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Have you ever thought about how crazy it would be to move to Vietnam? Of course you have! How else would you have gotten to this post?
Listen. If you’re from a developed country, but you’d like to try living in Vietnam, it’s 100% doable. Before we talk about exactly what your Vietnam expat job options are, however, let’s talk about why you’d want to live in Vietnam.
Here are some of the best parts about living in Vietnam:
- Cost of living — The cost of living in Vietnam is insanely low. Western style accommodation generally costs from $200-$450 per bedroom. Eating out is rarely more expensive than $15 for a couple.
- Services are cheap — From getting a massage to calling a motorbike taxi to drive you around town, you can get inexpensively hire other people to help you perform almost any activity.
- Traditional values — Family comes first in Vietnamese culture. Friendships are important as well. If you’re tired of the materialism that’s all too common in the West, you may find that in Vietnam you’re able to have more authentic connections with people.
- A great travel base — It’s suuuper easy to travel from Vietnam to other countries in Southeast Asia. If you’re interested in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, and/or Singapore, you’ll easily be able to visit these countries on weekend trips from Vietnam.
As you can see, there’s a lot to love about living in Vietnam. Of course, staying here long-term isn’t free. Do you have hundreds of thousands of dollars saved for your retirement in Vietnam?
Me neither. Living in Vietnam will require most of us to work. Fortunately there are plenty of options to work in Vietnam for foreigners. Here are some of the most popular ones…
#1 English Teacher/Examiner
This is probably the most popular option for expats living in Vietnam. Vietnam is arguably the best country in the world to teach English abroad in 2018 and beyond. The government is really prioritizing strengthening its citizens’ English skills and the demand for teachers in Vietnam is INSANE.
Take Vietnam’s high salaries for teachers (roughly $20/hour with some variance depending on where you live in the country) and combine it with a low cost of living. What do you get?
A truly excellent opportunity to see a foreign culture and stack $$$.
While English teachers may be able to save even more money by living in China or the Middle East, Vietnam is able to offer a solid financial opportunity without forcing you to take too much of a hit in the lifestyle department (censorship, personal freedom, etc).
Pros: Becoming a teacher and teaching English in Vietnam is THE fastest way to move here if you have no skills. I’ve met guys at restaurants that are making $20/hour that don’t even know what tenses are in English. I’m not even kidding.
Lots of schools will hire you in Vietnam just for being white. There’s this travel vlogger who talks about everything people need to know about living in Saigon, and he made a video on exactly this subject.
Cons: There isn’t much room for growth as an English teacher in Vietnam. Hell, there aren’t many growth opportunities in teaching English abroad anywhere. Any skills you develop teaching English are also basically worthless if you return to your home country.
You’ll also likely have to commute around town a lot, and do unpaid “lesson preparation” work.
Potential-Income: Low to moderate.
Recommendation: As the easiest way for foreigners to work in Vietnam, teaching English isn’t a horrible idea to start your traveling lifestyle. Just don’t get caught into what a friend of mine once called the, “TEFL trap”.
What he basically meant was that if you choose to teach English, you need to have a side hustle. Without having a side hustle, it’s all too common for foreigners working in Vietnam to take the easy teaching money and become lazy.
You NEED to invest in your future if you teach English in Vietnam. Work, save money, and learn skills or build businesses on the side to ensure you don’t become an unappreciated bitter old chap teaching children their “ABC’s”.
#2 Language School Owner
I’ve never met or talked to any foreigners running language schools in Vietnam. I’m sure they exist. As I said earlier, there is a HUGE demand to learn English amongst young people.
Running a language school would definitely have more growth potential than being an English teacher or examiner.
Plus, if you’ve already spent several years teaching English in Vietnam, it may make sense for you to attempt to build a business in an industry in which you already have some degree of expertise.
Pros: It’ll be easy for you to have a huge social circle of other foreigners and English-speaking locals. You’ll also have a significantly higher income ceiling than those merely working a 9-5 gig as teachers.
If your school is very successful, you may even be able to start a chain with many branches and make REAL $$$.
Cons: You need capital to get started. You’ll also risk going without profits or even losing money. You may also have to partner with a local to establish your business.
Hopefully you can trust that person.
Not to mention you’ll have to manage a large number of people. #Stressful
There’s also a good chance you’ll have to give “tea money” *cough* bribe *cough* the local police in order for your business not to get shut down.
