Do I need a university degree to teach English in Thailand?

I don't want to be negative Nancy here, but as a devoted teacher it annoys me a bit that you are considering teaching just to have a legal way of working in Thailand. That means you most probably will not be motivated 100% to be a positive and dedicated role model for your future students. In my opinion, teachers should be teaching if it is their passion, if they truly want to change children's future for the better. Perhaps there are other ways for you to work in Thailand? Have you considered the tourism industry?

It's a lot more difficult now that's for sure if u have no degree. I'd say Ina few years it will be almost impossible

Want to teach at the vocational college or university level?Disregard all of the above.

Its a bit more complex than that... i can see how it can be confusing.

The office that really enforces the whole u gotta have a degree is the Department of Labour which is the office that issues the work permit.

Years ago u would get the initial 90 day Non B w an invitation letter from the school

The idea is u come into the country w that, and u have 90 days to process ur work permit.

With that in hand u go to immigration and extend (push the deadline) of ur 90 days to a whole year (they push the date back 9 months)

Then they realized that many were coming in w that 90 day Non B and later unable to get a work permit since the Labour Department has a long list of requirements, mostly to do w the school/business itself but some to do w yourself. Unable to get the work permit u couldnt extend and would have to leave at the end of those 90 days

So what they do now (which honestly is smarter) is require a pre-approval letter from the DOL (dept labor) before u even get the first Non B

There r lots of dodgy degrees out there, schools that will hire u on a tourist visa, etc so u gotta read carefully if u say u wanna do it all by the book

Another option would be a private school like those teaching after school, by the hour etc... but unlikely if they dont know u and not sure it would differ much paperwork wise.

If its a government school then u also gotta deal w the teachers council (kurusapa) which requires u have a teacher permit. The first 2 years they give u a free pass which is reneable to another 2... for 4 years no biggie there.

I also agree w Steven that 30 or 40k wont buy u a life of traveling and enjoyment. U will pay the bills and not much else.

Time will pass by and u r pretty much going nowhere career wise.

Yes... u r learning language, culture bla bla.... i know.

But if u r focused on building a career it will be like wasted years since nobody will recognize that as relevant and real work experience.

U can checkout ajarn dot com which has testimonies of hundreds of teachers, what they earn, what kinda life they live... as well as classified jobs etc

Maybe ask a few schools there about the degree.

If a school says "its ok" its prolly cuz they already have people w no degrees working. Maybe they know someone or pay someone... etc

It won't be 100% clean.... but it would for u, as in ull have your visa and work permit.

Good luck!

You can get English language teaching jobs without a degree if youre a native speaker, but the pay is very low in comparison. Ultimately its up to wether the school that hires you can get you approval for a work visa and work permit. Theres a lot of dodgy dealings going on here by " schools " so be careful who you accept a job offer and make sure its all legit before starting work.