Tefl in Vietnam

Figured people might like to get an idea of places to teach in other than Korea and UAE/Dubai..

Vietnam is a pretty easy place to get setup and going. You can do visa runs indefinitely, or get a work permit with degree & tefl.. Or go the corrupt route and get your documents done through a contact. Within a couple of weeks, I'll have done all three.

As for jobs, it's also easy.. If you are an actual qualified teacher, the place is a gold mine. One friend on $3,500 a month after tax in an International school. Some people on $5,000.
If you're here for a while, or if you're coming from another country, have your documents and job hop around a bit, you can get pretty good salaries. That's the boat I'm in and I clear $3,000 a month with no tax as it's under the table. That's 26 teaching hours a week.
If you're new to teaching, you can make $20/h straight off the bat. Just land here, apply for a job, get the job and do your visa runs.

Living costs after rent can be anything from $70 a week for your food and a few drinks or up to $200 a week if you want to live like a king. I spend about $150 normally outside of big expenditures like motorbikes etc.
For that, I get nice dinners during the day ( $2 / $3 ) and then food deliveries in the evening. A few drinks midweek and then one or two big nights at the weekend. It's $1 / $1.50 a beer and $1 for a pack of Marlboro.

Houses are anything from $100 a month to $250 for a room in a nice spot.. We're about to move into a $320 house ( $1600 / 5 people ) but that's way higher than any other mid-20s people we know here.

All in all, most people would save about $800 - $1000 a month here.. Working maybe 20 hours a week. I'd be around the $2000 a month savings mark finally.

In terms of motorbikes, you can rent a scooter for about $40 a month or buy something.. Small normal mopeds are around $400 - $1000. Nice mopeds are around $1000 - $2000. Small motorbikes are around $500 - $800. Dirtbikes normally from $2000 - $4000. Big bikes like CB400s go for between $3500 and $6000 and then the crazy bikes (for Hanoi) like cbr600RRs and cbr1000rrs go for around $8000 - $10,000. Ducatis are around $25,000. I love motorbikes here having bought 4 already and sold 3.

The annoying thing about living here can be the country itself.. Some people just don't click with it. It's heavily centered around street food/street drinking and it's not very modern in day to day life.
Traffic is horrible and very dangerous. Been in too many small crashes to count and one big one where I broke my collar bone. (And wiped my savings not working and drinking heavily for 10 weeks).
Vietnamese managers can be downright stupid and the foreign teacher is always the last to know about any changes.
You might get ripped off.. I'm owed $190 that I'll never see again.
Cleaners / Landlords routinely rob people.. Friend had over a $1000 stolen in his last house and now his camera has disappeared in this house. I've been lucky.
Shopping has turned into the most stressful activity in my day to day life.. Part of the reason I never cook and the main reason I rarely buy clothes. Everything is an absolute hassle. I needed shoes for an interview when I got here and could only find one good pair. Slowly got the price from $81 down to $12.. By now I've lost all patience for this and just avoid it if I can.

Overall, it's a great spot to live even if it does make you feel like a sardine in a tin sometimes.. If you take teaching seriously, you can save $10,000 - $25,000 a year. A lot of people just stay here, get married and open a business. Generally, the expat community is young.. 23-35 years old.

Any questions, ask.

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

Aquila

Aquila wrote: »

whats the working conditions like in the language schools?

Absolutely fine.. The main centres have all the resources there and they always pay.

Teaching public is more of a mixed bag but complaints are generally about actual teaching, not pay and conditions.

perfectisthe

Is it difficult to get teaching work without a work permit if you have a degree and a TEFL cert?

Edit: on re-reading the OP I see that you pretty much answered that already.

You can't get the permit until you've started work.. And there's only a handful of schools who will get you a work permit.
In my main job, I'm given $2,500 in dollars a month and there's no mention of any sort of permits. The school, like most here, don't want the government knowing we work there.

perfectisthe

Thanks for the reply.

