My neighbor, a cop who also works for Immigration, is a really nice guy and sometimes has the Immigration van parked in front of his door. After the Big Joke's action where mostly colored people were arrested for working without a work permit, I decided to ask him about the plans for this year and if he'd heard anything if they check on schools.

  He smiled and said that the Immigration, the labor department, and the local police will be sent to various places to check on employees without the needed paperwork. Should anybody plan to try it without a work permit, please think about the possible way to change the title into teacher's assistant, curriculum designer, or any other fancy titles which all bypass the Khurusapha ( Teacher's Council of Thailand).

 

   I hope that you'll be fine and look forward to a much better teaching year 2018/2019.


Working as a teacher's assistant might not be the first choice.

You are aware that having a WP as a TA and working as a teacher is a violation of your work permit and until the labor law is changed again, subject to a 20-100k fine?

 
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ttompatz wrote:You are aware that having a WP as a TA and working as a teacher is a violation of your work permit and until the labor law is changed again, subject to a 20-100k fine?

 
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Yes, I'm aware of it. But it seems that bigger schools do not encounter problems. The labor department and the IO is okay with it. Might not be possible in all provinces.

I know quite a few people have work permits as an English assistant, resource person, education consultant etc. The area education office, immigration and the labour office have all signed off on it and they know full well that they are actually teaching. it's not an easy process as far as I'm aware. From what details I do know about the 'loophole' is that the word 'teacher' must not appear on any of the visa and WP paperwork. A school in Korat was raided by the labour office last year. I heard that this was because a teacher was teaching paid private classes in the school and another had opened up a private tuition school nearby. Many of the teachers there are African, so I guess that makes them a target too.

If they have an excuse to bust you and someone takes the time to make a call...
Then you are screwed.

Life is good until it is not.

OR... Just do it the "right way" (as much of a pain in the ass as that is) and never have to look over your shoulder.

Yes, I agree. It's far better to do it the 'right way' but that's not always an easy option. The people I know have wives and kids here and are 50+ but they don't have a degree. They are good at their jobs, so schools are prepared to ask for a favour to get them the necessary paperwork. It's not as easy for them, as it might be for someone in their 20's to go home and get qualified. They could of course study online for a degree.

I personally don't think they'll have an issue with immigration or labour raiding the school and busting them as they have the a visa and work permit. There would have to be a significant problem between the school/teacher and the various enforcement offices for that to happen. I do however think that they are likely to have the loophole closed, when they decide not to issue the required paperwork when it comes time to renew. In fact, I'd say that's very likely, at some point. That would keep me up at nights.

There are also a significant number of people with a degree in a subject other than education, who have had three or more waivers. The maximum is supposed to be three. Many have chosen not to enrol on the various teaching courses available now. I can understand why, with the continually shifting sands. I was told quite specifically and firmly by the guy with white gloves at Khrusapa that I should take a course and this was my last waiver. I paid my 70k, took the course and have all my paperwork ready for my full licence. I know quite a few who have had more waivers than me, who have been granted yet another waiver. I suppose that's a little frustrating but I should have my full licence in my hands soon enough and that means some degree of security.

I may join the no -WP club in spite of a license. Perhaps doing outside work and never setting foot in house would provide some safety.

Over 60, American, licensed teacher (even if Thai) then just work on-line.

Work part time (evenings) for 30k thb/month or full time (evenings/weekends) for 50k.
Do it in the comfort of your home and no worry about the WP.
A decent fiber optic connection will cost between 700-900 baht/month.


I've tried a few online agencies, but it was either my nationality or my age. <ayne next time bla bla bla.

Any idea where I could find an online job? Thanks in advance.

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Online didn't work out for me.

Part time at a center is working out just fine.

The center is agreeable to a WP.

I know a fair few people who are teaching online full time or teach online part time in the evening, alongside a normal teaching job during the day. I personally teach 4 hours a week online and it works quite well for me. One thing for sure, is that it is a growing market.

I work online two hours per week as an exotic dancer.

...also a growing market. =D

Hey_ewe wrote:I know a fair few people who are teaching online full time or teach online part time in the evening, alongside a normal teaching job during the day. I personally teach 4 hours a week online and it works quite well for me. One thing for sure, is that it is a growing market.

Hi ewe, would you mind if I asked you what online company you work with for 4 hours a week? If this is too intrusive could you offer the country of origin: UK, US, China, Philippines etc?

DG

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DigitalGypsy wrote:

Hey_ewe wrote:I know a fair few people who are teaching online full time or teach online part time in the evening, alongside a normal teaching job during the day.  I personally teach 4 hours a week online and it works quite well for me.  One thing for sure, is that it is a growing market.

Hi ewe, would you mind if I asked you what online company you work with for 4 hours a week? If this is too intrusive could you offer the country of origin: UK, US, China, Philippines  etc?

DG

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I work for DaDa who are based in Hong Kong now, they moved the company from the mainland around 6 months ago. All the students are based in China, classes are one to one and the majority speak English well when compared to Thai students. All course material is provided and they have their own interactive software you use to teach.

They are not as good as they used to be but they are still one of the better companies to work for. You are paid standby time which is a rarity. Most companies don't so you find that you are waiting around unpaid waiting for students for a few weeks.

Your rate of pay is dependant on your qualifications, experience and how well you do in the demo class. A normal starting rate would equate to about 500-600 THB an hour.

They had a purge a few months ago as I believe that they had hired too many teachers. They upped their requirements and applied them retrospectively, so all teachers were required to submit police checks, qualifications etc. I have no problem with that but they may a real hash of the job, placing unrealistic deadline and sending lots of mixed messages. It annoyed a lot of teachers and quite a few left.

Here's a referral link which will grant me a few beers if you decide to join. Please do bear in mind that recruitment is really slow at the moment.

https://www.dadaabc.com/teacher/landing?referrer=J1u0S2m3c7

The minimum work time for DaDa is two 2-hour shifts per week.
They max out at 29 hours /week.

As mentioned above DaDa moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong so there was a different standard of qualifications required and a lot of teachers with minimal qualifications were let go. Teachers were given 14 days to upload the scans of the required documents (degree, TEFL cert or proof that you are doing a TEFL cert., and a generic police clearance.

For those who have a degree, teaching qualification (TEFL cert) and a police clearance there was no issue. It took all of 5 minutes to upload the scans of my documents and job done.

In addition to your teaching salary they also pay for trial-class conversions (new student does a trial class with you then signs up). They do not have to become your student. They just need to sign up and stay for more than a month.
You also get a bonus if someone clicks your link and is accepted as a teacher.
https://www.dadaabc.com/teacher/landing?referrer=r8Q6h3W6Q26a

All of that said... they are a bit fussy. They have a very strong preference for North Americans (proof of citizenship required). You also need a decent, wired, internet connection (10mbps or better). DSL, ADSL, VDSL and fiber are your options and a speedtest is required during the hiring process.

You will do some on-line training to use their software. Then you do a trial class (30 minutes).
If you do reasonably well you will get offered a contract. Your options are 6 or 12 months. Pay rates are from 110-150 rmb/teaching hour. 1/2 pay for standby time during your contracted hours but you ARE required to be logged in and ready to work (they will sometimes send you a class on 3-minute notice as a substitute teacher).

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