Job Discussion Forums

[TamLu]

Hello everyone, newbie to the forum here. Been lurking the forums quite a bit and finally mustered the courage to post.

I'm a very recent college graduate from UNC-CH, 22, Vietnamese American (born in America, I actually don't know any Vietnamese) and am going to be in Vietnam for a CELTA course at Apollo in HCMC mid September, and I have a couple of questions.

My reason for coming here is to actually learn Vietnamese, but I need to sustain myself somehow, so this is where teaching comes in. I'm just trying to make enough for me to live in HCMC for about a year and a half.

So, from what I've gathered in the past posts, it seems that Late October/Early November is decent in terms of being able to find work, is this still prospectively true?

If I get hired and obtain a work permit, can I enter and leave Vietnam with that or do I have to get another visa?

Also, on a curious note, how's the hip-hop dance scene in HCMC?

[toiyeuthitmeo]

Hi,

You'll get work at that time of year. The young recent grad with a fresh CELTA is exactly what they want out here. As has been discussed many times on this board, your being Asian could create some additional challenges, however I know of more than a few Vietnamese Americans who have no trouble at all in their teaching careers over here.

How much you need to work kind of depends on your lifestyle, but a very frugal person without much socializing could get by on income of $1000 / month, and it's not hard to earn that in Saigon, and it wouldn't require working too many hours (between 12-14 class hours per week could get you there). Which means you could devote considerable time to other (non-expensive) things. Vietnamese lessons, by the way, can be had fairly cheaply, but if you're living on as few teaching hours as possible, you probably won't be out on the town too much, which is one method of picking up the language.

Your work permit is good only for the one school that helps get it issued. It does not take the place of a visa-- you'd still need one. It's nice if your school pays for the visa, but not always the case. Visas are not hard to come by in Saigon, including multiple entry visas.

There is a small hip hop scene in Saigon and their are breakers, poppers, and lockers. You can see 'em at the odd club like Lush or I think Apocalypse Now. There's a weekly night at Hard Rock Cafe on Thursdays that draws the hip-hop crowd, put on by an American dancer/DJ/emcee called Justin Murta. He's the man in the middle of the Saigon hip-hop scene and you could probably friend him on facebook and drop him a line if you're really into dance and want to get involved in projects. There's a venue called Q4/Cargo Bar that has been putting on hip-hop nights and there are even rumors of a few notable underground American hip-hop artists coming to do shows in the future.

Don't let the above give a false impression of a thriving scene though. By and large, the Vietnamese fancy cheesy K-pop, sappy Vietnamese love ballads, and ear-splitting house music. An odd thing I've encountered is talented breakdancers and poppers/lockers who love dance but don't even like hip-hop.

[TamLu]

Ah, thanks so much for the info! Breakers who don't like hip hop music though? That's a fairly interesting anomaly. I know a breaker that recently came from HCMC that is really into the old school breaking culture and he is all about hip hop music and breaking.

[TRH]

[TRH]

[TamLu]

Wow, did not know about the 5 year visa thing. That's a surprising bit of info even my dad (don't worry, I'm not an orphan) nor my relatives didn't even knew. Thanks TRH!

And I've read that thread. Unfortunately, I've heard that UNC doesn't send out diplomas until around August, so I'm not exactly sure how I'm gonna go about getting my diploma notarized/authenticated/apostilled on time.

[TRH]

You could have your parents send the diploma (use FEDEX, DHL, or UPS not the mail) and have it done here at the consulate. You will need the actual diploma and not a copy. There are follow up translations and certifications but the school should help with those if they want you to get a work permit. You need $50US at the consulate but they take VISA/MC. Its a good idea to have at least one US card with you if only for the consulate. You can't do the criminal records check here until after 6 months so get it done at home.

[JSutt]

I would just add that if you get busy teaching then you're spending an awful lot of time around language learning, and from my experience it can be difficult to have the mental energy to spend your free time doing more of the same!

[TamLu]

I did not even think of that. That's a good point to consider... Hopefully the intrinsic motivation to communicate with my family using their language will pull me through!