Can I also ask what difference does the type of ESL/TEFL/TESOL qualification you have make, I'm finishing my masters in September and I'm seriously considering going to Vietnam, it's good to get info from someone who's actually there teaching.

Eve_Dublin

Hey Ads By Google,

Considering heading over there for a year next year. I've been teaching English here in Spain for 3 years now (and it'll be four years by the time I get there). Will that experience stand to me in terms of pay? I have a degree and TEFL cert too.

I'm basically going to save money (and enjoy myself!), which I can't do here. Would Vietnam be a wise choice in terms of saving money? South Korea or Dubai don't appeal at all.

Yea you'd be in a great position with that experience and the degree/tesol. And yea, you could save a lot. 1500 to 2000 dollars a month savings if ya put some hours in. Check thenewhanoian website and have a look at the jobs section.

Eve_Dublin

Deleted User wrote: »

Yea you'd be in a great position with that experience and the degree/tesol. And yea, you could save a lot. 1500 to 2000 dollars a month savings if ya put some hours in. Check thenewhanoian website and have a look at the jobs section.

Thanks a million. One last thing: have you heard of anyone getting their flight paid over there? I know some schools do in Korea. Even getting my flight together here could be a struggle. Thanks again.

Some places yea.. Refund after years contract. But the 2 places I know off either pay low or have very high requirements. Since you'll have to pay upfront anyway, it doesn't really matter.

You can PM me whenever for advice and that.

Eve_Dublin

Deleted User wrote: »

Some places yea.. Refund after years contract. But the 2 places I know off either pay low or have very high requirements. Since you'll have to pay upfront anyway, it doesn't really matter.

You can PM me whenever for advice and that.

Thanks a million. Might get back to you (PM) with more questions at some stage if you don't mind.

gerryff

Hey could you please what Tefl course would be good if I wanted to work in Vietnam

Any 4 week course will allow you to earn better money eventually must it's not really required to get started.

gerryff

thinking of doing a 80 hour Tefl course online. I am a qualified primary school teacher with 5 years experience

Really? You could possibly jump right into an international school.. I can't do it right now but search for international schools in Hanoi and apply to them.

A few of the top of my head would be UNIS (the best job in hanoi), SIS, Wellspring, HIS.. There's a couple more but can't remember now.

gerryff

I am yeah. I just started the TEFL course this week. Would jobs start in Mid September/October as for family reasons, I wouldn't be able to leave Ireland until then. thanks

Earlier the better, round November on is the quietest time because tet holiday coming up in jan/feb. Always jobs going but a bit more competition. Google "new hanoian jobs" and ya can have a look at the job section.

piddif

Hi everyone.

My names Patrick. I'm heading over to Hanoi in September - flights are booked! I plan to do a CELTA course with Language Link, and if I cannot get a job with LL after the course look for work elsewhere.

I'll be heading on my own so some contacts would be nice as it is a little daunting (also exciting ).

I'll be there a week before the course starts and I'm hoping that will be enough time to settle in and get relaxed.

Any random bits of advice or tips are welcome. I've covered most of the prep work over the past two months... I hope!

firstofficerp

Hey guys,

I'm heading to Vietnam towards the end of the year with my girlfriend to teach English. Would anybody be able to tell me the differences between Hanoi and HCMC when looking for jobs and the general differences in living standards, costs etc.

We'll be doing three months of travelling from October, will there be a point on going to Vietnam in January when the holidays are on?

Thanks for any help!

Beth Murphy

Hey mate,thanks for your indept mail,fantastic stuff and I must say I laughed out loud a few times at your description of living there.....Anyway i am just starting out on a new journey from scratch in teaching.

Hopefully you can help with my queries..
Whats the best course to do to teach abroad and when people say you can use your TELF course abroad what countrie are they talking about???I presume you cant really use it to work downunder in Oz or NZ do you know?

firstofficerp

Missed this thread in my subs list until now..

firstofficerp wrote: »

Hey guys,

I'm heading to Vietnam towards the end of the year with my girlfriend to teach English. Would anybody be able to tell me the differences between Hanoi and HCMC when looking for jobs and the general differences in living standards, costs etc.

