Where is the best place to teach in terms of the nicest and...

I have to say Thailand is certainly a nice place to teach.

Are you able to make enough to save money in Thailand?

Are you able to make enough to save money in Thailand?

As a teacher who is living and teaching in Thailand I would say Most Certainly NOT. After the currency crisis teacher´s salaries in Thailand were Literally cut in half. If you can tolerate living like a Thai local, i.e. no air conditioning in 100 Far. degree heat, eating noodle lintel soup and egg,rice,chicken mix (kow-pat-guy), no hot water, and thai style floor toilet. It´s possible you could save $500 a month, but if you would like to continue your Western Style level of comfort, you will end up spending your entire $1,000 USD salary each month.

I manage to save about 300 US a month, and this is little bit less than a third of my monthly income. However I live in the country so things are cheaper. In Bangkok you would be hard pressed to save.

What is the best cities in China to teach?

best place? find other places except china..

I´d agree that Thailand is a very nice place to work live, but to do well there, you need to be a credentialed teacher (degree in education or other means of professional certication.. just like teaching in the US UK).

If you´re working in Thailand and making only $1,000 per month (as are many people with just TEFL TESL certs and no degree in education) then you´ll not be very happy (IMHO), but the people in Thailand are certainly friendly no matter how poor you are!

The Ministry of Education is also making it ever more difficult for schools to legally employ teachers without minimal educational qualifications. The standards vary slightly from school type to school type, but generally you´ll now be absolutely required to have a bachelors degree in any subject ´associated with´ the subject your teaching + 3 years of verified teaching experience in a registered licensed school (120 hr. Cert.TEFL is usually required for language school work permits not for general academic schools).

As a note for those considering Thailand, my salary has always been in the $2,500-$3,000 range and this makes for an excellent lifestyle. Anything less than $1,500 in Bangkok and you´ll find yourself struggling or living like a pauper. Rural areas are cheaper, of course.

I love living and working in Thailand, but it certainly is not the greatest place for people lacking formal teaching qualifications.

Hi out there! I have decided not to go to China only because of the salary.
I have an 11 year old daughter, and after researching for 6 months would be not be good idea, or in her best interest, one of the reasons is no praying to God. There are other issues but they are for another blog. I think doing the internship with a slower paced culture might become a better experience for anyone considering a teaching career. Mine will start in February. I am getting excited we leave in 2 weeks. After the internship I will study for my BA in the Arts on line, I hope. I do not know if this is doable on line. My objective is to go to thailand with the full 120 hr TESOL Certification, experience, and a BA. They Internship in CR is 7-9 weeks. When I get the placement, I would like a 6month contract P T 3-4 days a week, while starting my BA. It´s plan, it´s a process, however it will make it worth my while to know you could do what you love and make all the money back you put out to get there. Thailand sounds like a good place to do it. Well I guess I better go do the Mom thing, Goodnight.

Thanks Mr. Walker...that is great information!

No problem, Jessica. Looking back at my previous post, I had better start proofing before posting! There were too many typos in my message! My written language skills really are better than that! LOL

What is your background? Have you ever been to Thailand?

I just finished an extended 6-year contract as the Head of Department for an international school in Thailand and will be going back as soon as I find the right fit again.

Hi out there,wanted to say thank you for the information Mr. walker, just wondering if you have any thoughts on CR?

Hello, Marie. By ´CR´, I´m not certain if you mean Chiang Rai (Thailand) or Costa Rica. If the latter, all I really know is that the saltwater fishing is great! :D

Chiang Rai, Thailand is a nice little city with great weather. It isn´t exactly a place to find good salaries, but the area is lovely. I´ve not been up there since about 1998, but let me know if you are looking for anything specific and maybe I can help.

Hi Mr Walker,
May I call you Bill? It is Costa Rica, I am new at this. I have friends in Costa Rica that can help me, it´s the pay that worries me. I wish I had my BA. I will work on that, but for now I am trying to do an internship there. They start this month. I have had some delays and I am just wondering if you have experience with CR?
Thanks Marie

Hi, Marie. Bill is fine. I´m not very formal at all.

Having never taught in Costa Rica, I really cannot be too much help. I found the country to be nice and the people generally fun-loving and friendly. I´d say that there is (was) more of a problem with crime there than in Thailand but nothing that would really worry me.

Does this internship in Costa Rica pay anything? And, is the school, company or agency one that is known to provide solid educational training and support? Experience is very important, but I´d want to be sure that you were being trained and guided by an experienced mentor and not just thrown into a classroom (that could be pure hell).

There are many good online programs these days that can get you over the BA hurdle. Thusly, you can study from most anywhere. That said, any proper degree in education will require practicum (student teaching practice) and other classes requiring you to be physically on campus or in a school environment.

I wish that I could be of more help.

Thank you Bill, I know its late to start my internship, but I was told from Oxford to just go down there. I am hoping to secure a long term relationship with a school. Can you tell me about some on line programs that could help me with my BA hurdles?
Have a great day!

Sorry for the delay in my response, Marie... I´ve been busy.

There are several fully accredited online degree programs that will lead towards a teaching degree or state teaching certification. You will still need to do the practicum portions in ´face-to-face´ settings, of course and sometimes a few of the specialized classes, observations, etc.

Since I´ve not personally taken any of these courses, I really cannot recommend any of them. Just search through the online offerings, check accreditation and whether it will lead to state teaching credentials. You don´t NEED the state teaching credentials if you never plan to teach back in the U.S. (or in good international schools abroad), but personally that is the route that I´d take as it will lead to the best overseas jobs as well as good employment possibilites back home.

Naturally, for you, this will all depend on your personal time-frame to get this all done and what your original (incomplete) area of study was.

Good luck!

I´d like to teach in Thailand. I have a M.A. in English (emphisis in teaching ESL) and a Ph.D in education, and over ten years experience teaching ESL and English mostly in colleges. How would I go about finding work in Thailand that can bring in $2500 to $3000? Thanks!

Of the 19 countries I have been to: Thailand