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The Mad Hatter
Joined: 16 May 2010
Posts: 165
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 Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 11:04 am Post subject: |
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| Nim Chimsky wrote: |
Hi Teachers
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| There's low hanging fruit, but not too much of it and what is available is usually rotten. |
I agree, but I suggest the following:
I also think it's a good idea for every monkey to check out different trees. One can generally tell from looking at the tree and the low hanging fruit, but I think it's important to climb inside the tree and take a close look at the branches, leaves and of course the other monkeys in the tree. And you can also ask the other monkeys in the trees about the fruit.
Once you take a bite of the fruit, it may not taste very good but remember you may have to climb the tree to get the best fruit. Most of the other monkeys in the tree won't be interested in climbing to get the juicy fruit. But you will be competing with a few other monkeys who decide to attempt the climb. It's best to do your best to prevent them from reaching the fresh fruit because there are only a few pieces so do your best to lie to the other monkeys about the fruit and if necessary tell the other monkeys lies about the monkeys that are trying to climb to the top. You will of course see other monkeys that have climbed the tree above you. Dont forget to shout lies to them about the competing monkeys, you can even try to toss the monkeys above you some fruit. I think you will be successful in reaching the fresh friut if you use those tactics. Now that you are above most the other monkeys in the tree you want to control them from even attempting the climb. The best way is threatening gestures such as beating your chest, showing your big teeth etc. But you know that sooner or later there is going to be a smarter monkey than you are. Dont worry, once your at the top it's easy to swing to another tree and control the tribe of monkeys there..
Whether you are swinging to another tree or forced to crawl to another tree be careful of the snakes in the grass. Also never trust another monkey when they tell you that their are certain snakes that are not dangerous because they have never been bitten.
Best of luck on climbing and swinging in the trees.
Best regards
Nim Chimsky |
There you are, you've been desperate to get a good dig in and now you've managed it.
So, to get back to the original post: jobs aren't as easy to come by as they were so good luck to the OP and I would agree with the plan B option. |
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Nim Chimsky
Joined: 28 Apr 2012
Posts: 46
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 1:15 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Teachers
One always reads on Daves about how difficult it is to find a teaching job in Vietnam. There are not many hours, classes with few students etc etc. Have a plan B. It will take months to find a job etc etc. But the facts are the opposite if you are qualified and experienced. Educational organisations are expanding, FDI educational projects are booming.
I work at RMIT and the number of teachers increases year after year after year in every programme in the university. I have many friends who work for reputable schools and they are turning down work. I have a few friends who are unqualified and they have always had difficulties finding work. And you will be forced to pick the rotten fruit. Rotten fruit for a unqualified teacher. Whats wrong with that? I have never and mean never met a qualified and experienced teacher who could not find a good teaching job in Vietnam. But if you are an alcoholic, drug addict, dont want to be managed etc you will have problems and rightly so. One may also have problems if youre older but that depends.
I and many other professionals want the cowboys, riffraff, losers, etc out of the educational industry in Vietnam. We dont need you.
Regarding plan B-what does that mean? One should never leave their country without enough money to buy a return ticket and money to support yourself for a few months etc.
This is common sense. But if you cant find a "good" job in Vietnam and you are qualified and experienced you will have a difficult time finding a teaching job anywhere.
This thread and others like it are on this site every month and you hear the same thing over and over-this is because a lot of teachers in Vietnam are unqualified, substandard,
come from manual labour jobs and now want to be academics overnight. And they dont want the competition! They are afraid of reality. And I would be too.
Finally, if you are experienced and qualified, there is a job waiting for you and we want you.
A lot of riiffraff have already been pushed out and they are now in Cambodia making 10 usd an hour if they can find the work.
Best regards
Nim Chimsky |
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LettersAthruZ
Joined: 25 Apr 2010
Posts: 466
Location: North Viet Nam
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 2:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Nim Chimsky wrote: |
But if you are an alcoholic, drug addict, dont want to be managed etc you will have problems and rightly so. |
Submit and Obey? |
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Nim Chimsky
Joined: 28 Apr 2012
Posts: 46
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 2:42 pm Post subject: |
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Hi A to Z
Yes they will submit and obey!
