defender

Dunno, but being Aus/NZ qualified doesn't earn you QTS in the UK although I think that experienced teachers could probably get decent work outside (or around the edge of) the public sector schools

I think they also have a program for teachers trained overseas to gain QTS on the job.

TDA - Overseas trained teacher programme

The OP, with a HND may find this program to his liking .....

TDA - Registered teacher programme

Like I said, there are lots of ways into teaching jobs in mainstream schools in the UK for those that want them. Of course, that doesn't make those working other jobs any less 'real' ..... eh Cyrille?

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Excuse me for not taking this seriously .....

Cyrille

You're keepin it real on here, def.

Good info.

Mister Fixit

Well, I'd reckon that 21 grand a year in the UK is about the equivalent of 35 grand a month here.
Really, it's true - 21k is nowt in the UK, it's a lower average salary.

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We would rather die in our dread
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And see our illusions die

paully

^ Well, you won't be an international playboy on a teaching salary in the UK, it's true. However, £21k is the base starting salary for newbies: if you have experience you'll be likely to be given a few points up the scale and then given increases/extra points for performance. Also, if you can hack it for a few years, the UK teachers' pension is one of the best around - rather better than you'll get in Thailand.

Mister Fixit

Aye, there's the rub - I understand that quite a high proportion of new entrants to teaching leave within the first two years.

It's a crappy job in the UK with all the paperwork and bureaucracy, so I understand. My daughter graduated in June and is teaching 'difficult' teenagers, but thinks she won't go into it for long.

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We would rather be ruined than changed
We would rather die in our dread
Than climb the Cross of the moment
And see our illusions die

defender

Well, I'm also weighing into the equation that my little girl is entitled to a free world-class education here that would cost considerably more than 35k Thai Baht a month mate ..... it's always going to depend on your frame of reference. I'm not even qualified to teach yet, but I can earn around 17k in a school which I reckon will afford a decent standard of living ..... my daughter will get an education I couldn't afford in Thailand, I can buy a house if I want to (with a mortgage and that!) ..... oh yes, then there's the pension plan available to take out now to cover me for a long relaxing retirement and I don't have to worry about healthcare!

I'm paying a lot more for beer over here and fuel is expensive, but I couldn't even afford a car in Thailand! I did live pretty well in Thailand, and at thirty I'm nowhere near the scrapheap. But what chance of TEFLers in their 30s now being able to make enough out of TEFLing in Thailand to live a long and healthy retirement?
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21k is not a great salary admittedly ...... the great thing is that teachers' salaries go up every year ...... a teacher with a few years of experience makes considerably more ...... oh and did I mention the free education and healthcare we all get over here ...... and the teachers' pension?

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Excuse me for not taking this seriously .....

Nemo.

You have to pay the 3000 pounds course fee ! so not totally free....

You have to been resident in the UK for the 3 years prior to doing a PGCE. Otherwise you pay overseas rates AND no student loan/funding.

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peelieorion

Tricky one Defender. I taught in the U.K for 7 years before moving here. Its worth getting qulaified if you love teaching and want to be the best you can be at it. Its tough working in the U.K because you're always being asked to develop. The pension they say is good but i for one would not have the stamina to give 40 years of my life to teaching and I know very few old teachers who survive that long. As well as your daughters education you have to decide what your prioriyies are. I ended on 34k a year after 7 years which helped eventually to buy me a house giving me the chance to pick my job here. i'm not sure i agree that TEFELers returning have a significant advantage going back home and training. I think the majority of schools in Thailand are not in the slightest interested in developing our teaching skills. you only have to look at the style of most Thai teachers, talk and chalk and memorising. the long term TEFEler can easily slip into this style of teaching and then have to unlearnm these techniques on teacher training. Good luck with what you decide.

SageAndOnion

Good luck with that on 17K a year!!

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wildbill

21+ grand a year is a good starting wage for any job IMO. Before I came to Thailand last year I was working as a travel agent for little over half of that and had to top-up my wages moon-lighting for an Indian curry house! Also my (soon to be) wife will be working too. Between us now we earn less than 40,000B a month, so our standard of living and ability to save will be far better than staying in C.M.

The problem is I cant afford to to earn little or nothing for 2 years before that first pay packet lands. I don't want to teach forever too and plan to return to Thailand before i'm too old with a bit of capital to set-up a little business.

defender

With respect Nemo, this is absolute tosh. I lived in Thailand for 5 years and have been accepted on a teacher-training program that will cost me sweet FA, entirely funded by Her Maj!

Thanks mate - going to look at a few next week actually!

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Excuse me for not taking this seriously .....

Cyrille

You seem to be thinking along similar lines to me. I'm 44 now, and don't see myself teaching for the rest of my working life (please god! )

Therefore the effort and heartache of a PGCE and couple of years scraping by in the UK isn't reallly worth it to me. Then there's the problem of funding.

Also I don't have a kid, which I know is what drives a lot of foreigners out of Thailand. At my workplace here I know no fewer than 5 guys who have left LOS in the last year to come here because they either have kids or have one on the way.

Not always true - particularly the three years bit. On paper they may be facts, but it doesn't always work out like that, as some posters can attest.

defender

He spouts that particular bit of misinformation on every thread about the UK I believe. Perhaps it's true on paper - the reality is that there is still a chronic teacher shortage in the UK and they are prepared to help the seriously interested to get in, regardless of their recent living abroad!

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Excuse me for not taking this seriously .....

zehner

yup. i've posted many times that any EU citizen can get the funding. i applied for my PGCE from Melbourne

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Now, to pry into roots, to finger slime,
To stare, big-eyed Narcissus, into some spring
Is beneath all adult dignity. I rhyme
To see myself, to set the darkness echoing.