Job Discussion Forums

[maryknight]

hi, i'm deciding between countries and i hadn't thought of vietnam as a place i can save money, but maybe it is. i am 50 and want to save for retirement. also want to make enough money that i can pay for plane tickets for each of my sons once a year. i understand $15 an hour is typical. seems like if i even work 25 hours a week i'd make $1500. i'm assuming this is US dollars. so since i'm not a big spender it seems like i can save $500 to $1000 a month, which makes vietnam a great place money wise. is that true?
i have a master's in social work, a tefl, various business and social work experience which i think might help with business english, i like teachiing all ages, i actually love teaching english!
i've heard great things about hanoi, so that's where i'd head. coming in september would be ideal for me. is that a good time?
thanks in advance for your help!

[Porlestone]

1500 on 25 hours. Definately not. 1500 is close to the max end on FULL time schedule, i.e. 30 hours a week and above. I know with a calculator you easily get those calculations but I've been doing it for over a year and know.

2000 a month. This is much more commonly a myth that has been occasionally stated on the net and you hear the boastful co-worker voice over a room (you know, the married guy that has all kinds of connections and a great life but never seems to clarify). 2000 a month maybe for one month out of the year but is not a commanility. 1500 is alright but it's close to the max end at full time. Maybe 1600 or so, but look at 7 days a week, numerous split shifts. Earliest days will likely be Saturday and Sunday mornings. Not impossible, it's do-able, but not a bed of flowers....

On a filled schedule saving $500 is the minimum, but saving at $1000 a month means a definate budget. Otherwise give it a shot. From the small amount I've read it sounds like Vietnam may be something of a match for you. If not other countries aren't too far away.

[Snaff]

[j.jake]

the o.p. is very optimistic with her math !.
vietnam aint the gravy train it once was. fewer huors available, and more competition...... so less money per hour. $15usd an hour in HCMC is rare.
and of-course yu need to consider the cost and hassle of obtaining the "work permit". most of the good schools are now requiring this.

[Snaff]

[Mr Wind-up Bird]

$2000 a month is not a myth. I've been earning $2000-2300 per month average for the past year - no evenings or weekends, and around 25-28 contact hours per week. $15 an hour rare? Where are you looking? I've never worked for less than $16 an hour, & since June I've not worked for less than $20.

No, language schools don't pay top dollar, but if you can get work at international schools or, even better, corporates, then $20+ is the norm. The private language school sector is shrinking but demand for corporate teaching is increasing, and right now that's where the money is. Even better, get this sort of work & you'll be working during normal office hours instead of having to teach evenings/weekends.

A former colleague of mine has his own private business doing corporate teaching, and last year was getting $100 PER HOUR for putting together an English/soft skills syllabus for one of the big hotels. Admittedly that's very, very rare but it does give you an idea of how much money can be made if you're prepared to think beyond language schools.

As for saving money, depends on your lifestyle. Make $1500+ a month and you can have a very good life & still save a lot of money. Again, it's a myth that prices here are shooting up. Essentials such as food, beer, petrol, taxis etc. have increased minimally during the 4 years I've been here.

I also disagree that competition is increasing. The school where I teach in the mornings simply cannot find teachers of the required standard, and the company where I teach in the afternoons spent 6 months looking for someone suitable. I, and most of my colleagues here, are still getting more offers than we can accept.

[TimkinMS]

[Tue]

with your qualifications 15$ an hour should be the minimum (well in Hanoi anyway). The real schools here will also offer flight allowance and finishing bonuses. The average at my school is 16-18 an hour, for 22 hours a week and we always need more teachers.

Up here it is quite easy to save 600-800 a month (depending on lifestyle of course)

Leave the 15$ and under for the backpackers, they are the ones who take those jobs anyway

Read this thread

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=13093&start=135

[Mr Wind-up Bird]

TimKin:
I've taught 3 different corporate jobs and all have been between the hours of 9-5. The ex-colleague of mine was doing 7 hours per week over ten weeks at $100 per hour. And though you may disagree with my other points, there's no need to be abusive or accuse me of lying. $1500 allows a single person to have a good life & still save a decent amount of money, and if you disagree about inflation, give me some examples.

[Tue]

.....

[Snaff]

[Mr Wind-up Bird]

I'd have thought English teachers would understand the words "very, very rare". Evidently not.

[Coco the Monkey]

.01% I'm teaching English at a corporation in Vietnam's countryside. $2,500 US a month of which only 1,200 is taxed. This includes meals 3x a day, 7 days a week. Maid service, laundry service are included and I'm not paying rent because I live in the dormitory next to the factory and offices. I work 6 days week. I'm relatively new to teaching in Vietnam, but have taught in America, Korea, and Thailand. From what I've read of posts on this forum, I know I'm doing very well when compared to the English mills. I suppose I qualify as an exception to the rule. However, does anyone know of corporate positions in the city (HCM or Hanoi) which offer this kind of compensation? Do they advertise or is it word of mouth? Or like one person who took it upon himself, do you have to create a curriculum and market yourself to hotels and businesses? Thank you.

[Mr Wind-up Bird]

Coco:
Occasionally they advertise, but as teachers who've got good corporate gigs rarely give them up, this is pretty rare. Usually it's word of mouth, or you can actively tout yourself to companies offering your services.

It can be a lot more hassle as companies don't usually understand ESL and often have unreasonable expectations, but if you can educate them from the start and let them know exactly what is achievable it can be very rewarding, both professionally and financially. It also usually means designing the syllabus yourself, though many teachers prefer this to simply teaching what they're told to teach.

$2500 in the countryside, bed & board thrown in, you must be saving a fortune

[Joe Dolce]

If you are here for a while you get to know which schools are worth working for and start making real money, by which I mean about 2000 dollars a month without straining yourself. That's what a CELTA teacher with 2 or 3 years experience can make here if they reply to the right classified ads or know the right people depending on the school.

My experience is that a lot of teachers see posts advertised in newspapers from the better schools and feel that the job is beyond them. Often these schools are international and they are forced to ask for a very high standard of qualification and experience by the parent company in England, Australia or the US where highly qualified teachers are easy to find. But we're in Vietnam and there are a limited number of teachers here. Schools may ask for a DELTA or prefer a masters in an English related subject, but they aren't going to kick students out of the door because they can't find those people.

Also, having worked for these schools, I've found that the academic directors have their feet on the ground and know quality teachers often come without quality qualifications. The snobbery I thought would exist in certain places never materialised. You are more likely to encounter those problems at lower level schools, especially the ones run by Vietnamese.