Income Potential: Nothing to very high.
Recommendation: Tread carefully if you decide of pursuing this method of working in Vietnam as a foreigner. There are lots of risks, plus starting a business in Vietnam also ties you to the country.
You’ll probably be spending most of your time in Vietnam for at least the next several years. Make sure you have the mental fortitude to handle living in a developing country for long periods of time before you take the plunge…
#3 Local Freelancer
Are you a tall, muscular, man with pale white skin? Congratulations. You can be a model in Vietnam. Same goes for attractive females with white skin.
I’m not trying to be racist. But it’s where Vietnamese society is at this point. If you’re tall, and white, well by golly you’ll get tagged in tons of Facebook threads asking you to be a model.
That’s probably the most popular gig amongst local freelancers. Of course, I’m not pale enough to have ever been asked…
If not a model, you may also be able to find work as an entertainer. One of my friends was making a livable income as a musician a few years back.
Pros: You’ll probably have lots of free time. You’ll be able to work with the people you want. You’ll be able to do something you enjoy. I’d imagine you’d rarely feel stressed about having to do a modeling gig, a music show, or whatever freelance gig you work your way into.
Cons: Work may be inconsistent or difficult to come by. You’ll likely have to commute around the city a lot. You may have to do border runs, or pay a significant amount of money for long-term visas.
There’s also a good chance that some of the work you’re doing could technically be labeled illegal. Also… the only two places you’ll realistically be able to find enough gigs to support yourself as a model or entertainer in Vietnam are the capital Hanoi, or Ho Chi Minh City.
In other words, you’re pretty much confined to polluted big city life whether you like it or not.
Income-Potential: Very low to moderately low
Recommendation: This is probably the least desirable option of everything on this list. You’re unlikely to make much money as a freelancer, plus you may not have the proper visa to perform your freelancing activities in Vietnam.
While Vietnamese immigration is lax and you’re unlikely to face any problems, there’s no way I can recommend working illegally in a foreign country. Especially when the potential reward is so low in even the best of scenarios.
#4 Local Restaurant/Bar Owner
There are tons of expats in Vietnam (and especially Saigon) that run their own bars or restaurants. From the American guy I met running his burrito Tex-Mex restaurant to the French running upscale wine bars, there are opportunities here.
Pros: If you start a bar it’ll be easy for you to uhhh… “meet” lots of sexy young women — both local and foreign. And if you’re running a restaurant, you’ll have lots of freedom in controlling your work environment.
You’ll have creative control over promotional activities, and have the power to only hire people that are fun to work with. Owning any type of local business will also boost your status amongst both locals and foreigners.
Cons: You need capital to get started. You also risk losing all of your investment. You may have to partner with a local in order to start your business and you’ll also have Vietnamese bureaucracy to deal with.
You’ll have to manage people… which always comes with problems.
You’ll have local laws, regulations, and corruption to deal with.
Income Potential: Nothing to pretty high
Recommendation: Every guy that travels around Asia has the idea of starting a bar…
That alone should ring alarm bells for you…
Competition is fierce in the food and bar scene in Vietnam. It would be suuuper risky to invest your life savings in a local restaurant or bar here.
Process with haste… Do all your research, and then some before making any move.
#5 Employee/Manager of an International Company
While I haven’t met many people like this, it’s definitely possible for a company in your home country to station you in Vietnam. If you’re working in logistics, marketing, technology, or management, there are opportunities.
Pros: You’ll be very well off in Vietnam if you’re making a Western salary. Even if your modest $30,000-$45,000/year doesn’t seem like much back home, you’d feel very comfortable as a single person living on that much in Vietnam.
Of course, even better yet if you’re making more! Making $100,000+ each year in Vietnam really would be the dream…
You’ll also continue to gain experience that could prove to be valuable even if you had to return back to your home country in a few years.
Cons: You don’t have much control over your company sending you to Vietnam. You’ll also likely need several years of experience to even be considered.
You also may find your company uses Vietnam’s “lower cost of living” as a way to rationalize decreasing your salary.
Plus, let’s not forget the biggest problem…
You may eventually find your job stolen by a local. After all, if you’re costing the company $5,000 a month while a competent local only requires a $500/month salary…
It isn’t hard to imagine what your company may consider in such a scenario.
