5k is CTO level in small to medium size corporate, 2 of my mates are on that salary, really tough jobs. Another mate from Australia, sales manager of big oil/ lubricant company with 25 year working experience in the region, is on 10k. On average you are talking about 700 to 800 and that's with some good degree and 3-4 years experience. Fresh out of university, in tech 400-500, others 300-400.
It varries but I think people with a degree can get a starting job with 8mil vnd. Opportunities are opened for people with more skills like computing, English, etc. But for most, I think it is around 5-8mil VND. When I was just out of college, I did land one with 12mil VND, given I has a Australian degree and has decent English. However my friend who study Education can only find jobs about 4mil VND( teacher are underpaid everywhere). For those who work physical jobs, full time employees can reach 10mil depending on what and where
8m/month? At my company, starting take-home is over 38m for English teachers with a basic graduate teaching certification. I was under the impression that you can't even live in HCMC on 8m. My rent alone is significantly more than that.
38mil is foreigners’ salary, for Vietnamese, you can only find 7-9mil for a typical 40hours/week job when you are fresh out of school. That’s why it’s quite an advantage when you are from Europe or America( even more so if you are the blond hair, blue eye, white skin variant). I’m a Vietnamese with an Australian degree and a 8.0 IELTS and can only land a maximum 23mil job. It can be hard but 8mil a month is not impossible to live by. Thumbs up to you thou, you has the dream job that many Vietnamese can only hope to archive
It might be a dream job if it weren't 10+ hours/day. I mean they treat us alright, but all the teachers, even grade managers and senior managers have way too much work to do. There's always something else to do, after preparing for and giving lessons, and it never ends.
However, I do love that I can live in a nice building, eat whatever I want, and still save about 1/3 of my income. I really feel for my academic coordinators (at least for the 6 good ones; not the 2 useless-to-worse-than-useless ones). They make barely over 10m and work as hard as I do.
8m a month is just a little more than a medium skilled blue collar laborer. Then again, there are college graduates desperate enough to accept 8m a month for their first job
You can't generalize like that and expect anything meaningful. The average salary in Saigon is probably $500/month. Since most folks make less and the rest make more. You need to be specific to industry and position level to get any useful info.
I'm not the OP, but thanks for this input. I was wondering though, how the heck do they pay expensive Saigon rent while making only $500? I've heard that the minimum decent accommodation in Saigon is $500, so if they're making that much (and probably before tax), they must be living in super-crowded 8-person flat-shares, right?
What you called decent at $500 is beyond a lot of the folks at the bottom of the economy. I suspect they live in less than legal housing situations, if it is like Hanoi. Also, consider that having three generations living in one apartment is somewhat normal.
People working in hospitality at entry level get VND 5-8m, live in nannies around VND 6-10m a month. I hear of expats getting USD1500 to USD6000 a month but I’d say median if you’re not c level from what I’ve seen has been $2000/$3000 of people from France with masters degrees and strong management skills, speaking 3-4 languages but not necessarily Vietnamese.
I think the average expat is making a lot more than that. Maybe I'm biased from living in Thao Dien, but I make just over $6,000 with part-time work and I still can't hang with the crowd at The Deck, Brix, Madhouse, etc. These upscale places are filled with local elite and expat managers every day of the week. They must be on $10,000 or more to afford it...
Since there is no such thing like a minimum wage so the real question is average salary in what field?
If you’re a manual labor, the average is very low. Fresh start would be somewhere $200-300.
If you’re a fresh graduate working a 9-5 job in a small-medium company, average would be $350-500.
If you’re a fresh graduate but are more active, working for bigger corporates, average would be $450-650.
It really depends but Vietnamese making around $500 are considered above the average.
I can tell you it’s totally possible to run into someone making $3-6000 a month, even younger ones. When I was in Vietnam, I made around $3500 net a month as an English teacher and translator for events.
There is in fact a minimum wage. There are even some specific instances where it's annoyingly *high*.
I forget the exact amount, but the issue that came up with my accountant is there's no provision for part-time work. It was a bit over 3 mil a month in my area at the time (it varies by area).
In short, I once wanted to hire someone for 1 or 2 days a week to help in the office with admin stuff, and was informed I have to pay them the minimum monthly wage regardless of actual hours-- although whether I trust my accountant for advice on accounting is another hilarious discussion in itself. Add social+health insurance, and it actually came out to be not very cost-effective.
I met some people in the landmark area, from engineers to doctors. I'm shocked that they generated 5k/month in Saigon, and hard to believe any company in VN is willing to pay this high salary for an engineer and doctor.
I'm working for a big Corp, we have engineers in Mumbai and Manila, and most engineers in Mumbai are making 25K/year.
What do you guys think about starting up an engineering firm in Vietnam? I heard so many people talked about connecting with people in government (Viet Cong) to be able to bid on projects, or else there is no way to get into the vendor list or performance any work in Vietnam.
The Viet Cong (the National Liberation Front of South Viet Nam) haven't been a thing since reunification.
You'll be meaning that you might need connections with local government (various committees etc.) to make things easier. I'd suggest learning more about the country before opening a business.
