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paddyflynn
Joined: 13 Dec 2012
Posts: 26
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 Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 6:52 pm Post subject: No luck looking for work |
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I'm came to Vietnam because I thought it would be a fun cheap place to spend a month while waiting for my semester in Japan to start in October. I heard one could live o.k. off of $800/ month, and that English jobs paying $15/an hour for 15-20 hours a week were easy to find.
Well, here I am, and I find I'm spending a lot more than I imagined, even though I'm not exactly living it up. I've got a $15 a night hotel room, and a gym membership, a few Saigon beers and an occasional massage are my only indulgences.
I'm not getting any leads on jobs either. I go to the backpacker area and try to chat with people, but most of them just want to stay in their little group and aren't very friendly when I approach them. Those who are are mostly on holiday and don't know anything about teaching. Vietnamese are more approachable, but they never give me any leads either. They just want to be my friend so they can practice for free. That's fine to a point, but I can't be everybody's free English buddy. All I want is some fill-in work so that my bank balance isn't too low by the time I get to Japan, because lord knows I'll need money there. I'm willing to travel to other cities if necessary.
I've gone to a few schools' websites, but they all want a certification and police clearance for visa sponsorship. I obviously don't want that. They also want to see a photo. I'm also 40 and a little fat... and Vietnamese can be very judgmental about weight (quite a few have mentioned it to me, and I'm only about 10 kg overweight). So that might hurt my chances too, but I'm very friendly in person, so hopefully if I can at least get an interview, I can get them to like me.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. |
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Mattingly
Joined: 03 Jul 2008
Posts: 249
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| Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 9:14 pm Post subject: Re: No luck looking for work |
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| paddyflynn wrote: |
| I'm came to Vietnam because I thought it would be a fun cheap place to spend a month while waiting for my semester in Japan to start in October. I heard one could live o.k. off of $800/ month |
$800 per month can be done if you don't drink, and don't like to spend money on entertainment and eat cheap. It's a tight budget though. Saigon is not "cheap" anymore, IMO.
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| and that English jobs paying $15/an hour for 15-20 hours a week were easy to find. |
I don't think these gigs are easy to find anymore because of the amount of other teachers (competition) looking for work.
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| Well, here I am, and I find I'm spending a lot more than I imagined, even though I'm not exactly living it up. |
I think a lot of things in Saigon are just not cheap anymore.
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| I'm not getting any leads on jobs either. I go to the backpacker area and try to chat with people, but most of them just want to stay in their little group and aren't very friendly when I approach them. |
There are some cliques in the PNL area. These guys are long-termers and have known each other for a long time. They are used to people just arriving that they don't know - and these people come and go.
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| I'm willing to travel to other cities if necessary. |
For teaching work? Danang is tight and Hanoi is tight for work. And Tet is around the corner and Hanoi will likely slow down even more this year than the last 2 years because of the changing EFL market and the economic slowdown.
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| I've gone to a few schools' websites, but they all want a certification and police clearance for visa sponsorship. |
Well, if I paid money to send my children to a school I would want and expect the teachers to be certified and have a police clearance.
Is this too much to ask?
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obviously don't want that. They also want to see a photo. I'm also 40 and a little fat... and Vietnamese can be very judgmental about weight (quite a few have mentioned it to me, and I'm only about 10 kg overweight). So that might hurt my chances too, but I'm very friendly in person, so hopefully if I can at least get an interview, I can get them to like me.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. |
A couple of important questions, paddyflynn.,
1. How much experience do you have teaching EFL?
2. What are you quals? |
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paddyflynn
Joined: 13 Dec 2012
Posts: 26
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| Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 12:16 am Post subject: |
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A couple of important questions, paddyflynn.,
1. How much experience do you have teaching EFL? 3 years in Korean hagwons, some corporate and elementary school classes as well.
2. What are you quals? A BA, A JD (law degree), 40% of an MA in Applied Linguistics completed with a 4.0 GPA. |
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sigmoid
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276
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| Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 1:33 am Post subject: |
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| I thought it would be a fun cheap place to spend a month |
You're only going to be there a month and you're looking for work???
Sorry, that doesn't compute. |
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Anh Dep
Joined: 16 Mar 2013
Posts: 56
Location: Bangkok Thailand
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| Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 2:20 am Post subject: |
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| I too am confused, you are here for a month and looking for a job. Something just doesnt add up with your story. |
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Mattingly
Joined: 03 Jul 2008
Posts: 249
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| Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 3:58 am Post subject: |
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[quote="paddyflynn"]A couple of important questions, paddyflynn.,
1. How much experience do you have teaching EFL? 3 years in Korean hagwons, some corporate and elementary school classes as well.
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| 2. What are you quals? |
BA, 2 certs, and many years of experience in Korea, Middle East and in recent years, Vietnam.
I only asked you because you said schools wanted certificates and a criminal background check - just like Korea.
You think it's OK not to produce anything? Your choice of course, but schools will be reluctant to hire.
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| A BA, A JD (law degree), 40% of an MA in Applied Linguistics completed with a 4.0 GPA. |
On the topic of J.D. degrees:
I have worked with a few people from the United States who spent 3 years and about $100,000 USD in law school loans, passed the bar, and the went into EFL teaching.
The Lawyer positions / jobs are mostly gone in the US, with cash only 'non-partner' jobs offered by law firms - if that.
Law schools should be telling students that they very likely will NOT be practicing law when they graduate.
Nevertheless, I welcome all law school grads to EFL. |
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ExpatLuke
Joined: 11 Feb 2012
Posts: 744
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| Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 4:06 am Post subject: |
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| paddyflynn wrote: |
2. What are you quals? A BA, A JD (law degree), 40% of an MA in Applied Linguistics completed with a 4.0 GPA. |
40% of a degree isn't really a qualification. Are you currently still studying it? Or is it something that you've given up on? |
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RustyShackleford
Joined: 13 May 2013
Posts: 449
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| Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 4:53 am Post subject: |
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| Anh Dep wrote: |
| I too am confused, you are here for a month and looking for a job. Something just doesnt add up with your story. |
I'm on this boat as well. I'm overweight (and had many a Vietnamese point this fact out to me, much to my chagrin) and I came here late July with pretty similar qualifications (BA, TEFL, 5 years experience). I got a job within a week. Granted, I'm much younger than 40 but I've seen guys that and older who are gainfully employed by legit companies.
Something I notice you not mention is passing out physical resumes by hand to the hiring offices of companies. Try that and I'm sure at least one of them will call you back in good time. |
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