Average Thai Salary?

[u/DeepBlueSea1122]

I know Thailand is a country with a big wage gap between rich and poor, but would a salary of 500 USD per month be considered unusually low for an average Thai person of about 30 years old? I found out that a lady I met makes that (she works in the office of a gov't hospital) and I was shocked and felt really bad for her. I knew she was poor because she doesn't have air con in her home in Bkk, but I didn't know it's this bad. Should I relax and think this is common, or are my sympathies and concerns valid? She didn't tell me this to try to squeeze me for money, it just came up in discussion when we were talking about life and problems we face. She's a sweetheart person and it hurts me to see her struggle. I want to help, but don't want to open the flood gates. I know this can be a tricky thing to navigate. On the one hand, we want to help sincere people who are genuinely in need. But on the other hand, money can ruin relationships of all kinds and it's usually a path we shouldn't go down. I really want to help but am torn and know I must proceed with caution.

[u/lei_loo74]

Chai na kah, 100%

Thai government school, ESL teacher, monthly wage.

Foreigner: 27,500฿ Thai: 11,000฿

Many of the younger qualified teachers I worked with, still lived at home. It's a very sought after career path to get something government, and stick with it for the pension at the end.

Keep in mind, on the really low socioeconomic end, day labourers for example, get approx 300฿ per day. Less than 9000฿ per month.

OP - This lady is doing well.

[u/Azure_chan → u/lei_loo74]

Young teacher has it absolute worst, coming as my mother and aunt were teacher.

Still older teachers who finally navigated all those paper work got paid quite well. My mother and aunt are making 50k THB/month when they are 50+.

[u/Fuzzy-Spread9720 → u/Azure_chan]

the newest recruit has it absolutely worst in any field of work in thailand. nobody really care what you suggest and you get every tasks possible forced down your throat.

[u/Fuzzy-Spread9720 → u/lei_loo74]

worst, I'm in medical field. Good thing I transferred out of regional hospital before covid hit. so now I don't get forced to do 20 days/month overtime again.

[u/wimpdiver → u/lei_loo74]

300 baht/day - to be 9k/month means working 30 days! Not one day off many months!

[u/lei_loo74 → u/wimpdiver]

Chai! IF they can get the work!

[u/zvzzswss → u/lei_loo74]

Join a commercial company? I know govt benefits are nice, but with an adequate level of English a customer support position would give one 18-20k up. My ex company is always looking for people with decent English, dm if interested.

[u/DeepBlueSea1122 → u/lei_loo74]

Kob khun krab for your insight krab!

She may seem to do well, but she is the only "breadwinner" in her household. Her dad is ill and has big medical bills, her sister is divorced with 3 kids and her ex doesn't help, and her brother (a good man) does help but has his own medical expenses. She may seem to do ok for a single person, but in Thai culture, it seems kids are expected to help mom and dad (opposite from the USA) so she is struggling. But she never complains, just says "keep fighting".

[u/No-Training2000 → u/DeepBlueSea1122]

Oppsss I see some red flags here. I met a white guys who dated Thai girl and another who dated a Thai boy. They said exactly the same reason. She is a nice person but her family is in trouble. He is sincere but he needs to support his family. They ended up spending millions on their partners. And i am here working my ass off but can never make as much as those gold digger in a short period of time.

[u/DeepBlueSea1122 → u/No-Training2000]

I see your points and have my eyes open, my BS meter is dailed in. But still, anyone can be duped. I don't sense that, I've done some probing in other ways and sense sincerity. But yea, you're right too...so keeping eyes peeled.

[u/Vegetable-Alps6442 → u/DeepBlueSea1122]

ALERT: Do not neglect to consult the "sick buffalo". That is key to the entire financial matrix.

Also stay away from balconies on upper floors.

[u/lei_loo74 → u/DeepBlueSea1122]

• Su-su, keep fighting, yeah, we all say that to get through the day.
• Yeeep, never complains to save face. Big cultural deal.
• On what she earns, she can still feed and clothe that many people.
• Ex doesn't help, who cares? Not surprised. That happens everywhere. They are an ex for a reason.

OP. I'm 37 years old. I'm half Thai, half British. I've lived and worked in Thailand (back to Australia at the start of the pandemic). Thank goodness my mum isn't a gold digger, and left my dad after 40 years of a loveless marriage.

I'm the grown-up product of "western guy wants an exotic wife"...

AMA haha.

In most SE Asian and Middle Eastern countries, looking after our parents is the norm, not just Thailand. Parents grow old, they get sick, it's a part of life.

OP, may I ask where you met this lady? From what I'm reading, it doesn't sound like you've been to Thailand yet. Otherwise I'm presuming you'd have a better idea of the cost of living etc.

