NobleELT

Right. Carry on accordingly.

Aha, I must have missed this info earlier in the thread or perhaps you didn't share that before. That does limit your options then doesn't it! So what do you now see as your probably 'deadline' for this? Getting any insights from those in your scene? Do you work with any licsensed foreign teachers where you are? Others in the same boat?

Since you requested: 1. It's a waste of time especially in the context of a discussion forum full of anonymous posters 2. It's a waste of time if we consider the value of any thread is to gain knowledge from others 3. It makes us a worse person (karmically) as it's 'wrong speech' 4. It's not typically entertaining or educational in any way 5. If one is an experienced member of the teaching field, it belies a lack of understanding of one's role to help those potentially less knowledgable/intelligent than oneself 6. It belies a lack of awareness of langauge use in various contexts (ie. even if the topic is professional, the platform isn't thought to be by most; hence they aren't paying so much attention to the quality of their writing). 7. It's a terrible waste of energy, and takes the place of actual inquiry into others' experiences/ideas 8. It likely makes us "feel better" about ourselves temporarily but ultimately it's bad for our health (see #3) I tried to drag this into a "Top 10" but failed, lol. I'll just add that there is a crucial difference between judging ideas and actions and judging (imagined) people. There's a way of writing that clealry avoides doing the latter, and I'm not seeing it here. It's that personally judgemental way of writing and engaging in discourse here that I'm judging. Not any of the anonymous people generating that content.

And for the record, the seeming obsession with judging people here based on how their internet forum posts read (esp. bringing up things like punctuation, etc.) says more about the commenters than the post authors getting shat on. I don't need to explain all the reasons why.

Okay I've read all the posts now (won't reach to call it a "thread" really, as it's not held together by any focused discussion). And it was just as I expected: the OP doesn't engage at all after writing an important seeming but really vague opening thing, then a handful of people expound on some generally associated charterization of life as a teacher and Thai education while expressing profound doubts about each other's intelligence and fitness for teaching based on how they typed out this or that. So how about the OP? I'm curious what happened. Presumably something's got to give. As I said in the previous post, one hopes you don't see yourself as a total and complete pawn at work? What have you done to understand better what is happening and how to avoid being disrespected and taken advantage of? In my experience, some foreigners tend to alienate Thai colleagues (Thai people overall, really) in their own minds so much so that they can't hardly conceive of really engaging them as equals. Are you doing that? Possibly? And if you have, you can also find yourself ascribing to them all kinds of nefarious intentions that aren't actually there. Maybe they're not nefarious, just kinda cheeky/lazy and know that you'll bend so easily in the wind that they can shovel off work on ya. Would they do the same with, say, me? Never. Ever ever. LOL. So be honest...is this here "common" problem...just...you? If so, that's excellent news because you're right there with you and can fix it. 🙂

This post reads as if the audience is supposed to know absolutely anything about your context. We don't. It describes a very particular (to you) situation at work that clearly requires your active management and negotiation with colleagues. It reads as if you're completely without agency, or at least have not yet employed any and tried to work things out. It's just "this is the way it is" and even assumes it's "common" (really I don't think it is, but again I have no basis for actually knowing what's going on in your specific, tiny little corner of this world). Haven't read the whole thread yet. Probably should have before responding to the first post, but oh well. I guess it's like a "warning" to others? Doesn't seem all that effective if so, but here's hoping.

It sounds like you might be living in a small provincial town, but are there any langauge centers who'll employ you? Thai universities also provide a licensure-free career option, but requirements/preferences in hiring vary (many positions expect an MA at least, but there's plenty of variance and...well, need). If you interview well at a small provincial uni campus, you could get a job. It takes a bit of effort just to find uni job announcements online, but it's certainly not impossible. Just thinking out loud here.

