bit, for sure. As long as you aren’t too extravagant.

I think more than 500 pounds as you will need to have money for about 6 weeks, plus your deposit for an apartment.

Ok I think im going to wait till October to head out as I dont get my degree certificate till then and I dont want any problems with the visa.
It also gives me plenty of time to save up money so I wont have to rush for a job!

Thanks for all the help guys

Sorry for the late post, I haven’t used this website for a while.

You’ll need to bring your original degree and transcript, plus some schools ask for a letter from your university confirming you attended your course (due to the amount of fake degrees out there).
It might be handy to have a police check done in the UK as well. Some schools ask for this, and you can get one in BKK, but it might save you time.

I wouldn’t arrange a job before you arrive, and I’d get a double entry tourist visa from an embassy beforehand.
A tourist visa exemption on arrival gives you only 30 days, a standard visa gives 60 days and a double entry gives you twice that (you have to leave Thailand for the day to a neighbouring country to reactivate it).

I say to get a longer visa because most schools take quite a while to process your visa/work permit application, saving you a visa run, and giving you flexibility to move to a different school if you don’t like it.

Deposits for accommodation are ususally one month’s rent, plus 2 months deposit. Get the job before your condo, unless you like long commutes.