VN Career Advice

Jakejas,

You are making your way out of College Station because your boys are in the SEC now, right? 

But, to answer some of your concerns:

1.  You are entering your prime.  You have nothing to worry about, when it comes to your age.  As a matter of fact, companies in Vietnam prefer younger enployees.  The Vietnamese population is very young itself.

2.  You don't have to teach English.  You can work for various companies there; the manufacturing sector is growing in Vietnam.  Look to see if you can latch onto one of the American companies or their subsidiaries in the area.  You can also start your own company in Vietnam and sell your products or services to the many companies there...  I think your chance at landing an employment contract or subcontract with, say GM or Ford, is much better than anyone else's.

3.  I wasn't born with international business experience.  I developed it, and you can do the same.  Furthermore, if you can land a job with one of those global giants, whether it being an employee or a subcontractor, no one will demand international business experience from you.  But, everyone will teach you a whole bunch.

Career path:  Surfed the clouds and sailed the 7 seas as an Enlisted Aircrewman, with the US Navy.  Got my BA, in Political Science, from the University of California.  Spent a year studying International Law, at the University of Southern California.  Took my family's garment manufacturing business and globalized it.  Came to Vietnam because I was born there and could communicate fairly well.  Started a clothes and cosmetics retail business, reclaimed my Vietnamese citizenship, and became worry-free.

A typical Vietnamese career path?  Raised on a farm.  Attended the Bo Tuc Van Hoa (Remedial Studies) University.  Zoomed to the top, thanks to family ties to the Party.  Drink like a fish and spend public money as if it is about to go out of circulation.  Then, look for ways to immigrate to College Station, to avoid persecution.

I would say that the fore-mentioned paths are vastly different. 

You can live with as many Vietnamese as you want, and for as long as you please, but if you don't speak the language, you will not be able to get at half of what I had just told you.  80% of the people in Vietnam don't speak any English.  Then, if you don't speak Vietnamese, how are you going to communicate and establish trust.  Vietnam is a place that does not have a criminal background check system, neither does it have a credit scoring system.  Everything is still depended upon a person's network and the trustworthiness of such network.

Last but not least, when it comes to pay, you must take this into consideration:  In Vietnam, compensations are still largely performance-based.  Vietnamese, aside from their basic pays, get bonuses on holidays.  Gee.  Some even get bonuses on their birthdays or wedding days.  Call it what you will.  But that is how Vietnam is.

Howie, thank you for the reply. That is some good information.

Lol, I left College Station in 2008 when I graduated, but was a loyal fan even though at times our team seemed “sub-par”. I am thrilled that we are doing good now . My little brother is still in school there, so I like to go up and visit him on game weekends. He lives conveniently between the bars and the stadium.

2. Is private contracting big in VN? I have been considering making a long-term goal of being a contractor or starting a small contracting company. In the US, it is not normal for someone with such little experience (5 years) to get a contracting gig, but if that is acceptable in VN I would love to give it a shot.

Learning Vietnamese is one of my long-term goals and a big reason why I want to go to VN. My wife and her sisters speak English, but the rest of my in-laws only speak Vietnamese. I get along extremely well with my in-laws and would like to get to know them better. The only way I can see doing that is to move to VN and learn Vietnamese, so that will be a top priority when I move.

Will a lack of Vietnamese-language skills prohibit me from getting a job with an international company? I am not sure if I will add a lot of value to a company if I can not speak with the majority of the employees in the company.

Do you have any clue where multinational companies in VN usually recruit from? For example, I know Nike has some factories over there, but I can't find any job postings on their website.

I don't have any problem with performance-based pay. In fact, I think it has many merits. I had one company ask me what I wanted to get paid, and I had to give a number on the spot. Is that normal? After I gave the number, I got the feeling that it was too high, but it was substantially less than I make now. I tried to do some research online about what is a normal salary range for my qualifications, but I couldn't find anything definative.

The majority of the companies in Vietnam are contractors or sub-contractors.  That is why you didn't find any position available on the Nike website.  They contract their works out to Korean-, Taiwanese- or Indian-based contractors, who in turn, sub-contract them to Vietnamese manufacturers. 

But, in order for you to get at a position with one of those contractors or sub-contractors, you will need to speak Vietnamese.  Unless you are really good, I highly doubt that any one of them would hire a translator to help you communicate.  That is why I encouraged you to look into your particular industry and starting your own little contracting business.  With your engineering background and Vietnamese family ties, I am sure you will find something.