Job Discussion Forums

scratchpiece27 · Joined: 11 Mar 2011 Posts: 44

I recently applied with Apollo. I have 4 years teaching experience, a bachelors degree and a 120-hour TEFL certificate (in-class with observed teaching hours). Apollo offered me $1300 a month for 74 teaching hours, with a 2 month probationary period at $1100. I couldn't believe it was so low. Guess I should have expected it.

I also have an offer for a job in China which pays $2500 a month with better hours, no split-shifts, no weekend work and much more paid holiday. They will also reimburse my airfare which Apollo won't

Just wanted to post this to give people a rough idea of current offers in Hanoi

ExpatLuke · Joined: 11 Feb 2012 Posts: 744

First of all, Apollo isn't a place you should be working at if you want decent offers. There's many much better places to work, and recently Apollo has kind of sunk to be considered one of the lower-teired schools.

Secondly, you will find very few, if any, jobs in Vietnam that will reimburse your airfare. The job in China sounds great. Why are you even considering Apollo if you have that other offer on the table?

skarper · Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 477

Hmmn. That Apollogy for a school has been sinking lower and lower over the past few years.

Why ever would they pay more than the minimum to a teacher when someone straight out of university with a degree in whatever will do fine. Do they still demand a CELTA equiv? Do they provide work permits? Both were in question during my brief stint 5 years back.

TBH - with 4 years experience you are unlikely to put up with the hoop jumping and management by some clown with only one or two years experience....and it seems like they think so too with the
'probation'.

Apollo are firmly bottom of division two and fighting shy of relegation. It's only the dearth of serious competition in the language mill field that lets them keep going.

I fully understand their business model and don't blame them for it. I do feel sorry for the students though - who pay through the nose and often get negligible return for the investment.

Oh dear - three beers and I get soooo bitter!

scratchpiece27 · Joined: 11 Mar 2011 Posts: 44

Mattingly · Joined: 03 Jul 2008 Posts: 249

Ramen · Joined: 13 Apr 2008 Posts: 74

cb400 · Joined: 27 Sep 2010 Posts: 274 Location: Vientiane, Laos

I was offered about 14$ an hour by Apollo and when pointed out my experience they then offered 17.50$ an hour...this was 2006!!

Really, I would avoid them at all cost. They hire from abroad as no one in Hanoi really wants to work for them and there are lots of jobs here offering 1800-2000 a month for full time.

Apollo is one of the few schools that has more managers come and go than teachers and they are a bad job in Hanoi and HCMC.

Come here and look for work on the ground it is the best way.

cb400 · Joined: 27 Sep 2010 Posts: 274 Location: Vientiane, Laos

BTW: your offer from China is really good... go for it.

skarper · Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 477

$2000 from Apollo was a little naive. Maybe if they had continued in a positive direction from where they were 5+ years ago - but alas they went the other way.

I can't blame them - competition is fierce and don't have the option to compete in the first division without a total revamp. Why bother when this seems to work well enough for them?

cb400 · Joined: 27 Sep 2010 Posts: 274 Location: Vientiane, Laos

I wonder what their enrollment is like? up or down over the last while.

Anyone in the know?

skarper · Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 477

Not in the know but the cucumber business locally is quite a bit down on their high point a few years ago. Far more competition and not too many satisfied customers being key factors. They'd been shifting over to nearly all kids classes rather than general English for adults.

Anybody in the know who feels free to comment? PM me and I'll post it in confidence if you fear reprisals for 'disloyalty'.

Mattingly · Joined: 03 Jul 2008 Posts: 249

VietCanada · Joined: 30 Nov 2010 Posts: 590

Apollo is awful. I worked for them briefly and the Vietnamese teachers at the schools they sent me to couldn't bad mouth them enough.

I didn't pay for their CELTA or Delta whatever it is they demand teachers pay for before they'll even consider maybe giving them a job. The company I worked for was some sort of proxy for Apollo. I didn't even know I was working for them. The VN teachers kept referring to my employer as Apollo and eventually i worked it out.

I had no problems with this proxy until they demanded unpaid admin work. I said no, they said goodbye, I'm fully employed with a couple schools enquiring about my availability and they lost a couple contracts. But hey if that damn foreigner won't work for free eh? We'll show him. Principles are important after all.