Teaching is the most popular job for expats in Thailand. It's popular because there is always an abundance of teaching jobs available, and because it is a quick and easy way to get into employment for those looking to stay long-term.
When one thinks about teaching in Thailand, young gap-year students tend to spring to mind. and that's why I'm often asked whether there is an age limit for teaching in Thailand, whether there are opportunities for those in their late 40s, 50s and 60s.
The short answer is no there is not an age limit for teaching in Thailand. Thai teachers tend to retire at around the age of 60, but that doesn't mean that if you're a 60-year-old expat that you can't teach and won't find work.
In fact, there are plenty of 50 to 60 year old expat teachers in Thailand, and some between the ages of 60 and 70. It might take you a little longer to get a job, part of that is because you're going to be somewhat picky about the job that you take on.
You might have read that there is age discrimination in Thailand. To a certain degree there is because in Thailand you're allowed to advertise a job with an age range, and even a gender.
But that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of opportunities for older teachers. Quite the opposite. In fact, if you use your experience to your advantage, you'll do just fine.
Moreover, from a cultural standpoint, age is respected in Thailand, sometimes naively, but that's just how it is.
So as a teacher of 50+, you will automatically command a certain level of respect from kids that your 20-something peers won't. This is a solid foundation upon which to build a productive and respectful relationship with your students.
In a nutshell, you can become a mature teacher in Thailand with a rewarding career. And in this post I'll run through 4 opportunity pathways you can explore outside of state school teaching.
4 Career Pathways for Mature Teachers
1. Language Schools
A language school is probably a better teaching environment than a public school for someone 50+.
Young kids can be a handful and not all are there to learn, as we all know from our personal schooling experience.
Some teaching jobs (not all) can become more like babysitting than teaching – probably not something you want to deal with at this stage of your life.
That said, if you're energetic and enthusiastic and want to make a real difference to the public school system by delivering some high quality teaching, by all means go for it; many do and enjoy the challenge.
As a side note: public schools tend not to have air conditioning either, which isn't the most comfortable situation in the heat. They do have fans, but a number of teachers have mentioned to me that they think this might be why many children find it difficult to concentrate in class.
Language schools are centres where students voluntarily pay to go and study. In general, they are there because they want to be there.
Students range from teenagers seeking to advance their English as a pathway to going to study abroad, right through to business professionals and the Thai partners of foreign nationals who want to improve their English skills.
A language school is a more professional environment to teach in and may well be better suited to someone with prior teaching experience. They also have air conditioning!
Language schools come with less baggage too. I'm talking about a big chain of command, parents, and big class sizes.
2. Private School Teaching
It goes without saying that private school teaching is better paid.
Those who aren't really interested in the extra money because they already have a solid pension fund may choose not to go down this route because they prefer to teach kids who can't afford private education.
But money aside, there are some distinct differences between private and state school teaching.
Firstly, unlike state schools, private schools tend to recruit teachers in specific subjects. So if you're someone with teaching experience in a particular subject such as English, maths or one of the sciences, it is worth approaching the private schools with your resume.
Private schools want to attract the best teachers, because they want their students to go on to the best colleges and universities in the world. This is what enables them to justify the price tag of attending the school.
Secondly, private schools have smaller classes, which are easier to teach. The kids are also likely to be easier to teach because they come from better home environments. Controversial, maybe, but true.
The reality on the ground is that a private school is far more likely to employ a 50-year-old teacher with an extensive resume than a gap year student who simply wants to spend some time in Thailand and earn a bit of pocket money. They value experience and good references.
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3. Corporate Teaching Opportunities
If you have experience in the business field, perhaps in management or sales, you're probably well-suited to teaching English in a corporate environment.
Many companies hire agencies to provide teachers to deliver a teaching program in their workplace, and some may hire in a private English teacher to lead a program in a full-time position.
This teaching pathway is certainly better suited to older teachers who have a solid history of work experience.
A friend of mine hires a private English teacher to come into his company once a week and take a class in one of the meeting rooms. The class is optional for members of staff, but there's always a good take-up.
This is a good gig to land because the students will usually be in their 20s and 30s and keen to learn. If you can make the lessons fun and interactive, it can be a welcome break from their daily routine and something they look forward to and enjoy.
Moreover, if a company can employ an English teacher that not only teaches English but can also teach business management, marketing or sales, this is of great value. It won't matter if you're 45 or 60 – they'll jump at the chance.
4. Private Teaching
Private teaching is a good pathway if you don't want to work full-time, don't want to work in a school or a regimented environment, or if you want to earn some additional money on top of your regular teaching salary.
Private teaching is a bit of a grey area, because technically you need a work permit to work in any capacity, but you can't obtain a work permit without working for a company or setting one up yourself; which would be worth doing if you are just teaching a few hours a week.