Income Potential: Moderate to high
Recommendation: If you luck into your company wanting to send you abroad, it’s one of the better options you’ll have as a foreigner working in Vietnam. As a regular employee or manager, expat jobs in Vietnam just tend not to pay as well as their counterparts in the West.
If you can maintain the same salary you have in America or Europe, and simply move yourself to Vietnam, keeping your 9-5 makes a lot of sense.
If the company wants you to take a pay-cut to compensate for the “lower cost of living” negotiate firmly and consider just how badly you want to move to Vietnam.
While Vietnam is cheaper than the US and Europe, in many cases, goods will often be of a lower quality as well. Keep that in mind.
#6 Employee of a Remote-Friendly Company
These days there are lots of remote-friendly companies. Whether you’re a content marketer and SEO consultant like me, an English teacher working online with VIPKID, or a web developer, going into a physical office is no longer necessary.
Pros: Working online gives you lots of freedom. While you are still held accountable to clients, or your company, in many cases you’ll have complete control over when and how you work.
Another benefit of working for a remote-friendly company is that you won’t have to deal with as much pointless office chatter and complaining.
Cons: Sitting on the computer all day isn’t good for your body. That’s why I always say that having a computer stand is so important. Having a computer stand helps ensure that your back and shoulders don’t slouch so much while you’re working.
Another potential con of working for a remote-friendly company is that if you get fired while living in Vietnam it could be hard to find another similar gig.
P.S. Read my review on the world’s best value computer stand here.
Potential Income: Fairly low to pretty high
Recommendation: Remote gigs can be great. Just make sure you’re company doesn’t have the expectation that if you’re not on-site that you’ll always be online.
#7 Online Freelancer/Entrepreneur
Being a “digital nomad” or online entrepreneur is all the rage these days. Building your own business and traveling the world is LEGIT.
I’ve never met cooler people than the online entrepreneur crew in Saigon. To be honest, the best expat job in Vietnam isn’t actually a job.
I’d argue that the best work in Vietnam for foreigners is building an online business.
Why?
You won’t have to worry about commuting halfway across the city through polluted air. You won’t have to worry about Asian work culture, or having to pay bribes to local authorities. You also (usually) have the freedom to work whenever and however you want.
My clients don’t care what day I write an article. They don’t care if it was completed at home of in a coffee shop. It just needs to be high quality, and submitted before the deadline.
If you have cool clients, or are working on your own business, the same will apply for you.
Pros: FREEDOM. Sweet, sweet freedom. As an online entrepreneur or freelancer, you have a huge abundance of control over your schedule. You can work when you want, and where you want.
Plus, there isn’t a strict cap on your income. If I need money, all I have to do is pump out more content for my clients and they’ll send it on over.
Even better yet, if you’re running an online store or business. At that point the sky is the limit. You can literally make millions of dollars if you execute on everything at a high level.
Not to mention the fact that you can take a vacation anytime you want or even leave Vietnam permanently if you ever get sick of the country.
Cons: Freedom? That’s right. The benefit of working a regular job for foreigners in Vietnam is that you get a routine. You have a schedule and you know when you have to work.
As an online freelancer or entrepreneur, you have to hold yourself accountable. You have to put in the time even though nobody is watching.
Working from home sounds like paradise, but it’s actually reeeeally freeeeaking HARD.
Potential Income: Very low to millions
Recommendation: If you search expat jobs in Vietnam, most people aren’t going to tell you to start an online business or freelancing career.
Let me be the contrarian. If you’re ambitious, but also have a curious soul and would love to travel the world, learning to make money online is the best thing you could do for yourself.
Of course, you’ll also want to be smart about things. Don’t buy a flight to Vietnam with only $3,000 in your bank account and no existing income streams and hope things work out.
I was very lucky things worked out. You may not be. Be smart.
Work a regular expat job in Vietnam (or stay in your home country), and build your online hustle on the side before quitting everything else.
Conclusion
As I said in the beginning of this article, there are lots of opportunities for work in Vietnam for foreigners. Don’t think your options are only limited to those 18 results you saw on that expat jobs site.
There are people here doing all kinds of things. If you want to be a digital nomad in Vietnam go for it! If you want to get an expat job, that’s cool too. Just know that there are lots of options and that you don’t need to rush into anything.
Hopefully this post was informative and helped show you that 🙂
P.S. If you’re thinking about working in Vietnam, you’ll regret it if you don’t buy these things before coming…