Income for Women in Thailand

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Thailand Musings I first went to Thailand in 1997 and immediately fell in love with the country. Thailand at that time to me was mysterious and exotic, full of potentials and pitfalls. Fast forward to 2010 and here I am after 13 years and many trips to the LOS sharing, with the help of my Thai wife Golf, my experiences and knowledge with you here at Thailand Musings. Thailand may have lost some mystery for me, but it is still exotic and wonderful and I will always remember that first feeling when I stepped out into the Bangkok smog for the first time. I have yet to learn everything about Thailand and thankfully for all of us Golf is here to correct me when I err.

29 December 2007 ~ 7 Comments

This is the first in a series of posts answering questions that were posed to me by an American man who met a Thai girl on a Thai internet dating site. Hopefully these will be of help to others in the same or a similar situation.

Question: I asked about my Thai girlfriend’s work and learned that she works a 40 hour week. But I think she said her income was 10,000 Baht per month. That seems impossibly low to me. Can this be true?

Answer: Yes 10,000 Bt a month is a typical salary for many jobs in Bangkok. In fact, those without a college degree can expect less. For perspective, Golf is a Registered Nurse and was making 16,000 Bt (~US$500) a month at one of the better international hospitals. The nurses’ aides there were making 7000-8000 Bt a month I think. Seems impossible to you and I and it would be impossible for you and I, but Thai’s have different expectations. It is fine for them to spend 2000-3000 for a studio apartment with no air-con and eat from street vendors for most meals. Many women (and guys) in Thailand are living like this. Street vendor meals can be had for as little as 20-30 Bt. I know on 16,000 a month Golf still had money for a monthly trip to the beach or back north to her parents. Thailand can be REALLY cheap if you know what you’re doing. If you’re willing to sacrifice a bit even you and I could probably get by on 25,000 Bt a month (I wouldn’t really want to try now though – maybe when I was 23 y/o).

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About the Author

Steve started Thailand Musings in 2006 after meeting and marrying Golf on the site Thai Love Links. The site was started as a way to share information about Thailand, it's people, culture and traditions and has grown substantially since that time. As a long time visitor to the Kingdom Steve hopes you enjoy his thoughts and observations about Thailand and it's culture. He can be contacted here.

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7 Responses to “Income for Women in Thailand”

geomark 5 January 2008 at 11:59 pm Permalink

Yep, my niece graduated from college and got a job at Honda’s Thailand design center, a pretty good position for a new grad, and a very good starting salary of 13,000 baht per month. She was ecstatic about it.
Steve 6 January 2008 at 3:50 pm Permalink

Yes I’m sure she was. That’s about what Golf was making right out of school as an RN too. After 3 years she was up to 16,000 baht a month plus they gave her an apartment near the hospital. Obviously she was dumbfounded when she got to the States and saw that she could make in 2-3 days what she had made in a month in Bangkok.
geomark 6 January 2008 at 7:59 pm Permalink

Thai people become equally dumbfounded when they then see how expensive things are in the States. How to make U.S. wages but have Thailand cost of living…
Steve 6 January 2008 at 8:30 pm Permalink

Yep, my wife is still shocked at some of the prices after being here for over a year. Only two ways I can think of to make a US salary with Thailand cost of living. One is to get a job with a large multi-national corporation and get an assignment in Bangkok (not very likely for most) and the second is to create a portable job that you can do anywhere and then move to Thailand. Obviously we are opting for the latter route :>)
2.el buhar kazanı 6 March 2008 at 9:34 am Permalink

My friend tought about to got thailand, and set up there. He is an engineer, government need enginner in thailand.
Amitav Pal 27 June 2010 at 6:29 am Permalink

Hi,
I am a Training Manager in India. I work for MetLife India Insurance. I wanna settle at Thailand. Can you tell the details that how can i apply and how?????????????

Regards

Amit