Job Discussion Forums

[frank d]

Hi! I�m an older American FT teaching in mainland China for the past three years. I absolutely love my students � wherever I teach here � but I find working in China to be a highly-frustrating test of endurance. Foreign teachers are respected by students and citizens, but not by employers. I feel we are seen mostly as sources of financial exploitation. Most �schools� (for-profit enterprises) I have worked for have little or no integrity with regards to English education.

I keep thinking I should consider Vietnam. Am I crazy? Are the problems there similar to mainland China? Is also �stinkin�� HOT down there???

People, please give me a reason to venture south to Vietnam � or to stay far away!

All opinions and experiences (blissful or nightmarish) are welcomed and appreciated!!!

[No Moss]

Hi, Frank.

I'm an older American FT who has been teaching in mainland China for three years, too! Like you, I love my students. I have largely kept out of schools, so I didn't experience the same frustration level as you have.

I taught mostly in schools in Vietnam (for eighteen months, ending three years ago). I liked the work, hated the HCM City environment, liked the people better than I like the Chinese, although the Vietnamese are also very Confucian. Way more honest than the Chinese, though.

The money was good when I was there, about $12-18 per hour in schools, which is OK in a country as cheap as Vietnam. I worked for VATC, which was pretty honest--it paid on time.

To be honest, it wasn't my favorite country. You get sick there, largely because of the heat and the proximity of others. I had stuff there I've never had in other countries, like Thailand, China, and Taiwan.

Hanoi might be a better experience than HCM City. You could also teach in Vung Tau (spelling?), south of HCMC on the coast.

Pretty sizable expat community, plus plenty of tourists, in HCMC. Hot, humid, and rainy, but you get used to it. More interesting than China--the Vietnamese are more fun than the Chinese.

Hope this helps.

[frank d]

No moss,

Thanks much for sharing your ideas and experiences with me. Sounds like you have tasted the life in many Asian countries. With your permission, I would like to send PM to you and exchange email addresses so we might have some future correspondence, OK?

Anyone else have stories / thoughts for me about living and teaching in Vietnam or remaining in China?