Job Discussion Forums

[SinaloaParcero]

So I previously taught in Korea and decided to move to Vietnam.

For reference I am a white male native speaker with a university degree, multiple years verifiable experience, teaching license from the states, and a 120 hour online TEFL certificate.

So I arrived in HCMC Feb 10th. I wanted to relax for the first month so didn't really look for any work.

After that month I sent out emails and or applied to all the major language centers in HCMC.

Most of them I didn't hear back from and a few told me they didn't need any new teachers atm. Only 1 school initially replied and offered me a part time job. I later when on an interview with a 2nd school but was not offered a job. But I think they wanted a full time teacher and I just wasnt a good fit. I wanted part time and preferred older students while they had mostly young students.

At the school that hired me, it took a lot of time to jump through all the hoops and begin teaching. About 1 month from my 1st interview until my first class.

After a month at this job another school contacted me and asked me to come for an interview and demo. They offered me a job.

This 2nd job is less funded and organized as my primary job.

Pay for each is about 18-19 dollars an hour after tax.

Been working now for a bit over 2 months. Currently at 22 hours a month.

But this changes due to classes only running 2-4 months at both centers.

You much be offered classes so stability is a problem here compared to Korea.

I was expecting to be hired or get more responses from the major centers.

Advice for teachers here, network network network. Hit the streets meeting people and going into lesser known language centers.

Working part time means no work permit so I have to leave the country and reenter every 3 months.

As for other aspects of life. Cost of living is dirt cheap.

Meat + rice + small veggie = 1-2 dollars

Soup / Noodle dishes = 1-2dollars

Subway sandwhich = .50cent

Renting a room in a house or apartment will cost 200-300 dollars. And you can find ones that are serviced for that price as well. If 250-300 id recommend finding a new or refurbished place. If you want more space then you can rent larger places or studios for 400-600. I lived at 3 places and paid 1 months deposit for each place.

You can either buy a motorbike used for 200-500 dollars or buy a new one 1,000-2,000 dollars. Or you can rent a bike for 50 dollars a month. Will need photocopy of passport and a deposit. My deposit is 50 dollars.

Public transportation is fairly good and cheap. Only like 5,000 dong. Google maps and a few Bus apps you can download for bus route info.

For banking most banks require your passport and a work contract to open an account. If you want to send money home you will need proof of pay / salary. If not you can just use Western Union for a fee of like 10 bucks or something.

For phones, you can get a prepaid SIM from any of the big yellow phone stores. 5 dollars will last you 2-4 weeks of data.

My primary job gives each class a feedback form and grades the teachers. Then uses that for giving teachers more hours or new classes. I am not the funny type lax teacher so I don't imagine I will be getting high marks. So that has me a little stressed and planning for possible backup plans.

Overall, I really like Vietnam. Offers a good lifestyle if you can manage the heat and rain.

Only other complaint is the nightlife. Very limited and over priced. Went to a place called Play last week and the cheapest drink on the menu for 10 dollars.

[tellersquill]

Thanks for the info.

I was recently speaking to a friend out there who lives off 10hrs of work per week: she was saying that she was earning 800$ per month and she is now only living off $700 per month.

Its crazy how low costs can be if you are savvy

[SinaloaParcero]

[tellersquill]

[SinaloaParcero]

[ExpatLuke]

I guess different people have different ideas of what "living" is. For me, I wouldn't consider staying in a tiny room and having no social life to be living. I think most people strive to live better than that.

But if most of your hobbies are centered around a computer and the internet, you could probably live happiply sitting in your room for most of yge day. Of course, that begs the question of why wouldnt you just go teach in KSA and make much, much more money?

I don't party at all anymore, but i do like to go out for a nice dinner with the wife each week. And I like to be able to afford to buy things when I like and travel on breaks. But tp each their own!

[SinaloaParcero]

[LarssonCrew]

22 hours a month at 18-19$ is like $400.

If I were you I'd be worried. Although having looked around at various sites it does seem there is plenty of work going.

A problem does seem to be though that most places will give you say 5 hours a week, so you need to tie 4 or 5 of those together to get anything together.

Cost of Living seems super cheap, less than $400 is an unreal amount to be paying to live.

[SinaloaParcero]

[Jmbf]

Serious question to the OP - how long are you planning on living / working in Vietnam?

In many ways I can see the attraction of working there. The overall lifestyle, the beaches, the vibe etc etc. Especially if you are young and want to try something different for a while. Or if you are experienced and tired of the western corporate grind.

But when you start to crunch the numbers, it does paint a rather scary picture for the long-termers. Unless you fit into one of the categories mentioned above, you need to be saving at least USD 2,000 per month in order to a) eventually retire at a reasonable age and b) be able to enjoy that retirement (I'm over generalising here but I believe my point is valid).

There are a lot of arguments about maintaining a good work / life balance and having a low-stress lifestyle, but all that goes out the window when you have to continue working past 70 years old with no safety net.

[LarssonCrew]

I agree on the $2000 figure, after a year it's enough for a deposit on a home which can then pay off the mortgage on it etc.

However, I make around $2400 a month working online. If I made enough in Vietnam to live [say $800 or so] I could in theory save the chunk of my online money

[Jmbf]

[SinaloaParcero]

[Jmbf]

[SinaloaParcero]