{mosimage}If you are a Filipino and you wanted to come to Thailand to work as a teacher, what would you need to have? What preparations would you need to do to make sure you become successful with your goal to land a job here?

And if you’re already here, and you wanted a better job, preferably in a high paying international school, what qualifications do administrators look for?

These are some questions we will answer in this article.

This is a story of three teachers who have been living and working in Thailand for the last 15 to 25 years. They offer insights from their own experiences, and a few nuggets of wisdom that have served them well, while working in an international school and molding the lives of future leaders of this country and the rest of the region.

This is their story....   

Suzie:

How did you get here?

Suzie met a Thai gentleman when she was studying at a university in Luzon. She tutored him in English. They met in June 1977, and got married in September that same year. ‘Twas one of those whirlwind courtships kind of thing. But unlike most whirlwind romances, Suzie’s has been proven by the test of time. She’s been happily married the last 30 years.

How did you get a job at an international school?

July 22, 1979, Suzie came to Thailand with her husband. She first went to St. John’s in Lardphrao, but was told to come back in November since classes started already in May. But Suzie didn’t want to wait that long so she planned to go to ISB next. Being new to Thailand, she took a bus instead of a taxi for safety’s sake. Armed with a map of Bangkok since she has only been in Thailand for two days, she set forth for ISB. But somehow, she found herself instead in Soi Ruamrudee.

There, she met an American lady on the road, who told her there was an international school deep down the soi. She just had to walk a little further, Suzie was told. She did, and further on, she found a church. Being a Catholic, she was very happy about it, and so first, went into church to pray the rosary.

Afterwards, she went to find the school at the back of the church.  At that time, she had two years experience as an administrator in the Philippines, and was a graduate of Master of Education with a major in Administration and Supervision. She had 16 years of teaching experience back home and she took her Master’s as a Magna Carta scholar. She was well equipped, to say the least.

When asked how much she was paid in the Philippines prior to coming to Thailand, Suzie replied, “500 pesos a month as a teacher and 800 pesos when I became an administrator.” Then she gave a hearty laugh. And she has every reason to because just after a 3-day try-out at that international school, she was given a cheque for 2,000 baht, and was told to report to work the following Monday.

Suzie photocopied the cheque and sent it to her mom back home. And that was the start of Suzie’s life in Thailand.

What advice would you give to other teachers who plan to work here, and to those who are currently looking for better jobs in Thailand?

{josquote}“They should be Master’s degree holders, given the competition in the profession at present. They should have experience, are skillful and open-minded.”{/josquote}

Suzie also advises those who plan to go anyplace abroad to strengthen their spoken English skills before they leave home. “They should be technology proficient and are open to suggestions,” Suzie adds.

And while here, given that teachers live and work in a very competitive and challenging environment, Suzie emphasizes the need to update one’s skills. “Teachers should attend conferences,” she says.

What are you busy with nowadays?

Three years ago Suzie retired, after 25 years of service at that international school. It was her first and last job in Thailand. When she was first accepted for that job, her supervisor expressed a concern that she would leave and go to ISB after a few months. To that, this was Suzie’s reply: {josquote}“You were the first one to give me a job. I owe you loyalty.”{/josquote}

On her last year before retiring, Suzie was receiving a six-figure gross salary from that school. A well-deserved pay in exchange for her loyalty, won’t you agree?

Suzie now has plenty of time to enjoy time at her farm, with her husband and family. She is still called on for work sometimes at Ruamrudee International School where she already retired from, and she likes it that way. She also spends time with her friends, Helen and Cynthia, at the movies, or at each other’s homes, sharing wonderful Filipino meals and a good chat about each other’s families and lives.

{mospagebreak}

Ms. Helen Aquino:

How did you get here?

“By chance,” was Helen’s reply. “1985, I was in Sydney, Australia. I was sent by the nuns there to study mail-order brides. So I was moving around a lot – Canberra, Melbourne, South Wales... and then came winter. It was very cold. And so I gave my sister, who was living in Thailand, a phone call. To escape the cold, I came to visit her here.”

How did you get a job at an international school?

“I was told there was a Catholic international school and so I went. That was in June. When I spoke to the administrator, I was told that they already have teachers lined up as early as December. Then I was asked if I could teach Chemistry and Physical Science,” says Helen.

To which she replied, “Well, it just so happened that I’m a pharmacist.”

Helen was then asked to do a demonstration lesson. At that time, it was to a class full of farang students – British, American and Australian. And after the demonstration, she was told to go to Malaysia to have her visa changed from tourist to non-immigrant.

At that time, just as today, people chose to do their visa change in Penang, Malaysia. But before her trip, Helen was given a stern warning by her sister – “Be careful of drugs. People might slip something into your bag, and you will be the one punished for it.” The punishment is no less than the death penalty!

And so off to Penang Helen went. There, she was met by a friend of her sister’s. “An Indian lady”, Helen recalls. “Then I shared a room with a Japanese girl.”

At that time, there were very few cars in Penang. Helen remembers getting on a motorbike in a skirt, to go to the Thai embassy.

For Helen, she got that job to teach Chemistry and Physical Science in Ruamrudee International School because of two things: one is because she happened to be at the right place at the right time. The chemistry teacher she replaced just resigned when she went to the school to apply for a job.

