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Am I Too Old to Teach in Thailand? 4 Options for Mature Teachers

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.

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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.

=> Need a TEFL/TESOL? Here's the 6 best places to get certified

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.

Your Next Read: The Greatest Beginner’s Guide to Teaching in Thailand – Ever!

 

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  1. Jon H.C. says

    Hi there,

    This may sound crazy and nonsense, and in fact it may be, but I have an enquiring mind and I consider myself a walking think tank, since I am always thinking about the future and foreseeable prospects I may face in my career as an MFL teacher.

    I am a native Spanish speaker and I teach English and Spanish as foreign languages. I hold a BA in English Studies, an MA in Secondary Education Teaching, another MA in Educational Research applied to the Teaching of Language and Literature, a postgraduate diploma in Teaching Spanish as a foreign language, CELTA (the real one) and I am an official Spanish examiner (DELE examinations) with almost 6 years of experience teaching both languages to different types of students at any age, including adults and kindergarten in different countries, such as Ecuador or China.

    The thing is that I imagine the following situations:

    1st situation) I have planned to teach in China till the age of 60 or so and move to Thailand and teach till the age of 65. Would it be possible?

    2nd situation) I have planned to teach in China till life becomes impossible and start a language school in Thailand to spend till I am 70.

    3rd situation) Make the most of your imagination for this one; let's imagine that, for some reason (due to the unceasing passage of time), I have reached the age of 50 or 52 already, and I cannot find a job in China despite having been teaching these two languages for a long time and having lots of experience, and I want to move to Thailand and find a job, either as an English or Spanish teacher, would it be possible?

    I have not slept well for the last three months thinking about this because I do not want to spend my life in a country like Spain where we have no rights and nothing else to do other than dying. I want to feel powerful, so every time I go back to Spain, I can make fun of those who made fun of me in the past regardless of their age.

    Thanks.

    Jon.
    Reply

    • JamesE says

      Situation 3: Go to Thailand now. I wish I had visited TLOS earlier in life. Many things would have been different - not better or worse - just different. With your language skills (I'm assuming Chinese is also in the mix) you would have no problems securing a teaching job. Or, you could see if the Spanish Embassy in Bangkok needs a translator. Then you could have the joy of living in Thailand and a European-level salary.
      Reply

      • TheThailandLife says

        I tend to agree. Why wait? Retirement age isn't guaranteed and a lot could steer you in another unwanted direction by then. That said, at certain times of your life you are better placed to get more out of an experience / to seize opportunities. Generally speaking, Thailand is a completely different place as a 20-something than it is a 40-something. That's the same for everything, though. It's a difficult one but I guess this is where following your intuition comes into play. Best of luck.
        Reply

        • Jon H.C. says

          Hi there,

          Nowadays it is impossible to say that I will retire at the age of this or that or whatever number one has in mind, so I think that one has to learn to adapt to new environments and take it easy, which is something that, to be honest, I find difficult to do because I am always thinking about success and developing an enviable career in teaching MFL in formal schools or similar in order to be admired because I am kind of a narcissist.

          I am still at that age where life is kind of flexible and I have plenty of options, but I am looking forward to finding a permanent job and forget about these issues once and for all.
          Reply

      • Jon H.C. says

        Hi there and I really appreciate your replying to my post,

        What I am going to do is to stay where life brings more opportunities to me. Unfortunately, I only speak some words in Chinese because my first year in China turned to be crap, since I was treated down by my Chinese peers as if I had no value at all, whereas when I started to work in a second private school, that made a huge different, but because of the so famous 'plandemic',I had to go back to Spain and I lost my job.

        As a narcissist, the fact that I had to endure a useless lockdown and literally swallow all the crap they said on TV triggered a feeling of fury and frustration unable to be described with simple words.

        To me this is technically like going backwards because I had settled down in China and learnt all the necessary strategies to teach there. I felt like home, and I made the stupid decision to go back to Spain because I had gone to Thailand for holiday and China decided to shut borders already, so I weighted up whether I should go back to China and endure the lockdown they had imposed or go back to Spain and avoid all that crap, and I chose the second one, but the 'plandemic' swept through Europe and I had to endure another useless lockdown resulting in me losing my job and having to start all over again.

        Bearing in mind the possibility that a second or third wave of COVID-19 could strike Spain again (although I know that everything is an invention to implement the NWO; I found that out later), I moved to Poland hoping to find a decent job to keep adding experience to my CV so that there was no gap in my work history, but it turned out to be a mess as it is nowadays.

        I was betrayed by this country as well, since the money that I am actually making allows me to get by, but I can't put any money away anymore for the time being, as I used to when I lived in China and I was normal because life was worth it. In addition to this, I am sharing my accommodation with five more people and when I was in China I had a whole apartment for myself and the rent was the same. The government has said that all the restrictions and the partial lockdown will be lifted on January 17th, but my decision has been made; as long as I can flee this country, I am going to do so and get the hell out of Europe, since this continent is no longer available and the future is now Asia.

        I am sorry for such a long statement, but trust me guys, I had to do so, since I have never felt so fooled in my life.

        PS: Since there is nowhere to go, I often spend all the afternoons looking through CVs of people on LinkedIn to compare them with my CV and trying to contrast the information asking the question whether it is possible to start a teaching career in Asia. I have compared CVs of English teachers (native and non native) at different ages and Spanish teachers in different Asian countries, and I found several contradictions with the information that I have found on the Internet saying that there was impossible to start a teaching career in these countries.

        As a conclusion this is my last word, I strongly reckon that it depends on different things that escape our control.
        Reply

    • Jon H.C. says

      It will depend on how well you sell yourself. If you contact the right school in the right place at the right time, you should not have any problem. Although if you have some savings, you could even start your business and boast about how successful you are.

