English Teaching Job Prospects

What do you mean by "how much do you guys think I need to start"?  i.e., how much what?

Money to get settled, etc. I was thinking $2,000 USD

$2,000 is more or less 2 months worth of living expenses.  What is your fall-back plan if you don't get a teaching job?  Will you have enough money to buy a plane ticket home?

as for your prospects, you will be fine if you have good english and an american/british/australian accent.

HI quynh27 - I was wondering how you got on with a teaching post in Vietnam. I am in a similar boat (qualified with experience), however want more to find to help the poor working with support groups so ESL would be a fall back or support income in between..nice to here from someone who has recently made the move 

Quynh you are not native English by the simple fact you have Asian features. Just something to be aware of but still apply for all jobs that say native English required and if they say otherwise tell them you were born in USA.

I'm here and everything's good! I substitute at an international school, tutor 5 days/week, and teach English 2x/week. Finding a job is really not a big issue at all; you just have to be persistent in applying to a lot of places. Things move really quickly here which is nice bc you hear back from places early if you hear back at all.  I spend around 70 USD/week usually and that includes xe om, food, laundry, etc. (and "splurging" at western restaurants/bars on weekends). If you eat at the local places, your average meal is a dollar. Everything's cheap here so you should be okay while you look for a job, assuming you have enough to get you by for 2 months (you'll have to wait a month before you get paid too). I think it's great that you want to come over here and help out; there's many options to do so, including volunteer teaching/tutoring English to a poorer demographic. Good luck on your move!

Hello.
Nice too meet you here.
Thanks for advice.

Greg

Hi Quyhn. It looks like you adapted real well. I never thought cheap and HCMC belong in the same sentence. I need to find out where you eat. Each time I go out to dine, the restaurants were more than happy to help me relieve the burden of carrying too much Dong in my wallet. The banh mi or banh bao vendors were the only exception. I love eating bread and butter. People look at me funny when I only eat the bread.

I will be visiting Vietnam soon. If I am able to spend twice what you spend a week, I would be real happy. I think the figure you give is low due to xe om. The driver was conditioned to visiting too much cafe om. He must have felt obligated to pay you for the service instead. J/K. The last time I rode xe om the driver charged me 30,000 dong for a very short distance (< 1 mile). I guess I was not cute enough to get a discount.

Anyway, it is good to know getting a teaching job in HMCH is not hard. I will keep that in mind for Plan B in the future. Since I have no experience in teaching English, I prefer to teach computers instead due to the fact I have over 15 years of IT experience. I wish you continued success in your career.

It's easy to eat cheap, here's my number one tip,keep away from D1.

Thats great news you are settled and everything  went smooth . Thats great you are tutoring too! SOunds like a perfect start for you

I'm in Ho Chi Minh city from the 1st Jan staying for a couple weeks to learn the Vietnamese language but had a rethink on working in the city (I seem to have moral issues about earning 10 times the wage of local average person) , a contact is kindly (hopefully) sorting me out with a school in Dalat though the wage will be a fraction of what the cities offer but balances out with the great opportunities to help within rural community and farmers.
Everyone on this expat site as soon as you mention you are an ESL teacher looking for work assumes:
a) You want to work in District 1 and with it a fat wage.
b) Live in western gentrified areas (thats why Im moving from the UK!!)

Each to their own I guess!! good luck and well done

You mention about earning more than the locals, this will come into play when you have to pay more for rent,living costs and the dreaded visas.Until you get to know prices here you will be charged anything they feel they can get away with, so the extra income comes in handy. If you have some cash to get you buy for the first year then the lower wage will not affect you.

quynh27 wrote:

I'm here and everything's good! I substitute at an international school, tutor 5 days/week, and teach English 2x/week. Finding a job is really not a big issue at all; you just have to be persistent in applying to a lot of places. ...

If you have degrees, or even a few years of experience teaching, you should try your luck at the universities. VN is very poor at teaching chemistry and physics. And the pay is better, too.

I tutor students who have never done physics (magnetising iron, making a compass), never dissected a frog or even made stink bombs in chemistry class!

theodatta wrote:

I'm in Ho Chi Minh city from the 1st Jan staying for a couple weeks to learn the Vietnamese language but had a rethink on working in the city (I seem to have moral issues about earning 10 times the wage of local average person) , a contact is kindly (hopefully) sorting me out with a school in Dalat though the wage will be a fraction of what the cities offer but balances out with the great opportunities to help within rural community and farmers.

1. You must be an optimist, and a memory like a parrot, if you think you can stay "couple weeks to learn the Vietnamese language";

2. You won't have any moral struggles, you will get underpaid, too - just like VNese - except they get pay increases stipulated by the government. Likely the 'poor farmers' will be making much more than you. (There's money in mislabelling food as 'organic')

Using your terms of reference:
1. Define "with it a fat wage".
2. Define areas you describe as "western gentrified".