We'll be doing three months of travelling from October, will there be a point on going to Vietnam in January when the holidays are on?

Thanks for any help!

HCM is a little bit more difficult without the job website that Hanoi has but it's getting more popular down there. Most people I've met working down there said they go around each school individually whereas in Hanoi, we reply to ads.
Living down there would be a lot of fun.. I really like the city now. Bit cheaper for drinks and that but generally, lower pay. January is a fairly good time to get here for applying for jobs after the Tet holiday.. If ya have some emails sent before ya arrive. But it's a bad time for an introduction to the city. This year was mild, next year might be freezing.

piddif wrote: »

Hi everyone.

My names Patrick. I'm heading over to Hanoi in September - flights are booked! I plan to do a CELTA course with Language Link, and if I cannot get a job with LL after the course look for work elsewhere.

I'll be heading on my own so some contacts would be nice as it is a little daunting (also exciting ).

I'll be there a week before the course starts and I'm hoping that will be enough time to settle in and get relaxed.

Any random bits of advice or tips are welcome. I've covered most of the prep work over the past two months... I hope!

Well you're getting here at a nice time of year for weather anyway. In the week before you start, you should just relax and spend a lot of time around the city.. Because your course is going to be hectic.

Beth Murphy wrote: »

Hey mate,thanks for your indept mail,fantastic stuff and I must say I laughed out loud a few times at your description of living there.....Anyway i am just starting out on a new journey from scratch in teaching.

Hopefully you can help with my queries..
Whats the best course to do to teach abroad and when people say you can use your TELF course abroad what countrie are they talking about???I presume you cant really use it to work downunder in Oz or NZ do you know?

My Australian friend who lived here in Hanoi for a year went home to Brisbane and was teaching IELTS to international students.. But I would presume that would be a bit of a home market. Unless you find students who are studying in Australia and want to move to Ireland afterwards, they're going to want to learn from a native to that country.

I think the best countries in Eastern Asia are VN, Korea, Thailand, Japan, China and Taiwan.

Best course is the Celta followed by the Tesol.

piddif

Deleted User wrote: »

Well you're getting here at a nice time of year for weather anyway. In the week before you start, you should just relax and spend a lot of time around the city.. Because your course is going to be hectic.

Hey. Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it.

In relation to accommodation: Do you think it would be better for me to book a hotel in advance, for the duration of the first five weeks (covering the CELTA in total). I would be booking this from Ireland.

OR

Book a hostel for the first week and during that initial week source a decent hotel/hostel to live in while doing CELTA?

I'm trying not to over think things, but it'd be nice to have somewhere to call 'home' during CELTA.

Thanks.

Beth Murphy

Thanks mate for your help...Can you do the Celta abroad or would it be better to do it in Ireland and then apply for jobs abroad?Is the money good to start with and how do you find a job after?

piddif

piddif wrote: »

Hey. Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it.

In relation to accommodation: Do you think it would be better for me to book a hotel in advance, for the duration of the first five weeks (covering the CELTA in total). I would be booking this from Ireland.

OR

Book a hostel for the first week and during that initial week source a decent hotel/hostel to live in while doing CELTA?

I'm trying not to over think things, but it'd be nice to have somewhere to call 'home' during CELTA.

Thanks.

You should just get a hostel and then look for a room while you're here.. It's easy to find hotels cause there's hundreds of them. So you could either negotiate a monthly rate at a hotel or jump straight into a shared house.

http://tnhvietnam.xemzi.com/en/propertylisting/home?propertytype_id[]=5

Beth Murphy wrote: »

Thanks mate for your help...Can you do the Celta abroad or would it be better to do it in Ireland and then apply for jobs abroad?Is the money good to start with and how do you find a job after?

Ya may aswell do it abroad.. Cheaper living costs and a good introduction to a new city. Instead of arriving in a city and wondering what to do, it's good to have a few days of just going around meeting people, then do the course and look for jobs.

