Reader's submission: Which professions can Thai ladies practice in Belgium/the Netherlands?
Imagine, you get to know a nice Thai lady in Thailand, you like to build a future together, you get married and she moves to the Netherlands or Belgium after all the administrative hassle of the marriage and migration is over.
And then after the period of the long-distance relationship with many trips back and forth between Thailand and Europe, daily life begins: your wife wants to find a job in Belgium / the Netherlands. And then the question arises: which professions are realistic for Thai ladies in our low countries? Possible professions seem to me:
- Thai massage
- cleaning lady
- chambermaid hotel
- hotel breakfast room
- working in (Thai) restaurant in the hall
- working in (Thai) restaurant in the kitchen
- bar help in Thai cafe or other cafe
- sell Thai food at Thai events or markets
- sales/import of Thai products (I think the possibilities are very limited there)
- hairdresser
- production worker
Very nice specific professions that are possible but in which very little work can be found:
- Thai language teacher
- translator/interpreter Thai – Dutch
- administration at Thai embassy/consulate
Professions that have an international character where they can get started fairly quickly are the following:
- IT/software programmer
- webmaster
- scientific research
- flight attendant
Occupations for which I think further training will be required are the following. But since the demand for these profiles is so great on the labor market, the government and companies provide a lot of training with even financial support during your education:
- nurse
- elderly care
- bookkeeping/accountant
and then last but not least:
- apotheke is
- physician/general practitioner/specialist
- lawyer
- engineers
- managers
- real estate agents
And to finish something special:
Musician/producer/DJ, Thailand has a lot of people working in the music industry. Of course something very specific that requires little work, but something very nice.
And which professions are almost impossible? Where there is a will there is a way. But they will have to persevere to find their way in these professions.
- teacher in primary education
- editors
Which also worries me a little to close the story. someone who used to be a teacher in Thailand, for example, and has to do something completely different here with us because otherwise she won't find a job, which she says after 3 years. “I've had it, it doesn't work here, I don't feel good about it at all, I'm going back to Thailand. I want to do something I studied for.”
What experiences do the readers of Thailandblog have with this? Please your comments, do you agree with what I write? Do you have any things I haven't thought of? What are your personal experiences? How do you see it? I am mainly looking for advice/ideas for women with a bachelor/master/PhD background.
Regards,
Luka
In fact, you yourself already give a – rather utopian – answer to the question.
You shouldn't take that bachelor/master/phd background seriously. That is really nothing in Thailand and as far as I know, the diplomas as such are not recognized in the Netherlands.
You are therefore considered unskilled in the Netherlands and there is no more than a profession for the unskilled.
Your summary is devoid of any sense of reality.
And we are not even talking about the language barrier.
Sorry French,
It is not common that Thai universities are not much. My wife has a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree from a well-known university in Bangkok. We live in Germany and have had her bulls recognized in Germany. There are lists of "quality" universities and the university where my wife studied is rated as equivalent in Germany.
The next step is getting ready to find a suitable job, which starts with mastering the language, which we are now working on
Honestly, I have yet to encounter the first relationship with a Farang and a Thai lady who either has a university degree or wealthy parents. I have yet to meet the first farang who says my friend's parents own a hotel or are both doctors or engineers.
I am a bit convinced that a Thai lady will only enter into a relationship with a Westerner once they have reached the bottom of the well.
They will exist but it is a very small minority in my humble opinion. By the way, love here is not directly based on the same as with us…..there is always that little bit more that is a requirement.
The bottom of the well may be a bit exaggerated. A single lady, gentleman will still be able to fall in love with a young attractive farang boy. But in essence you are right of course. Status-enhancing is a relationship with a farang everything except in Thailand. If you do it anyway, it must yield returns. Large houses, maintenance of in-laws, education of children from previous relationships, etc. Still, I believe that there are still relationships that stem from true love! Mine? Or also an illusion?
Would it be any different in the rest of the great animal forest?
I can safely say that our relationship is based on love.
I've never had to support my family, I've helped them a few times, but that's at my request. We have been together for over 25 years and have 25 more to go I hope.
Still forgotten:
A former colleague, an Englishman, is married to a Thai teacher (high school); a German friend is married to a Thai who has a BBA in computer science; the oldest princess in this country was married to an American.
Now that I think about it, I don't know a single foreigner who lives in Bangkok and is married to a Thai woman/man who hasn't studied and/or comes from a poor (read: farming) family.
What utter nonsense. After my Cambodian !! wife and I are married, her status in our Thai city has been greatly elevated. What never happened: we are now invited to dinners at former bosses, we are friends with notables in town, we have connections with the town hall, the police, and so on.
They know: the Farang has money, money is status, status is friendship in Thai style.
