Work opportunities in Thailand/Hua Hin?

[GLCQuantum]

Most of you already know a little of my background but for those that don't here you go...

Currently I'm working on the outskirts of Bangkok but I've been teaching in Thailand for ten years now spread between an International School, a Trilingual School, A Bilingual School, a Mini English program and a Montessori school. Some of these positions were substitute teaching hence the 5 places of work in 10 years. I enjoy teaching a lot... I've found a profession that I'm pretty damn good at. Problem is is that I'm 31 years old and the teaching profession is not going to afford me any sort of retirement money unless I manage to get myself into the top International schools. This won't happen mind, because I don't have a Masters in Education or a PHD.

Unlike most other teachers here, I do not have an English pension to look forward to.

So... are there any other opportunities for a Westerner who speaks the Thai lingo fluently (reading at a K3 level and writing non-existent), has been living in Thailand for 10 years and coming here for 20 so knows the cultural do's and don'ts and also the way in which Thai people like being approached/spoken to, someone who won't be going anywhere anytime soon as his entire family lives in Hua Hin, is young(ish) so could be trained in any particular field, is outgoing, reliable and above all else... is desperate to make a future for himself?

This post is just a 'stab in the dark' per se... just thought I'd ask. No harm in trying, right?

[Gérard]

I am not sure of the meaning of "reading at a K3 level" but I suppose it is not perfect... I think you could learn to read fluently in a few months, adding a significant asset to your interesting background. There are few farangs able to speak thai fluently, as you know.
Wish you good luck !

[GLCQuantum]

Thanks Gerard,

K3 meant Kindergarten 3 so, as you said, not very good. I put it on there just in case there were replies of 'Can you read/write Thai?'... in short - No!

When you have a very demanding full time job that takes up the majority of the day, it's hard to find the time to improve upon Thai language skills.

[sateeb]

Nice to see that a bit of reality has just kicked in for you. Can't say that I have a lot of sympathy for you as you seem to have a lot of disrespect for us that worked hard in our younger years in order to have a decent pension which enables us to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle at a reasonable age. I myself retired in 2003 aged 46 with a full pension. I always wondered what these "cocksure" kids who come here to teach would do in their latter years. Good luck kid

[GLCQuantum]

Nice to see that a bit of reality has just kicked in for you. Can't say that I have a lot of sympathy for you as you seem to have a lot of disrespect for us that worked hard in our younger years in order to have a decent pension which enables us to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle at a reasonable age. I myself retired in 2003 aged 46 with a full pension. I always wondered what these "cocksure" kids who come here to teach would do in their latter years. Good luck kid

I know we've had our differences on the forum, but when have I shown disrespect towards people that have saved up enough money to ensure early retirement...

... that would be strange.

What people DO during their retirement is a different thing altogether..

By the by I didn't come here to teach. I came for a six month holiday to see the family and never went back...

[theprice01]

What people DO during their retirement is a different thing altogether..
:

What are you referring to???? golf??

[centermid7]

It's an easy answer and if you are as smart as you keep telling us it's right in front of you. You work in the west and retire here when you can afford it. Or somewhere like here as I'm not sure Thailand will be affordable in 20 years. It's getting that way now for many.

I'm also not sure I would be depending on a pension. They are getting harder to come by as well. Better save a bunch of money as you are all ready 10 years behind.

Cheers

[GLCQuantum]

Has anyone ever had any luck with the proofreading/essay writing jobs available on the internet? (or any online jobs for that matter). I know it's generally not much money but I figure if I could boost my salary by 40-50% over the next few years I would be comfortable (I'm on a mid-range teachers salary - Government school being at the bottom, International school at the top). If I could achieve that by working at home on the computer in my free time... perfect!

Or if there are any decent investment opportunities (small'ish' investment with a small ongoing monthly return).

As I said before, I'm not expecting much with this... maybe a few suggestions is all. I understand if people knew the answers to these questions they would probably be doing it themselves. Hopefully, there's someone who knows the answer to these questions but is already rich so doesn't need to do it.



And 'yes' theprice01, I did mean golf... despicable sport.

[GLCQuantum]

It's an easy answer and if you are as smart as you keep telling us it's right in front of you. You work in the west and retire here when you can afford it. Or somewhere like here as I'm not sure Thailand will be affordable in 20 years. It's getting that way now for many.

I'm also not sure I would be depending on a pension. They are getting harder to come by as well. Better save a bunch of money as you are all ready 10 years behind.