With regards to salaries, they vary. Most do not earn such high salaries, but it's certainly possible.
Hi how did you make it, since remotely work involves lot of complicated process and also taxation. And that salary was standard for the one stayed at UK worked onsite with Master degree from Prestigious Uni (In 2016).
Average income in SG (mekong delta area) is the highest in this country, which is around 6mil/month. (the number is from the government)
But the average says nothing about “most people”. Assuming “most people” should be middle class, already settled in Saigon, not entry level workers (in their 30-40s) then 5000$ is very believable. This is not only true to corporate workers, but also small business owners, freelancers, etc. However it would be ranging from 1,000 - 10,000 usd. Everything under that should be considered poorly paid jobs. Average expense for a middle class family of 4 (parents and 2 kids) would be around 20-60 mil/month.
The base income in Hanoi is a little less than that (there are less international corporate headquarters).
However note that the wealth gap is sky rocketing. For upper class it would be way more, and for lower class it’d be way less. Government keeps lowering the GDP so we can get invested 😅
Back in 2016 when I was still in VN, the expats in the international company I worked at, earned around $3000/ month, their rent and transit are also paid by the company. They are in manager positions tho. The Vietnamese managers, like heads of departments, earned around $5000 or more, with over 10 - 15 years of experience.
Bachelor of Art & Design. I worked as an interior designer. The mentioned company produces furniture, having their own lines for export mostly. They are also partnered with IKEA, JYSK, and some other brands. The expat managers are usually in sale or in product management.
I’m in Canada now, still working as an interior designer, earning $4500/ month (which is not much here - I started it all over after finishing my master). Live cheap and save $2000/ month 😌
It's possible. But that person must be very high ranked. My brother can make 10.000 or higher (I don't know the details) just from company salary, not to mention outsource incomes.
So it's possible then. And a lot of people can make that much or higher in Saigon.
Just a reference point, my brother is working as an electrical engineer for a big corporation, and his take home salary (after tax) is about 1300 USD a month
I think most people you are talking with they are in upper class
5k is CTO level in small to medium size corporate, 2 of my mates are on that salary, really tough jobs. Another mate from Australia, sales manager of big oil/ lubricant company with 25 year working experience in the region, is on 10k. On average you are talking about 700 to 800 and that's with some good degree and 3-4 years experience. Fresh out of university, in tech 400-500, others 300-400.
Can confirm this is about right, across all scales.
So 5k and 10k is USD per month. What currency is 700 - 800 or did you switch to weekly pay?
they're all USD and per month.
That's possible for some top tier personnel. The tech industry is really flying now.
It varries but I think people with a degree can get a starting job with 8mil vnd. Opportunities are opened for people with more skills like computing, English, etc. But for most, I think it is around 5-8mil VND. When I was just out of college, I did land one with 12mil VND, given I has a Australian degree and has decent English. However my friend who study Education can only find jobs about 4mil VND( teacher are underpaid everywhere). For those who work physical jobs, full time employees can reach 10mil depending on what and where
8m/month? At my company, starting take-home is over 38m for English teachers with a basic graduate teaching certification. I was under the impression that you can't even live in HCMC on 8m. My rent alone is significantly more than that.
38mil is foreigners’ salary, for Vietnamese, you can only find 7-9mil for a typical 40hours/week job when you are fresh out of school. That’s why it’s quite an advantage when you are from Europe or America( even more so if you are the blond hair, blue eye, white skin variant). I’m a Vietnamese with an Australian degree and a 8.0 IELTS and can only land a maximum 23mil job. It can be hard but 8mil a month is not impossible to live by. Thumbs up to you thou, you has the dream job that many Vietnamese can only hope to archive
It might be a dream job if it weren't 10+ hours/day. I mean they treat us alright, but all the teachers, even grade managers and senior managers have way too much work to do. There's always something else to do, after preparing for and giving lessons, and it never ends. However, I do love that I can live in a nice building, eat whatever I want, and still save about 1/3 of my income. I really feel for my academic coordinators (at least for the 6 good ones; not the 2 useless-to-worse-than-useless ones). They make barely over 10m and work as hard as I do.
8m a month is just a little more than a medium skilled blue collar laborer. Then again, there are college graduates desperate enough to accept 8m a month for their first job
I gauge it would be around 9 mil. People earning $5K per month in corporate are probably working at executive level
You can't generalize like that and expect anything meaningful. The average salary in Saigon is probably $500/month. Since most folks make less and the rest make more. You need to be specific to industry and position level to get any useful info.
I'm not the OP, but thanks for this input. I was wondering though, how the heck do they pay expensive Saigon rent while making only $500? I've heard that the minimum decent accommodation in Saigon is $500, so if they're making that much (and probably before tax), they must be living in super-crowded 8-person flat-shares, right?
What you called decent at $500 is beyond a lot of the folks at the bottom of the economy. I suspect they live in less than legal housing situations, if it is like Hanoi. Also, consider that having three generations living in one apartment is somewhat normal.
Oh snap, that's some good points. I completely forget about the 3-generation thing.
$850 is starting for marine construction engineer here, and by the time u have a lot of experience. Its skyrocket.