I did my Tesol in the Philippines because I already knew Vietnam a bit and figured it would be interesting to stay in a different country as an experience.

Regarding money, if you have the CELTA, you should be looking at around $2k/month after a while and then more.. You might have to work odd jobs for $20-$25/hour until you find a full-time position. Those figures are after tax.
Everyone I know here who is qualified and takes it seriously takes home at least $2.5k with some privates. My peak was $4k but that was an awful lot of well paid work and I only lasted a couple of months.


The important thing to to know about Vietnam compared to other countries is that you can do what you want here regarding visas etc.. Which leaves a choice between working 10 hours a week and having a laugh or taking it seriously and working hard. Most people who come here fall into the former. It's not often you can pick exactly how many hours you want to work which gives the work vs. fun dilemma.

I've done it seriously now for two years and next year, I'm going to go back to an easier "holiday" lifestyle.

Beth Murphy

Thanks very much for the tips.I have not travelled to asia ever,only stop over's in airport on route downunder....

I do not have my TELF/Celta and have only started looking into teaching latley.I really dont know where to start.Would you recommend me to do my CELTA in Ireland first and then go abroad to find a job in asia or how does it work?

Do you not need a visa to getinto vietnam though and stay there for a while...Im confused about that?Also what id Tesol you mention?

piddif

Beth Murphy wrote: »

Thanks mate for your help...Can you do the Celta abroad or would it be better to do it in Ireland and then apply for jobs abroad?Is the money good to start with and how do you find a job after?

Thanks for the reply Ads.

Beth,

As I am not from Dublin (or anywhere close to a CELTA centre) I will save around €1000 euro by doing CELTA in Hanoi (Cost of the course+cost of living is cheaper. I can also work for an extra month here in Ireland).

Quite a few people have told me that the hectic nature of Hanoi (coupled with being thrown into a foreign culture) will exacerbate the intensity of a CELTA course, and that if possible I should do it somewhere a little more 'relaxed'. Unfortunately I need that €1000, and as Ads says above I'm hoping to meet people and make friends doing the CELTA over there.



When are you thinking of going? Likewise I've also never been to South East Asia nor do I have any real teaching experience.

BillyMitchel

Hi Ads,

Whats the craic with summer schools and the like? I'm back in Uni in Sept so can't do any longer so a working holiday and a few quid saved would be nice. Is that possible? Any idea what the cash is like for that sort of thing?

I've no TEFL but I'v a degree and a years TEFL teaching already done in Korea.

Any info be great or a point in the right direction would be much appreciated!

Beth Murphy

Hey Patrick(I think that's your name),thanks for your mail!!!!!!
Ive only started thinking of this CELTA teaching stuff recently and really have no teaching experience.I am not from Dublin either,Im from down the country and am now considering doing the course In Vietnam instead.I have heard alot of good stuff about it though,how did you find the course in Vietnam and how much is it?
If you want feel free to PM me.

piddif

BillyMitchel wrote: »

Hi Ads,

Whats the craic with summer schools and the like? I'm back in Uni in Sept so can't do any longer so a working holiday and a few quid saved would be nice. Is that possible? Any idea what the cash is like for that sort of thing?

I've no TEFL but I'v a degree and a years TEFL teaching already done in Korea.

Any info be great or a point in the right direction would be much appreciated!

There seem to be some internships from LoveTEFL, i-i and the likes. They last three months, but you have to pay for flights and what not. You get placement in Ho Chi Minh city but the pay is pretty poor, you certainly wouldn't be saving anything.

BillyMitchel

piddif wrote: »

There seem to be some internships from LoveTEFL, i-i and the likes. They last three months, but you have to pay for flights and what not. You get placement in Ho Chi Minh city but the pay is pretty poor, you certainly wouldn't be saving anything.