Cheers

Unfortunately, moving back to England is not really an option for a variety of reasons and also, when comparing the salary I'd earn against outgoings, I think I'm actually better off here. Moving to another country to teach is of course another option. There are quite a few countries giving decent salaries for experienced teachers. Thing is... I'm not really up for packing my bags and starting fresh somewhere new. I'll avoid it if I can but if I need to then so be it.

[dundrillin]

It would seem you need a career to run in parallel with teaching. Try creative writing starting off with short stories leading up to a novel perhaps. Once you have some money invest it wisely. One of Einsteins more memorable quotes was " compound interest is magic" or put it another way remember the tale of the tortoise and the hare.

[GLCQuantum]

It would seem you need a career to run in parallel with teaching. Try creative writing starting off with short stories leading up to a novel perhaps. Once you have some money invest it wisely. One of Einsteins more memorable quotes was " compound interest is magic" or put it another way remember the tale of the tortoise and the hare.

Thanks for the constructive post dundrillin.

Three and a half years ago I took 6 months off work to (try and) finish a book I'd been working on. Completed the book, got in touch with a literary agent, got interest from literary agent who suggested changes to parts of the book, started working full time at a school again as ran out of money so... never got round to completing the changes .

I work on it when I have time (edit: complete lie - as there's no deadline for it to be completed I kinda keep saying, 'I'll work on it tomorrow - definitely tomorrow'... ) and will continue to try and do so. If you ever see Sixty Moments at #1 in the book charts then - we can scrap this thread . I like your idea of short stories, though (while I'm trying to complete the 'Neverending Story'). Writing's something I enjoy doing anyway. Making money from a hobby, well...

... that's an ideal situation really - very rare mind.

[dundrillin]

Your book must be pretty good or it would have been rejected out of hand. Get on with it ! Stop making excuses if it was easy everybody would be rich. I hope this does not sound rude I merely mean to give you a nudge. As a previous poster said the answer is in front of you. To digress slightly I'm sure there's o novel in the trip that Forum members are embarking on ie overland from Thailand to the UK.

[migrant]

It seems your problem is like many I run across with my clients, not enough coming in to put aside.

I don't think there are easy answers here, no magic bullet. Unfortunately income is hard to increase, expenses are easier to decrease (but less fun).

Maybe some side work tutoring and setting that money aside in a savings, I see many teachers do so over there. Maybe a good investment will present itself down the line and you will be able to increase your return.

My suggestions to clients is to set up a long range projection of what you can put away, and how long you will need to do so in order to retire. You would need to include estimates such as earnings on savings, inflation, desired lifestyle, etc and yearly adjust.

I use a basic excel spreadsheet I made that I use for myself, and clients. If you want I can e-mail to you to play with.

Most clients I've gone over this with may be disheartened at what they learn, but at least you can come up with a plan to work with over the years.

[GLCQuantum]

Your book must be pretty good or it would have been rejected out of hand. Get on with it ! Stop making excuses if it was easy everybody would be rich. I hope this does not sound rude I merely mean to give you a nudge. As a previous poster said the answer is in front of you. To digress slightly I'm sure there's o novel in the trip that Forum members are embarking on ie overland from Thailand to the UK.

Easier said than done with me. With a new school year starting tomorrow, I'm gonna be buried in paperwork for a while but you're right... I need to pull my socks up and get that finished. At least I'll know if it's it worth anything rather than it lingering in the back of my mind.

So that's step 1, something I can work on as and when at no cost. Any more suggestions for a brighter future are welcome.

[GLCQuantum]

It seems your problem is like many I run across with my clients, not enough coming in to put aside.

I don't think there are easy answers here, no magic bullet. Unfortunately income is hard to increase, expenses are easier to decrease (but less fun).

Maybe some side work tutoring and setting that money aside in a savings, I see many teachers do so over there. Maybe a good investment will present itself down the line and you will be able to increase your return.

My suggestions to clients is to set up a long range projection of what you can put away, and how long you will need to do so in order to retire. You would need to include estimates such as earnings on savings, inflation, desired lifestyle, etc and yearly adjust.

I use a basic excel spreadsheet I made that I use for myself, and clients. If you want I can e-mail to you to play with.

Most clients I've gone over this with may be disheartened at what they learn, but at least you can come up with a plan to work with over the years.

Thanks Migrant,

In regards to the highlighted text above, I did take on all teaching hours god sent a few years back (evenings, weekends, school breaks) and was pulling in around 90k a month (plenty for the life I'd like to live here - with savings) but... I started to hate the job. It became a chore and I became a machine doing everything by routine. Not good for me or the students I was teaching.