Job Discussion Forums

[adr]

Seeking advice regarding schools in Vietnam. I am planning to be in Saigon by the first week of August. I would appreciate any helpful tips. Newly Certified with 120 hr TEFL Certification (including 20 hrs of student teaching).
In process:
FBI report and Bachelor's degree sent to State Dept for apostille stamps to be forwarded on to the Vietnamese Embassy for legalization stamps.
-Legitimate schools and/or Language Learning Centers
-Temporary housing
-How to get around
-Banking
Thank you in advance for your time.

[mark_in_saigon]

you are asking about advice concerning schools here, I assume you mean getting hired, pay, work conditions, that sort of thing. My suggestion is you give the forum a lot more info if you want a highly meaningful response. The VN are pretty blatant about discrimination, so they can openly favor or disfavor applicants based on things like age, general appearance, visible tattoos, piercings, race, whatever. My experience is the more serious you seem, the more seriously they will judge you. The VN themselves will not be able to make a very insightful judgment on your skills (especially your English language skills), as most of them are not at a very high level themselves. They are embarrassed about their mistakes and so tend not to quiz you very effectively. Being judged by a foreign hiring manager is pot luck. Our guys who are already here and in those positions may be highly skilled, or they may just have gotten the position somehow. Pot luck. If you have the real qualifications, remember you often make or break the deal in the first few seconds with your appearance, your greeting, your confidence, your posture and your charm. (Or, your lack of those attributes).

Life in VN (especially the big cities) is well chronicled here, a lot of it is quite accurate, although most of us tend to be overly excited about the good things when we first arrive, it takes a few weeks to understand that the negatives are quite serious. For example, the air quality in HCMC can easily take years off your life. Other aspects of life here can also have equally serious consequences. A sudden medical emergency can be misdiagnosed or mistreated leaving you in a position of being shipped home in a box. The traffic can give you the same result, or more likely a permanent maiming. One should never move to VN without extensive previous exposure to his new home base, and a deep understanding of what is so special about his new life here that he is willing to put up with the negatives.

[adr]

I am currently researching suitable international health insurance carriers. Would anyone be able to suggest any reasonable hotels or temporary housing for HCMC no more than $25.00 per day?

[motown]

[tonyjones01]

Great advice for a new arrival.


FYI - VN doesn't require you to complete the customs form any more (it was white). So you no longer need to tell them where you'll being staying.