The International Schools Review Forum

The way I read a lot of posts it seems that it really isn't too difficult to make over 100k baht per month in Bangkok. That's good cash in a place like that. I work in an IB school now and would like to stay in the programme, so I understand I am limiting myself a bit there, but other than NIST what IB schools there worth a look? Will they go over 100K baht per month? What's Concordian like? I'd love to think that I could apply and jump straight in to NIST, but I understand that's not as easy as it sounds. The more I apply to the more chance I have though.

I assume that this would be considered the prime salary in Thailand?! 100 k Baht may go a long way in Thailand, but I have to admit that when converted into US, CDN, NZ, AUS dollars, GBP or Euro, this is a bit hard to swallow. Is this the salary of people who have over 5 years experience with qualifications in all divisions etc etc?

I was hesitant to reply, but i've seen you post similar related posts on other topics. I dont see you getting 100+K Baht. There isnt a single school on search that even at MA+8 years pays 100K. I dont believe even ISB pays that much (despite Ichiro's comment to the contrary), oh there might be an admin there making that much, but not a teacher, at least not without a lot of years of experience. Even if it was ISB is "THE" elite school in Thailand, theyre number 1, everything else is underneath them. I'm sorry but a 100K+ salary would really be the rare exception and not what anyone would expect. You could ask about and apply to every IS in Thailand, and your not going to be offered a 100K+ salary.

Personally I think your letting a few replies on an anonymous board inflate the economics of working in Thailand. There are a number of those on this board who like to throw out their immense salaries, or how prestigous their school is, but even if true they dont represent the general population of international teachers.

If your strictly financially focused (and Im getting the sense you are) Thailand isnt the place for you. Its great if you want to live high on the expat life IN Thailand.

100K salary outside Thailand really isnt anything to brag about, its only 2000 £

Money is not massively influential in my move, but it is important to me that I apply at the right places and know what to aim for. If I applied places that were paying 80k baht, and then found that anywhere respectable should be paying at least 100K, then I’d be a bit upset.

I’m very open to moving pretty much anywhere in the Far East, but I find Thailand is one of the most interesting places, and also a place that seems to throw up more questions than anywhere else. In almost anywhere in the region I think it’s easier to get a good idea of what to at least expect than Thailand. But Thailand has so many “International Schoolsâ€

@ Daisy

*Sigh*

Because the US, and the UK arent Thailand, and the cost of living ratios are just vastly different. Im tired of arguing "where i make this stuff up" with you because you've never demonstrated your right. I was watching Ratatouille this weekend, and you just remind me of the critic in the movie, and his speech he makes at the end.

"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so."

And thats all you offer and all you are is a critic, who researches nothing, advances nothing, says nothing, and succeeds only at dishing out personal attacks. Your modus operandi is simply to declare "your wrong", which is easy to do.

As always i didnt just make anything up. When I taught in Thailand (this was at the university level, and making 45K month) , some coworkers and I were at the Caribbean Club, and we met up with some ISB teachers, new first year teachers. Who after bragging about their 60K salaries, bought us a couple rounds. In addition, to that i reviewed all the schools on Search and ISS and no salary listed was as high as a 100K. The simple fact of cost of living economics is that $3,000 a month in Thailand with all expenses paid (Schools in the US dont pay all your bills) is a CEO's salary, and an insanely high amount of discretionary income.

@inman:

I can respect that, my apologies. I think I take my own experiences for granted sometime. Anyway thats not an excuse, and I'm sorry for characterizing you in such a light.

Thailand does "enjoy" an aura of mystery, though I dont think anymore so then China does (which has a pretty vast range of salaries as well). S.Korea, also has significant discrepancy in pay scales. If your really interested in nailing down more "on the scene" experience of Thailand, try the forums over at ajarn.com, its mostly ESL but their are a fair number of general education teachers as well. Outside that, if your a member of Search I wouldnt expect much more then the salaries posted on their school profiles.

