Can You Really Work in Thailand Without Teaching English?

[00:00:00] Many people believe that the only job that expats can find in Thailand is teaching English, and I’m here to tell you, that is absolutely not the case.

[00:00:09] This video is for you if you’re new to Thailand and you’re trying to find your first job, or if you’re already in Thailand working as a teacher and you’re trying to pivot out of that into a different career, It is absolutely possible to get a job outside of teaching. However, you just have to know that it’s not easy. There are so many people that wanna work here, and they don’t wanna be a teacher, and so as a result, the competition is fierce. But if you’re able to stick to it and you watch the content of this video that I will show you how you can do it yourself.

[00:00:40] My name is Scott Pressimone and I’ve been in Thailand since 2012, and I’ve been working here since 2013. Now I run my own business consultancy here. However, it was not easy for me when I first got to Thailand. I didn’t get a lot of responses from my job applications. I felt very discouraged, but if you fast forward a few years, I was able to make it work, and I’m here to tell you how I did it.

[00:01:02] I am not here to discourage people from teaching in Thailand. If you have a teaching career, if you’re looking for a teaching job, I’d highly encourage you to do that. This video is for individuals who are not teachers, do not plan to be teachers, do not want to be teachers. Are just maybe taking a teaching job or considering a teaching job because it’s the only option available to them. And I wanted to create this because I do not think that a teacher that does not care about the career and does not care about what they’re doing is going to end up providing value to themselves or the people that they’re teaching.

[00:01:34] And so I want to provide a pathway outside of that so people can kind of find the right career for themselves here in Thailand.

[00:01:40] Now, this is what the typical process looks like. You come to Thailand, you’re excited about it. You realize you wanna build a career here, or you wanna live and work here, and then the reality hits that people aren’t responding, that you’re already able to get the opportunities that you wanted, and then you get discouraged.

[00:01:57] You wonder whether or not you’ll have any opportunities. You see teaching jobs and you think, oh, you know what? Maybe I’ll just do that for a little while, or maybe that’s the only job I can get. Then you settle for it. Then you get discouraged after a year or two in that job. ’cause you’re maybe not getting a good income and you’re doing something that you don’t enjoy, and then you feel stuck.

[00:02:16] And again, that’s what I want to help you overcome. If you’re either in that situation today or if you fear that you might go down that track.

[00:02:24] The first thing to understand is thinking from the perspective of the employer and why this is actually happening. Why there aren’t those careers for you here in Thailand. The first thing is salary. ’cause truthfully, if you came from a Western country and you’re anchored to a higher salary, when you come to Thailand, and if you are demanding a high salary in Thailand, the question becomes why would an employer hire you?

[00:02:46] Why would they take someone who’s more demanding? Wants a higher salary and is not even adjusted to Thailand yet. That is going to make them want to hunt for local resources above external and expat resources. The second thing is visas, because you need a visa and a work permit to work here as a foreigner, and that’s something that is an expense and also takes a ton of time for an employer.

[00:03:09] And so if they’re gonna sponsor you, they’re gonna help you go to immigration all the time. They’re gonna have their staff help you with the Thai language barrier. Then the question becomes, are you worth it? Are you worth that extra time and effort in order to go through all that hassle? And the third thing is really risk, because

[00:03:27] plenty of people come here or they think about coming here and they have the rose colored glasses. They maybe cannot acclimate to the culture over time. They have a culture shock or they go out on a bender and never come back to work, right? This happens all the time here. And so you have to know that is a big risk to an employer because why would they go through the hassle that I said of maybe paying a higher salary, paying for your work permit and visa, only to find out that maybe you are not all that reliable, or maybe after six months or a year you decide you want to go home. That’s a big risk.

[00:03:58] Now with my story, I did come here kind of expecting quite a bit. I had a good career in the us. I thought I’d come here, I’d be able to find a similar job, and I wasn’t able to. And honestly, I was quite discouraged when I didn’t hear back from employers. And then I actually did get a few interviews and the reality struck that I didn’t have something of value here in Thailand. Because as much as I had a good career in the us, I did not have skills that were well adapted to what the Thailand needed at the time. You need to have skills that are transferable and useful in Thailand.

[00:04:31] And I did not have those. But again, I was persistent and I was able to get a job and then I was able to eventually build into the career that I really love and enjoy today. It is possible to thrive in Thailand. It just takes time and persistence.

[00:04:46] Now when it comes to other individuals that have done this, just know if you go out to intramural sports events, if you go out to other events and meet people, you are going to find people that have very interesting careers here. It is not all teachers. They do exist, and just expose yourself to the fact that there is another world out there. There are people that are doing it, and I think that should act as an encouragement to make you realize that it is absolutely possible.

