Teaching Job Salary and Benefits in Thailand
All of you who are planning to enroll for TEFL course Thailand must know
that remuneration varies wildly in Thailand. Salaries of TESOL qualified
teachers at Thai schools depend upon the type of institution (public or
private) and the level of instruction (secondary or post-secondary). Full
time positions tend to be salary based with part-time positions paying an
hourly rate.
In most Thai government institutions, English teaching jobs can fetch you a
basic salary of 20,000 + baht per month or US$600. which any TEFL certified
fresher teacher can expect. At commercial schools about 500 baht per hour
can be expected along with perks as health care, vacation, visa arrangements
and other expenses. It should be noted that these high paying jobs at
international schools don't usually involve English teaching but rather
other subjects such as science or math and the average salary at such
schools is probably a bit under 100K. Further, recruitment is usually from
overseas, and is often dependent on the curriculum used by that school so if
the school uses the British curriculum they'll recruit from England;
American curriculum they'll recruit from the USA etc.
Earning of around 25k baht per month for a fresher English teacher is
considerable provided he or she has a TEFL. However, any figure less than
25k is not acceptable in order to maintain a decent lifestyle. As an
experienced and qualified teacher, one should be earning over 35,000 baht a
month. The highest confirmed salaries are supposedly provided by high
schools, international schools and language schools, at The British Council.
Most Thai schools pay overtime for hours worked over and above the
contracted number of hours; however they pay only the same hourly rate at
par with the standard pay or in a few cases even less.
Salaries to the TEFL qualified English teacher are usually paid monthly, on
the last day of the month, although some firms pay twice a month. While most
schools will pay you via direct credit into your bank account, there are
some schools that will pay you via cheque. At some schools, part-time may
staff get paid in arrears, as late as the 12th of the month following the
month in which they worked.
Those who have done the ESL teaching certification course in Thailand should
know that Thai schools occasionally provide free housing and other benefits,
which amounts to a saving of 4,000 or 5,000 baht per month. Some schools /
companies provide medical insurance facility as well. Teachers are also
assigned 2 or 3 evening classes a week, which earns them another 2,000 to
3,000 baht per month as overtime pay. Foreign teachers who acquire jobs at
the colleges on their own can earn about 30,000 baht but they have to pay
for housing, which can be grossly expensive in a city like Bangkok. Private
high schools such as Bangkok Christian College pay about 35,000 baht.
Universities, Thailand’s paramount educational institutions, pay about
35,000 bath to 40,000 baht.
If you are a TESOL teacher training certificate holder, then try and find
work for a really prestigious or respected institution in Thailand as those
institutions entail other benefits. The first is that once the locals know
you are an instructor at "Highly Prestigious Location", they will all want
to study with you - and they will be prepared to pay big money for the
privilege.
Finally it is really important for all those who are interested in teaching
English in Thailand, to know that in Thai society, teachers are looked up to
and can attract instant admiration and respect in public. Someone working at
a prestigious university will get even more respect and an ID badge from
such a school carries real weight and if you were to say get pulled over by
the police for example, showing them such a badge would in the case of
anything minor see you on your way without any further problems. Some
schools take training seriously and may even organize training sessions and
seminars in resorts, with everything paid for.
