I have been visiting Thailand since 1979 and living here permanantly for the past 8 years. I hold a Masters in English and have been coaxed out of retirement to teach here for the past 4 years. I am not a regular visitor to this site, but I must admit that I have checked out the job section on occasion. I have yet to apply for any of the positions posted here as I have always found applying directly to the school I wish to work with has always been more successful for me. But I must agree with most of the people who have posted comments. The wages advertised on here go from ridiculous to downright insulting. I believe this may be for several reasons.

One being that it would appear ajarn.com is designed for people who hold a TEFL certificate. This is not to say that there aren't some very good instructors with this type of certification. To the contrary, I have had the pleasure of working with a few that are truly dedicated and hardworking individuals. One must consider that a TEFL certificate is not a diploma from an institution of higher learning. A three to six month training course is not closely equivalant to the years of sacrifice and study it takes to receive a degree in education. Although it may be enough to find work in a developing country, it is not recognised, and I believe one would be far pressed to find employment, in a native English speaking country. Therein lies the basis for most of the low wages offered by advertisers on your site.

Perhaps ajarn should stop accepting these "crappy job ads." But of course as Donald points out, "It's a business", and you have a right to be paid for your time.
So what can one do? I further agree with Donald's point that we shouldn't shoot the messenger but instead we should take our complaints to the source. Perhaps if we as instructors went one step further and refused to apply for or accept these low paying jobs the advertisers would be forced to offer higher wages. But of course, therein lies the rub. I must agree with Dan on his point about supply and demand. How can we possibly expect unity from a large segment of, "so called teachers", that are willing to work for, "nothing more than a non immigrant-B"?

Thank you for providing this space for myself, and others, to air our opinions. If nothing else ajarn.com gives us a place to find and consider other points of view. In closing I would like to take one parting shot at all the complainers out there. Thailand is my adopted home. I love this country and her people. It is not perfect and there are many things that must change, but I hope to live out the few years I have left here. We must all take responsibility for the choices we make including the wages we agree to work for. The last time I checked, other than those in incarceration, nobody is forced to stay here. Flights leave daily for all points of the globe. If this country is not to your liking you can leave any time you choose. In other words... "If you can't take the heat, get the hell out of the kitchen."

Marcus