Job Discussion Forums

Braden · Joined: 27 Sep 2004 Posts: 8

Hi folks,

Have u ever thought about an important factor before actualizing the idea of Why, How, What, and Where to catch a job with pretty penny in Vietnam in educational area??? Do u know what the factor is???

Here's a hint: "No amateur has a chance to work right here. Put yourself into another shoes" After 3 yrs of experience with some companies, I've got the point. Answer the above questions seriously, you will get what you want.

Braden · Joined: 27 Sep 2004 Posts: 8

Hello all,

If you need to further understand the Vietnamese culture, I am willing to share my knowledge with you to the extent to which you would not feel like a fish out of water and will increase your adaptability.

Cheers,
Brad

jride000 · Joined: 19 Aug 2004 Posts: 2

I am considering a move to Vietnam this May and would appreciate any advice you could give to me. thanks.

buddy bradley · Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 89 Location: The Beyond

Braden · Joined: 27 Sep 2004 Posts: 8

Dear all,
Some cultural characteristics of the Vietnamese you should consider before visiting this lovely country.

The modern Vietnamese are strongly affected by Confucianism, French culture (in the North), and American culture (in the South). The integration of the two cultures in pairs (V-F and V-A) depicts the behavior and personality traits:

1. Friendliness and hospitality toward foreigners
3. Reticence, listening-center
2. Proximics: standing in a close distance.
3. Collectivism: group responsibility, loss of face, shame, word-of-mouth
4. Privacy: care about age, family, marital status, even salary of others. It does not mean they are curious about or want to exploit personal information. It's just because they want to determine social strata in terms of career, age, and so forth. In Vietnam, the elderly are always respected. In addition, the personal pronouns are very complicated to use in different situations with different people. Eg., I means Toi, Anh, Em, To, Tao, Minh, Chau, Chu, Bac etc. Be careful !!!
5. Communication: read between the lines. They implicitly express their thoughts. Smiles, eye contact, tone, etc must be carefully interpreted.
6. English is used popularly with low proficiency on average. Only students, salespersons in supermarkets, receptionists are fairly good at E.
7. Emotion: touching, feeling rather than facts
8. The President Ho Chi Minh is revered. Communism is the ruling party. Do not badmouth!!!

Have a good stay in Vietnam

buddy bradley · Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 89 Location: The Beyond

Braden · Joined: 27 Sep 2004 Posts: 8

Hi dude,

You are right as getting some Vietnamese cultural features supplemented. This forum is always open for anyone who does not hesitate to help others land their interested jobs.

Now, you all guys are given a few useful websites for job hunting

1. www.vietnamworks.com
2. www.kiemviec.com
3. www.hrvietnam.com
4. www.apolloedutrain.com
5. http://www.cleverlearn.com
6. http://vus-etsc.edu.vn/en/?id=0000000002
7. www.cetanapsb.com

You might also visit online news websites of Vietnam to obtain more information about educational career in Vietnam.

Good luck,

lexpat · Joined: 23 May 2004 Posts: 56 Location: Meh

I think the information in the post regarding Vietnamese culture is fine. I would add that at the moment there are many new schools, some very well financed, who are trying to hire teachers before they have much in the way of students. This is the new vogue in ESL here in Asia: stockpiling potential instructors. Demand varies and recently, especially in Hanoi where I am, a number of schools are opening and struggling to attract students. It's a cyclical thing. Sometimes they have too many students and can't find the teachers to teach the students they have. At the moment, because so many new schools (e.g. AAC, AET) have entered the market, what may seem a teacher's market is actually anything but. These schools have invested big time in infrastructure with the hope of making money but really don't have any students. They'll put out an add, hoping to attract not just teachers, but students too. People want to attend the 'popular schools.' They think an ad for teachers will be read by students too.

I saw the same thing happen in Thailand a few years ago. There was the same number of students, but a big increase in schools led to what appeared to be a decline in the industry. I think the same thing is happening now here in Vietnam. Just because they interview you, have you teach a demo, etc. doesn't mean they have anything happening. Be careful!

Braden · Joined: 27 Sep 2004 Posts: 8

The websites are just for reference. Your comment on the situation in education industry was quite reasonable 'cause of too-fast increase of E. schools, internationally and locally, in Vietnam so far. No entry barriers are established to control this free trend. Some schools strive for not shutting down, others are in shortage of professional teachers.

In terms of communications (e.g, Ad, PR, Events), tactics are used popularly by schools to attract the attention of both teachers and students to their services as if they are accredited, popular, internationalized, credible, etc. Students are expected to express their feelings toward the schools when they see a big bundle of foreign teachers. In many cases, such commercial ads are "bullshitters" that purposedly drive students' interest instead of actually hiring teachers. No real vacancy out there!!!

However, don't get your confidence lost. Make a try. An interesting discovery is waiting for all of you, guys. Real Job, Real Life.

Braden · Joined: 27 Sep 2004 Posts: 8

Hi guys,

Now there are some vacacies in English teaching area posted on www.vietnamworks.com. Please keep you updated with useful information.

You might get a job offerred by one of 30 big E. schools in HCMC. Please visit their websites, or contact by whatever email address that you have in hand. You are given a few names: IDP, ILA, SITC, Apollo, VUS, etc. Do a search on Internet by typing these words plus "Vietnam". You might also visit www.yellowpages.com.vn, trangvang.fpt.vn, www.edu.net.vn, www.info.vn for further surfing. Dont forget the domain names of websites of those schools.

Best regards,

Braden · Joined: 27 Sep 2004 Posts: 8

I sent you a greeting. If you received it, pls tell me as soon as you can. You are required to sign up for an ESLcafe account before getting your post uploaded.

Best regards,

jibbs · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 452

Just a few other websites:

www.mekongesl.com (has a discussion board as well as some jobs and school addresses and phone numbers)

http://vietnam.asiaxpat.com (useful for lots of info on many things)

www.esljunction.com (has a few jobs)

myesl · Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2004 8:25 pm Post subject:

OK, dumb question, but a lot of what has been posted hasn't been entirerly clear to me, especially in the beginning of this thread.

Are there jobs in Vietnam? Lots of jobs? The pay is OK? Good? Students are fun to teach or no? Can one easily get work teaching only adults?

Thanks.

jibbs · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 452

Only been here a few months, but there do seem to be a good few jobs, and many that have adults or at least a mix of students aged 14-40 or whatever. Actually I think teaching some kids may be good too. The few classes I have had with kids have been good here, in sharp contrast to Korean kids. The students are mostly pretty laid back and a bit passive, expecting the teacher to do most of the talking, except if a student is advanced and confident enough to speak more. The Vietnamese do seem to actually respect teachers, even a foreigner they don't know at all, as long as he is presentable. Again, compared to Korea, this is not so bad. There some locals will say the foreigner came to Korea only because he couldn't get a job back home.

Anyway the minimum pay you should accept is 12 USD an hour. You have to pay your rent, find your own place. There is a wide range of schools, good and bad. There are little ones everywhere that you never hear of, but just happen to pass on the street. Few advertise, and it's probably best just to walk in and ask to talk to the manager. A phone call or emailed resume, in my opinion, seems to be futile.

There are a few big schools too. Most of these you can find easily enough.

You may need to work at 2 or more schools if you want at least 20 hours per week. It might be hard to work out a decent schedule. Then again you might just get a good schedule as a full-timer at one place. But a lot of places offer just a few hours a week. And you can work any day of the week!

That's about all I know. Good luck.