Submit-sign a contract with a guaranteed salary, with terms and conditions for both the parties.
Obey-teach a certain number of hours, arrive to class on time, teach the curriculum, correct homework, attend meetings when required, prepare for lessons, etc.
I fully understand that you are one that does not want to be managed and that's why you teach privately in the North-fine-nothing is wrong with that.
However, you cant have your cake and eat it too-so no more complaints about expensive work permits, visas etc-no dierespect intended.
Nim Chimsky |
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LettersAthruZ
Joined: 25 Apr 2010
Posts: 466
Location: North Viet Nam
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 4:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Nim Chimsky wrote: |
Hi A to Z
Yes they will submit and obey!
Submit-sign a contract with a guaranteed salary, with terms and conditions for both the parties.
Obey-teach a certain number of hours, arrive to class on time, teach the curriculum, correct homework, attend meetings when required, prepare for lessons, etc.
I fully understand that you are one that does not want to be managed and that's why you teach privately in the North-fine-nothing is wrong with that.
However, you cant have your cake and eat it too-so no more complaints about expensive work permits, visas etc-no dierespect intended.
Nim Chimsky |
None taken!  |
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s.tickbeat
Joined: 07 May 2012
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 4:51 am Post subject: |
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Hi!
When we talk about qualified teachers, what does that entail? My partner and I are coming to Vietnam sometime next spring, and we've both got 100-hour TEFL's and 2+ years experience teaching Asian students. We're really just looking for a change of scenery, a change of pace from Korea (where we're at now). We certainly don't want 'rotten fruit,' but we're not ridiculous either. $1500.00 salary and minor benefits would be nice, is that realistic?
As an aside, how possible is it to send remittances home? Sending money to Canada from China is super-expensive, and/or impossible (depending on where you are). Is the process made easier in Vietnam, or do you guys carry to Thailand in a suitcase?  |
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I'm With Stupid
Joined: 03 Sep 2010
Posts: 432
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 6:51 am Post subject: |
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Qualified teachers means a CELTA or equivalent. So at least 100 hours, including a practical observed teaching component. The CELTA is probably slightly preferred, particularly in the schools that teach it, but I know people who work for Apollo, ILA and Language Link who have another TESOL certificate. Just one more thing to bear in mind, most employers will distinguish between pre-certification and post-certification experience, often discounting the former entirely.
But assuming your certificate is as described above, your expectations seem about right. |
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sigmoid
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 7:43 am Post subject: |
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| Regarding plan B-what does that mean? |
Having a "plan B" simply means having several other countries in mind and doing some research on them as well, so that if you find yourself either hating VN or not finding enough good work you can move on to somewhere else.
VN is basically a small "has-been" country in the region that faces a bleak future and has difficulty competing for teachers these days. Many arrive, but few stay. Even fewer return...
| Quote: |
| But if you cant find a "good" job in Vietnam and you are qualified and experienced you will have a difficult time finding a teaching job anywhere. |
I don't subscribe to this statement. One can easily find teaching jobs elsewhere and enjoy life in more normal settings i.e. places with normal electricity, visas, traffic, apartments, cost of living, etc.
My friends and I occasionally look back on our time spent in Viet Nam and laugh.  |
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MaiPenRai
Joined: 17 Jan 2006
Posts: 390
Location: BKK
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 8:29 am Post subject: |
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Never worked in or wanted to work in Nam but...
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| One can easily find teaching jobs elsewhere and enjoy life in more normal settings i.e. places with normal electricity, visas, traffic, apartments, cost of living, etc. |
What is normal, a normal visa, or normal traffic or normal apartment...etc.etc? Normal for you or normal for the people of the country where YOU (royal you) CHOSE to work.