And that gives us all sorts of benefits all the time.
Should we have a meeting? My wife has a bachelor's degree in engineering and has been the general manager of a medium-sized construction company with foreign shareholders for 10 years. My colleague Laurent is married to a Thai lady who has an MBA and after being ambassador for Thailand to the EU in Brussels and in Senegal is now head of the diplomatic department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, say of all ambassadors of Thailand .
And our women are certainly not the only ones.
Bravo! Let this be a lesson to those who regularly, perhaps unknowingly and/or unintentionally, but still generalize and condescend about Thai women in general, and Thai women in relationships with farang men in particular. The vicarious blush of shame regularly rises to my jaws here.
I agree with many commenters that Luka may have a too rosy picture of the possibilities of many Thai ladies in the Netherlands, but it does not hurt to realize that what we perceive in our environment does not always have to be decisive for a whole group.
Yes, most Thai women who come to the West for a relationship with a man are low-educated and have problems with the language, because the transition is really big for them (as it would be for us the other way around). My girlfriend is also low-skilled, but has managed to develop herself through her perseverance, ambition and intelligence, and is still growing. Much depends on one's own attitude, but also on the mentality of the man; for many men it is not necessary and it is actually better that such a “female” does not develop too much and perhaps becomes a bit “too wise”…
No, let me say it nicely: The fact that she works there says nothing about the Thai level of education, that this should be good.
Honestly, everyone has been here to the Univercity, right?
But I'm not saying she's retarded either, someone needs to get the position.
Peter this is a strange comment. Reading your response, I find it rather degenerate.
It is really not the case that everyone gets a job just like that. Also in Thailand it is true that you must have qualities if you want to get a job at a high level.
I taught in the Netherlands at an HTS. I also know that there are students that I would NEVER but really NEVER hire at my company while they still have a diploma.
Worked for a large multinational myself. The head of engineering on site came from the “family” after having “functioned” for three years and was promoted to head of maintenance of a smaller branch to learn the trade.
So please do not generalize and be demeaning about Thai levels and qualities.
You will find good and bad examples everywhere.
Do some self-reflection towards the Netherlands and start with politics.
a. Pechthold is above the law. Van Rey is sentenced.
b. D66 for referendums. If we don't vote as it should be, it will be quickly abolished again.
c. No money for disability, sick and state pensioners, but 1.4 billion for American investors.
d. Why is our gold reserve still in the USA after 70 years? It's a hostage.
e. I know more Dutch ladies of pleasure than Thai.
f.??
I believe that you have most likely had a very disappointing relationship
I think you should take a closer look around you and perhaps beyond the bar world.
I have been married for years to a woman who is an assoc.professor in a well-known BKK hospital.
Clearly not someone, which you so strikingly indicate, who has reached the bottom of the pit.
What is it called again, oh yes bias!
Fred then you should look around a bit better I think, my wife has a university degree and her parents are very wealthy, I don't think you have an income of roughly 300.000 baht / month 😉
Can (unmarried) gentlemen also participate? Not all Thai immigrants are female or married.
The Thai Bachelor and Master degrees are normally not accepted as such here, so often the Thai ladies and gentlemen also have to start at the bottom of the ladder in, for example, the hospitality industry or cleaning. That is not always easy if you are used to office work, for example. Don't forget the language barrier either. Even with good work experience and a lot of knowledge, you are well behind if you want to fulfill a higher position in a Dutch-speaking environment.
Of course you can also offer them an international education, so that they don't have to start in cleaning, etc.
A lot will depend on the way/level of command of the Dutch language. Personally, I know several Thai ladies in my area in the Netherlands who have a paid job. Some speak so limited or bad Dutch that it is difficult for me to understand them or only with concentrated listening. One cleans holiday homes and the other picks apples and pears in season, and tomatoes in a greenhouse outside. I know someone who has been here for barely 2 years and who speaks Dutch almost as well as I do. She has a nice job at a hair salon. I think it is primarily in the language mastery.
Did some research a few years ago.
Of the international relationships, those in which both partners have a low level of education last the longest on average.
Learn the language and go into politics. No training required.
Unlike Filipino ladies who speak good English, it is not easy for Thai ladies to find a good job.
so a cleaning lady or help in hotel and Thai restaurants can offer a solution…
I also know one who is very good at her job as a strawberry picker in the summer because Thai ladies can easily work in a squatting position!
I know a few Thais who have made something of life in the Netherlands and Belgium.
One street from me lives a couple, he Dutch, she Thai.
Came to the Netherlands in mid-2004.
In Thailand she worked at a university in Bangkok.
Naturalized in the Netherlands within 6 months.
Enrolled in a university of applied sciences with her PHD.
