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kellrobinson
Joined: 22 Apr 2012
Posts: 33
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 Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 7:03 pm Post subject: Coming to VN next week (July 2015) |
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I have my return ticket for a lengthy stay, alight Jul 26 HCMC, returning to the States in January.
I am 59 years old, Bachelor of Science in Engineering, class of 2012 (woot!), no experience teaching English. But I used to be a proofreader 
Today I got my diploma and state criminal background check authenticated. Monday morning I'll take them to the Vietnam consulate in New York for translation and hope they get it taken care of by Thursday, or Friday morning latest, because my plane leaves Friday afternoon.
I bought the plane ticket on impulse not even two weeks ago, so everything is happening pretty fast. I haven't contacted any language schools or done any planning, beyond getting the documents. I welcome words of wisdom and practical advice. |
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ExpatLuke
Joined: 11 Feb 2012
Posts: 744
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| Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 5:17 am Post subject: |
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| How about your teaching certificate? |
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sigmoid
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 2:59 pm Post subject: |
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| I have my return ticket for a lengthy stay, alight Jul 26 HCMC, returning to the States in January. |
That's actually quite short compared to the average TEFLer. Some schools may not be that interested in hiring someone who's staying less than a year. You should still be able to get some work though.
Anyway, you should mention which city you are flying into and what your goals/expectations are. You say you bought the ticket "on impulse".
Have you got your visa yet? I think visa waivers are still not available for Americans. |
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kellrobinson
Joined: 22 Apr 2012
Posts: 33
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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I have a one month multiple entry Visa on Arrival (VOA). As I mentioned I'm landing in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). I don't have certification.
When I bought the ticket I wasn't thinking about English teaching. It was in the back of my mind, but mostly I simply wanted to get away for a while, and was contemplating Cambodia as a destination. Then I found a very cheap return ticket to Vietnam.
A little googling suggests that an employer could help me convert my tourist visa to a work visa. Hope it's true.
I can't find hard and fast information about age limits on foreign workers in Vietnam. |
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sigmoid
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276
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| Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 4:54 am Post subject: |
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| As I mentioned I'm landing in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). |
OK, sorry. I missed the part about HCMC.
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| When I bought the ticket I wasn't thinking about English teaching. It was in the back of my mind, but mostly I simply wanted to get away for a while, and was contemplating Cambodia as a destination. |
Well, in that case, come and have a look around. HCMC is not a particularly pleasant city but these days there are a fair number of schools opening up around the country, so you could go down to the Mekong Delta area or up the coast and live near the beach. Of course, there's also Ha Noi. Have seen a few jobs in the mountains advertised as well.
Cambodia is generally considered a much nicer place for tourism. Phnom Penh is a comfortable 5-hour bus ride from HCMC. Mekong Express is supposed to be the best company on this route, if I remember correctly.
There are teaching jobs in PP and maybe Siem Reap, but not nearly as well paid as in Viet Nam. Also, there are opportunities to do volunteer teaching in both countries.
Thailand, Laos and Burma are also in the neighborhood.
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| A little googling suggests that an employer could help me convert my tourist visa to a work visa. Hope it's true. |
Don't worry too much about this. Visa extensions can be obtained in-country and/or you can do a visa run to one of those countries mentioned above, although I am not sure about Burma.
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| I can't find hard and fast information about age limits on foreign workers in Vietnam. |
This is the way it is with information in VN. Again, don't worry about it. The teaching industry is still largely unregulated. Just keep your visa valid and network with other expats for recommendations about schools, travel agents, accommodation, etc. in order to avoid any pitfalls.
By the way, if you are interested in Cambodia, you might check out this forum:
http://cambodiaexpatsonline.com/
Last edited by sigmoid on Mon Jul 20, 2015 5:13 am; edited 1 time in total |
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ExpatLuke
Joined: 11 Feb 2012
Posts: 744
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| Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 5:08 am Post subject: |
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| kellrobinson wrote: |
I have a one month multiple entry Visa on Arrival (VOA). As I mentioned I'm landing in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). I don't have certification.
When I bought the ticket I wasn't thinking about English teaching. It was in the back of my mind, but mostly I simply wanted to get away for a while, and was contemplating Cambodia as a destination. Then I found a very cheap return ticket to Vietnam.
A little googling suggests that an employer could help me convert my tourist visa to a work visa. Hope it's true.
I can't find hard and fast information about age limits on foreign workers in Vietnam. |
Without a teaching certificate you won't be able to work for the kind of employers who help with visas. That will probably be up to you. You'll likely have to work illegally on 3 month tourist visas, and after renewing twice it's cheaper to fly out of the country and get a new one. So a trip out the country will be required every 6 months or so.
I definitely would say that this is a really bad idea on your part. At best, you're looking at expensive visa renewals every 3 months. At worst you'll be deported. |
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skarper
Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Posts: 477
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| Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 8:34 am Post subject: |
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Many people work on tourist visas in third rate jobs for years. It's far from ideal but people are willing to do it and employers are willing to exploit the supply of eager young - or old - foreigners.
OP seems to be on a long holiday rather than a serious attempt to set up as an English teacher. As such why not? Any teaching work he gets will be low paid, frustrating, and never reliably available. He's old. Not impossible for oldies to find work but far harder than a younger man. Simple prejudice on the part of employers I'm afraid.
If he has income to fall back on then doing a bit of teaching work for extra spending money would be no problem. If he needs significant income from the work to live then many red flags are raised. |
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VietCanada
Joined: 30 Nov 2010
Posts: 590
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