Salaries in Thailand

[smatthew]

This question has probably been addressed elsewhere but I can't seem to find any reliable information. How much can a relatively experienced dive instructor expect to make in Thailand? I have heard everything from 0-20,000 baht per month. My wife and I are interested in living abroad for a couple years but we don't want to eat too much into savings (excepting plane tickets) so I need to know if its even possible to make ends meet there. Thanks in advance...

 

[DevonDiver]

Most instructors earn based on 100% commission., on a freelance basis. Days off, illness etc reduces income. It takes time to build up relationships with dive shops to get a regular instructor position.

Max commission depends on the frequency of work..and also the number of students that the dive shop will put on a course. Commission is paid as a set amount per student, per course. So, if you work for a dive shop that 'caps' courses to a maximum of 4 students, you will earn less than if you worked at a shop that put 8 students onto a course.

Most shops that use freelancers, will have a shortlist of favoured instructors and put them on a rota. When they have customers (more than their regular staff can handle), they will call in the freelancer at the top of the list. You have to grab all the work you can get.

0 - 20,000 baht per month is a realistic band. If two people are earning, but share living expenses, it is possible to make ends meet... with a rudimentary, but enjoyable, lifestyle.

 

[smatthew]

Thanks for the info!

So it sounds like shops tend to have a few old timers that do most of the work but have a list of freelancers that they call as needed. So I am assuming this means almost no one gets hired as full time staff initially unless they have some very impressive qualifications like speaking 5 languages or something?

This begs the question, how do freelancers work legally if they are not officially hired by a particular dive shop? I have heard some talk around the forums that many of them set up as their own small business but that sounds a bit complicated/expensive to me.

Thanks again for the help! Ooo... What about Philippines?

 

[AleG]

Thanks for the info!

So it sounds like shops tend to have a few old timers that do most of the work but have a list of freelancers that they call as needed. So I am assuming this means almost no one gets hired as full time staff initially unless they have some very impressive qualifications like speaking 5 languages or something?

This begs the question, how do freelancers work legally if they are not officially hired by a particular dive shop? I have heard some talk around the forums that many of them set up as their own small business but that sounds a bit complicated/expensive to me.

Thanks again for the help! Ooo... What about Philippines?

The minimum salary required to work legally in Thailand (if I remember correctly) is 40.000 Baht. Just with that you can see that anyone making 20K doesn't have a working permit and matching visa. On top of that there's a bunch of requirements for foreigners and companies hiring foreigners (like having 3 or 4 Thais workers for every foreigner) so you'll see that most dive masters and instructors are not working "legally" (in quotes because the Law is a funny thing around here)

 

[DevonDiver]

In the Gulf of Thailand (koh tao), the majority of instructors work illegally. The Thai authorities seem to turn a blind eye to it. I believe that the west coast is much more strict.

Language skills can get you work anywhere. I knew a Swiss guy that graduated from his IDC, with 6 languages, who was immediately offered work in several locations. He didn't have any student certs, any specialities and less than 150 dives. He took a job in the Maldives.

The Philippines is much harder than Thailand. Most people here speak good english, so most of the instructors and DMs are local (and of high quality). Work permits cost a fortune, although you can pay for a temp work permit (renewable bi-monthly) if sponsored by a dive operation. Again, languages will give you an advantage...as few Philippinos speak german, french etc.. so this may be in demand at the resort areas. Most of the tourism industry here is english speaking though.

 

[Quero]

The minimum salary required to work legally in Thailand (if I remember correctly) is 40.000 Baht. Just with that you can see that anyone making 20K doesn't have a working permit and matching visa. On top of that there's a bunch of requirements for foreigners and companies hiring foreigners (like having 3 or 4 Thais workers for every foreigner) so you'll see that most dive masters and instructors are not working "legally" (in quotes because the Law is a funny thing around here)

What AleG says is the "letter of the law" but doesn't really paint the true picture of what working legally as a dive instructor here entails. It's not super easy to jump through all of the bureaucratic hoops, but it's also not impossibly difficult.

In order to work legally as a freelance dive instructor, you first have to set up a Thai company with a majority of Thai directors/shareholders. A specialized paralegal will be able to take care of all of the details for you, including finding Thai company directors willing to be a part of your company. You or your wife may act as the managing director of this company. The company then issues a document that will allow you to go to a Thai consulate outside of Thailand to apply for a B visa (B = Business). You can take care of all of this paperwork before you even set foot in Thailand.

Once you are here, your company applies for a work permit for you as a foreign worker. There is a minimum registered capital value for a company with just one foreign employee, and a higher capital value for a company that wants to hire a second foreign employee. For each work permit your company obtains, you must also have some number of Thai employees--at least in theory. You don't actually have to have these employees at all, but there are some tax burdens imposed on the company regardless of whether or not these employees exist in reality. Countless companies exist with a foreign employee and fewer than four Thai employees.

Foreign employees pay taxes according to the minimum monthly salary stipulated (which depends on nationality). You don't actually have to EARN that amount of money, but you do have to PAY TAX on that level of earnings even if your earnings are less than that for a particular month.

As long as you pay all of your taxes and tributes and have all of your paperwork in order, you are legal. There are many, many dive instructors working absolutely legally here even though their real earnings are less than what they pay taxes on and even though their companies employ fewer than the minimum number of Thais, simply because they pay all of the taxes and tributes they would owe if they did earn the minimum and if they did employ all of those workers.

 

[lord khram]

Thailand is a great place to stay, been here myself for some time already. But if I wanted to work and do things legally I would seriously consider other destinations where the visa / work permit situation is more straightforward.
Simply obtaining visas to stay here long term without working can at best be described as 'a performance'.

 

[stiggy]

LK is right a real performance.

However working legally here is achievable and requires the funds and patience to set it up in the first place.

Secure company if you’re not offered a WP spot
Secure Wp
Secure Visa
Pay tax

Salaries are widely variable in Thailand some offer salaries and a small commission, some offer commission only.

I’d guess average wage is around 35 k per month but can range from 15 to 100 plus

Working Illegally is often accepted amongst the industry here, however when and if an incident occurs you are in deep trouble financially with the labor department and face legal action.

Any liability claim made against you would stand as you where working illegally to start with this would apply both here in Thailand and if unlucky in your own country to.

Any insurance you may have could also become null and void.

 

[limbo]

Excellent sum up Stiggy!

 

[jamiemac]

I agree, set your self up properly and then do a proper job, and then get paid properly.

If you set yourself up as an illegal immigrant, transient worker, you'll be treated like one!