Graduated cum laude in civil engineering in two and a half years.
After that, she obtained her university degree in 3 years and started working at a Dutch architectural firm.
Now still working there for 3 days a week.
How so bad?
If you want to invest as a partner, a lot is possible, also for people with limited training in Thaland. After 6 months of language lessons, my now ex-partner successively followed MBO 1 (1 year) MBO 2 (1 year) MBO 3 in 2 and a half years and completed it in the direction of financial administration. Also done MBO 4 but not completed. New partner ... no more focus. The entire process took almost 7 years from arrival in NL to what could have been an MBO 4 diploma. She does have a permanent job at the Bijenkorf. I have the same trajectory for my new Filipino partner, despite the fact that she only followed 2 years of secondary education there. Don't invest too long in language training, but just start with the basics of MBO and then you can even go to MBO 4 to HBO. Dutch diplomas lose a lot of their market value after 3 years if they are not used. This applies even more to foreign diplomas. Diploma in appreciation by Nuffic is a farce if it has not been obtained recently and something in a comparable (study) direction is being used. I am a work adviser and wage value expert and know what is going on in the labor market. Many people waste their time in language courses thinking that they can go on to higher education.
I think some of the professions for Thai ladies listed in the list are wishful thinking rather than real.
But there seems to be little need: I have been looking for a cook for a long time for a real job in our restaurant in Belgium Heist op den Berg…. nothing to find. Don't even know Dutch, but understand English. If there is a candidate, I would very much like to hear from the editors.
all beautiful, but in my circle of friends (at least ten that I know!) barely half who have lived here for ten years know our language, how can they find work, I always wonder, yes some have a good sponsor here and then it's not necessary, but they still like to have an extra penny! the fault often lies with the man himself!, at least try to speak the language in belgium, instead of always using english!
Thai people find it difficult to find work because of this
Language
Required degrees
Work pressure/work pace
I don't know any Thai people who are on the factory band.
I know a Thai lady in her forties who has a University degree in Political Science. She failed her intensive Dutch course after the first module. She found it more difficult than her college degree…
I do realize that the Dutch language is difficult for Thai / Asians, given that many sounds are unknown.
My experience with my Thai ex-wife from Isan: She graduated from Khon Kaen State University as a Mathematics teacher. She was only able to teach in Thailand for one year, then she moved to me in the Netherlands in 2006. Within 5 years she was integrated here and neutralized to Dutch.
Her Thai state diploma was valued one to one here in the Netherlands. This allowed her to teach here in the Netherlands in the lower years at a HAVO VWO. Only the pedagogical part turned out to be a stumbling block. If she could demonstrably teach full-time for one year, the pedagogical part was also awarded. Unfortunately, this also turned out to be a stumbling block in practice: a sweet, gentle, short woman in front of the class, full of large, assertive, rebellious and brutal teenagers was an unequal battle. Please keep quiet, coats off, caps off, phones off. Often she came home with tears in her eyes because the students acted ugly or got bad results, which of course was the fault of the teacher. Unfortunately, she has stopped teaching and is now doing highly skilled production work.
What I want to say is that it is indeed possible to get a good diploma evaluation.
At least for math.
Which jobs are suitable for a Thai woman living in the Netherlands depends on three types of conditions:
1. the qualifications that an employer requires of the person who must fill the job. In many cases, but not in all, (some) command of the Dutch language is a requirement. However, at the university where I worked in the Netherlands, I had foreign colleagues who spoke absolutely no Dutch. Wasn't necessarily necessary when all teaching and all meetings are in English. My mother's maid is from Afghanistan and can make herself understood in Dutch. No more.
2. the qualifications of the Thai fold and/or the motivation to meet those qualifications through additional training;
3. the presence or absence of the partner's incentive to find work or to follow training in order to find work.
Dear people,
love all those comments and comments. But let's turn the story around. What are the chances of a Belgian or Dutch person in Thailand. I think most people in Thailand live on benefits, pensions and equity. I don't think a Thai employer is waiting for us, Or do you think differently?
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2018
Regards Anthony
dear Anthony,
Thousands of foreigners are working here in Thailand, including Belgians and Dutch. In international companies, much less in Thai-owned companies, but in education and also as a volunteer. And a number of them are independent entrepreneurs or digital nomads.
And here too: speaking the Thai language is an advantage, but not a necessity for some jobs; for some jobs it is an advantage that you are a foreigner and the enthusiasm of your partner also plays a role.
There is, however, an important difference: the Belgian or Dutch who works here will in almost all cases (with the exception of those who still have an employment contract with Western conditions) fall sharply behind in terms of money and social benefits: salary, vacation days, surrender of AOW, no pension accrual, no social benefits, just to name a few.