People do it anyway. Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.
So generally, those who do private teaching are doing so outside of their day job, or just doing it through word of mouth referrals. Typically you would look to charge between 400-600 Baht per hour.
I have personal experience of this because my wife once had an English teacher. The teacher taught for a language school that teaches business English to professionals in the evenings. This meant she had mornings and afternoons free to do private teaching.
Many teachers who start out private teaching end up in a position where they could potentially give up their day job.
Consider that the average salary for teaching in a public school (full-time) is around 30,000 Baht per month, and now consider that the same salary can be earned by teaching privately for just two hours a day privately, Monday to Friday.
Private teaching often centres around a specific student goal. For example, there is an increasing number of students from middle-class families who want to study for an IELTS certificate to go abroad and study.
Many of these students end up going to language schools, which can be quite expensive. Moreover, not all the teachers at language schools are native English teachers. Not to say that the teaching isn't of a good standard, but as a preference, having a native English teacher for one-on-one teaching when studying for a specific exam is a huge benefit.
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Maridel L. Dalmacio says
Sep 30, 2020 at 1:46 pm
Jon H.C. says
You could even teach your mother tongue along with English and some other subjects. Although I am afraid that I may not be much of help because I have never run a business anywhere, so I am not familiar with what kind of issues you may face with locals when it comes to promoting your business effectively.
Jan 12, 2021 at 11:32 pm
Kevin Tysoe says
Any suggestions on local agencies that may look on my experience more favourably than my age? I'm very fit and healthy.
Kevin
Sep 29, 2020 at 7:09 pm
TheThailandLife says
Sep 29, 2020 at 7:21 pm
James E says
Sep 29, 2020 at 10:55 pm
Peter Slavchenko says
I think private schools are more apt to hire teachers who have more experience, and also those who are older than average.
I know for a fact that private schools still offer contracts to people even 60 years old. At the same time, since you are outside of Thailand--I have noticed that many if not most job ads (Ajarn.com, and Bangkok craigslist) specify that they can only consider teachers already in Thailand.
One caveat to applying to private schools, regardless of how "reputable" or expensive, or how "fair-minded" they claim to be. Some of these expensive (tuition-wise) and who advertise supposed "foreign country education standards are in fact: 1/ not certified or authorized to offer the certified curriculum of the country that they claim to advertise. For instance, just by writing to the Manitoba Department of Education (Manitoba is a province in Canada) you will easily discover that there NO schools in Thailand that are authorized to offer a certified Manitoba provincial curriculum; yet I know for a fact that at least one private school (maybe more) in Bangkok, advertises on its English language website that it does offer a Manitoba curriculum. Another thing: some of these private so-called "reputable" schools claim that they have a very fair school environment (in their teachers manual) so if there are any conflicts, there is always the opportunity to have some management decision reviewed by other "managers" in the school. Yet these same schools (at least one I know of), purposely have misled a teacher, who had a 12 month contract, because they refused to provide a necessary document prior to going to the Thai immigration department to obtain a non-B visa (these days everything is done within Thailand for the nonB visa). Even when the foreign teacher reminded the school that without the necessary document, which is normally necessary, going to get a nonB visa will not result in getting the non B visa. Yet, in this case, the school simply REFUSED (without any logical reason given) to provide the said document. Consequently when the charade of going to the Thai Immigration Dept. with the School secretary in order to obtain a non B visa, resulted in the nonB visa not being approved--not only was it a waste of time, it was a blatant action on the part of this expensive school, whereby, because the nonB visa was denied, the teacher was required to leave the country by Sept. 26th; to reenter the country, requires a lot of money, never mind paying for 2 weeks quarantine, obtaining a Thai Embassy permission to re enter, and paying for 100,000 US dollar health insurance. All because the school which had promised through a 12 month contract to provide the documents necessary for a non B visa, refused to provide one particular document (despite being reminded by the teacher). This all occurred, BEFORE any performance review of the teacher's classroom teaching. AS a result that teacher's life, his apartment, his entire career plan was thrown in disarray. This same private bilingual school by the way, claims (on its website ) to offer a certified province of Manitoba educational curriculum. In fact, the Manitoba Department of Education states (in an email that anyone can request) that this school has no authority to say it can offer a certified province of Manitoba (Canada) educational curriculum. So, do not be conned by the high salary that the school offers to foreign teachers, because in the end, they duped a foreign teacher, and did so in a premeditative fashion--after all the school (and it's three branches) have been around in Bangkok for 25 years (at least the first school) so they know full well which documents are necessary for the nonB visa.
Oct 02, 2020 at 12:45 am
Jacobus van Schalkwijk says
Thailand might be worth considering. I am a South African, 66 and I am teaching here. Getting jobs is hard however, what in life is not?
