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bobbybob
Joined: 29 Jul 2013
Posts: 10
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 Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 9:24 pm Post subject: Teaching English in Vietnam vs Korea |
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Hi
I recently came across this really useful website about teaching english in the above said countries:
MOD EDIT
However, it is a couple of years old and I was wondering whether anyone had any up-to-date info.
I understand savings can be made in both Korea and 'Nam. But 2 years later in 2013 what kinds of savings can be made these days?
Can you make £10,000 worth of savings after 1 year in Vietnam?
Also, is it still possible to just turn up in Vietnam and get a job at the language insitutes?
I have a BA and CELTA qualification.
Thanks |
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skarper
Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Posts: 477
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| Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 3:58 am Post subject: |
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Saving 10 000 a year would be difficult and impossible in the first year with basic qualifications etc. At International schools and the top places maybe..but it is hard to land these jobs and they tend to go to people with experience and connections.
Work is always available in the big cities but not like it was. The bigger chains can be choosey and for quite odd reasons, so just turning up expecting to work at ILA/Apollo can make for a jolt. They seem to like people to go through their process - though supply and demand will also apply.
Korean job board will fill you in on Korea. My info is 5 years out of date. |
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Tigerstyleone
Joined: 26 Mar 2010
Posts: 181
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| Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 7:51 am Post subject: Re: Teaching English in Vietnam vs Korea |
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| bobbybob wrote: |
Can you make £10,000 worth of savings after 1 year in Vietnam?
Thanks |
No you cannot. No housing, no benefits, no severance, no pension, no camps, no airfare, no abundance of private students. Plus you have to invest in airfare, motorbike, housing deposit or hotel, notary stamps, legal documents, visas, maybe even some shirt and ties etc. You're behind a month's salary or two before you even get started.
But as soon as I post this another Senior Member will come through and talk about his big money job at British Council or RMIT and tell you he saves $20,000 a year. So there it is. |
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vabeckele
Joined: 19 Nov 2010
Posts: 439
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| Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 9:11 am Post subject: Re: Teaching English in Vietnam vs Korea |
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| Tigerstyleone wrote: |
| bobbybob wrote: |
Can you make £10,000 worth of savings after 1 year in Vietnam?
Thanks |
No you cannot. No housing, no benefits, no severance, no pension, no camps, no airfare, no abundance of private students. Plus you have to invest in airfare, motorbike, housing deposit or hotel, notary stamps, legal documents, visas, maybe even some shirt and ties etc. You're behind a month's salary or two before you even get started.
But as soon as I post this another Senior Member will come through and talk about his big money job at British Council or RMIT and tell you he saves $20,000 a year. So there it is. |
Yeah, when I got here I was able to put half of my money away and that was about the figure you mentioned. But as I have become more involved, the less I make. This is also due to some pretty drastic changes here in Hanoi. I do not know about down south. I personally think Hanoi is shooting itself in the foot. They actually look at you in disbelief when asked if there are paid holidays. Not a good sign.
There are fresh grads like yourself working for RMIT and the like but it is like winning the lottery. With so many teachers applying for that one winning number...
Having said all that Vietnam can offer some pretty good personal time. You can work 8-10 hours a week and make a thousand bucks. But those jobs are few and far between - Try that in Korea.
I would also like to mention the fact of other countries and employers looking at your resume and finding a bunch of C1, C2 and B3 visas when you should in fact have a work permit and/or some kind of residency. If you haven't been paying taxes, then what were you doing? And this is a valid question for a potential hiring school. If you are looking for professional advancement I would ensure an employer here crosses all of the Ts and dots the Is - Korea can do that; offer perfect visibility and put money in the bank. |
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Tigerstyleone
Joined: 26 Mar 2010
Posts: 181
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| Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 9:36 am Post subject: |
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| The OP was asking about 10,000 UK Pounds which is $15,000 USD. |
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vabeckele
Joined: 19 Nov 2010
Posts: 439
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| Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 9:55 am Post subject: |
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| Tigerstyleone wrote: |
| The OP was asking about 10,000 UK Pounds which is $15,000 USD. |
With no holidays I managed to save about a thousand bucks a month and go out everyday. I am not doing that at the moment, nor have I been for a while now. I guess 10,000 dollars to be about right. Perhaps a little more.
I am out of here, again, within a few weeks. I want to feel what transparency feels like again. But I will be back. |
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Mushroom Druid
Joined: 19 Oct 2009
Posts: 91
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| Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 2:58 am Post subject: |
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| vabeckele wrote: |
| I am out of here, again, within a few weeks. I want to feel what transparency feels like again. But I will be back. |
You're leaving and/or taking a break from VN.
I left VN also and I will wait a year before deciding to return or not.
There is work in Hanoi, but it does sound like good work.
Plus, the visa and work permit charade. |
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vabeckele
Joined: 19 Nov 2010
Posts: 439
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| Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 4:06 am Post subject: |
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| Mushroom Druid wrote: |
| vabeckele wrote: |
| I am out of here, again, within a few weeks. I want to feel what transparency feels like again. But I will be back. |
You're leaving and/or taking a break from VN.
I left VN also and I will wait a year before deciding to return or not.
There is work in Hanoi, but it does sound like good work.
Plus, the visa and work permit charade. |
If you were in Hanoi you left at the right time. I will be out for the next academic year only to visit. If things have changed for the better I'll return, but I won't hold my breath. |
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Mushroom Druid
Joined: 19 Oct 2009
Posts: 91
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| Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 8:51 pm Post subject: |
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| vabeckele wrote: |
| Mushroom Druid wrote: |
| vabeckele wrote: |
| I am out of here, again, within a few weeks. I want to feel what transparency feels like again. But I will be back. |
You're leaving and/or taking a break from VN.
