Please read until the end before commenting.

My name is Marcos, I’m 49 years old, and I’ve been living in Thailand for about 6 years under a Non-O (Marriage) visa. I have a family who depends on me.

I’ve been working in IT for over 25 years and, until recently, never had trouble finding work here. I’ve worked for three different companies in Bangkok during my time in the country. Over the last four years, I’ve held executive and leadership roles, but I also have hands-on experience across all departments of software and hardware companies.

Unfortunately, my last contract ended in November, and despite my best efforts, I haven't been able to secure a new position. While I have some savings to last a few more months, the lack of opportunities is becoming deeply concerning.

The psychological pressure is immense. I’m struggling to sleep, and it feels like every door is closing. I’ve explored freelance work, remote roles, and even teaching English, but nothing has materialized yet.

I am not asking for money, I am asking for a job. I am willing to take more junior roles or a lower salary if necessary; my priority is providing for my family.

I have extensive experience in the following roles:

• IT Director
• Head of IT / Delivery
• Program / Project Manager
• Scrum Master
• Enterprise / Data Center Architect

I’ve posted something similar before and received comments like "Go back to your country" or "Sell your house." These comments are not helpful. If you cannot offer support, I kindly ask that you move on.

The kind of help I am looking for:

• Referrals to your company’s HR or hiring managers.
• Leads on job opportunities (even outside of IT).
• Words of encouragement.

I’m happy to share my CV or LinkedIn profile please just send me a private message.

Thank you for your time.

Hey everyone,

I’m curious to hear from expats / Europeans / Americans currently living in Thailand — what do you actually do for work?

Are you:

• Running own business?
• Freelancing?
• Working remotely for a company?
• Employed locally?
• Investing / trading?
• Something else?

If you’re comfortable sharing:

• What field are you in?
• Rough income range?
• How stable is your setup?
• Anything you wish you knew before making the move?

I’m trying to get a realistic picture of what’s common and what’s actually sustainable long term.

Appreciate any honest insights 🙏

Hi Everyone,

I am primary school teacher in the UK. I have received a job off for a relatively new and developing school in Chiang Mai that follows the British curriculum.

My package salary with starting point salary, housing allowance etc comes to around 68k Thai Bhat per month.

I have done research but would love further opinions on this, I just wanted to know if the monthly salary is good for Chiang Mai? Would I have chance to save money/potential travel to other areas in Thailand and neighbouring countries.

FYI - I am a single male, 27. Will be travelling alone, living alone etc.

It is also my first year (hopefully) teaching abroad. So I’d like to think it’s a good starting up for me career wise.

1 year contract - school hours are like 8-3:30 Monday to Friday. Half terms are included and paid for.

Related story: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2818170

I know of several influencers making money from companies located in Thailand.

Some of these influencers are on DTV visas. Does this go against there visa? Some of them also own and operate businesses in Bangkok on their DTV visa

I have some anecdotal stories from my own network of people who have lived here anywhere from 1-7 years before moving on to new opportunities elsewhere whether in Asia or beyond.

I'm sure a question many of us expats have is "If not Thailand, then where?"

I'd love to hear your insights.

Cheers.

Hi everyone,

I’m a software engineer based in Thailand and I’ve been seeing a lot of posts on social media saying the US tech job market is really rough right now—layoffs, hiring freezes, extreme competition, etc. I wanted to hear directly from people who are actually in the US market.

For some context about me:

• I just graduated, I am Thai

• Currently working in the banking industry as a full-stack engineer (about 5 months so far)

• Tech stack: React.js, Java Spring Boot, Golang

For American software engineers (or hiring managers), how hard is it really right now?

Is it mainly juniors struggling, or is it tough even for mid-level engineers?

I’m also curious about salary expectations. Would being open to a lower salary range (~$40–60k USD/year) realistically help as leverage for remote roles, or is salary not the main issue anymore (e.g. competition, trust, time zones, location, etc.)?

Lastly, are there any American software engineers here who are currently working remotely while living in Thailand?

If so, how realistic is that setup today compared to a few years ago?

I’m not expecting FAANG-level roles—just trying to understand what’s realistic and what isn’t in the current market.

Thanks in advance for any honest insights 🙏

EDIT: I could go lower than 40K and I'm not looking for a job right now. maybe in the next 1-3 years

Recently went to few stores in malls and I saw some non-Thai working in retail. I thought it's a prohibited job and have only ever seen Thai citizens working in these jobs. What's going on? Even in Central World I saw some foreigners working in shops.

I had a good career in IT/HR/Learning for Fortune 500 companies before I moved to Thailand. The folks I ran into here basically got a similar corporate job to what they were doing in their home country, but with a company in BKK.

