Job Discussion Forums

[bazzap1976]

when i was in hanoi last year, the SITC school shut down and ripped off a lot of teachers, thus afterwards the govt decreed that all teachers required the teaching qualification as well as a degree. does this rule still apply? im thinking about giving saigon a try later this year and hope to work my ass off and save some cash.

[ChuckECheese]

[bazzap1976]

why is it most likely that i will be working in a language mill then? how do i avoid this and get a better job?

[ChuckECheese]

[Hongkonghippo]

Ok, Please ignor chucky's last comment it is rubbish.

If you want to get out of the language mills it is possible.

First given your situation you are going to have to accept any job you can get. Try the bigger players, Language Link, British Council and these big chains. Because you lack a diploma I think you should be doing the search on foot and trying to meet the right people when you inquire. You never know, but these places go through alot of teachers and if you are at the right place at the right time you may get lucky. To these schools having a class without a "white" teacher is a disaster, so your lack of a degree will be over looked if you are needed. I know for a fact many teachers at Apollo in Hanoi do not have degree's (but they have/had Tesol or equivalent) and this is often over looked when there are students complaining because of no teacher in class (and it happens alot more than you think).

Good, once you are in somewhere you have to start networking. If you do a good job and your students like you then you will get approached outside of class for private lessons or tutoring small groups. Have business cards made and hand them you to everyone...it is a significant culture thing here...and tell some of these people that you are looking for a better job. You would be surprised how fast you will be approached here (naturally you have to work hard and care about teaching) as Vietnamese to have a lot of respect for committed teacher. Keep networking and asking your Vietnamese friends to help you out, this is your best way to find these positions that are not advertised and that people don't want to give up.

For my current position I was approached by someone who got my name from a school I substituted for only 2 weeks. Yet they remembered me and recommended me to my current school even though several months had past since I last worked in the school.

If your in Hanoi send me a pm and I can give you some contact names. I still get 1-2 offers a month...all through word of mouth and even though I have no intention of leaving my current position...I do keep in touch with them and meet for coffee every now and then and pass on their contact information when possible. Hanoi is a small city really and it is important to network every lead and contact as you may never know when you will need them or they will need you.

[ChuckECheese]

I believe many of the places that are mentioned are so called language mills struggling to fill the FT positions.

Why would they be struggling to fill those positions? Because they're language mills who doesn't care about FTs and/or doesn't pay them enough so FTs leave. Thus, language mills are struggling.

I think I make more sense if you ask me.

Some of those places require degree to work there, but if you don't have a degree, they may give you a part-time temp work, but you will be discarded once they find someone who is qualified (with degree) with experience.

Good legit schools never struggle to fill FT positions.

Ignor me if you want but that's a fact, jack.

[bazzap1976]

i do have experience working as a teacher in hanoi. i worked about 10 hours a week last year for about a year in a small school.
im looking to work in saigon this time. what does everyone think the absolute minimum wage should be. i dont have a degree but i will have a teaching cert. also which is the best certificate to have in vietnam, tefl or celta?

[Seibu]

I don't want or intend to highjack this thread but...what if a teacher has the opposite qualifications?

Is it absolutely necessary to sport the certificate?

I have nine years of ESL experience in Asia and a college degree but honestly don't want to mess with the CELTA program or something similar for a 6-month gig (possibly one year) in Vietnam.

No disrespect here to the OP..but will a newby with certificate/no degree most likely get selected over a vet with degree/no certificate? Still trying to figure out how the scene works there.

[Hongkonghippo]

In Short, NOT having a DEGREE and TEACHING CERT. will hurt and limit your options.

BUT....supply and demand are the key factors and right now (in Hanoi anyway) the demands outweighs the supply...so it is still possible to get jobs without these.

The quality of the positions available are going to vary greatly and the individuals salary will depend on their ability to get a Work Permit and previous teaching experience.

Some schools will prefer work experience over an unrelated degree, but MOST schools will want a degree and teaching cert. as these are needed to get a work permit. In Hanoi right now many (not all) schools are adamant about you getting a work permit as government officials are know to check from time to time. Also last year at this time there was a big crack down in HCM and many teachers were forced to leave due to not having WP's.

Getting a WP is a complete pain and quite expensive, but is doable if you have the correct paper work. Good schools will help you with the process and should pay for the fees, but some people prefer to do it on their own.

[ChuckECheese]

[ChuckECheese]