Job Discussion Forums

wholmes1325 · Joined: 17 Aug 2014 Posts: 15

Anyone ever worked here?

Any thoughts or reactions to the staff and their working conditions?

LarueLarry · Joined: 05 Jul 2013 Posts: 32

I think they posted this ad here on Dave's a week ago:

http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/index.cgi?read=33349

Aside from this ridiculous ad, you'd have to pay me a whole lot of money to work in Tam Ky--not much going on. But I've heard that they pay $12/hr.

Prof.Gringo · Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 12:57 am Post subject:

toiyeuthitmeo · Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 213

OP needs to know, perhaps, that AMA is among the lowest of the mills in Vietnam. To my most recent knowledge, they are still franchised, which means experiences may differ from owner to owner. Generally, pay is shit, staff is vexing, teachers run the gamut (it is known to be a refuge of the weakest of the lot, though I've known a few sound blokes who've worked there).

This advert, and the fact that a guy called "Karl" with a gmail contact using a Japanese handle, screams stay the f*ck away.

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

AMA is an ex-cleverlearn franchisee who basically stole Cleverlearns 'systems' ( I use the term loosely) and went his own way so he could keep the franchise fees for himself.

The ad is a complete joke and worth staying away from.

Strongly avoid anything to do with Cleverlearn or AMA.. these are the bottom of ESL in Vietnam and there is much better places to work in VN.

Prof.Gringo · Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 7:40 am Post subject:

ExpatLuke · Joined: 11 Feb 2012 Posts: 744

Tam Ky is close to Danang, and I've been hearing some very bad things about the AMA franchise there. Teachers not getting paid on time is the worst of what I've heard, but there were several other bad things as well. Such as the housing provided being awful, admin asking ridiculous things from the teachers, terrible, moldy classrooms, constant revolving door for teachers, etc. Pay is $14 per hour or less.

They were posting pretty actively in the Danang Jobs Facebook group trying to get new teachers about a month ago, but they got so many negative replies to their job adverts that they seem to have deleted them all.

Avoid this place.

ExpatLuke · Joined: 11 Feb 2012 Posts: 744

"Don't "expire" until you have come to Tam Ky Beach for your 3 month "dream" vacation, "helping poor people" and teaching them about American culture. Help repair the damage the US government did to these "innocent" and wonderful people called "Vietnamese"! "

If you can't tell by just reading the above that this is a scam, you better get out of SE Asia fast. It will eat you alive.

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

Also any position offering accommodation is worth a pass. It may seem tempting if you are new to the country to not have to worry about finding somewhere to live, but it almost never works out. If the Vietnamese are including something free there is a bloody good reason to be worried. At the last cleverlearn position I had, they offered a dormitory for new teachers in the school for the first month. They would get the staff knocking on the door 7-12 times a day asking them different questions, with no regard for their off duty hours and students running through the room when they were not there.

Always get an allowance instead of the accommodation and sort yourself out for the first few weeks, you will know by then if the job is a keep or not and you are not tied to them if you need to run.

TRH · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 340 Location: Hawaii

While the listed job is obviously a scam, I was hoping that some here could post some experiences with working in the smaller coastal cities. In particular, I was thinking of cities like Phan Tiet, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon, Quang Nai, Hoi An as well as Tam Ky. DaNang is a little bigger and may afford more opportunity.

In my limited travels, I see that cities of this size seem to have more and more language schools, usually one off types that probably employ mostly Vietnamese nationals. Does anyone have experience with real wages and availability of hours in these sized cities? Does the cost of living balance out the wage differential with larger locations? Are there opportunities for private lessons perhaps in building the skills of local public school teachers?

As cb400 observed, offered accommodations are a red flag, but I do feel that rentals may be harder to find than in large cities. Small towns in every country have more owner-occupants, limited rental turnover and few apartment houses. Assistance in locating real housing would be more valuable than a room in the back of the owner’s house. I expect that housing would be less than HCMC or Hanoi but the problem might be finding it.

I am not planning to “expire” right away but I would consider some type of 6-10 hour a week retirement work a good deal if it was in the right place.