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Welcome to Working in Asia, a series featuring people doing all types of interesting jobs throughout Asia. Some people work as English teachers, tour guides, masseurs, or run their own companies. The opportunities and options are endless in this part of the world! If you work in Asia and would like to be featured in this series, please contact us.
In this interview we are so excited to hear from Jon, Co-Founder and Writer of Two Monkeys Travel Group, about his experience working as an English Teacher in Vietnam.
Working as an English Teacher in Vietnam.
Kach, the other half of Two Monkeys Travel Group, with her students in Vietnam.
How did you end up teaching English in Vietnam? What was going on in your life and why did you decide to make the move?I left my job and decided to travel, but I knew I didn’t want to have to return to another job just to save up all over again, so I took a TEFL course first. I travelled for a few months by motorbike around South East Asia, which is when Kach and I first met in Laos. Vietnam was essentially an accident – The motorbike I bought had a Vietnamese plate, so I had to take it back there to avoid a big fine from the Laos immigration!
When and where do/did you teach there?
I taught in Hanoi, from May 2013 to January 2014.
What type of school (public, private, International, kindergarten, etc.) did you teach at? What were the ages of your students?
I had several jobs and private students too, just to make up the hours and money I wanted to save. I taught mostly in private English centers, with students aged from 4 to 30.
Was this your first English teaching job? If not, where did you teach before and how did Vietnam compare to that place?
Before Vietnam, I had only spent a couple of days volunteering in a little village school in Cambodia. It couldn’t have been more different – from a tiny brick building crammed with 30 students, to well-equipped classrooms of no more than 15 upper-middle-class kids who arrive to class in Mercedes! But regardless of how much money they had, they were all great fun to teach!
What qualifications and experience did you need to get your job?
For all of my schools, all I needed was a minimum 120 hour TEFL certificate and preferably some teaching experience. There’s no hard rules though, I had a 19 year old friend who has been teaching in Hanoi for 2 years and to this day still has no formal qualifications past high school!
Are you interested in teaching English abroad?
Check out MyTEFL to get your online TEFL teaching certification. They also offer free job placement once you have completed your course!
Use our code: “TWOCAN35” for 35% off any MyTEFL course
Note: The majority of schools require teachers to have completed at least 120 hours of course training, so be sure to choose that option or higher.
How did you find the job? Do you have recommendations for how to find an English teaching job in Vietnam?
I enjoyed all of my jobs. Some required more lesson planning, some none at all. As long as the money was right and the kids got the learning they were there for, I made a point not to be too fussy. My advice would be to set your standards for salary and not to deviate from that, then look around the teacher Facebook groups and forums for reports and references about schools you’re applying for. Sometimes though, it’s just a case of trial and error.
What did you enjoy about teaching English in Vietnam? What did you dislike?
As an English teacher in Hanoi, I was definitely in a strong position, as the demand far outnumbered the available teachers, so I always knew I could walk out of one job and into another. I’m not sure if that’s still the case or not. One thing I found hard to put up with however, was taking direction from people completely unqualified to give it. It wasn’t too common, but the main problem is that anyone can rent a building, throw in some desks and call it a ‘Language Center.’
What did you like and dislike about living in Vietnam? Was it hard to adjust to living there?
There’s really nothing I didn’t like about living in Vietnam, I loved every part of it! What I loved the most was that there was never end to the adjustment. It’s one of those places that just when you think you’ve seen it all and figured it all out, it throws something completely random and new at you!
Did your salary allow you to live the way you want? Were you able to save money?
Teacher salaries are very good in Hanoi, the minimum going rate is $20 USD per hour and you can live a very good life of 30 hours per week. If you’re prepared to work more than that, then you can take home $2000+ a month in cash and save 60 to 70% of that.
Does/did your school provide any benefits (housing, bonus, flights, vacation days, medical insurance)?
This really depends on the school and how long your contract is, mine never did, but if you were to sign a minimum one year contract with an international school, then you would certainly get your holidays, work permits, paid vacations and bonuses. With the housing, I’ve seen some adverts including housing, but my advice would be to find your own that meets your own standards.
What is some advice/tips you have for someone interested in teaching English in Vietnam?
