So You're Trying to Find a Teaching Job? Read this first!

Landing a Teaching Job in Thailand: A Wild Journey of Paperwork, Smiles, and Mild Identity Crises

So, you want to teach English in Thailand? Fantastic! Pack your sunscreen, your patience, and a collection of slightly wrinkled collared shirts, because you’re about to enter a magical land where everything is possible, nothing makes sense, and job contracts are more like suggestions.

Let’s start with qualifications. Do you have a degree? Great! Doesn’t matter what it’s in, Ancient Basket Weaving, Interpretive Dance, or just the classic “I Barely Passed Anything Studies” is fine, as long as it’s a degree. Don’t have one? Well, you might still find a job… if you’re charming, lucky, and okay with being paid in noodle soup and mild anxiety.

A TEFL certificate? Yeah, technically you might need one. But in reality, half the teachers don’t have one, a quarter bought theirs from a website that also sells fake Rolexes, and the rest actually did the course but can’t remember what “present perfect continuous” means. Spoiler: neither can the students. Or the school directors.

Now the job hunt. You’ll scroll through job boards that look like they were designed in 2003, read listings that say things like “female only, native speaker, under 35, attractive,” and question every life decision that led you here. Eventually, someone will offer you a position after a five-minute interview on Facebook Messenger, asking questions like “Can you smile?” and “Are you white?”

Note: If you’re not from a “native English-speaking country,” get ready for a slightly steeper climb, but it’s still doable. Just add charisma, confidence, and the ability to pretend your country has a Queen, even if it doesn’t.

Paperwork! Oh yes, the holy grail of Thai bureaucracy. Get ready for a Kafkaesque adventure involving:

- Degree (certified, notarized, blessed by monks)

- Passport photos (hundreds of them, all identical)

- Criminal background check (preferably without crimes)

- Medical certificate declaring you free of syphilis and madness, yes, seriously

- A resume that says “I love children” at least three times

Then you wait. And wait. And then wait some more. The job starts in two days, but your visa paperwork might arrive sometime before the next ice age. Don’t worry, no one else knows what’s going on either.

Once you actually start teaching, you’ll discover that “teaching English” often means: babysitting, singing songs, coloring inside the lines, and occasionally explaining how to pronounce “vegetable” while the kids stare at you like you’ve grown a second head.

You’ll be told things like “just follow the curriculum,” but there is no curriculum. Or if there is, it was written by a guy who hasn’t spoken English since the ‘90s. You’ll have a co-teacher whose job is to sit in the back and scroll Facebook, and a schedule that changes more often than the weather in the rainy season.

But despite it all—the chaos, the confusion, the moments where you consider fleeing to Laos—you’ll find yourself genuinely enjoying it, sort of. The students are adorable (when not trying to climb out windows), the staff are friendly (if vague), and the whole experience is just the right mix of “What am I doing?” and “I kinda love this.”

In conclusion: landing a teaching job in Thailand is like dating someone wildly unpredictable. It’ll frustrate you, confuse you, and possibly give you indigestion but you’ll end up with amazing stories, new friends, and the kind of tan that makes your family think you’ve become a lifeguard.

Good luck, future teacher! May your classes be lively, your visa stamped correctly, and your air-con unit—if there is even one—fully functional.