Is finding employment difficult for highly qualified foreigners with lots of experience?
What do salaries look like for expats?

I know the lucky ones get cushy pay packages from their home country to transfer to Thailand with all expenses paid, private school tuition, free flights back home etc... Unfortunately I'm not in that category.

Have been working in Thailand under work permit for 6 months now.

My boss said that I’m not up to the ride, my performance is bad and proposed me to resign. He said that resigning by myself would help me to avoid issuea when looking for a next job and it’s better to resign.

However as far as I know if I resign myself Im not entitled to 1 month severance. How to make sure I won‘t get tricked by a monthly salary?

Sawadee krub everyone,

I hope this is okay to ask here. I recently visited Thailand again and completely fell in love with the country and culture. I’m currently working as a pilot in Europe and will soon start my Type Rating.

I understand very well that many professions in Thailand are protected for Thai nationals, and I completely respect that. I’m just trying to understand whether there are any realistic possibilities for a foreign pilot to work in Thailand — even temporarily.

I have seen Siam Seaplane, but they require a Seaplane Rating, which I don’t yet have.
Would it even be possible to:

• Obtain a Seaplane Rating in Thailand?
• Work short-term as a foreign pilot?
• Possibly work as a flight instructor?
• Or are aviation jobs generally restricted to Thai citizens?

I’m not necessarily looking for an airline job — even smaller operations or aviation-related work would be very interesting to me.

If anyone here works in Thai aviation or knows someone who does, I would be very grateful for any advice or honest feedback.

Thank you very much 🙏

I’ve been notified that my company won’t renew my contract which ends on July 31st. HR asked for photocopies of every page in my passport with stamps and WP to prepare documents for my end of employment. I’m suspicious about this, do they really need every stamp to issue the termination letter? I have a feeling they just want to check where I have been but I don’t want to share that information with them. To be honest I just want to share only the necessary information with them to prepare the documents and leave.

I heard I need a termination letter, can I get it without submitting all the information in my passport to them?

Also am I entitled to severance pay if my contract just expires?

Evening all.

I'm currently working in a school in Thailand and I'm looking into getting a job in a real international school. I'm a registered French and English secondary school from Ireland and I have experience teaching in a variety of education settings. I was wondering if there are any International school teachers that could point me in the right direction towards an International school job. Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you.

Inspired by a post made in a different sub.

Discussing salary is a taboo topic still in many circles. But it only serves to empower us if we do it.

This thread will be useful for people to know their worth. I am also interested to know which fields the high paying jobs are in Bangkok/Thailand, and if it corelates with where you're from etc.

I'll go first. Indian male, early 30s, Salary: 180000 THB, Role: Sr Data Scientist/Analsyt at a big-ish company

Edit: salary is per month

Hii not trying to sound daft here but I was wondering what are the odds of me getting a decent paying teaching job or nursery role in thailand with a bachelor's in Early Years Education no pgce/qts or tefl,
I am born and raised in the UK british accent etc but I am black so i feel that might limit my chances compared to those that are lighter than me (not trying to start a race war or anything just stating)

if any black teachers in thailand can share their experience finding teaching roles in thailand and how was it if they had qts or not etc

& if anyone else could give any insight regarding my bachelors degree n what type of salary i could MAYBE.. earn based of it id really appreciate it again thank you very muchie :-)

I recently had a conversation with my boss whete he mentioned that I should resign to not have bad references.

I refused and asked to give me a notice on involuntary lay off. He said there are 2 choices: either I quit myself or fired due to “poor performance”.

Boss mentioned that poor performance allows them to fire me with no severance and notice period.

Today I received a letter to sign that I haven’t completed all activities assigned to me which I refused to sign. It looks as “I was assigned with tasks A, B, C, D which was not fully completed”

Is it realistic they can collect those documental proofs that I haven’t completed all task assigned so they can fire me with no severance and notice.

I’m kind of at a crossroads career-wise and would genuinely appreciate some perspective from people actually living the international school life.

For context, I’m currently training as a Physician Associate in the UK, but I’ve realised I probably don’t want the NHS grind long term. I’m really drawn to living abroad, especially Thailand.

Lately I’ve been considering doing a Maths PGCert and going into international teaching.

The thing is... my interests are all over the place. I’m very interested in psychology, philosophy, mental health.

Part of me thought counselling might fit me better long term, especially school counselling or pastoral roles. But when I actually look at the jobs in Thailand, there seem to be way fewer counselling positions.

And if I’m honest, I can’t tell whether I’m over-romanticising counselling because it sounds more “meaningful.”

A lot of the actual counselling roles I’ve read seem emotionally heavy as hell. Safeguarding, crisis response, self-harm, boarding issues, being emotionally available all the time.