      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.
      Reply

  3. Kevin Tysoe says

    Hi, I'm a native English teacher now back iin the UK, seeking a job anywhere in Asia, but at 65 all I am getting is "sorry too old". I have a degree in English, TELF and was teaching in China for over ten years until recently.
    Any suggestions on local agencies that may look on my experience more favourably than my age? I'm very fit and healthy.
    Kevin
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      Hi Kevin, I have to say that at 65 I don't think the prospects are good. 60-65 there are still possibilities but it's not going to be easy to find work. I'm not saying it's impossible but I'm afraid you may continue to be disappointed. Sorry I can't be of more help, but who knows, if you knock on enough doors one might open.
      Reply

    • James E says

      Hi Kevin, You have to remember that Thailand is still a place where an advertisement for a receptionist will contain the words "attractive, young woman wanted". Age matters there way beyond what we typically see (overtly anyway) in the west. I think, though, that TTL is right you'll have to work much harder than typical. I (a year older than you) have been looking into this as well for something to do next and I have a couple of suggestions. First, Thailand is a society based on lot on relationships. Knowing somebody greases many more skids than a particular skill set. If you were to work at building relationships with a number of schools, say as a part time substitute teacher or after school tutor, eventually one of those relationships will turn into a job. Second, Thailand (post-COVID) is planning on making big investments in English literacy and is looking for 10,000 English teachers. Check out: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1984007/education-ministry-aims-to-recruit-native-english-teachers. You could be well served by reaching out to them early. Lastly, get with the times. Maybe offer Zoom(etc) classes online. A group class could be made very affordable at the Thai parent end while still being financially justifiable at the western income end. Good luck!
      Reply

    • Peter Slavchenko says

      Hello Kevin,
      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.
      Reply

  4. Ben says

    My wife and I are both older. She is 60 and I am 58. We both have masters degrees and I am certified to teach Math in the Florida and have some teaching experience. You stated that it is possible to find work at our age. Can you make any recommendations for companies or agencies that would hire older teachers?
    Reply

  7. Anthony Davies says

    Hi,
    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
    Reply

  8. Steve says

    Great info. Thanks in advance for advice on this topic - I am a certified teacher in America with a Masters Degree in Education. Can I still get a teaching Visa even when I turn 60 (I am 59)? I want to teach in Thailand for at least five years. There are so many stories that 60 plus cannot get a visa no matter experience or educational level. All the best and thank you for your time.
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      With a degree and a TEFL you will definitely be able to find work. You can see in the comments below from Peter that he has plenty of work. The best approach is to get your TEFL, then visit a few places in Thailand that tickle your fancy and decide where you first want to settle. Then look into the options I list in this post. When you have a job offer you will need to obtain a B visa (which you can get with a letter confirming your job offer from the Thai embassy of any country). Once you have the B visa the school will then sort out your work permit. More information on that here: https://www.thethailandlife.com/teaching-thailand-guide
      Reply

  9. Celestine says

    Hey Michael, I'm celestine from Kenya in Africa. I will be completing my undergraduate degree in commerce next year and I will be 22, I am good in English and communication skills , I am interested in a teaching Job in Thailand but the problem is that I'm not an English Native, to what extent will that affect my employability in Thailand?
    Reply

  10. Peter Slavchenko says

    Dear Michael,
    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.
    Reply

    • Henry Striplin says

      I am interested in teaching in Thailand next year. I have a BS in Social Work, a minor in Psy. and a Tefl. I am working in China as an ESL teacher this year and want to try Thailand next. Most of the ads I have read say they want 50yrs or below because of work permit rules? I don't know. I will be 53 this year. Does anyone have any knowledge about this? Can anyone refer me to some good school jobs there? Thank You so much for any help!
      Reply

      • Pete says

        Henry,
        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
        Reply

          • Peter Slavchenko says

            Thailand Life,
            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.
            Reply

              • Peter Slavchenko says

                Actually, I have two undergraduate degrees, and also I am halfway through an accredited Master's degree in Education (from an American university). Yes, I have a TESOL Certificate. At the same time it may be interesting to your readers to know that over the last 3 years of working in Thailand, while some schools are interested in having a copy of a hired teacher's TESOL Certificate--others school don't and are not really interested in them. In some ways that is understandable because there are an endless number of TESOL Course providers throughout the world--most of whom claim to be superior to every other TESOL Certificate course. Additionally, there is no requirement that the course provider of a TESOL Certificate meet any standardized learning/teaching requirements.
                Reply

                • TheThailandLife says

                  Thank you for sharing your background. There's a lot of positions that need to be filled, so I guess the rules are relaxed where possible. And as you note, a TEFL/TESOL is fairly easy to come by.
                  Reply

  11. Michael L. Estes says

    My name is Michael L. Estes I am 55 years ( young ) and a self employed semi retired Travel Photographer. I would like to move to Thailand and maybe teach or share my lifes knowledge with others. I am US citizen with a US passport, I am here in Sri Lanka now, my Sri Lankan Visa expires 3/May/2019 I want to live, work, and teach in Thailand, and feel useful and needed. I am not needed here in Sri Lanka, and I feel board with nothing to do. So maybe you can help me find work and a place where I am needed. Thanks so much for your time. Michael L. Estes
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      Hi Michael, I removed your email address and phone number from your comment, as per site policy I don't allow personal details like that to be published otherwise they might fall into the wrong hands. I can't personally help you find work, but if you look at my article on teaching in Thailand, and look at the job board on this website you will find many teaching opportunities. Please see the following links: https://www.thethailandlife.com/teaching-thailand-guide https://www.thethailandlife.com/best-tefl-teaching-course https://www.thethailandlife.com/jobs
      Reply

    • Eric Haeg says

      Hi Michael,

      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.
      Reply

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