Colorful city streets at night
Beautiful Ho Chi Minh City in the evening
Vietnam TEFL Guide
This Vietnam TEFL guide may encourage you to consider working in Vietnam. If you are interested in a guaranteed job before you go, we recommend
our Train and Teach in Vietnam program.
Why Teach English in Vietnam?
In Vietnam you will find fascinating culture, great food, friendly people and easy access to incredible neighboring countries such as China, Cambodia, Laos and even Thailand. World famous beaches such as China Beach are waiting for you as are ots of jobs, good wages and chance to save a nice chunk of money. Add all that up and Vietnam is becoming the "go to" country in Southeast Asia.
Vietnam spans a loong distance from north to south, so you will find a wide range of weather from chilly up north to consistently hot and steamy down south. Head for Ha Noi if you prefer a more moderate climate, but most people think of Ho Chi Minh City as the place to be in Vietnam. It is certainly where the best jobs and best wages are.
Wages and the Cost of Living in Vietnam
Wages can vary quite a bit and a lot of teachers do a bit of part-time work in addition to their regular jobs. Typical contract wages run from about US$1200 to $2200 depending on the city (Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh pay the best) and how many hours you work per week and your qualifications and previous experience. Accommodation can be expensive and many teachers share housing. Many employers will "assist" with accommodation which means anything from partial to full payment for the cost of your housing or sometimes just helping you find a reasonably priced place.
Wages for teaching English in Vietnam are quite decent on the local economy and you will find you can save several hundred dollars a month without too much effort. Some teachers are able to save as much as half of their income. But - if you are in the nightclubs every night, you'll not be saving much.
A good meal at a street vendor is as low as US$1 and a local restaurant can range from $1.50-2.00 and up. Local liquor can be had for as little as twenty cents a shot. The cost of living is low if you live and eat locally. Eating in expensive Western restaurants can burn a lot of your money, so get to know and enjoy Vietnamese food which is fresh and healthy. Vietnam TEFL guide recommends you try the famous ban mi sandwich.
Formalities
You'll need a visa before you arrive in Vietnam or our partner school can help arrange your visa so you can pick it up at the airport on arrival. Once in country you obtain working papers from the school at which you work and some people work at several schools. Schools tend to prefer hiring from face-to-face interviews. To avoid uncertainty and to arrive confident of your situation, we recommend our Train and Teach in Vietnam program. The program comes with a guaranteed job and free accommodation during training. Check it out HERE and then please feel free to ask questions. We are happy to help if we can. There are great FAQs on that page with good information about wages, cost of living and how much you can save.
Things change quickly and this Vietnam TEFL guide tries to stay up to date. Please let us know if you find any inaccuracies or are aware of significant changes. You can use the chat box on the bottom right of this page.
Vietnam TEFL Guide
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