Although there are many western men in Thailand, there are less western women. The western women who do come don’t stay long. That’s why, when it comes to jobs for western women other than teaching there are a lot of fun jobs out there desperate to be filled. If you’re a western woman in Thailand, planning on coming soon or just on vacation and wanting to make some extra money, but you don’t really want to teach, consider some of these interesting jobs. You’ll have a blast and the money’s good too.
Modeling – I have several western female friends who stumbled into modeling while in Thailand. With hundreds of magazines, newspapers and TV commercials produced in Thailand every month, there’s a lot of work for western women who might enjoy modeling. No experience is necessary. All you need is to be relatively young (no older than 30), thin and, if you’re blonde, that will help too. The great thing about modeling in Thailand if you’re a western woman is you don’t even have to be that tall as Thai models are often short compared to their western counterparts.
If you decide to get into modeling in Thailand, you’ll get to do beach shoots, studio shoots, go off on location, even walk the cat walk at Bangkok malls showing off the latest Thai fashion. Money, of course, is nowhere near as high as a model would make in the west, but it pays better per day than teaching. One of my friends who is currently modeling is turning down work daily as there’s so much and not enough western women to do it. Sign up with several modeling agencies and get to work.
Acting – Another fun job for western women in Thailand is acting. There are tons of TV shows and movies shot in the Land of Smiles and a fair few have parts for western women. Here, you don’t have to be young and thin, older women have a shot too. You also don’t need to speak Thai as, often, your part will be in English or, so small you can learn the couple of Thai sentences in no time flat.
Paying upwards of 10,000 baht ($300) for a day’s work, acting in Thailand can be fun and lucrative. You’ll find ads for ‘actors wanted’ in English language newspapers and magazines in Thailand as well as job boards on the internet.
Voice Overs For TV and Radio Commercials – There are quite a few commercials made in Thailand in English or requiring a western women speaking Thai with a western accent. Having experience with doing voice overs in the west is a definite advantage but it’s not a requirement. Companies also look for various accents – British, American, Australian, Swedish, German etc., so there are opportunities for western women from many different countries. Recording a voice over usually only takes an hour or two, so you’ll have plenty of time for sightseeing or traveling in Thailand.
Writing and Proof Reading – Another fun job for western women in Thailand is being a writer or proofreader. Many Thai companies hire western women (and men) to write articles, brochures, training manuals, advertising material etc. Jobs in this field can be fun as they’re often freelance and give you a lot of time to travel. Many are also via internet so you don’t have to sit in an office all day bored out of your mind.
Pay is good and, as writing and proofreading can be done from anywhere as long as you have a computer, this job is popular with western women who don’t like to be tied down.
Just four fun jobs for western women in Thailand, so it doesn’t all have to be about teaching. Just remember, most of these jobs are freelance and, technically, if you’re working for a Thai company you should have a work permit. However, the Thai government seems to turn a blind eye to westerners working in these fields. Just be relaxed and don’t cause trouble and you’ll have no problems.