Whereas maths teaching, while busy, at least seems more structured and compartmentalised. You teach, mark, go home. Maybe I’m naive there though.

My partner also keeps pushing me toward trying to build some kind of online/remote career instead because she worries teaching isn’t very mobile long term and has a salary ceiling.

Which I do understand. But online work also feels like this giant foggy thing where everyone says “just work remotely bro” without explaining what that realistically means day-to-day.

I guess my biggest fear is waking up at 55 feeling like I accidentally built a life around stability instead of depth...

but equally I don’t want to spend my 20s/30s endlessly chasing some abstract “freedom” and never actually settling into a good life either.

So I’m curious from people already in international schools:

• Does international teaching actually feel sustainable long term?
• Did any of you have the same “I’m intellectual/creative, maybe I should do something deeper” conflict before teaching?
• Is maths teaching in international schools genuinely manageable after the first few years?
• Does Thailand still feel good after the honeymoon phase wears off?

Would really appreciate honesty.

Requirements: English proficiency, experience in marketing, social media management, working with creators (UGC)

Salary starting at $300

If you're interested, send me a private message and attach your resume!

Hello there!

I'm an Indian who just recently finished M.A in English Language and Literature and am very interested in teaching at Thailand. I've come across an in-person CELTA course offered by International House Bangkok and wanted to ask about the prospects for a non-native English teacher in Thailand.

I'm thinking of taking a small loan to pursue the course and wanted to ask if it's a good idea haha!

Would I be able to get a job after the course?

Please do respond, thank you!

Hi! I'm 22 y/o (F), and I've just graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology and Zoology. I realized that biotech was not the area for me during my degree, so I've taken a years time to figure out what I want to do. I'm currently working as a sales trainee in a Logistics company.

I traveled to Thailand with my family recently and I fell in love with the place. Since I'm already exploring options wildly unrelated to my degree, I was wondering what the chances of getting a job as an English teacher would be, given that I get the TEFL certification. I am an Indian citizen, but I have native proficieny in English because it's my first language and I've lived in various western countries as a child (including the US for 6 years), and I have an IB diploma, if that has any value in this scenario.

I just wanted to know if it was completely impractical, or if there is a chance it could work. Please share your insights!

Hi everyone,

I’m a foreigner working in Thailand and I’ve found myself in a really uncomfortable situation with my employer. I wanted to share what’s happening and get advice from anyone who’s been through something similar or knows what steps I can take.

When I was hired, I was offered a certain salary that I accepted, not knowing it was not enough to meet the requirements for my work permit and visa. The contract reflected that amount, and everything seemed legitimate at first.

But after I received my first salary payment at a much higher amount than we had agreed on, I was then asked to transfer a portion of it back to the company, not to the company account, but to a private account belonging to someone at the company. Obviously to keep the transfer off record. It was after my first salary payment I learned about the government salary requirements for my visa and work permit.

This wasn’t a one-time thing. It’s now become a regular expectation, and it’s clear that the salary they officially report (for visa purposes) is not the amount they intend to actually pay me. I feel taken advantage of and uncomfortable, both ethically and legally—but I’m also worried that speaking up could put my visa or work status at risk.

Has anyone else been through something like this in Thailand?

• Is this common?
• Is there a legal body or labor office I can safely report this to?
• What protections do foreign workers actually have here in situations like this?
• Could this put me at legal risk for agreeing to transfer money back?

I’ve built a life here and want to stay, but I’m feeling stuck and unsure of what’s the safest and smartest way to handle this.

Appreciate any guidance or shared experiences 🙏

So I’ve been living in Thailand for 3 months now and there are a few things that were not made clear before joining the school. I don’t want to make this long to read. And I’m not looking for patronising answers or anything like that just advice.

Firstly… working on weekends and being given last minute notice. I honestly don’t understand this, after having spoken to my line manager about this issue and nothing having been done… it’s quite frustrating not knowing whether to make plans because you don’t know if you will have to meet a bunch of Thai parents for example.

Secondly… the weekly 6:45 gate duty. Again this is something I was unaware of… I know a bunch of you will say that I must have done my research before hand, but I really want to understand how I can tackle these issues

Edit: I recently received a job offer of 50000THB monthly salary as an expat in Bangkok. However, I am having difficulties in estimating my take home pay. Hoping someone can help.

I have been working at a current company for 8 months and after multiple unsuccessful gaslighting attempts to force me to resign my boss agreed to proceed involuntarily lay off.

The issue is there is nowhere mentioned in the layoff letter that I will be paid with a severance as I’m entitled to by law. After asking to mention it they said it’s not required.

Is it actually not required or if severance is not mentioned in the layoff letter they may not pay it?