Jaitch wrote:

theodatta wrote:

I'm in Ho Chi Minh city from the 1st Jan staying for a couple weeks to learn the Vietnamese language but had a rethink on working in the city (I seem to have moral issues about earning 10 times the wage of local average person) , a contact is kindly (hopefully) sorting me out with a school in Dalat though the wage will be a fraction of what the cities offer but balances out with the great opportunities to help within rural community and farmers.

1. You must be an optimist, and a memory like a parrot, if you think you can stay "couple weeks to learn the Vietnamese language";

2. You won't have any moral struggles, you will get underpaid, too - just like VNese - except they get pay increases stipulated by the government. Likely the 'poor farmers' will be making much more than you. (There's money in mislabelling food as 'organic')

Using your terms of reference:
1. Define "with it a fat wage".
2. Define areas you describe as "western gentrified".

Firstly, in response to your abrupt questions, I do not recall saying that I would be fluent in  stipulate that I would learn fluent Tieng Viet in 2 weeks (so slow down with your assumptions), I am in touch with Vietnamese Non profit organisations and learning exactly what the farmers income is so I don't recall asking for advice on that issue either. Are you asking to know what gentrification means or pre empting further advice on HCM? please do comment from your personal experiences in tis matter I would be happy to learn.
Please remember all comments I make are from others who have lived here in HCMC studied and worked over a period of years, obviously not my own experiences. Merely suggesting interest in other areas of HCMC other than D1 for work and living in the future.
On this blog there seems to be a rather large amount of self supporting opinions generalising facts only from personal experience/views great but also a fine line between that and factual information.

I have given advice to people who have just moved here, they have rolled their eyes when I stated some things to them about life here. About 12 months later they have actually acknowledge what I told them and apologised for thinking that I was talking through my arse.It comes down to listening and taking things on board, a lot of expats who live in gated communities and apartments have very little contact with locals outside of their work environment and have no understanding of what goes on around them,I'm generalising here. I have met guys who have been here for 20 years and they are clueless as to what is going on around them, mostly because their whole time was spent surrounded by other expats in expat areas.

So again,just come here get a feel for the place,get a motorbike,go around and keep away from the tourist areas. I think you have got the answers you need,so now its time to actually get things started and find out how things work without debating on a forum.

colinoscapee wrote:

You mention about earning more than the locals, this will come into play when you have to pay more for rent,living costs and the dreaded visas.Until you get to know prices here you will be charged anything they feel they can get away with, so the extra income comes in handy. If you have some cash to get you buy for the first year then the lower wage will not affect you.

Thanks for the advice Colin - I guess being charged what they get away with is nothing new  living in an Asian country...on the mention of visa's (again  ) do you as expats have to continuously renew your residency requirements? Is there no eventual long term permanent residency stamp once you have worked a few years?

The best advice I can give you is this, there is a section devoted to the visa issues in Viet Nam on this forum. Have a look at that, the only problem is that the government changes the laws like you change your clothes. The only long term situation you can gain is by getting married or a VEC(visa  exemption) they also still have to be stamped every three months.Hopefully one day when you get married here, that will be the end of it,no having to get a stamp every three months.

colinoscapee wrote:

I have given advice to people who have just moved here, they have rolled their eyes when I stated some things to them about life here. About 12 months later they have actually acknowledge what I told them and apologised for thinking that I was talking through my arse.It comes down to listening and taking things on board, a lot of expats who live in gated communities and apartments have very little contact with locals outside of their work environment and have no understanding of what goes on around them,I'm generalising here. I have met guys who have been here for 20 years and they are clueless as to what is going on around them, mostly because their whole time was spent surrounded by other expats in expat areas.

So again,just come here get a feel for the place,get a motorbike,go around and keep away from the tourist areas. I think you have got the answers you need,so now its time to actually get things started and find out how things work without debating on a forum.

I'm not there yet Colin, you saying  not to debate, isn't what these sites are here for? Im on this thread responding to the newcomer who got work teaching that is all - seeking out newcomers experiences is just as valid as folk who have lived there for whatever years

colinoscapee wrote:

The best advice I can give you is this, there is a section devoted to the visa issues in Viet Nam on this forum. Have a look at that, the only problem is that the government changes the laws like you change your clothes. The only long term situation you can gain is by getting married or a VEC(visa  exemption) they also still have to be stamped every three months.Hopefully one day when you get married here, that will be the end of it,no having to get a stamp every three months.

Thanks, worth knowing, reason for so many questions is spending months in paperwork fighting with immigration work/business  visas in a different country only last year; from the sounds of it, the legal clarity/consistency doesn't exist here.

Well no it's not really a debating site,it's about information,opinions and other people's experiences. I just feel your trying to look to deep into everything, you won't know how things really work till you actually live here. Gaining some insight is ok, but maybe learn by experience more then what you read on a forum.

theodatta wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

The best advice I can give you is this, there is a section devoted to the visa issues in Viet Nam on this forum. Have a look at that, the only problem is that the government changes the laws like you change your clothes. The only long term situation you can gain is by getting married or a VEC(visa  exemption) they also still have to be stamped every three months.Hopefully one day when you get married here, that will be the end of it,no having to get a stamp every three months.

