Blogs on Teaching and Living in Thailand

Filipino teachers are known for their excellent teaching skills, professionalism, and dedication, the reason they are highly regarded in Thailand.

Many Filipino teachers work in Thailand's international schools, language schools, and private universities, where they’re specialized in teaching Math, Science, Social Studies, and other subjects, subjects native speakers from western countries can’t teach.

To teach in Thailand, Filipino teachers are typically required to have a Bachelor's degree in Education, and several years of teaching experience. Some schools may also require them to have a master's degree or higher, especially for teaching in universities.

The demand for Filipino teachers in Thailand is high, as they are known for their ability to adapt to different cultures, their strong work ethic, and their proficiency in the English language. Many Filipino teachers in Thailand have also developed close relationships with their students and colleagues, making them valued members of the educational community. They continue to contribute to Thailand’s education system in meaningful ways.

It is easier for Thai schools to recruit Filipino teachers already in Thailand. On average, every decent vacancy that is posted gets hundreds of Filipino applicants who are already living and working in the country. It's so much easier to interview and hire them as they are already here, have their paperwork, and have experience with the Thai system.

On Facebook discussion forums for Filipino teachers, the advice given is not always accurate. Filipinos should be aware of just how difficult it can be to leave their country. It’s not a simple case of purchasing a ticket and boarding the plane as most western people have the privilege of doing.

Many Filipino teachers have no other choice but to just hop on a plane and come to Thailand and seek work as a teacher. The reason as I have pointed out earlier is that they won't be hired otherwise by Thai schools. Most Filipinos are recruited in-country on a Thai tourist visa. 90% of Thai schools think about hiring less than a week before the term starts, they almost never plan that far ahead of time. Foreign teachers in Thailand are expected to be ready to go at very short notice.

But let’s be a little more realistic, what options do Filipino teachers have left, and who's stopping a legit tourist from getting on a plane out of the Philippines and accepting an offer by a Thai school to legitimately acquire the proper working visas once in Thailand?

Those who get offloaded by Filipino immigration officers at airports around the Philippines are making it straight out obvious they’re not out to tour, they haven’t done their homework and are ill-prepared.

Filipinos should expect to be paid half the salary of a westerner from the USA or UK for the exact same job. Very unfortunate, but very true unless their degree is in education and they are capable of teaching subjects.

A handful of highly qualified Filipino teachers in Thailand teach at reputable international schools making big bucks, earning the same as western teachers from the USA or the UK. They are proper teachers and not just Filipinos with a degree in some unrelated field. The majority of us Filipinos will be working at bilingual or privately owned schools in Thailand for rather low pay and not so great working conditions.

The required documentation by Thai schools is:

TOR (Transcript of Records)
A Bachelor's of Arts (in any field)
CAV (Certificate of Authentication Verification)

All documents should be apostilled/Red ribboned by the DFA.