Apr 14, 2022 at 3:05 pm
Ben says
Jul 08, 2020 at 4:04 am
TheThailandLife says
Jul 08, 2020 at 5:24 pm
Tony says
Can l teach English online in Thailand without a degree?
Can obtain a TESOL certificate.
I am married to a Thai and live in Thailand on a marriage visa.
Thanks
Tony
Jun 12, 2020 at 8:53 am
TheThailandLife says
Jun 12, 2020 at 5:44 pm
Peter says
May 20, 2020 at 6:28 pm
TheThailandLife says
May 20, 2020 at 6:31 pm
Anthony Davies says
i am considering teaching English in Thailand when i get my pension at 50. I have a Masters Degree in Social Work from The University of Central Lancashire, and I would be prepared to complete the relevant TEFL/TESOL qualification.
At my age, would there be opportunities.
many thanks
Anthony
Feb 09, 2020 at 11:56 pm
Steve says
Jan 17, 2020 at 9:33 am
TheThailandLife says
Jan 17, 2020 at 7:07 pm
Celestine says
Nov 14, 2019 at 5:07 pm
Peter Slavchenko says
For your info, I am Canadian and teaching in a private Thai school, and I am 59. True I am studying part time at an American, accredited online university for Master's in Education. I have been here 2 years..Language academies also offer me teaching hrs, including 5 year-olds--I just pretend I am about 5 years old. My private school head of English dept, is 55 yr old, and our school happens to employ many Philipinos, Iraqi, and others as English teachers. I always want to stay here, because I love my students and my school. Previously I graduated with B. in Psychology and B. Commerce, and TESOL Certificate. Also some advice; careful not to let hackers access your bank through free wifi areas..it could be costly.
Mar 21, 2019 at 8:40 am
Henry Striplin says
Oct 26, 2019 at 4:09 pm
Pete says
I am 60 yrs old and I was recently hired as a primary teacher at a Thai private school. I have teaching here for 2,5 yrs. Age only matters for certain schools. If the school sees that you can do the job they will let you teach. Some recruiters also do not mind hiring people like me--I also am halfway through a Master's in Education (online). The other 2 teachers, who share an office with me, are younger and teach older students--high school. They happen to be South African.
By the way, I know a Kenyan, Nigerian, and a Zimbabwean employed at different private schools.
Pete
Nov 14, 2019 at 6:20 pm
Peter says
Jan 17, 2020 at 9:46 pm
TheThailandLife says
Jan 17, 2020 at 10:00 pm
Peter Slavchenko says
I sourced the job from some TEFL course website that had an employment section. (However, anyone could have searched that TEFL course website, as no membership or course purchase was required). An agency hired me. I asked for and received documents in Canada with which I obtained a non-B in Canada, before I arrived in Thailand. The non-B took 3 days from the time I received the documents from Thailand (by courier), through the Thai embassy in Canada (mail in, no in-person visit). Currently I teach primary for a private school. I suggest a small caveat: when using an agency when you are in Thailand, please take care that the agency is not one that inexplicably, shortchanges you on salary on two separate months for one week's pay in one month, and for 15000 baht in the second month; no contract with that agency, only an email promise to pay 40000 baht/month. Was it a cheap school? No--the school name is the same as a local private university--very expensive buildings, small classes, smartboards--and no honest salary payment--no explanation. Agency was allegedly related to the school's owners. Where is the school--take the MRT to Lak Song. That's all I can say.
May 20, 2020 at 7:59 pm
TheThailandLife says
May 21, 2020 at 6:10 pm
Peter Slavchenko says
May 21, 2020 at 9:34 pm
TheThailandLife says
May 21, 2020 at 9:46 pm
David says
Jun 18, 2022 at 1:17 pm
Michael L. Estes says
Mar 17, 2019 at 8:35 pm
TheThailandLife says
Mar 18, 2019 at 12:15 am
Eric Haeg says
My name is Eric and I've been helping people find teaching work in Thailand since 2007.
If you have a bachelor's degree (or higher), finding a full-time teaching job with legal work status shouldn't be a problem. If you don't, then things get more complicated--I'll have to leave it there for now, as teaching without a degree is another issue worthy of its own article.
Also, at 55, you're no longer eligible for the 'social security' (read government health care) that comes with full-time employment. You can purchase private insurance, and that's readily available through numerous providers (AIA, Bupa, etc.).
One thing that will help a lot is training. Although not a legal requirement, you should consider onsite TEFL training through a reputable course provider. A real course, that offers real teaching practice will most likely also offer real job assistance--watch out for 'guaranteed' employment, as (IMHO) most of these positions pay low salaries and have you working in sub-standard schools.
Mar 21, 2019 at 9:51 am