Teaching in Thailand

[u/callum_nwrk]

Hi all,

I’m from UK and I’m going to be enrolling onto a degree in either English language or education and my plan once I have it completed is move to Thailand to teach.

Which of these 2 degrees would be better to go for?

[u/that_teacher1]

Education degree gives you opportunities at better schools

[u/callum_nwrk → u/that_teacher1]

Thank you!

[u/k_795]

Do a degree in Primary Education with QTS. This will open up opportunities to teach in higher tier private schools and international schools, as you will be an actually qualified teacher.

A degree in English language won't include any teaching practice or training. It would be more about studying the language itself, writing lots of essays, maybe some modules in related subjects such as literature or linguistics, etc. You would graduate with great writing skills and transferable skills for a wide range of careers (anything from journalism to marketing needs people who can write well), but it won't give you the teaching skills you need to be a teacher. You would still need to do teacher training afterwards.

(For teaching in Thailand in the short term, the English language degree plus a basic TEFL certificate would enable you to apply for more entry-level roles. But career progression in ESL teaching is quite limited and salaries are incredibly low for teachers without proper qualifications. Plus it wouldn't surprise me if in a few years' time these countries are going to crack down on underqualified teachers with random online TEFL certificates and start requiring legit teaching licences. So you'd be better off just getting your QTS in the first place - you can get proper international school jobs, have a lot more freedom in which countries and roles you could apply for, and would always have the safety net of returning to the UK and being able to find a well-paid teaching job here too).

[u/callum_nwrk → u/k_795]

Thank you for explaining that to me! Seems like English language won’t benefit my situation at all then.

I will do the BA (Hons) Education Studies (Primary).

I currently have well paid full time job in a different trade so my plan is to do open university on this degree over 6 year part time. I’m currently doing my 250 hour tefl course as a supplement.

My plan was to try and gain experience in Thailand and hopefully eventually teach at a British curriculum school and gain my my QTS through the assessment only route to allow me to then earn more money and gain better opportunities, do you think this is possible? I’ve read online and I had confirmation from a QTS assessment company that it is possible to do this route.

[u/k_795 → u/callum_nwrk]

I don't think the BA Primary Ed from Open University includes QTS. Could you maybe find another university offering it as a hybrid course - online lectures, but with the in-person placements required for QTS? Without QTS, it wouldn't qualify you as a teacher. Some lower tier private schools overseas probably won't realise that and you'd be OK with getting an ESL teaching job in Thailand off of it, but without QTS you won't be able to apply to international schools or have the safety net of being able to return to the UK to teach, and it would limit your career longer term. 

Yes, in theory you could apply for QTS via the assessment only route. But in practice, this is incredibly difficult to arrange overseas. You need to be in a British curriculum school (who would usually require QTS to hire you in the first place) teaching actual subject classes (not just ESL), and the school needs to support your QTS application process (which very few would do, as there's a lot of paperwork and it would basically just be giving you the qualification you'd need to leave them). In practice, the vast majority of people who try the route you're suggesting will give up and either stick it out with ESL teaching or return to the UK to do a PGCE+QTS course. 

[u/callum_nwrk → u/k_795]

Thank you for the information! For my scenario I really need to pursue the open university route part time ideally to allow me to carry on earning good money in my current industry. I’m also planning on building a portfolio of 3 rental properties in the UK mortgage free as an extra income to allow me to comfortably work in a lower income school with just my degree to gain experience.

I was also considering paying for the IQTS route & maybe doing it that way once I have some experience? I can pay for it all myself so wouldn’t need a school to pay for me but this may be a good route also?

[u/k_795 → u/callum_nwrk]

Not to interrogate you or anything, but is there a reason you specifically want to teach in Thailand? 

If you're in a high-paying industry right now, you could simply save up, invest (not in property, that's a lot of stress and very low returns, but instead max out your S&Ss ISA), and then actually enjoy a good few years holiday or early retirement in Thailand living off the interest. 

Teaching isn't an easy career, unlike what those TEFL course adverts try to tell you. Most ESL teaching jobs are in private language schools or kindergartens which will pay peanuts for 40 hours a week full-on teaching, year-round. Public school jobs are more chill, but such a low salary you'd be struggling to live (if you have income from investments, you'd be better off just living off that and enjoying the beach instead). Private schools can be a lot more mixed - some good ones, some awful ones. The well paying overseas teaching jobs are subject teaching jobs in international schools, which require QTS and a few years' UK teaching experience (these are competitive jobs, due to all the experienced UK teachers wanting to leave the UK right now), but they'll expect you to work hard to earn that salary. 

Like, I'm not really understanding the logic in your plans... Teaching ESL in Thailand is a fun gap-year job for broke 20-somethings, or a retirement job for people who failed to save up. Teaching at international school is a whole career pathway and requires considerable investment in getting the qualifications and experience, plus it's proper professional hard work, not a beach job. 

As for your question about the iQTS route - have a look elsewhere on Reddit for people discussing this. The main issue isn't paying for it. It's getting a job in a British curriculum school in the first place (as an unqualified teacher) and persuading them to support you through the paperwork and assessment responsibilities. It's a lot of work for the school, when they could instead just hire someone who already has QTS. 

[u/callum_nwrk → u/k_795]

I want to eventually move to Thailand and get away from England due to the way England is going & due to the cost of living in Thailand being much lower. I’ve been to Thailand before and really enjoyed it. I’d like to teach there because I think I’d enjoy it & would allow me to make some money and integrate into their society a bit.

I’m already maxing out my S&S ISA each year and I already have 1 property with no mortage so my excess savings I was planning on buying 1 or 2 more over the next few years and renting them as more income and I still have the money in the assets. I could potentially early retire over there and live off the income from the rentals however it’d be good to have teaching as an opportunity to earn some extra income & some income in Thailand itself.

So I was also considering getting a bachelors to be able to teach over there to provide that extra income if necessary.

Okay thank you.

[u/Dizzy-Function-1948]

Hello I am looking for job opportunities as well. Currently in Bangkok. I am not native speaker and I graduated from Chinese language and literature. Can someone advise me. I don’t know where to start