The OP on nearly every thread like this one never comes back around and say anything or engage in the conversation. Perhaps it's no wonder, as what you then read is a bunch of random highly emotive opinions about a handful of infered ideas, all without any specific experiences shared. One comes away all the dumber for having taken the time to read. The fact is that at public Thai unis, there's often a 100-300 baht application fee that supports an already overworked ajarn's efforts to manage a bunch of applications. How well they do that is up for judgement by the people around them, not so much the active imaginations of PintO34777 and MunchMan3000 online. Anyway, the job he was going for could be bad, could be great. Not sure how anyone here thinks they could know the answer. Same goes for why the woman who got the job got the job. Presumably there was/is a real person there who spent the time typing out his version of a real predicament. He included some comments that suggest he had a sense of entitement about that job and he completed his education with an instrumental mindset - I do this degree, I get this job kind of thing. Imagine if the first several replies, rather than jump onto the most obvious assumptions and judgements, attempted to prompt the OP to say more about what happened, what is thinking is about, and maybe - if anyone had experience working at Thai unis - shared some first hand experience? Would the OP have posted more? The opening post of almost any new discussion thread is hardly ever more than a highly performative and rather shallow lob. Each successive post, if there are any, reveal more in nealry exponential fashion. Try intentionally making that happen sometimes in this section of forum - it'd be worth something. Just sayin'. If the OP is still around and sees this, give us an update. Have you found a job? What do you now think about that one you lost out on to all the other "races" in the hiring pool? Cheers

Oh man. Alright, so that's a pretty clear look at the situation. Sounds like yours is a great case for leniency/understanding from the TCT. It's sad that teaching requirements policy lands so awkwardly - it's as if there's no standards at all OR there's strict, limiting ones...and nothing or at least not enough in the reasonable middle. I'm wishing you the best. You've comported yourself well while the thread bubbles up with all the usual boring exhortations we've all heard 7000 times. Hopefully you update it as things continue on so it's actually a contribution to knowledge and awareness for others.

"Are there any websites I can be looking at to find these opportunities?" To the OP: Thai unis typically don't post on the usual suspect teaching jobs boards, etc. BUT...sometimes they do! I suggest googling some combination of "name of university + foreign instructor + announcement". You might also restrict results to PDFs. This will net you a bunch of "official" announcement documents, usually but not alaways in English, that get posted in the bowels of Thai university websites. The extremely low official base salaries at public universities are not what a committed and active foreign lecturer takes home each month. I'll just leave it at that. Good luck!

It's been a handful of older and younger ladies at the shop for years now. Not sure I ever seen a male employee. But the ladies, while maybe not remembering my name, also have a good memory for who's who. They've been super sweet to me, and generous too in how they've helped me out and given some discounts/freebies. The Ling/SLA and teacher education section has always been surprisingly good. I've found some deep cuts on those shelves! PS - OP - find thier Line account, so you get the closings. They're happy to get the shop closed for each and every holiday plus a bunch of other random days thorughout each year.

Don't know enough about the details of the teacher license as they stand now (mainly because I've been working at universities for a while), but I feel your pain, OP, regarding the confusion and moving goalposts. First and of course obvious advice is simply to remain calm as the FUBAR type process is a double-edge thing...yes it's chaotic and seems essentially 'unfair'...but also it's slow and plodding to the extent that it rarely claims any real victims. That's not to say one shouldn't pay any mind to the need for stated required qualifications, etc. But my point stands. All else I have to add on the topic is that I knew a fellow who completed a weekends/hybrid course at St. Theresa's College out at Klong 13 or so, just across the Nakon Nayok border and subsequently got his Thai teacher's license. I could put you in touch with him if requested earnestly. Anyway...any updates from the OP? Surely over time the OP can be expected to make some progress on this, and surely isn't waiting for a thread here to blossom into great actionable knowledge and insight. Not sure where exactly you are, but don't discount heading directly into whatever Krusapa office you can get to. And smile. Smile, goddammit! In my experience, a lot of foreigners seemingly never understand the incredible power of being super friendly in Thailand. Smile and thou shalt recieve...;D That goes for your school's HR people too. If you weren't doing it from the first day at the job...they're the ones you need to be waiing, joking with, getting friendly with, giving little gifts to, etc. They WILL help those rare foreigners who seem, in their eyes, like khon dee. Good luck

As others say above, it's DK Today there just by the Makkasan airport link station. It's the only language teaching bookstore in the city. The sections in Kino, etc. are primilary for students/customers grabbing test prep and general language study books...it's not a supplier for schools and teachers. DK Today is. As of about 8 months back, last I went, they were still open and the same. The overall physical ELT textbook market has changed a lot, so the stock isn't as fresh as it used to be, but they're still the place. They'll give a discount if you show you're a working teacher adn they're quite sweet. I've been in and out of their doors since 2005!