[Holy(Muff)Diver]

I'm wondering what type of jobs a foreigner can get in these two countries, other than the obvious English teaching.

Let's say I wanted to take a year off and relax, but also still work a bit to provide myself with a basic income and save a little. Is it possible to do this in Thailand? I've heard the average English teacher's salary in Thailand is $1000-$1200 per month.. Can any teachers in Thailand chime in?

[Suits]

Both locations are desirable enough that any low skill, non-English teaching jobs for foreigners would be snapped up fast by individuals willing work for next to nothing.

The only reason why there are always lots of English teaching jobs is due to high demand and high turn over, largely because no one white (the primary employment group) actually wants to live on that income long term.

Suggestion: Build a business that lets you live anywhere you want to. Or build a business in Thailand or Vietnam.

Most importantly, ask yourself what skills you have that would make you desirable in either country. If you can't answer that question, the inhabitants of these countries aren't going to go through any trouble to help you answer that question.

Since you just want to make a little cash while you relax, what's wrong with English teaching?

[Bill Brasky]

(06-16-2015 07:41 AM)Holy(Muff)Diver Wrote:  

I'm wondering what type of jobs a foreigner can get in these two countries, other than the obvious English teaching.

Let's say I wanted to take a year off and relax, but also still work a bit to provide myself with a basic income and save a little. Is it possible to do this in Thailand? I've heard the average English teacher's salary in Thailand is $1000-$1200 per month.. Can any teachers in Thailand chime in?

If you're looking to teach English, Vietnam is a better bet as the market isn't saturated. I wouldn't bother teaching English in Thailand.

If you wanted to work in Vietnam or Thailand in terms of something besides teaching English, Vietnam has a lot more opportunity as Thailand is already pretty established.

Regarding specific jobs, you'll have to come here and ask around.

[Phoenix]

Those are countries you go to hire people, not to be hired.

[gmoneysauce]

Chiang Mai, Thailand actually has a sizable startup (internet/web) community with many North Americans leading and investing. Some of these startups have been looking for people. Check out https://nomadlist.com/ for a report on Chiang Mai. You might want to just go there and see what type of connections you could build by hanging out at the coworking spaces. This is all assuming you can do some type of tech work. However they often need customer service, managers, and people with business skills.

-G

[gmoneysauce]

Oh, and you shouldn't expect to be able to save money while living abroad. In my experience all the people I have known that have been able to live abroad either built a virtual company that they manage (see 4 Hour Workweek) or they saved up their nest egg in North America and then lived on the cheap while abroad, maybe working but just barely covering their expenses.

Also, there are two ways to do english teaching. Official, full-time jobs that require applications and degrees and teaching certificates (ESL certification). And freelance work "Learn American Business English" that you can hustle yourself as an hourly tutor, and certainly a mix of both.

G

[CodyB]

If you do a tesol, bust your ass and (frankly) tell a few porkies about your background you could make $2000 US a month in Vietnam teaching English.

In Thailand you will only have access to second rate colleges where no one gives a toss about English and just want it ticked off. That will net you under $1000USD a month. Unliveable in BKK but rather comfortable somewhere like chiang Mai

[Satoshi]

Dive instructor, dive master and underwater photographer.

Chef if you're good.

Renting Airbnbs but be careful so you don't break your own contract by doing so.

Modelling and acting.

Freelance journalism.

[RagnarLothbrok]

(06-16-2015 01:50 PM)CodyB Wrote:  

In Thailand you will only have access to second rate colleges where no one gives a toss about English and just want it ticked off. That will net you under $1000USD a month. Unliveable in BKK but rather comfortable somewhere like chiang Mai

Does anyone know how the demand for other teachers in Asia is? I am talking about teaching a subject like economics at an international university or high school. Would be interesting how much you could make with that compared to teaching english.

[Felix 5000]

glostic sense

[Brodiaga]

JamesRodri,

What qualifications are required? Do you need a phd? Would a masters degree be enough? How about experience?

[CodyB]

If you market yourself correctly, have a neat presentation and can network rather well there is a living to be made in private tutoring.

You would need a website, facebook page and some fancy business cards but it is doable. And you won't be slave to a school who may or may not give you a work permit.

[Suits]

(06-17-2015 01:31 AM)CodyB Wrote:  

If you market yourself correctly, have a neat presentation and can network rather well there is a living to be made in private tutoring.

You would need a website, facebook page and some fancy business cards but it is doable. And you won't be slave to a school who may or may not give you a work permit.

There are two real challenges in making money this way and neither are collecting students. If you're reliable, friendly and appear to offer value, you'll find students.

However, this, like any business, takes time to grow. You're best students will be found through referrals from happy clients. This won't happen over night.