Be prepared for a challenging start, but don’t be deterred at all. After a little trial and error, you’ll find a good job with the hours you like and can down to enjoying the crazy and incredible experience of living in Vietnam!
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Thanks for reading, and so glad you found this post useful!
I personally have no patience for teaching but I will be passing it along to my friends who have been thinking about teaching English.
Appreciate that Jeh-C! Hope they will find it useful.
Great post. I think TEFL is such a great opportunity to travel and boost other skills. I taught in China for two years and it boosted my confidence in speaking in public and also helped with my Chinese skills because I constantly wanted to speak with my Chinese colleagues in their local language. And of course the kids are adorable.
Thanks for the comment Sophie! You’re absolutely right, having a TEFL opens doors to so much more than just teaching jobs. It’s a chance for travel, adventure, and doing more than we ever thought possible. Where did you live in China? We also taught there for 2 years and really liked it 🙂
Teaching English as a way to fund travel is something I have never done up until this point, so thanks for the insight!
Hey Dave! Teaching is definitely a worthwhile way to immerse yourself in a place and earn money to fund further travels. That’s how we’ve funded our past 4 years in Asia!
Thanks for sharing your experience! Such an amazing opportunity, and very cool to hear that really anyone can sign up for a course and do it. I was totally under the impressiont hat you had to have teaching qualifications prior to applying, so I may just look into a TEFL course. Thanks for the inspiration!
A TEFL course is a great certification to have under your belt to get teaching jobs around the world. Some places do require a bachelor’s degree as well, it just depends on where in the world you are and the school you work for. Cheers for the comment!
I love teaching English and have funded my five years of travel in Asia with it! It’s an extremely rewarding job and Jon is totally right in saying that you can earn excellent travel money with it! If you want to earn LOTS of money, China and the Middle East are hot spots at the moment but the most important thing is that you live and work in a place you love.
You’re so right, Alice! Teaching is very rewarding and can be a great way to rack up savings for travel! Making sure you love the place you choose to live and work is essential, and doesn’t always work out as planned! Doing a fair bit of background research on the location and school, as well as talking to current teachers there is always a good idea (something Stevo and I learned the hard way!). Thanks for the comment!
I thought of teaching English several times to support my travel addiction. I even got a job offer once in Colombia… then gave it up to just travel!! But I still think this is one of the few actual jobs I would do 🙂
Teaching can be very rewarding…but then again so is constant travel! 🙂 It’s great to have the option to teach while on the road though if you ever want to! We feel so lucky to be able to do it to fund our travels. Cheers!
It’s sound like a great opportunity to work as an English teacher in Vietnam. It’s probably a good and easy way to save up some cash, but get to know the country as well. Do you actually have to be a native speaker to do the TEFL? Or can anyone do it?
Non-native English speakers can also do the TEFL, and I know lots of non-native speakers who have found English teaching jobs here in Asia. There are a surprising number of opportunities to teach other languages as well!
Great interview! I’m getting ready to travel to Vietnam in just about a month. I won’t be teaching English, but good to know that for those who have worked there for an extended period the experience was enjoyable. And for a higher salary than I would have expected.
We were surprised that the salary can be that high as well! Definitely good to know. Hope you have an awesome time in Vietnam!!
Ah great to hear, interesting the pay is so high but then again, in many of the intl schools in Asia parents pay upwards of $10,000 a year per kid, the fees go as high as $30,000 in Singapore so teachers do get paid decent money. I work in Asia, but for Google so not sure this fit what you are looking for 🙂
Hi Mar! We would love to hear more about your experience working for Google in Asia! I will PM you 🙂 And yes, some of the International schools charge very high tuition, which does translate to higher salaries for teachers. A school we worked for in Shanghai charged $20,000/year for primary school!
It sounds like it is really doable to travel around the world by teaching English as a foreign language!
It really is! It’s been working for us for the past four years 🙂 Cheers for the comment!
Awesome insightful article! I’ve been wondering about doing this for some time now, I didn’t realize the money could be so great. Hmm…
Thanks Amelie! I was surprised the pay is that high as well. Definitely intriguing…