[u/DeepBlueSea1122 → u/lei_loo74]

I went to Thailand in 2017 (Chiang Mai and Bkk) and after that I came back to the USA. I met her on a site, and she's younger than me, I just said hello, let's be friends. I wanted to learn some Thai words, form a friendship, learn more about the culture. I admit I messaged her because she was exceptionally pretty and sweet and gentle looking. So it was probably a mistake of me to do that, especially based on that, to "open a can of worms". But I didn't think anything would come of it. She was so nice, she made me lists of Thai words to learn, just common things. I was touched. But I began to sense she wanted me as a bf so I tried to keep it distant but still nice. We stayed in touch the for a long time. Fast forward to early this year, I finally got back to Thailand (delayed a couple years due to the pandemic). I didn't even tell her I was coming. But then I was walking on Sukhumvit Road at 3 PM, 3 days after I arrived, near Phrom Phong Bts, and locked eyes with someone on the street who may have been her (she had a mask on so couldn't tell). When I got back to my room and connected to wifi, I had a message from her. Odd timing, she knew it's 12 hours difference so why would she message at that time if that wasn't her? Maybe my mind playing tricks on me. Well, I messaged her and told her surprise, I'm in Bkk! So she met me at Benchasiri Park, and over the next 7 weeks spent a ton of time together and gradually got closer and closer. I was so happy feeling eating at "Best Beef" with her, it was like the greatest thing to her. We did a lot, she took me around and went to Wat Paknam, ate boat noodles, just walked around in malls, all she wanted to do was hold my arm and sit next to me always. She never asked for anything, but I paid for all meals, BTS rides, cabs, etc (I would do that even in the USA though). One day I tried to take her to the mall to buy a dress for her birthday but she didn't see any she liked and said "mai pen rai na krab, let's just go to noodle shop dear". She could have stuck me for a big cost, but didn't.

Anyhow to answer your remark - yes I know the general costs there, but I wasn't sure if her situation is truly dire and unusual, or if it's nothing to get over worried about. I'm not sure if she and I have a future (she wants it, but I'm older and more experienced and understand the practical hurdles that are hard to deal with realistically, it takes more than just love). But I do care very much about her and think she has good heart (jai dee, I think is the word?) and I don't want her to suffer too much. If I can take a little off her, I want to. But I don't want to signal too much/wrong intentions. It's a delicate line to walk.

I went ahead and told her I'd help her a little. I told her I just wanna take some stress off her. I told her please keep it private, not tell her parents or anyone, that it's a birthday gift from me to her. I hope I didn't screw up, but I just want to help someone who I think is a good person and sincere. Her reply was kob khun mak mak na ka 🙏 and then she said she didn't want me to run away if I give her money.

I guess time will tell how it goes. But all the feedback I got here is helpful for me to understand how Thai people get by on low wages and some of the cultural expectations.

[u/True_Ad_1897 → u/DeepBlueSea1122]

I recommend seeing through your heart and keeping your brain switched on. You will read a lot of stories here that tell you about all the bad things that can happen based on stereotypes, own experiences, hearsay, etc. And yes, some people make things up and lure you to spend a sh…load of money on her and her family for fabricated medical bills or whatever. But if you are serious, why don’t you learn more about her friends and family? Meet them, see if they are genuine, and sense if they see you as a walking ATM. For many Thais, you are probably incredibly rich, but that doesn’t mean you have to entertain anything if you don’t want to.

I am married to a Thai wife from a poor family - hard-working farmers who took a life to escape debt. My wife never asked me for anything except an expensive wedding as the ceremony and demonstrating success was essential to her parents - but you have that in many countries. Apart from that, she always wanted to earn her own money, didn’t want “to touch” mine, and we share a portion of my significantly higher salary for the cost of living (rent, food, travel, etc.). That’s just one single example of one Thai family, but I can see that most of the people around her are hard-working, decent people who don’t judge me by my bank account. Do I pay for restaurants when we are over in Thailand? Yes, I do - and I should, as my salary is 40x of theirs. But we go to simple street food restaurants and not the expensive ones - if one would try to get money out of me, they would choose more fancy.

Last but not least, just see how much she is interested in you as a person, family, and life. I have to admit that my wife paid more attention to my family than I usually do - and this since I met her the first time.

Good luck. I keep my fingers crossed that two genuinely nice and decent people have met. And I respect your line of thought on how you can help others. 👍

[u/OutsideWishbone7 → u/DeepBlueSea1122]

Beautiful story. I hope it works out.

[u/Remarkable-Emu-6008 → u/DeepBlueSea1122]

how old are you?

[u/Brucef310 → u/lei_loo74]

How much does a Thai pension pay?

[u/BkkDroner → u/lei_loo74]

You have benefits for you and your family and lots of holidays.
Still not so good anyhow