{josquote}But the second thing that brought her that job, was God’s plan and God’s will, she says.{/josquote}

To the latter, her friend Suzie also shares the same belief. “Being at the right place at the right time and praying for what you want”, according to Suzie, go hand in hand.

What advice would you give to other teachers who plan to work here, and to those who are currently looking for better jobs in Thailand?

{josquote}“Anybody qualified, with God’s help, can land a job in an international school”, Helen says. “But one has to be fluent in English, has to have a teacher’s certification...an international one, to give one an edge.”{/josquote}

 “But most important of all”, Helen adds, “is guts. You cannot allow yourself to be intimidated by anybody especially since you will be dealing with different kinds of people.”

What are you busy with nowadays?

Helen is now busy preparing to enjoy a much-deserved break from the challenges being a teacher in an international school brings. She is retiring this year, and will be enjoying the same privileges Suzie has right now, particularly that of not having to wake up to the sound of an alarm clock in the mornings.

Over the years that Helen has been working in Ruamrudee, she has done numerous community service projects with her high school students. To view some of those projects, click here.


Now we are on to the third member of this trio of friends – Cynthia.

{mospagebreak}

Cynthia G. Tady

How did you get here?

Cynthia’s story is another case of being in the right place at the right time. This seems to run true for this trio of friends – Suzie, Helen and Cynthia.

Cynthia was in the Philippines, with no thoughts of going to Thailand, when opportunity came knocking on her door – actually, it was at the doors of the university where she was a college professor and teaching some courses for graduate students, at the same time.

How did you get a job at an international school?

A distant relative went to see her to ask if she would be interested to teach in an international school in Bangkok. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but since Cynthia is a mother, and therefore, wants only the best for her family. So to make a long story short, she accepted the job.

From college professor, Cynthia started work at Ruamrudee International School in Bangkok 15 years ago, teaching kindergarten.  From not having the experience to travel outside the Philippines, all of a sudden Cynthia was thrown in the midst of a very foreign culture and an alien language. She was working in a school with students from very varied cultures, and teaching a Western curriculum. To say that she was experiencing culture shock would be the understatement of the century.

Cynthia went home, tickets paid by the school, for Christmas on that first year of her work in Bangkok. {josquote}She told her husband she will just finish her contract that first year, but she’s not renewing for the next one.{/josquote} At that time, she was earning 35,000 baht a month while the average teacher in the Philippines, a humble 5,000-7,000 pesos.

Her husband said she must be crazy.  And just like many stories of sacrifice for kids and family, her husband left his work, just so Cynthia could have the support she needed to continue working in a foreign land.

And now Cynthia is still here, with her two kids and her two grandchildren.
   
What advice would you give to other teachers who plan to work here, and to those who are currently looking for better jobs in Thailand?

“They have to be very well prepared with their necessary credentials to qualify to teach in an international school in Thailand. They have to be ready to meet challenges and make adjustments properly since they will be facing a totally new working environment”, Cynthia advises.

{josquote}“Getting a job in an international school in Thailand, nowadays, has become very tough. {/josquote}I would advise those who wanted to land a job here to prepare well. They should have talents and skills other than just teaching, like in art, or dance, for example. Otherwise, they will find it very hard.”

What are you busy with nowadays?

Aside from her regular trips to the movie house (where she and Helen saw Jackie Chan in the flesh one time), Cynthia contents herself with work at the same international school she started with 15 years back, and spending time with her precious grandchildren.

A few years from now, she will be retiring too. But in the meantime, she enjoys the benefits and privileges working in an international school offers. In the next few years, Cynthia plans to do more travelling, making use of the professional development fund the school provides for teachers, if they want to attend workshops or seminars in other countries or in Thailand.

And since she also has her two months paid holiday in June and July, she will take advantage of it by visiting relatives in the West or back home.

What is your message for SiamPinoy?

Suzie:

“Hopefully, having read my story, you have picked up the essence of what it means to be ambassadors of our country in Thailand. And that is to make the most of each day of your stay in this foreign country, imbibing the relevance of what it means to be a good shepherd of others.”


Helen Aquino:

“I heard this from a Pinay who represented our country in an international pageant. Her question was to this effect, ‘You Filipinos are all over the world, and most are domestic helpers’. To which she replied, ‘Yes, because we are a caring people’.

So when Pinoys come to Thailand, {josquote}you have to care for the people that you work for, because that is one of the famous traits of Filipinos –hospitable, caring, bayanihan trait.  {/josquote}

Working in a foreign country has expanded my horizon, and has made me look at other cultures with more respect and understanding and patience because you have to empathize with them. So it has been a rewarding experience.”

Doing a feature of these three friends is only one among the many plans Siam Pinoy have to provide you, Pinoys in Thailand, with information we feel would be beneficial to you as you seek success in your fields of work in Thailand. We hope this feature has been and will be a source of inspiration, hope and wisdom for you. Please tell your friends about it if you think it will benefit them too!

Mabuhay ang Pilipino sa Siam!

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Finally, we have an ONLINE hub for all Kababayans in Thailand. SiamPinoy.com accepts contributions like success stories, trials and hardships, press releases, businesses, blog/web links, announcements, profiles of Filipino individuals and groups all over Thailand. All contributions are subject for approval. SiamPinoy.com was created with the goal in mind of connecting Filipinos in Thailand through the internet. Atin po ito!

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