Many EFL teachers get into EFL because they (think they) want to experience something other than the normal (for them). Many of these people soon realize that they don't like the new normal which is too different from the other normal that they got used to and left behind. A lot of people choose to stay in the new normal and complain 24/7 that it is not more like the old normal (the normal they left to try a new normal). Some people simply go back to the old normal and then realize that it is not so normal after all. In fact what is normal for them is not the same as it is for the majority of the rest of the world. Some people learn to adapt to and accept the new normal and if they stay long enough they can sometimes be a part of changing the normal into a newer normal. |
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The Mad Hatter
Joined: 16 May 2010
Posts: 165
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 9:15 am Post subject: |
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| MaiPenRai wrote: |
Never worked in or wanted to work in Nam but...
| Quote: |
| One can easily find teaching jobs elsewhere and enjoy life in more normal settings i.e. places with normal electricity, visas, traffic, apartments, cost of living, etc. |
What is normal, a normal visa, or normal traffic or normal apartment...etc.etc? Normal for you or normal for the people of the country where YOU (royal you) CHOSE to work.
Many EFL teachers get into EFL because they (think they) want to experience something other than the normal (for them). Many of these people soon realize that they don't like the new normal which is too different from the other normal that they got used to and left behind. A lot of people choose to stay in the new normal and complain 24/7 that it is not more like the old normal (the normal they left to try a new normal). Some people simply go back to the old normal and then realize that it is not so normal after all. In fact what is normal for them is not the same as it is for the majority of the rest of the world. Some people learn to adapt to and accept the new normal and if they stay long enough they can sometimes be a part of changing the normal into a newer normal. |
Nicely put, thanks for that.
Sigmoid says:
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My friends and I occasionally look back on our time spent in Viet Nam and laugh.
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At what? You must have had a ball!
Anyway thanks for sharing, I feel blessed. |
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8balldeluxe
Joined: 03 Jun 2009
Posts: 64
Location: vietnam
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 7:01 pm Post subject: |
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| What is this "my partner" stuff? You don't seriously fall for that PC new language do you? don't validate that. Its: my boyfriend or my girlfriend. I somewhat dread going home when I'll have to listen to that all day at work or wherever and act like it's normal. |
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I'm With Stupid
Joined: 03 Sep 2010
Posts: 432
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 8:43 pm Post subject: |
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| sigmoid wrote: |
| VN is basically a small "has-been" country in the region that faces a bleak future and has difficulty competing for teachers these days. Many arrive, but few stay. Even fewer return... |
Well actually, amongst people I know, people constantly end up being drawn back to Vietnam after trying their luck elsewhere. And of course few return. That's the nature of the industry. Most never teach again. But I'd be interested to know which countries these are that Vietnam struggles to compete with for teachers, because I'd be interested in any countries that could offer the same or better wages to living costs ratio as Vietnam. |
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s.tickbeat
Joined: 07 May 2012
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 6:21 am Post subject: |
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'My partner' is not my boyfriend, nor is he my husband. He's somewhere in-between, legally and figuratively.
I usually use the term 'gentleman lover', but not usually online.
As for CELTA's, TOSEL's... my 'gentleman lover' has a TESOL and he's probably going to be going to Vietnam a month ahead of me to set up shop.
Any words on how easy/difficult it is to send remittances home? |
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skarper
Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Posts: 477
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| Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 7:19 am Post subject: |
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It's quite difficult to send money out of Vietnam. And a little expensive.
But if all your paperwork is correct you can do it. There are threads on this but not sure how up to date they are.
Some things here are better than Korea, others worse.
Generally you have more freedom in your job than Korea, but things are quite chaotic.
I like it better than Korea, but the students by and large are lazier and the schools a little more disorganised.
Good luck with the move. |
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I'm With Stupid
Joined: 03 Sep 2010
Posts: 432
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| Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 7:47 am Post subject: |
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| skarper wrote: |
| It's quite difficult to send money out of Vietnam. And a little expensive. |
Really? I've done it a few times with Vietcombank. The first time is a bit of a pain, because there's a long form to fill out, but after that, they should have it all on file and it'll be a bit quicker. At the Vietnam end, I've only ever been charged a 200k fee to process the transaction. Any other costs seem to depend on your own bank back home. My UK bank charges nothing, but my American friend got charges quite a bit to receive the money. Of course, I still consider having to pay anything to move your own money to be a rip off, but there you go. |
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