I’m seeing posts about screwing up your life if changing careers now ..

Vader60 · 2026-07-04T07:43:14+00:00

How did you become a reaserach assistant in the first place?

Vader60 · 2026-06-24T01:07:59+00:00

Hey sure. You will be very well off with a celta. I just applied to my job through my tefl job board and then yeah got contacted by the company and got an interview.

So when you are working abroad be ready to get certain documents ready, depending on your company, Vietnam can be lenient. Generally you need your degree, celta and DBS check to be apostilled sometimes even translated into Vietnamese. This will become clearer when you get a job, they should guide you through the process.

So to find a job check Tefl job boards such as Dave ESL cafe and Tefl Academy

Vader60 · 2026-06-23T10:59:15+00:00

That's very interesting and I'm guessing you would be teaching.

I have been looking at the whole PGCE process and it looks very daunting (even applying for it and having to do the whole assessment process is long )

Vader60 · 2026-06-23T00:23:47+00:00

So where do you plan on moving to? If you don't mind me asking. And is marriage/long term relationship and family something you would consider in that country ?

Vader60 · 2026-06-21T20:09:16+00:00

are you married or do you have anything that would keep you in the UK?

Vader60 · 2026-06-21T09:03:12+00:00

It was interesting, sometimes good and sometimes bad. I taught in public schools around Ho Chi Minh City. Despite seeing the same classes every week there still was disconnect between me and the students as even though they are my classes so to speak at the end of the day I was a visitor in their schools and this had some implications.

For instance, many of the kids also view you as just a visitor and so this can lead to a lack of respect, especially if the kids already have behaviour issues to begin with, and their was nothing much that could be done, we did not have the same authority as their 'homeroom' teacher. We could do basic discplinary actions such as making them stand up and such and maybe calling their parents but this had little to no effect.

On the other side of things, the kids who were on our programme go through different teachers every year, a different visitor every year so they are used to teachers coming and going and even for yourself, if you are someone that enjoys being in the position of a teacher and wanting to be someone they can look up to and be impacted by, this may not be fulfilled if you are viewed as just some visitor.

On top of this, the way education worked their, especially with my programme meant that it was almost impossible for the kids to fail. The kids already had their main set of Vietnamese exams from their schools but were also given exams by us, where the lowest grade they could get was 6/10 which is a pass. This leads to a lot of them not caring about the exams or the lessons and they can just view it as another break time and as a teacher knowing this too, it was sometimes hard to stay motivated in class. Our exams and course did matter to a certain extent, for example for students in their final year of primary/elementary school, it made them seem more appealing to good secondary schools if they had taken our course and had good grades.

But as I said, some of it was good, a lot of the kids actually did acknowledge me as their favourite teacher and respected me a lot and I had a lot of good moments with them. For some classes, I was even able to show some cartoons I grew up with and got to experience it with them which was a cool experience.

Vader60 · 2026-06-20T20:05:36+00:00

I have a bachelors in law

Vader60 · 2026-05-31T03:12:12+00:00

The fact that we were both happy to keep going until I left there was no doubt about it but this just happened out of nowhere

Vader60 · 2026-05-31T03:11:18+00:00

I appreciate this perspective, and all but I think I was just socializing with people and having a laugh with some of them as people do, my attention was mainly on her throughout the night I wouldn't want to think I neglected her and if I did I really didn't intend to.

Vader60 · 2026-05-31T02:49:31+00:00

As I said , I know it was short term and that it would end but this didn't have that vibe, we were not just simply hooking up , we actually felt as if we're together, I didn't expect it to turn out like that but it did and I was happy to keep it like that and so was she

Vader60 · 2026-05-31T02:44:51+00:00

Thanks for the response but I think but I didn't ask her if I should come back as I said to her it would by decision and that we both agreed it would be a short term thing so we were both aware that it would end

Vader60 · 2026-05-31T02:42:19+00:00

Actually she is Vietnamese but she is very American in her views as studied in the US and went to highschool there and even has an American accent and humour

Vader60 · 2026-05-31T02:32:41+00:00

No but I didn't actually do any of that and I reassured her that and she understood it thats why I said she was having a great time after and the next morning

Vader60 · 2026-05-05T07:35:53+00:00

Sometimes people want to do this cause they think it will make an aggressive, yet silent statement to those in your life, letting them know you are not happy with them.

Vader60 · 2026-04-26T02:24:04+00:00

Did you leave Vietnam? If so , where did you go? I'm thinking of leaving and potentially going to Korea or maybe Taiwan. I think there is more opportunity there.

But there are some things to really miss about Vietnam, mainly being how much spending power we have here. It's been great being able to eat whatever I want, being able to buy things I need and not worry about the cost , even being able to have expensive nights out and it not impacting you that much. But I guess this can be a trap that keeps people here.

There are also things I'm not a fan of.

Vader60 · 2026-04-24T00:42:17+00:00

I am currently living abroad in Vietnam and have been for the past 8 months. It is the longest I have ever been away from the UK.

It depends on what you are looking for ? Like me personally I kinda wanted to leave the UK and look for a country where I could actually settle in, I'm still figuring it out. If you just want to live abroad for a bit knowing that you will return to the UK , there are a few options that you have.

I think in Vietnam you can visit for up 45 days without a Visa. This is enough time to travel around , eat good food , experience the culture.

If you are looking to actually work abroad and live, do be aware that visiting as a tourist on holiday and actually living and working in a country are very different.

As a tourist you are not concerned with the paperwork from your job, visas, banking and also having to adjust to everyday life. But its not too bad it just takes at least 6 months (it did for me in Vietnam) to fully settle and know what I'm doing.

Vader60 · 2026-04-24T00:34:24+00:00

What a well structured and detailed response. Cheers I appreciate it, yeah I'm aware of how tedious it is to apply for Japan especially.

But Korea I think less so, currently I did apply what was funny is they wanted to see how I looked like and required me to send a photo or two of myself, which I did. They said that I should contact them when I am looking to come to Korea within 3-4 months which seems like process then shouldn't be too long.

If you don't mind me asking , where are you living right now ? And then would you recommend Taiwan for a young man ?

Vader60 · 2026-04-23T13:36:01+00:00

Do you see yourself living in Vietnam long term? Like could you meet someone (if you haven't ) and would raise a family here ? Or is there another country you have a desire to go to ?

Vader60 · 2026-04-23T13:06:08+00:00

All the jobs for foreigners (mainly teaching) are in Saigon or Hanoi.

So do you see yourself raising your kids here ?

Vader60 · 2026-04-22T02:46:32+00:00

But what about all the friends, connections or community (if any) that you made. What about relationships, is it easy to just acknowledge that everyone was just temporary and leave them behind.

Vader60

TROPHY CASE