Job Discussion Forums

[ExpatLuke]

None of the wealthy parents who pay to send their kids to language school would pay for a Filipino teacher. Even if it's half the price (not likely as most language schools would likely just pocket most of the difference), there's an overwhelming opinion that the only people who can teach English properly are white foreigners who hold a passport to an English speaking country.

None of the language schools I know of would hire a Filipino teacher because they know the parents would throw a fit.

The only market for Filipino teachers is for the low-paying universities and adult ESL centers.

[VietCanada]

I've picked up a few hours the last two years or so because a Filipino was rejected by a school. I was told the students thought they were getting a Vietnamese teacher when they paid for a foreigner.

My Vietnamese wife has told me more than a few times over that time that the VN government wants to reduce or eliminate them from the system. She reads VN newspapers.

Don't listen to the shills using this board trying to lower wages here.

Vietnam values experienced teachers. Pay your dues in Korea for (the best) example then come here and start over. You'll be making $1500 a month in no time.

[ExpatLuke]

I just got my new Work Permit, and here's what I have to do:

Apparently, its legal to work on a Business Visa if you're in the application process for the work permit. But once the work permit is finally issued, you need to leave the country and come back in on a Work Visa. They will not issue you the Work Visa from within the country. So once you leave and come back they will issue this 1 month work visa, which in turn allows you to get your Resident's Card. The Resident Card functions as multiple entry visa and it's good for up to 3 years.

So that's the current word on getting your work permit as far as I know.

[proudlyfilipino]

[quote="EFL Educator"]The reason you see a lot of filipinos (mostly filipinas) non-native English speakers teaching EFL in Vietnam and throughout ASEAN is that that are receiving less than half of the hourly pay that native English speakers get (between $7 -$10/Hour in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City) with little or no other benefits given. They are also willing to work longer hours...I have been told,,,so they can keep their jobs..

Funny how some would tend to generalize and readily give conclusions based on largely hearsay.

FPT University (HCMC, Hanoi and Danang), by no means a cheap school, hires and pays Filipino teachers on a respectable wage level, owing to the teachers' skills and competence. As well, they are entitled to benefits due other NES lecturers. I was once a part of their faculty, I should know. Those who willingly take the $7-$10 hourly pay, are most likely backpackers, illegitimate/ unlicensed ones back home, or short of qualifications. The numbers, I believe, are minuscule.

I and fellow Filipino friends I know have yet to accept rates that measly. Now working part-time for several language centers, I receive $18/hr (NES gets $20). An online school, which requires me to teach in-class gives me $23 hourly rate. I'm not isolated. Many more get bigger salary package.

Here's hoping some NES who look down on Filipinos would respect us and recognize that a big part of us are actually good, in some cases, even better, at explaining the English grammar, than the ones born and bred in the Queen's language.

Not meaning to get into an argument,. Just saying.

[skarper]

Good to get some inside information from a Filipino perspective.

If the ASEAN agreements allow Filipinos to enter the country and compete then we will just have to accept the changes.

Once upon a time South Africans were not accepted as NESTs in South Korea - then they became a substantial proportion. There is always some 'incomer' group to be disparaged and blamed for EFL's worsening pay and conditions.

Personally I blame capitalism and weak regulation. It would be ideal if we had a global trade union or organization to lobby on our behalf but I see the world is getting worse - not better.

[EFL Educator]

ASEAN integration will eventually lower wages for ALL EFL teachers...native and non-native English speakers alike....especially in Vietnam where they are currently higher on average than their neighbors (Cambodia. Laos, Thailand) There will be a lot more qualified EFL teachers around looking for work teaching English...especially from the Philippines where there is a very high unemployment rate for teachers.

[ExpatLuke]

[BenE]

[RustyShackleford]

I agree with Ben. While educator is being a bit of a twit, I can understand that some people may be discouraged to travel all this way, only to get a mediocre job with crummy pay.

[Brunouno]

[VietCanada]

[quote="proudlyfilipino"]

[ExpatLuke]