Yeah I've came across a few and they were all the same; you pay us not we pay you sort of thing. Also came across some others in International schools but needed CELTA, degree and experience. I've no CELTA. money was pretty poor too, about 3000 U.S $ for 10 weeks.

piddif

BillyMitchel wrote: »

Yeah I've came across a few and they were all the same; you pay us not we pay you sort of thing. Also came across some others in International schools but needed CELTA, degree and experience. I've no CELTA. money was pretty poor too, about 3000 U.S $ for 10 weeks.

Indeed, if money is your aim they won't be any use to you.

shortys94

I've only recently researched the whole tefl option so excuse me if my queries are naive..

I have just finished a course to obtain a BSc in Medical Physics and was wondering if doing the tefl would allow me to teach in Vietnam or woud the more highly paid jobs require a degree in teaching. Am planning to do a masters in medical physics

piddif

You could certainly find work with a 120hr online TEFL course, however the better paying/more secure jobs will require CELTA or equivalent.

By the way, I have not yet been to Vietnam....or taught ESL but this is the general what I have found while researching.

Dave's ESL Cafe (Vietnam board) is a decent place to get some basic info, but there are a lot of negative creeps on there too.

dpp v mcgee

In terms of beaches, where is the best place in Vietnam to teach to have access to the beach? I see both Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi are a good bit from the beach.

Da Nang city and then the beach is really close.

dpp v mcgee

Thanks. Im booking my flights today and Im gona see what the job situation is like around there and south east asia. What airlines are the best to fly with?

Caonima

piddif wrote: »

You could certainly find work with a 120hr online TEFL course, however the better paying/more secure jobs will require CELTA or equivalent.

Start off with a TEFL course... you only really want to be doing a CELTA after you have a year or so of experience. It's better to actually do the job for a little while before you invest the time and money in a CELTA. And the CELTA will make more sense if you have taught before.

token101

If I was to undertake the CELTA in Vietnam, what would be the reputable schools in Hanoi?

missmai

What major/minor would you recommend to get at as a degree for teaching in VN? Does the major even really matter?

Caonima

missmai wrote: »

What major/minor would you recommend to get at as a degree for teaching in VN? Does the major even really matter?

Doesn't really matter for normal ESL/EFL...

If you do, like me, EAP (English for Academic Purposes), having a related degree/masters etc. can be very useful.

missmai

Thanks, can't wait to get started

piddif

Caonima wrote: »

Start off with a TEFL course... you only really want to be doing a CELTA after you have a year or so of experience. It's better to actually do the job for a little while before you invest the time and money in a CELTA. And the CELTA will make more sense if you have taught before.

I've spent quite some time working out whether or not to do CELTA or an online TEFL cert.

Everything I have read and researched says do CELTA. It is made for beginners, and perhaps having previous teaching experience is actually a hindrance and not a benefit. It can be both, understandably.

Sure, if you don't have the time and money for CELTA you will get by with an online cert, however, if you can afford the time and money to get the CELTA then get it.

token101 wrote: »

If I was to undertake the CELTA in Vietnam, what would be the reputable schools in Hanoi?

Apollo, ILA, Language Link.

It appears that there are more negative reveiws for Apollo and ILA than LL, but that is probably because they are larger schools etc.

Give me 2 months and I'll let you know what CELTA @ LangaugeLink is like

piddif

dpp v mcgee wrote: »

Thanks. Im booking my flights today and Im gona see what the job situation is like around there and south east asia. What airlines are the best to fly with?

I got my flight (one way) for ~450euro. Budget Air via SkyScanner is what I used.

I'm flying from Dublin with BA and then Cathay Pacific.

Caonima

piddif wrote: »

I've spent quite some time working out whether or not to do CELTA or an online TEFL cert.

Everything I have read and researched says do CELTA. It is made for beginners, and perhaps having previous teaching experience is actually a hindrance and not a benefit. It can be both, understandably.

Sure, if you don't have the time and money for CELTA you will get by with an online cert, however, if you can afford the time and money to get the CELTA then get it.