Secondly, your students will only have time to study evenings and weekends. They'll do their best to make requests to study at times that makes it almost impossible to schedule enough classes to make much money.

Earning enough to barely survive is the easy part. Earning good cash is infinitely harder and usually requires picking up some hours during the day time at some school.

But if you're just looking to earn a little cash and aren't looking for a full incoming, some private tutoring might be just the thing.

[Kamaki4]

You have already been given some great advice. Thailand is not the most receptive country when it comes to working legally here as a foreigner. There is a long list of occupations that are Thai citizen only (Burmese, Laotian and Cambodian nationals also fill these positions at an even lower wage). Add that to a 300฿ per day minimum wage, which incredibly may actually be decreased if a new bill is passed and I think you get the idea of what the local job market is like outside of foreign specialist jobs. If you have any possible opportunity to get hired on with a multinational company in your home country and have them transfer you to Thailand or Vietnam that is the best scenario. These jobs will usually include an 'expat package' and I know quite a few guys making north of $15,000 U.S a month plus housing, plus transportation, plus healthcare etc. The next level down would be an in demand occupation (foreigners prefered) by applying directly to companies or organizations here in Thailand. Examples of these occupations vary widely, but I will give you two examples of people I know personally. A program manager with a lot of experience, but still very young, working for an international aid organization earning $10,000 U.S per month and a young ambitious chef working in a five star hotel earning $7,000 U.S per month. Teaching English is very popular and for a good reason, you can hit the ground running. I am not even a teacher or remotely interested in teaching English and I am regularly asked if I would like to give some private conversation lessons. Sometimes I play along and tell them my time is very important, but I would do it for 1000฿ /hr and even had them accept at this price, so it may be possible to earn some decent money freelancing if you hustle. If you do plan on going down the ESL route do a little bit of research because the common theme among the people I know who teach English in Thailand is they seem to complain about their jobs a lot.

[calwinston]

Has anyone done a visa and opened a business under the Amity Treaty between Thailand and the US? I just came upon it and it peaked my interest.

Quote:

What Is The US-Thai Treaty Of Amity?

The US-Thai Amity Treaty, also known as the Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations between the Kingdom of Thailand and the United States of America was signed on May 29, 1966 to give special rights and benefits to American citizens who wish to establish their businesses in Thailand.

Background Of The Thailand Treaty Of Amity

The Thailand Treaty of Amity aims to provide significant advantages for US investors to run businesses in Thailand for both corporations and individuals. In particular, the Thailand Treaty of Amity provided the US two major trade advantages:

The Thailand Treaty of Amity permits American companies to hold majority of the shares or the whole company, branch office or representative office located in Thailand.
American companies may engage in business on the same basis as Thai companies, and are exempt from most of the restrictions of foreign investment imposed by the Alien Business Law of 1972.
While the Thailand Treaty of Amity provides the above-mentioned advantages, the US citizen is also subjected to several restrictions stipulated in the treaty. The Thailand Treaty of Amity prohibits American investors from engaging in the following reserved activities:

Communications
Transportation;
Fiduciary functions
Banking involving depository functions;
Land Ownership, Exploitation of land or
Other natural resources; and
Domestic trade in indigenous agricultural products.
The following requirements must apply:

A minimum of 51% of shares must be held by American citizens
A minimum of 50% of directors must be American citizen(s)
Minimum Capital Requirements

Although treaty-protected companies are given advantage treatment under US-Thai Amity Treaty, they still need to satisfy the minimum capital requirement under the Foreign business Act (FBA).

In case that the business is not restricted under the FBA, the minimum capital requirement for a treaty-protected company is THB 2 million.

On the other hand, if the business is required to obtain a Foreign Business License under FBA, the minimum capital requirement must be THB 3 million for each business activity.

Here is the excerpted information on how to register a company under the Thailand Treaty of Amity:

Brief procedures to obtain Treaty of Amity certification
Phase 1: Document filing. The applicant obtains documents verifying that the company has been registered in compliance with Thai law. This is the first step in order to obtain the certification under the Thailand Treaty of Amity.
Phase 2: Certification by CS. Upon receipt of the preceding required documents the CS office will then provide certification to the Thai Department of Commercial Registration in the Ministry of Commerce that the applying business organization is an American owned and managed company and is therefore entitled to national treatment under the provisions of the Thailand Treaty of Amity.
Phase 3: Application to the Ministry of Commerce. After certification by the CS, original copies of all the above-mentioned required documents, along with a completed application forms, which may be obtained from the Department of Registration in the Thai Ministry of Commerce, must be given to the Thai Department of Commercial Registration in the Ministry of Commerce in order to fully register under the Thailand Treaty of Amity.
The above process can normally be completed within 4 to 6 weeks.

