What do I need to know about teaching English and getting a work visa in Thailand?

Agencies pay crap. And they only pay crap eight months of the year. However, they can find you a job easily and they can work out your work visa. You need to be careful about the agreement you enter into. If you having a falling out with the school they can effectively boot you from the country. Once you are fired your work visa is invalid and you must leave the country quickly, a matter of days I don't recall, maybe one week.

I would try to find a agency that will provide you a 6 month contract if possible. 12 months is ok, if you going to be paid for the full 12 months. The idea here is to get into something short term until you figure out your best next move.

Once you are here you will develop contacts and have a better understanding of the job market, rules and options.

Use an agency as a last resort

I taught English for a year with an agency. Steve, if you want a quick start you can contact an agency and they will fill you in an open position. I had zero luck with direct to school applications 2 years ago. Turnover for teachers at schools that use agencies is quite high due to many factors. Agencies have pros and cons. In Bangkok with no experience you can expect 35-40 thousand. Not sure about Pattaya. Also it is very difficult to get a work visa with an agency as there is a lot of paperwork from many places needed. You will be asked to work on a tourist visa for the first couple months possibly. If you like the school and the agency is alright, you will really need to push them to get you a work visa. Also if they provide you with one. You will be expected to fulfill your contract. You also don't need a TEFL or an English degree. You will be expected to perform well though. You're going to want to post in the Facebook groups "teaching jobs in Thailand" and theres a couple other groups recruiters are looking at daily. They will contact you after you post.

A bit confusing post. If you're moving to Thailand and planning to work/teach you're required to have the proper visa which you only get through your employer.

Teaching English even with an English degree you're most likely going to also need a TEFL certification which, at best will take many months to complete.

Send your CV to all the International Schools, much better salary and conditions than the state schools.

This site is the main site dealing with everything teaching, and job listings.

Ajarn.com

If the school doesn't help you get a work visa then you won't get one, since the only way to get a non-B visa and extension is with supporting documents from your employer.