Sorry, but Ichiro's claim of 180K Baht a month on the post (http://internationalschoolsreview.com/v ... php?t=1790) is VERY difficult to believe.

[quote="Daisy"]Duh...100,000 Baht per month is about USD3250 a month, which is less than USD40,000 a year. Whaddya think Psyguy - that people at ISB or NIST don't earn $40,000 a year - after tax? I bet you no teachers there earn less than that! How do you make up this nonsense? And why? PLEASE PLEASE go back into retirement.[/quote]

Daisy - 100K Baht a month is massive in Thailand.
I rent a brand new 2 story house, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, fully furnished, and have a maid and I pay a total of 9K a month.

100K in Bangkok is not easy. You would have to be at ISB and be near the top of pay scale.

Thai college grads make 9-15K a month.
Most International School teachers in Bangkok make 50-70.
TEFL. ESL. language school teachers make 35-40K.

I work at a tier 2 International school in Chiang Mai and have 2 masters degrees and I make 55K a month.

I know several schools where the scale tops 100K baht a month easily, though not 100K US dollars annually.
I've lived in Bangkok a long time, and I know several teachers at ISB, NIST, Patana, Shrewsbury, and Harrow that make over 100K baht a month. ISB and NIST both have salaries starting around 120K a month.
At a lot of the smaller schools, it all depends on what you can negotiate. I know teachers at the American School of Bangkok who have specialized teaching credentials and knew the director when they got hired, and were able to get salaries around 100K. At some schools there is no published salary scale, and it's all about how well you market yourself.
So yes, I would say there are several schools that pay at least 100K baht a month. Are they easy to get into? Not really, but they are out there.

First of all, clarify if you're referring to nett or gross incomes; next, is housing provided?
I am in my 9th year in Bangkok (not at ISB or NIST) and take home B125,000/mth and have B25,000/mth in super. Rent is B15,000/mth. One can't complain.

I think the correct response to the OP's question is, yes some teachers do make 100,000 baht/month but is it easy, probably not unless you get hired on at a few select schools.

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I was referring to a 100+K BAHT, not USD, I was pretty consistent in my posts. I refer to a Thai company to clarify.

Some new information I recovered actually supports a lot of the previous claims. The entery level starting salary ranges from $52,090 (133K Baht/month) to $70,750 (181K Baht/Month), converted and annualized over 12 months.

The top salary is $98,457, which after converting and annualizing comes out to 251K Baht/month, at step 20, and if your at half way on that salary scale thats hard to belive the difference between the middle and the top of the scale is only 11K Baht, (or $350 USD) which is a very small increase (about 1K Baht a month per year of service) considering the span at the entry level of 133K - 181K Baht thats what an average of .5% increase seems "paltry"

However, in light of that info, Id say apply to ISB, sounds like you will rake in the money. If anyone wants to look it up and settle the issue, you can find the info here:

http://www.isb.ac.th/ISB_Salary_and_Ben ... fault.aspx

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No offense Ichiro but that math doesnt work out. If your at step 9 and making 240K Baht a month ($7,833USD) or $93,996 a year. If you receive about $1K USD raise a year and have 11 steps to go before you hit the step 20 cap, you would be making about $105,000 a year which is about $6,500 more then the cap of $98,457, or a 6.5 year salary increase difference, thats over a quarter of their whole salary scale.

Lets agree to not quibble though, the ISB salary is very high for the economy and much closer to your reports.

So OK, 100K+ Baht is available and starting salary at ISB, but its still "ISB" "THEE" elite school in Thailand, and they get what 3,000 applications for a vacancy? So while its "true" it doesnt represent the majority of teaching positions and teachers salaries in Thailand.

Lastly, personally I wouldnt work at ISB, I dont want to do that much work, and I interviewed with ISB last year at Search Bangkok, and when they described their "typical" work day, I was not enthusiastic to get into that, Id already done that in japan, and its not my thing. Not that its not for other people and if the OP is that kind of teacher then he should go for it. Doesnt hurt to apply.

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