[00:05:10] Now, here’s the framework that I would recommend. If you’re new to Thailand, you have not got a job yet. The first thing is, go to a ton of events. Meet everyone that you can. Talk to as many people as you can. Do not be pitching yourself as looking for a job. Instead, listen. Be a sponge. Better understand what’s going on here.

[00:05:28] Step number two is to then adapt your skillset to the need that you are hearing in the market. So if you’re able to adapt your skillset to the local Thai market, then opportunities will arise. But you have to make that adaptation. Then number three is to continue to network. Now that you understand how to position yourself and where you fit in, you need to go to those events, meet more people, and form more relationships.

[00:05:53] And I mean relationships. I don’t mean connections like a business card collection. I mean actually getting to know people and trying to provide value to them. Sharing to them how you can help them, and continuing to talk and nurture those relationships. Now in addition to meeting people in person, you also should apply to jobs that are found online, like Jobs db.

[00:06:12] Now, one tip around that is to look for companies that are BOI companies. Board of Investment Companies. These would be foreign companies that have operations in Thailand. The reason BOI companies are so important is because it’s much easier for them to employ foreigners. And they don’t necessarily have to adhere to this four to one ratio of Thai employees to foreign employees. And so although it’s still a hassle for them to go through that visa and work permit process, it still is a lower barrier for them to do that because they don’t need to adhere to some of these other regulations that Thai companies need to adhere to. So I would definitely give preferential treatment to companies that are BOI companies.

[00:06:51] And then if you are able to get an interview, set yourself apart in that interview. Do not be asking for things. Do not be demanding things. Show how much you can provide value and show them how much you care about them. And that means after the interview, maybe sending them a letter, maybe a note now, I mean, an actual handwritten note.

[00:07:09] I did that myself, and it really did set me apart from other people that clearly would not send a personalized thank you letter in the mail as I did. You’re going to have to do something extra in order to stand apart.

[00:07:21] Now, let’s say on the other hand that you’re not new to Thailand and you already have a teaching job here and you’re trying to switch. Well, I would recommend the exact same thing in that you have to go to events to meet people. But here’s the difference. If you have a very highly demanding teaching job, chances are you’re not gonna be able to go to evening events.

[00:07:40] You’re gonna be exhausted after the day of lesson planning and all the other things that you have to do. I would say try to have a teaching job that is not so demanding. And so maybe your first step is to actually downgrade your role a little bit, work at a different school, try to transfer somewhere else where it’s not as demanding.

[00:07:55] Because if you don’t have time to develop your skills outside of teaching, there’s no way you’ll be able to make the transition. So you have to start with time so that you can actually dedicate to making the switch. And then just like someone who’s new to Thailand, you have to develop your skills and adapt them in a way that is going to meet a demand in Thailand.

[00:08:13] And so you’re going to events, you’re learning from them. You’re building up a skillset. You are studying on the weekends, you’re studying on nights, you’re doing what you can to build up that. Now, another difference that would come if you are your teaching in Thailand is i’d actually discourage you from introducing yourself as a teacher.

[00:08:30] I think as soon as you put yourself in the box of a teacher that’s looking for a non-teaching job, you’re now positioning yourself as needing a favor from someone else. Whereas I’d say if you’re able to develop your skills and you’re working as a teacher during your regular day hours, still position yourself as the other thing that you have skillset in.

[00:08:48] So maybe, again, if you’re doing marketing, if you’re doing web development, if you’re doing other things like this, that’s how you present yourself. That’s the skill that you are providing to others. Lead with that as opposed to leading as a teacher.

[00:09:01] Another small tip here for everyone would be try to work in a company that actually has the growth potential. So potentially they have a large customer service operation, in which case your English communication skills would help.

[00:09:11] Potentially they have other departments you could maybe move into at a later time. And so I would say that a larger company might have more opportunities, a smaller company might as well, but it has to be something that has other steps for you to take. If there’s one role for one foreigner doing one thing, you probably won’t be able to work up the corporate ladder within that organization, and so It’s really important that you select a company that’s gonna give you some growth potential, and you can actually move within that company up to build that skill set up even further.

[00:09:40] So here’s the thing that you really should take away from this. Yes, there are jobs outside of teaching. However, it is hard to find them, and you have to be persistent. You have to continue to search for them. That means you need time, means you need, need to go to an event. It means you need to meet a ton of people and it means you need to develop your skills.

[00:09:58] If you can’t do those things, it’s gonna be very, very hard to succeed in Thailand outside of teaching. Because remember, you do not want to ask favors for others. You do not want to ask others to give you a job as a favor. Instead, you need to provide value upfront to the companies that exist here that are already searching for those skills that are already in high demand, and then you need to position yourself as providing those skills.

[00:10:19] Now, I hope you got some value out of this. If you did, all I ask is you click like and you subscribe to the channel, and if I missed anything or if you have any other ideas, then leave them in the comments. That’s all I have for now. I hope again, you got value and I will catch you on the next one. Bye for now.