I left VN also and I will wait a year before deciding to return or not.
There is work in Hanoi, but it does sound like good work.
Plus, the visa and work permit charade. |
If you were in Hanoi you left at the right time. I will be out for the next academic year only to visit. If things have changed for the better I'll return, but I won't hold my breath. |
I was in Hanoi. I felt and feel that the market is changing.
Add the visa shennanigans and the work permit fiasco, I decided to leave and pursue other things.
I am willing to return if things can be made easier.
I have heard on this forum and elsewhere that work permit renewals are not allowed anymore? The govt only wants short term foreigners to come and then leave, so they won´t learn how Vietnam really works.
The problems is, the cat is out of the bag. |
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vabeckele
Joined: 19 Nov 2010
Posts: 439
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| Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 11:16 pm Post subject: |
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This time around though I think even those new to the country will not be around long enough for the 'system' to benefit from their ignorance; they won't put up with what is going on for long. Certainly not in the public school system working for 3-4 schools with no aircon for 16 bucks an hour.
Some very long term and productive people have left Hanoi in the last year to seek better circumstances. |
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Mushroom Druid
Joined: 19 Oct 2009
Posts: 91
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| Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 2:07 am Post subject: |
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| vabeckele wrote: |
This time around though I think even those new to the country will not be around long enough for the 'system' to benefit from their ignorance; they won't put up with what is going on for long. Certainly not in the public school system working for 3-4 schools with no aircon for 16 bucks an hour.
Some very long term and productive people have left Hanoi in the last year to seek better circumstances. |
Yup, the new shift is to put native speakers into the public schools. That is what they are doing.
People new to VN, and/or new to teaching often wash out.
Large classes, no resources, that fan, and sweat pouring out of you. Almost all public school do not even provide water.
I have heard of $15 per hour in Saigon. Is is $16 an hour gross in Hanoi?
There will be high turnover, that is for sure.
Language Link was sending newly hired from abroad teachers to the public schools in its School Link program.
Mistake that was.
Now, they look to recruit people with experience teaching and experience in Vietnam - good luck. |
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cb400
Joined: 27 Sep 2010
Posts: 274
Location: Vientiane, Laos
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| Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 6:27 am Post subject: |
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I save about 1200-1400 USD a month working full-time in Hanoi, but I'll have to double check if tigerstyleone agrees with that.
There is money in Hanoi at the moment but it is a lot of work. I know several guys making 4000-5000 USD a month but are burned out after 3-5 months. Driving in this city is insane and the lack of any sort of professionalism and organization is frustrating at the best of times. Going from school to private to school to private everyday is a little nuts. Most of the people I know doing this are just saving to exit VN as soon as possible, myself included. |
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vabeckele
Joined: 19 Nov 2010
Posts: 439
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| Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 6:57 am Post subject: |
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| cb400 wrote: |
I save about 1200-1400 USD a month working full-time in Hanoi, but I'll have to double check if tigerstyleone agrees with that.
There is money in Hanoi at the moment but it is a lot of work. I know several guys making 4000-5000 USD a month but are burned out after 3-5 months. Driving in this city is insane and the lack of any sort of professionalism and organization is frustrating at the best of times. Going from school to private to school to private everyday is a little nuts. Most of the people I know doing this are just saving to exit VN as soon as possible, myself included. |
Yeah, I worked with one guy who had broke his leg and had no insurance - The bill came to 6000 dollars - He worked in a school during the day and at language centres at night to re-pay the loan from his parents. I used to ask him quite often if he was ok 'cause he looked terrible. He had a sound philosophy though. Working for many different places meant if any one place screwed him it wouldn't have that much of an adverse effect on his earnings.
I gave up after a year of Hanoi traffic. It was fun at first but now I think if I did it I would have a heart attack or knife someone or have someone do the same to me - Way too stressful. I will take security, my health and peace of mind over an extra thousand bucks or so. |
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1st Sgt Welsh
Joined: 13 Dec 2010
Posts: 946
Location: Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
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| Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 6:53 am Post subject: |
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| vabeckele wrote: |
Yeah, I worked with one guy who had broke his leg and had no insurance - The bill came to 6000 dollars - He worked in a school during the day and at language centres at night to re-pay the loan from his parents. I used to ask him quite often if he was ok 'cause he looked terrible. He had a sound philosophy though. Working for many different places meant if any one place screwed him it wouldn't have that much of an adverse effect on his earnings. |
I guess the moral of that story is to have insurance and, to be honest, I don't have that much sympathy. I get insurance now as part of my work package but, when I didn't, I paid about $500 a year for cover. Although I see that as both reasonable and affordable that doesn't mean that I enjoyed paying the premiums (especially since I didn't make a claim in over three years). But, the simple fact is, if you choose not to have insurance, then you have to be in a position or are be willing to insure yourself. |
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1st Sgt Welsh
Joined: 13 Dec 2010
Posts: 946
Location: Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
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| Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 6:56 am Post subject: |
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| ExpatLuke wrote: |
If money is what you're primarily interested in, you should go to Korea. It takes a few years in Vietnam to get in the kind of positions you can get walking off the plan in Korea. |
Seconded. Taiwan is also, apparently, not bad and, from what I hear, you can also save money in Japan but it is not as good as it used to be. Saudi Arabia can also be another option for people who want to save, but don't have much in the way of experience/qualifications. If you do have good experience and qualifications then there's always the Gulf states. |
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