Thanks, worth knowing, reason for so many questions is spending months in paperwork fighting with immigration work/business  visas in a different country only last year; from the sounds of it, the legal clarity/consistency doesn't exist here.

If you had to spend months fighting for visas, it would mean that you didn't meet the criteria as requested.

This thread is about someone settling into Ho Chi Minh and gaining teaching work - it turns into a debate when you have expats all voicing off much some not too friendly if I may add on their personal experiences - everyone has their own needs and questions, if i want to dig deep there will be someone who will answer it needn't be you - FYI I spent 6 months helping out communities in need raising awareness  about environmental issues starting creative music and language workgroups with local authors   with positive minded locals  - much of what I eventually intend to start in Vietnam - I did not fail to get in, I gave up with the process because of the complexity of the situation my Engineering degree being too old.

**Debates should be welcome here as everyone's goals & aims are different - No two peoples reasons for living are the same -  I sure won't be on here once I'm in Vietnam listening to knee jerk responses

You say you want information, yet you don't read what is given to you in reply. So here it is, go back and read what has been said, I will give you a hint,laws here change like you won't believe. By the time you get here, what is being said now could be obsolete,get it.

Heard it in your last thread, same words no more info?! just repeating same advice

Well good luck to you, I'm sure you will learn the hard way.

Wow really helpful Colin thanks

No problem, it's a forum remember ,everyone has an opinion like it or not.

Work visas are more easily obtained once you are in VN.  For a teaching job be sure to have the properly certified/notarized/verified copies of credentials.  Easier to do while at home than from here. 

If your school is going to go by the book, you need some sort of ESL credential.  Can be obtained at home, here, or online.  Some are more "impressive" than others and thus open some more doors. 

Lately the talk is about cracking down on teachers without all the proper documentations.  But it's likely a temporary thing.

Hi, I am looking for a native speaker/teacher to teach at my English Centre. Please contact me via email thao.tran@gurucentre.vn or via phone 0903 33 85 74 if you are looking for a job of a teacher.

Thanks.

thaolovely74 wrote:

Hi, I am looking for a native speaker/teacher to teach at my English Centre. Please contact me via email thao.tran@gurucentre.vn or via phone 0903 33 85 74 if you are looking for a job of a teacher.

Thanks.

Which centre would that be.

colinoscapee wrote:

Which centre would that be.

Colin, maybe this centre: https://www.facebook.com/gurucentre.vn

theodatta wrote:

Thats great news you are settled and everything  went smooth . Thats great you are tutoring too! SOunds like a perfect start for you

I'm in Ho Chi Minh city from the 1st Jan staying for a couple weeks to learn the Vietnamese language but had a rethink on working in the city (I seem to have moral issues about earning 10 times the wage of local average person) , Well, you could use the dosh to support some worthy causes. I've handed out 2 notebooks to half-orphans with mothers struggling to make ends meet. ** What is wrong for getting paid the market rate, whatever that is? Money's important and havfing more enables you to do things you couldn't do without it.a contact is kindly (hopefully) sorting me out with a school in Dalat though the wage will be a fraction of what the cities offer but balances out with the great opportunities to help within rural community and farmers.
Everyone on this expat site as soon as you mention you are an ESL teacher looking for work assumes:
a) You want to work in District 1 and with it a fat wage.
b) Live in western gentrified areas (thats why Im moving from the UK!!)

Each to their own I guess!! good luck and well done

The criteria is not the problem when applying for a permit, it's getting all the stamps from various government bodies is a pain. If anybody needs help in the visa department please pm.

pogo007 wrote:

The criteria is not the problem when applying for a permit, it's getting all the stamps from various government bodies is a pain. If anybody needs help in the visa department please pm me I have a few contacts that can get you a Temporary Resident Card.

I see you removed the price,at that price that would be a black market TRC.

It's hard to get work permits in Vietnam even with the right paperwork

I got one without too much problem, just need to know how it all works. That price of 1000usd, that's a 2 year TRC I presume, price certainly gone through the roof. It used to be 500usd for a three year TRC and work permit.

Yep, I guess the agencies know it's hard to get stuff done so they capitalize on that. I remember a few years ago a work permit required just a bachelor with a criminal check and all that only had to be certified by your embassy. Now it needs to be certified in your home country and starting January 2015 you will no longer be able to enter Vietnam with a tourist visa and change it to a work permit. This will cause a lot of headaches for those who want to come work here.

As with most things here, it won't be implemented too strictly.Havent heard about the not being able to change from a tourist visa to a work permit decree,that if its true will be a nightmare, as most VN companies don't like to issue WP unless you are actually on the ground here.