Teaching English in Vietnam
Teaching English in Vietnam - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
We often get questions about teaching English in Vietnam, so we've decided to collect all of the questions we've ever been asked, gather all of our data, together with our opinions to write a guide on all you need to know about teaching English in Vietnam. Side note: rules are forever changing so we will try our best to keep this post updated. Here we go!
WHAT DO I NEED?
Bachelor’s Degree: To apply for a work permit, you need a degree. It can be any degree and not necessarily in the education field. Please note: your degree MUST be authenticated and certified in your home country before you arrive in Vietnam. (Non-degree holders - don’t worry, read further).
TESOL/ TEFL/CELTA certificate: Most schools and language centers prefer you to have an in-class TESOL/TEFL/CELTA certificate, with a minimum of 120 hours. Some schools do hire you if you have an online TESOL/TEFL/CELTA certificate, some don’t. We HIGHLY suggest doing an in-class certification purely for the experience and knowledge you will gain on the course. Here are the 2 companies we trust: Ninja Teacher and Live Local Asia
Clean criminal record check: This must be done in your home country and cannot be more than 6 months old by the time you apply for a job in Vietnam.
Health-check: This is done once you have been accepted to work for a school. The school will send you to one of their listed hospitals for a comprehensive health check, they generally pay for it as well.
CV: Schools in Vietnam require you to have a CV that includes all of your qualifications, as well as past experience in the field of teaching (don’t worry, it can be ANY type of teaching experience). Click this link for a FREE downloadable CV template that is accepted by all schools in Vietnam.
Passport: Schools need a copy of your passport to make sure that you are who you say you are, and that you have the correct type of visa in order to apply for a work permit.
Lastly, you must ideally be a native english speaker. If you aren’t a native english speaker but you do have a degree, you can work in Vietnam but recruitment companies cannot guarantee you a job placement.
WHAT ARE THE WORKING HOURS?
This usually depends on the type of school you’re applying to. There are 4 different types of schools in Vietnam: language centers (generally operate in the evenings as extra lessons), public schools (offer english as a subject during the normal school day), private schools (offer English as a compulsory subject during the normal school day), International schools (either offer english as a compulsory subject, or teach every school subject in the English language).
Language schools are the easier route. They generally operate in the evenings, and are very flexible. Language schools offer between 1-4 hours a day on weekdays, and 2-9 hours on weekends. It is entirely up to you and how many hours you’d like to work for. Public schools can offer you between 1-6 hours a day. They generally follow the normal school day schedule from Monday-Friday (occasionally Saturdays too). International and private schools will generally pay a full time salary every month and do not work off of hourly rates. They follow normal school hours, so you'll be working between 6-9 hours a day, Monday-Friday (and occasionally a Saturday too). You do need a degree to apply to International and private schools though.
HOW MUCH DO YOU EARN?
As mentioned above, this does depend on the type of school. However, the going rate for a qualified, native-english teacher that meets all of the requirements, is between $18-$25 an hour. If you work around 21 hours a week, you'll get paid between $1500-$2200 a month.
Private and International schools pay more than that but again, that’s dependent on your qualifications, your prior experience, and on the school itself. You're looking at between $1800-$3300 per month at an International school.
WHAT COMPANIES OR SCHOOLS SHOULD I APPLY TO?
We’ve decided to list a few of the most common language centers and schools in this blog post, for those who are wanting to apply whilst living abroad. HOWEVER, we suggest that you go through a recruitment agency that'll help with the entire job hunting and hiring process. They have a good connection with schools all over Vietnam and they really do assist you with the entire process. The above two companies Ninja Teacher and Live Local Asia are the companies that we personally used. Here are the top language schools in Vietnam, in no particular order:
VUS, Wall Street English, ILA, Apax, YOLA and Apollo.
CAN I TEACH WITHOUT A DEGREE?
Yes, you can. To be able to legally work in Vietnam, with a work permit, you need to have a degree. However, there are ways around it. You can work for certain schools without a degree, if you are a native English speaker. Just note, you can expect to be paid less than degree holders, while maybe even working harder. Another thing to take note of is that recruitment companies cannot guarantee you a job placement.
Cambodia allows non-degree holders to work in their country, so that is another option for you if Vietnam doesn't work out.
CAN I EARN ENOUGH TO SURVIVE?
Absolutely. Even if you're earning the lower bracket salary paid by schools, you will still be able to survive and live comfortably in Vietnam. That’s because the cost of living is so low - you can easily survive off of $1000 a month, maybe even less. We do suggest having about $2000 savings before you arrive in Vietnam to be able to cover your living expenses for a month or two, while you're finishing up your TESOL course and/or looking for work. You need to take into account a deposit on an apartment too, as well as a deposit on a motorbike if you plan on staying for a while. To learn more about cost of living in Vietnam, you can check out our youtube video here.
HOW EASY IS IT TO FIND WORK?
It is relatively easy finding work all year round, as long as you meet all of the above requirements. There are certain times in the year where it'll be easier than others. July to January are the best times for teachers to look for jobs. We applied in early February, after the Lunar New Year holiday and we had a bit of a difficult time. It took us longer to find the jobs we were looking for, and we’re both highly qualified.
Again, we recommend Ninja Teacher or Live Local Asia to help you job search. We personally used Ninja Teacher, who were very efficient and helpful in finding us job placements.
IS VIETNAM SAFE?
We get asked this question quite a lot, especially from Americans, asking whether Vietnam is a safe country, and if the people are friendly and accepting of foreigners. The answer is simple: yes, it is totally safe. The Vietnamese people look up to and respect foreign teachers, even Americans (I say that because there are often preconceived notions that they'll treat Americans differently as a result of the Vietnam war).
Like in every country, there are con-artists and corrupt people but as long as you work with reputable companies and schools, you'll be fine. Please don't have any hesitations in contacting us if you need any advice. Live Local Asia and Ninja Teacher will gladly answer your questions as well.
We loved our time teaching in Vietnam and would highly recommend that you take the plunge and JUST DO IT! We have no regrets whatsoever. The whole experience taught us lessons that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives and for that, we’re so grateful. Check out our ESL (Becoming an English Teacher) playlist on YouTube, for all the videos we filmed in Vietnam!
If you have any more questions about teaching in Vietnam, please feel free to email us at hello@rhettandclaire.com.
