Thread: Media Kids

Worked for MK for over 4 years. Yes I am a sucker for punishment.

Just a warning that MK is really on its way down, not that they were ever up high to start with. I finally had enough of being lied to, shorted money, had money go missing without them being able to give me an explanation what happened, emails, and phone calls not being answered.

I have talked with other MK teachers and many of them have had similar problems. The latest was that MK had forgotten to do the paperwork for the teachers work permit. Now the teacher is having to do another visa run to Laos at their own expense. MK lied to the teacher and said it wasn't their fault, that it was a government issue.

So, just a heads up to anyone wanting to come and work as a teacher in Thailand. Do it. Just don't do it with MK. There are many other agencies out there, or if you feel comfortable enough, you can try direct with the school as that is what many teachers do after working for an agency for awhile.

The pays are ok for what it costs to live in Thailand. You still need to be smart and save for your term breaks as they are unpaid, but as long as you don't drink away all your salary every month its easy to save enough to get through term break and take a vacation to the beach for a week or two.

Happy teaching.

So are we allowed to talk about Teaching agencies in Thailand on this forum ? If so I want to . Lets have some consistency

I had read this thread before taking a job with MK, and although there were some not so great reviews, I was short on cash at the time and urgently needed a job. Now, after working with them for a month, I have to reiterate, more strongly, what many people have been saying on this thread:

DON'T WORK FOR MEDIAKIDS!

1. They are about 3 weeks late so far in paying me my first check, and don't seem concerned about getting that to me any time soon.
2. You will have a hard time getting them to do anything they said they will do. I talked to another MK teacher and MK asked her to overstay her visa because they were too slow to get the paperwork done in time for a new one. Whenever we need something from media kids, we have to call them every day until they do it. Usually these calls amount to "We didn't do it yet, we'll do it tomorrow." These calls can go on for weeks. It is infuriating.
3. They will be nice/responsive while they are trying to get you to sign the contract, and after that they will hand you over to consultants who don't speak English and will never answer your emails.

I, my school, and the other MK teachers at the school all loathe mediakids and I can't recommend enough that you avoid them at all costs. If you want constant stress on getting your visa, work permit, and even getting PAID then work for them, otherwise find something else!

^ this has been up nearly 12 hours. well done mods.

Originally Posted by po3try

^ this has been up nearly 12 hours. well done mods.

Took a screen shot already
Dave the CEO at Media Kids will love reading it, i bet he's on the phone to his lawyers already...

Let "Dave" do it .a CEO , no school has been named. Im all for naming agencies who are dishonest and disreputable. Lets teachers know about whats going on out there and of course keeps Ajarn.com "Thailands liveliest teachers forum" . the most members and run by teachers for teachers.

Ive worked for Mediakids for two months now and ive had no issues with getting my salary on time. I do however have issues with the communication or lack of. My coordinator has been spot with all my visa paperwork, did the Laos trip with no issues just waiting for my work permit now. They originally told me it would be issued in 7 days. I am now told its with the teachers council for a month. I will wait and see how that pans out. I am hoping to sign on for another semester if i can stay in the same school etc.

Many teacher bitch about agencies for good reason. Don't believe anything any agency tells you. To them teachers are a commodity. Like the Thai teachers council they treat foreign teachers as "cash cows", there to be exploited ( kickbacks from the universities delivering the farcical "cultural course" is a prime example).
Your best chance at finding a supportive employer is to find a sympathetic English dept head teacher. They are only that way if you present as a professional teacher.

Mediakids can be relied on to pay salary, but not the full amount, and not on time. You will have a consultant who's there to help you, but not enthusiastically or with competence. These are generally harassed, overworked, permanently cranky young Thai men and women. They will tell you that they are available 24/7. They are not. They will tell you that you should go to them with any conflicts you may have with other faculty members. Do not. They will only tell you to deal with it yourself. They will try and charge you for orientation. Don't let them, as you won't learn anything that can't be gleaned from your Lonely Planet guide.

Honestly, the only people to whom I would recommend working for mediakids are those who have little to no qualifications, because anyone else could probably do better. They are certainly a company that will greet any blonde, nubile young men and women fresh from Khaosan with open arms. They are considerably less eager to hire you if you happen to be ugly or fat.

Another problem with Mediakids is that they require you to teach two free English Camps. That's really a lot of work for zero money. There are a lot of catches in their contract like that. For example, they will penalize you financially if you leave a contract early, even with a lot of notice.

Working for agencies is generally not a good idea anyway, but even by that standard Mediakids is a really bad idea, especially for anyone hoping to save money, or stay in Thailand for longer than a few months.

Read about this Lowlife agency , they are the worst and we are after them.http://www.complaintsboard.com/compl...e-c494642.html
http://www.hotcomplaints.com/complai...hers_7035.html

Your MediaKids experience is 100% dependent on where you are located and who is your point of contact. There are a couple of people who work for them who absolutely suck. If you are located in Sakhon Nakhon and surrounds then good luck, you'll need it.

I was always paid on time and didn't ever hear anyone complain that they had problems with money. Getting visa paperwork completed has always seemed to been an issue however.

That Eric guy is Canadian, not a septic. He works at a Japanese school in Bkk somewhere.

Originally Posted by angsta

Your MediaKids experience is 100% dependent on where you are located and who is your point of contact. There are a couple of people who work for them who absolutely suck. If you are located in Sakhon Nakhon and surrounds then good luck, you'll need it.

I was always paid on time and didn't ever hear anyone complain that they had problems with money. Getting visa paperwork completed has always seemed to been an issue however.

I'm sorry, but I just think there isn't anything accomplished by defending this company, or even parts of it. I worked three terms for Mediakids, and the laundry list of problems that I and others had with them is so long that I must state categorically that anyone thinking of working for them should LOOK ELSEWHERE. I'm not saying they're bad people, just really, really incompetent. And some of them are bad, actually. If you

1/Enjoy getting paid
2/Need proper paperwork so that you're not constantly making Visa runs
3/Like working with friendly people who have your best interests at heart

Mediakids is ABSOLUTELY NOT FOR YOU. That's all there is to it.