Job Discussion Forums

[ChuckECheese]

sethness,

With all your teaching experience, you won't have any problem adjusting to VNese school environment.

You'll pick up things very fast and do very well. No worries.

Based on your long experience and qualifications, the schools in VN will probably start you around and near the high end which is $20/hour.

Good luck.

[just noel]

I think that wages have peaked.

There is no reason why they should ever go higher than they are now.

I am not complaining, but the rents ARE going up. Especially in the "ghetto" are in HCMC off of Le Tanh Ton.

I have been raised again as well as the other tenants.

I am happy and not complaining, but wages here have peaked.

[Hongkonghippo]

The only reasons wages have "peaked" is because is because the teachers let them. Right now supply is higher than demand for teachers and this should be causing the wages to increase. Recently most wages have gone up for Vietnamese workers and there is alot more money going around Vietnam at the moment.

Are you near the end of your contract ? Have you tried to get a raise, given the increase in living expenses ?

I have informed my school I will be expecting a small but reasonable wage increase at the end of my contract and knowing that even now we cannot get teachers at 17$ Starting) and we are understaffed at the moment they reluctantly gave in.

Of course you will hear this;

"but you make 10 more than the Vietnamese make !"

Response;

"yes, but the Vietnamese charge me 10x more for everything !"

In Vietnam if your not negotiating everything...then your doing something wrong.

[ChuckECheese]

[Cardinal Synn]

[norbdemn]

The thing about Korea that is a little worrying is that it seems to have a reputation for foreigners not being able to adjust. The reason for this based on what I heard from other people is that Koreans lead very private lives and are not tolerant of outsiders.

I have taught in Japan and felt comfortable. This could be a good alternative to Korea.

I do prefer however a country such as VN or Thailand over the previous two since I like the 'raw' cultures and also the hospitality of the people. True, you have to tolerate people trying to rip you off on a regular basis, but you can't have everything!

On a different note, I recently applied to a teaching position in Vietnam on Craigslist.org - a San Francisco, CA, USA based site. I got a response from a contact recruiting from here in CA where they explained I was qualified for the job. Instead of addressing my concerns specified in the cover letter, she asked about salary expectations and if I could prepare lessons prior to going. Moreover, she told me the going rate for teaching in VN is $8 USD which I know is not true! Hence, I am suspicious. I even suggested we should talk about it over the phone. Unless I hear back from her strumming a different tune within the next few days, I will look elsewhere.

[Mr Wind-up Bird]

Rents are going up because a) there are a lot more expats in town than there were 2-3 years ago and b) most of them aren't teachers and so have more money to spend. I live in the Ghetto & got a cheap deal a year ago thanks to Mrs WUB's bargaining skills. The guy who lives next door is paying DOUBLE for his house! Our contract is up in October - just as well I've quit teaching & am doing something more lucrative

Problem with VN is there will always be backpackers willing to work for $12 an hour, and plenty of VNese administrators who can't tell the difference between a backpacker & a qualified teacher, or who simply don't care. I left teaching when my college started hiring backpacker teachers & paying them the same as everyone else. I'd had enough.

Those schools that care about what they're doing are paying more as they want to attract the few decent teachers who are in VN; the rest are happy to stick a white face in the classroom & pay them a pittance.

Training/in-house corporate teaching is where the best money & conditions are to be found.

[ChuckECheese]

Well, it's almost been a year since I left Vietnam to take a job in Korea. I'm now almost finished with my 1 year contract. So far I've met my targeted savings and with my severance pay and pension I will far exceed my targeted savings for the year.

I've decided to renew the contract with my school for another year before heading back to Vietnam for a long R&R. I'm considering opening up a small expat bar near a beach....