Working in Thailand Series: How to be a Teacher in Thailand

Two international school teachers in Thailand, David and Paeng, explain how they got hired and what the job demands. Pay ranges from THB18,000 a month for some non-native starters to THB250,000 at top-tier schools.

The following post is a chapter from our book, Working in Thailand: How to Ditch the Desk, Board the Flight, and Land the Job, written by Patrick Taylor and Karsten Aichholz.

Our premium subscribers get access to this book for free, including interviews with people in seventeen professions in Thailand. They share how they got a job here, what the requirements were, and what to expect.

Key Takeaways

International schools are the top end of teaching in Thailand, but quality varies a lot between Tier 1, 2 and 3 schools.
You need at least a bachelor’s degree, and a Western teaching qualification makes a real difference.
Non-native speakers should also have a high TOEIC score.
Both teachers interviewed here found their jobs through personal contacts, so networking matters as much as your CV.
Recruitment fairs such as Search Associates and ISS are the usual route for qualified teachers applying from abroad.
Native speakers start around THB50,000 a month at third-tier schools, while top-tier schools can pay up to THB250,000.
Expect a heavier workload than at most Thai schools, balanced by generous holidays and a real career path.

The Teachers

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes by David and Paeng (last names withheld for privacy), international school teachers.

International schools are the big leagues when it comes to teaching in Thailand. As opposed to local schools (either government or private), international schools do not follow the curriculum of the host state, instead following either a dedicated international curriculum (such as the International Baccalaureate or Edexcel) or the national curriculum of a different country (such as the US or UK).

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