# Can a young IT professional make a living?



## joweaver88 (Feb 10, 2014)

Ok so I am not actively looking to move at the moment but I am taking a look into my options. One of which is moving abroad (I am considering multiple countries, Thailand is just one of them).

So here is my background.

25 year old woman

B.S. Information Technology

M.S. Entertainment Business

4+ years of experience in information technology mostly in systems administration.

I currently live in silicon valley and work for an israeli video game company as the IT Manager (I am one of a few US employees).

I am sort of a counter culture type (piercing, tattoos, geeky as heck)

Here is the thing, although I love silicon valley it is stupidly expensive to live here and my salary isn't fantastic... it is enough to break even at the end of the month and that is it. I have asked for a raise and was denied and I am having trouble lining up interviews for other jobs in the area. 

If you are familiar with silicon valley you will undoubtedly know that there is a clear caste system in place. You are either in the "in" crowd that works at one of the tech giants making $100k+ a year (I know of other 25 year olds making 200+ and frankly their job description is basically identical to mine and I make $50k). There are the peons who came from out of state and didn't go to MIT, or the ones from in state that didn't go to Stanford or Berkeley. I am one of these... I am from Florida and went to FSU for my bachelors and Full Sail for my masters. I am a nobody in their eyes and will never get the time of day from the people with money and power.

And frankly I am fine with all that... I am not looking for glory and prestige, but I do want to be financially secure and solvent. Right now I cant even afford to get fillings put in my teeth because my insurance sucks and I simply don't make enough money.

It's time for a change of strategy.

So I am considering moving abroad and starting over... one of the places that very much interests me is Thailand. I know the cost of living is very low, but I also know that incomes are generally very low as well. I am not interested in teaching english... I want to practice my trade wherever it is I go.

So here are the questions... do you think someone with the above attributes has any chance whatsoever of finding a good job in Thailand? A job that will pay enough to live comfortably with savings? If so why? If not why? And what other concerns would you have?


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## neilr (Dec 11, 2013)

Hi

I can't give you the answers you are looking for but I can offer some observations that may also need consideration to decide your eventual location. All my comments are based on what I have discovered about the North East region of Thailand. Some of it may apply to BKK and the south, some may not, and hopefully others living down that way, can add weight or counter-claim what I have said.

My first point would be that Thai's, in general, do not make great use of computers or the Internet (yet). Sure, many laptops are sold, but most seem to be used to watch YouTube or engage on social media sites. So just how much of a requirement there is for an IT guru, I am not really sure but would imagine demand to be quite low at present.

Second - I would imagine a Thai business would rather deal with another Thai for their IT requirements, and not only because of the language. Lets just say there is discrimination in most walks of life here, and lining a ferangs pocket with money, is often not the done thing, as we are all supposed to be loaded (if only they really knew).

If you were to offer IT services from a base in Thailand, I would have thought you would need to look outside the country to find sufficient work to keep the income flowing (if you managed to find work inside the Kingdom).


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## neilr (Dec 11, 2013)

Moving on to the legal side of matters.....

If living here as a tourist (a contradiction I know, but some do) - you cannot legally work.

In order to legally work you need to be married to a Thai national and living here, work for a company and getting a work permit.

Alternatively you can obtain a business visa, if you can find a Thai based company to offer you a job or you can get permission to set up a business for yourself..

You would need to have a good look at the work permit and visa legalities, along with the 'ferang' working restrictions that are in place. There are many jobs you cannot do here - even with a work permit.

For some reason, although I meet the requirements of the forum, I cannot post the URL for the Work Permit details

Google Siam Legal, and take it from there.


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## joweaver88 (Feb 10, 2014)

Is it common for companies to sponsor people for work visas?


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## neilr (Dec 11, 2013)

joweaver88 said:


> Is it common for companies to sponsor people for work visas?


If you have *something to offer*, * that they cannot get elsewhere*, then I would guess they would take you on, but there are two conditions in that sentence that need to be met.


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## joweaver88 (Feb 10, 2014)

What about mult-national corporations that operate within Thailand? I see some IT jobs on linkedin for companies in Thailand and the job descriptions state that they absolutely require the applicant to be able to speak english but that Thai is optional. Is this common?


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## neilr (Dec 11, 2013)

joweaver88 said:


> What about mult-national corporations that operate within Thailand? I see some IT jobs on linkedin for companies in Thailand and the job descriptions state that they absolutely require the applicant to be able to speak english but that Thai is optional. Is this common?


I don't know the definitive answer to that, but for a Multi-national to state that as a requirement would not surprise me at all, as there will be others than can cross the language divide as and when required.

Might be worth your while 'be-friending' a few on Linkedin, and whizzing off a few questions. If nothing else, you could be putting yourself in the frame for something, or the 'ferang' network out here, may get to hear about you.

Linkedin could actually be one of the better avenues to 'advertise' yourself, certainly one of the easier ways.


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## joweaver88 (Feb 10, 2014)

Yea its worth the effort at least to get a dialogue going with a few of the companies. There are even a few Microsoft jobs listed on there (unfortunately they are programmer positions).

So other than landing a job with a multi national... my only other legit option is teaching english correct? Now I have heard mixed things about that. It seems those her work for government schools get paid very little and it is extremely stressful. How about private schools or corporate schools (schools that teach english booster programs for thai employees)?


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## neilr (Dec 11, 2013)

joweaver88 said:


> Yea its worth the effort at least to get a dialogue going with a few of the companies. There are even a few Microsoft jobs listed on there (unfortunately they are programmer positions).
> 
> So other than landing a job with a multi national... *my only other legit option is teaching english correct?* Now I have heard mixed things about that. It seems those her work for government schools get paid very little and it is extremely stressful. How about private schools or corporate schools (schools that teach english booster programs for thai employees)?


That is certainly what the vast majority seem to end up doing! I do know of one of guy who is in other role, he is a meat packing plant manager, but from those I have met, he is the exception and not the rule over here.

Teaching English is reasonably easy to get in to, providing you have a degree (in any subject - which is handy as they are not hard to buy - lol). Indeed I am often startled by the number of non-native ferang that teach English. I have met them from Belgium, France, and Germany so far!


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## joweaver88 (Feb 10, 2014)

Any tips on finding higher paying teaching jobs? Just curious...


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## neilr (Dec 11, 2013)

joweaver88 said:


> Any tips on finding higher paying teaching jobs? Just curious...


As far as I know, they all pay about the same rate, for their region. BKK pays the highest of course, but then living expenses are that much higher too. Just what is being paid, I have no idea. I am led to believe that working for a 'private' school will pay more than a mainstream 'government' run school.

Beyond that, I could not give you anything more.


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