Registration Procedures: Thailand Treaty of Amity
To receive protection under the Thailand Treaty of Amity, the applying business organization must pursue and administrative process to show "registration under the Treaty of Amity." In order to show "registration under the Treaty of Amity," the applying business organization may either consult with one of the many law firms in Thailand or observe the following procedures:

For a sole proprietorship, all that is required to seek protection under the Thailand Treaty of Amity is a notarized copy of the owner's passport or birth certificate to prove U.S. citizenship (either by birth or naturalization). They must send this information to the Commercial Service office at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok for certification.
For a Thai partnership, Thai branch office, joint venture, or Thai limited company, the following documents are required to be notarized by a Notary Public and sent to the Commercial Service office at the Embassy in Bangkok for certification:
Articles of Incorporation
Bylaws of the Company
An Affidavit of the Manager or Corporate Officer, stating the following:
Name of the Company, registration number, and date of registration. Address of registered office.
Jurisdiction under which the corporation is registered.
Name, address, nationality, age and race of each director, number of shares held by each, and identification of the director(s) with the power to bind the company.
Authorized capital of the Company, number of shares and par value of each and amount of paid up capital.
Total number of shareholders, their nationalities, and number of shares owned or held by them.
For an applying U.S. company that is a subsidiary to a larger, parent company, the applying U.S. company, in addition to the above required documents, must also provide documents pertaining to its parent company to the Commercial Service office at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok.
For an applying U.S. company wishing to invest directly in a Thai company to obtain a majority of the Thai company's shares, the applying company must show notarized proof that the majority of owners and directors of both the applying company and the company to be incorporated are (or will be) U.S. citizens either by birth or naturalization.
Upon receipt of the preceding required documents, the Commercial Service prepares a document that certifies that the applying business organization is an American owned and managed company and is therefore entitled to national treatment under the provisions of the Thailand Treaty of Amity.
After certification by the Commercial Service, original copies of all the above-mentioned required documents, along with a completed application form that may be obtained from the Department of Business Development of the Ministry of Commerce, must be given to the Thai Department of Business Development of the Ministry of Commerce in order to register under the Thailand Treaty of Amity and to complete the process.

http://www.siam-legal.com/Business-in-Th...0Amity.php

[Grind]

OP why dont you go teach english in Korea, Japan or Taiwan? pays well there.

[Felix 5000]

samurai power

[RVCGRP]

Vietnam is still a poor country compared with Thailand or China.

[extracube]

(06-16-2015 08:05 AM)Suits Wrote:  

Both locations are desirable enough that any low skill, non-English teaching jobs for foreigners [and English teaching jobs] would be snapped up fast by individuals willing work for next to nothing.

Bingo, exactly right (additional insertion by me). The last two places I lived were the two countries mentioned above, and I left. These places are saturated.

[extracube]

(06-16-2015 08:05 AM)mrbiggs Wrote:  

If you're looking to teach English, Vietnam is a better bet as the market isn't saturated.

Disagreed. I left because of it.

[Suits]

(07-12-2015 08:45 AM)Grind Wrote:  

OP why dont you go teach english in Korea, Japan or Taiwan? pays well there.

No, it pays just OK. Nothing to write home about.

[iop890]

(07-12-2015 03:01 PM)JamesRodri Wrote:  

(06-16-2015 08:11 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

JamesRodri,

What qualifications are required? Do you need a phd? Would a masters degree be enough? How about experience?

I'm writing a loooong blogpost about this at the moment.

Looking forward to this.

[Ali]

How about for those who are non-native english speakers? Are they still able to be english teachers in Thailand? Let's make it even worse. I don't have a degree either

Just playing with the idea now. Earning 20K-30K baht in some 2nd or 3rd tier city in Thailand, live cheaply, gaining more exotic value than BKK.

Is this doable or am I being too optimistic?

[Felix 5000]

samurai power

[Ali]

(07-13-2015 04:28 AM)JamesRodri Wrote:  

(07-13-2015 04:24 AM)Ali Wrote:  

How about for those who are non-native english speakers? Are they still able to be english teachers in Thailand? Let's make it even worse. I don't have a degree either

Just playing with the idea now. Earning 20K-30K baht in some 2nd or 3rd tier city in Thailand, live cheaply, gaining more exotic value than BKK.

Is this doable or am I being too optimistic?

I'm not a native speaker either and that didn't stop me. I'm from the country West of yours

Don't listen to the, you must be a native speaker besides all jobs are reserved for Thais crowd. This is nonsense.

Thanks for voicing your concern. I'll make sure I cover this in great detail.

Thanks mate. How about having a degree? Is it absolutely necessary to have one in order to teach?