MoonWrasse
Contributor
I believe the average wage in Thailand is about 200 Baht per day, which works out to about $5 US. That's for a hard, long day of work.Louie:In the Gulf of Th, the common rate for freelancers is 25% of course cost. Going rate for OW is around 8300 to 8500 baht per person so 25% of that minus pic card cost is 2000 per student. Some places hire instructors on wages or employ a system of pooled rates.
However, if you do something that a DM is able to do (such as guided dives or Scuba Reviews), you may get a DM rate which is lower (around 500 - 600 baht/per day).
So for foreigners, 600 Baht/day ($15) is alot less than they'd be used to, but for Thais it's an ok living
so you get a lot of attention, loving care, etc for your $1.
BTW, the crew of the boats can earn less than the DMS.
That's another reason why I make a point to tip DMs, crew, hotel maids every day - it really means alot
to them, and it sickens me when well healed westerners won't even tip a single Baht (2.5 cents).
Oh, and the quality in my experience over the past decade in Thailand has been that the Thais are top notch, some having even been to medical school.