Job Discussion Forums

[Sencersinan]

I have a 120 hour TEFL

I spent a year in University studying banking but am in the middle of changing my course...taking a gap for a year or two.

I will have 3 months of teaching experience before I go to Thailand in august and from there I may volunteer a bit more. Some of my experience will be private tuition for monks, some of my experience will be teaching beginner classes, some of my experience will be teaching intermediate classes, and 2 months of my experience will be spent teaching in a school.

I consider myself a good teacher. I am smart, confident, kind, have a good sense of humor and also having experience teaching sales in my previous job. I have had experience learning french to a near fluent standard.

Where can I find work in Vietnam, any help would be greatly appreciated?

[ExpatLuke]

Where can you find work in Vietnam? Pretty much anywhere...

[Jbhughes]

You should be aware that from a legal standpoint, that work can only be for a maximum of 3 months. After which, you are meant to have a work permit, which legally you don't meet the requirements for.

Not to say that you won't find work, just that your illegal status may cause you problems, and will most likely mean you cost more to your employer whom will have to be a little desperate (and you might want to think 'why?') and will probably pass these costs on to you on way or another anyway.

[LettersAthruZ]

Looks by what you're saying that you are backpacking.

NO worries - there IS a good demand in Viet Nam right now for folks like yourself to teach English. Can't really comment on your expected pay range, but major schools/English Centres in Ha Noi and Hai Phong probably would have no problems signing you on!

Problem being, if you're looking at August, it's after the end of the high summer season, and gigs MAY become a bit more scarce, but all in all, it shouldn't prove to be overwhelmingly difficult to land something......

(NOTE - CANNOT comment on the current employment prospects in Ho Chi Minh City - perhaps somebody in Saigon can give the OP an idea for what things are like down there)

JB's correct about the three-month visa thing, however.

In the past, IF you signed a year contract, you'd almost automatically get issued a work permit from the school/centre.....

NOW, however, not all schools/centres do this anymore, and SOME that do issue work permits to one-year contract teachers are now making you place a deposit down on the work permit so that if you run off after two months into a one-year contract, the school/centre isn't left holding the bag after having dropped several hundred USD on your work permit.

[The Mad Hatter]

[Sencersinan]

Thanks for the reply guys, this makes me happy. I will probably go to vietnam in August or September.

Do you think its best to apply to agencies online first or in the country.

Also what do you think is the most sensible option in regards to visas. I have a British passport however right now I am in India volunteering. I will be in Thailand in August though.

[Sencersinan]

Oh and guys I did mention I have only spent one year at university right?

Any job agencies I can search for.

Thanks.

[BenE]

[LettersAthruZ]

[The Mad Hatter]

Hanoi

[LettersAthruZ]

Cool...right...you are in The North.

Can't imagine that the Director of the school/center you work for is going to also hand you, in addition to all of the required forms for obtaining a work permit for a teacher, a nice thick manila envelope to hand to the Director of the Ha Noi Depratment of Education and Training, can you?

...naw....PRETTY sure that he's gonna take care of that personally.

[The Mad Hatter]

Horses for courses.

A resourceful person with a 'can do' attitude can do just about anything.

I came here some time ago and learned what I needed. I returned to my home country for three weeks and came back to Vietnam fully equipped to deal with most obstacles. The obstacles have been many but I've handled them all.

I've avoided the negative 'can't possibly do' brigade and worked my way round their naively perceived insurmountable barriers. I've never bribed anyone and I've never passed a brown envelope to an official.

I was a businessman for years and learned not to expect anything to fall into my lap. I also learned to steer away from losers as they can drag you down.

You have chosen your path and a very expensive one it would appear. Many in the teaching profession have also chosen that path, that is your's and their choice. I've never argued that many teachers and schools follow this path.

However, for a small outlay many years back I prepared myself and laid the foundations for a comfortable living here in Vietnam.

It's all about preparation, observation, ingenuity and action.

I hope things work out for you.

I have one suggestion though: make things work for you and stop trying to convince the forum members that they will all encounter and fail to overcome issues that you have sadly mucked up big style.

[LettersAthruZ]

[The Mad Hatter]

Without being snide, after reading your artistic posts, I feel bound to ask the question: what is it you teach?

[LettersAthruZ]