A CELTA will be a lot more advanced than an online TEFL, and should include actual classroom time, lesson planning, and formal feedback. You don't really get this with an online TEFL. I can see your point about previous experience perhaps being a hindrance, but when I did my CELTA I was coupled with a few new teachers and they were lost for large sections of the practical components, not to mention classroom management and actual dealing with the students. I was happy to have been teaching for a while, despite having to unlearn some bad habits, or at least tweak some.

If you have the money, and more importantly time, then I'd invest in a CELTA if I were you.

VinylJunkie

What would the job situation look like around March 2014? I'm thinking about doing a CELTA course in Hanoi in February.

treenytru

Just wondering how everyone's getting on in Vietnam. I'm thinking of moving there next Summer. After 2 years teaching in Korea I'm in need to something a little different.
What i'm really wondering is with my 2 yrs experience and a Celta how many hrs per week do you think i'd have to work to be able to afford to live in Hanoi without dipping into my savings...is it possible to rent a studio apt while only working 10-15hrs/wk??
Any advice would be great guys:)

Hmm.. Bout $400 for a very decent one bed apartment. Another $600 for comfortable spending money. So yea, about 8-13 hours a week.

Experience and Celta will have you earning well pretty quickly.

treenytru

thanks for the info ads by google...almost seems too good to be true ...what am I doing in korea again?!
I've been reading up a bit on teaching in VN and it seems most advertised jobs pay between 18-25 dollars an hr. Is this the kind of pay scale I should be looking at or do you think I could see about earning a bit more?

m83

Hey treenyru, about the 18-25 dollars per hour, you'll more than likely start on the lower end of that scale. But it's not really an issue. Vietnam is a ridiculously cheap country to live in and the quality of life you can have here far exceeds what is possible in Korea. Trust me, I've done both and would never go back to the ROK.

----

And now my own question for the rest of you. I'm in Ho Chi Minh and need to get a work permit to continue teaching at my school. I have my original degree and background check here which I need to get notarised and apostilled. Will the embassy in Hanoi do both those things for me? I rang today but the Vietnamese lady who answered was less than helpful.

Any advice would be seriously appreciated. Thanks.

m83

m83 wrote: »

Hey treenyru, about the 18-25 dollars per hour, you'll more than likely start on the lower end of that scale. But it's not really an issue. Vietnam is a ridiculously cheap country to live in and the quality of life you can have here far exceeds what is possible in Korea. Trust me, I've done both and would never go back to the ROK.

----

Typically, it's up to $20 starting but that goes up.. I wouldn't work for less than $25 now and tbh, I've been turning down $40/50 out of laziness.

m83 wrote: »

And now my own question for the rest of you. I'm in Ho Chi Minh and need to get a work permit to continue teaching at my school. I have my original degree and background check here which I need to get notarised and apostilled. Will the embassy in Hanoi do both those things for me? I rang today but the Vietnamese lady who answered was less than helpful.

Any advice would be seriously appreciated. Thanks.

Hanoi will do the degree so that gives ya the green stamp. Then you need to get that translated and notarized by VN to get the red stamp. There's only one ****ty office in Hanoi that does it so it's different to all the other little notarisation places.
You'll have to get your background check done as well but mine is Vietnamese so that was just a three week wait. Next is the health check. And a stamp from your local police saying ya live where ya live.

That's pretty much the full process in Hanoi but HCM is a completely different city so not sure what's needed down there.. I'd be surprised if you got a (completely pointless) work permit as an ESL teacher without a teaching cert but if you're a science/maths/literature teacher, your relevant degree should cover ya.

If you get all the documents, it should be about $100.. Or ten times that if ya don't have them. I did mine because I want to keep my job but if it was just any old job, I'd have walked out instead of going through the BS. Remember not to not fully trust your employer.. They only learn what's needed as they go along.
[/QUOTE]

treenytru

Deleted User wrote: »

Typically, it's up to $20 starting but that goes up.. I wouldn't work for less than $25 now and tbh, I've been turning down $40/50 out of laziness.

I guess once you get established it's easier to get the higer paying jobs...thanks for the info guys and ads by google if you really don't want those $40/hr gigs feel free to throw them my way....will be over in September 2014