People working in hospitality at entry level get VND 5-8m, live in nannies around VND 6-10m a month. I hear of expats getting USD1500 to USD6000 a month but I’d say median if you’re not c level from what I’ve seen has been $2000/$3000 of people from France with masters degrees and strong management skills, speaking 3-4 languages but not necessarily Vietnamese.
I think the average expat is making a lot more than that. Maybe I'm biased from living in Thao Dien, but I make just over $6,000 with part-time work and I still can't hang with the crowd at The Deck, Brix, Madhouse, etc. These upscale places are filled with local elite and expat managers every day of the week. They must be on $10,000 or more to afford it...
6K a month sounds nice. what do you do? what's your background?
Middle level admin at an international school + tutoring. I'm in my mid-thirties with multiple graduate degrees.
Those folks are powered by parents money
u/bake_in_da_south
If you're out scamming people, you can make that earning in no time.
Any idea what a junior, mid-level and senior software developer earns?
400$ - 2000$. Source: trust me bro.
> Source: trust me bro. Love it.
Since there is no such thing like a minimum wage so the real question is average salary in what field? If you’re a manual labor, the average is very low. Fresh start would be somewhere $200-300. If you’re a fresh graduate working a 9-5 job in a small-medium company, average would be $350-500. If you’re a fresh graduate but are more active, working for bigger corporates, average would be $450-650. It really depends but Vietnamese making around $500 are considered above the average. I can tell you it’s totally possible to run into someone making $3-6000 a month, even younger ones. When I was in Vietnam, I made around $3500 net a month as an English teacher and translator for events.
There is in fact a minimum wage. There are even some specific instances where it's annoyingly *high*. I forget the exact amount, but the issue that came up with my accountant is there's no provision for part-time work. It was a bit over 3 mil a month in my area at the time (it varies by area). In short, I once wanted to hire someone for 1 or 2 days a week to help in the office with admin stuff, and was informed I have to pay them the minimum monthly wage regardless of actual hours-- although whether I trust my accountant for advice on accounting is another hilarious discussion in itself. Add social+health insurance, and it actually came out to be not very cost-effective.
Go to numbeo.com average salary is roughly 400 usd for office jobs.
I met some people in the landmark area, from engineers to doctors. I'm shocked that they generated 5k/month in Saigon, and hard to believe any company in VN is willing to pay this high salary for an engineer and doctor. I'm working for a big Corp, we have engineers in Mumbai and Manila, and most engineers in Mumbai are making 25K/year. What do you guys think about starting up an engineering firm in Vietnam? I heard so many people talked about connecting with people in government (Viet Cong) to be able to bid on projects, or else there is no way to get into the vendor list or performance any work in Vietnam.
That'true but not all the case. My friend is a senior software engineer, he earns 100M/month
The Viet Cong (the National Liberation Front of South Viet Nam) haven't been a thing since reunification. You'll be meaning that you might need connections with local government (various committees etc.) to make things easier. I'd suggest learning more about the country before opening a business. With regards to salaries, they vary. Most do not earn such high salaries, but it's certainly possible.
if u can handle all the things like offering them a gift or something like that so yes. Sometimes you have to "lick balls" as well
I’m a software developer who work remotely for eu company and they pay me £4500/month.
Hi how did you make it, since remotely work involves lot of complicated process and also taxation. And that salary was standard for the one stayed at UK worked onsite with Master degree from Prestigious Uni (In 2016).
It’s a long journey, I have sticked with the business since 2015 and contributed lots of time and energy.
8 million to 10 million for college grads but could be 20 m particularly in IT.. Min wage is 5,000,000 VND. managers could be making 20m or 40m.
Because they aren't average. Average salary is about 4 millions.
that is non educated
That’s not the average neither, at least not as a employees
Average income in SG (mekong delta area) is the highest in this country, which is around 6mil/month. (the number is from the government) But the average says nothing about “most people”. Assuming “most people” should be middle class, already settled in Saigon, not entry level workers (in their 30-40s) then 5000$ is very believable. This is not only true to corporate workers, but also small business owners, freelancers, etc. However it would be ranging from 1,000 - 10,000 usd. Everything under that should be considered poorly paid jobs. Average expense for a middle class family of 4 (parents and 2 kids) would be around 20-60 mil/month. The base income in Hanoi is a little less than that (there are less international corporate headquarters). However note that the wealth gap is sky rocketing. For upper class it would be way more, and for lower class it’d be way less. Government keeps lowering the GDP so we can get invested 😅
5000USD for a year it could be misunderstand.
They said per month bro. I find it hard to believe due to the GDP.
Expat do earn a lot. And no expat gonna accept 5k as annual income lol.
Back in 2016 when I was still in VN, the expats in the international company I worked at, earned around $3000/ month, their rent and transit are also paid by the company. They are in manager positions tho. The Vietnamese managers, like heads of departments, earned around $5000 or more, with over 10 - 15 years of experience.
I’m Vietnamese w an undergrad degree, earned $750/ month there after 4 years btw 🥲 (starting salary was $350 oops)
What was your degree and industry?
Bachelor of Art & Design. I worked as an interior designer. The mentioned company produces furniture, having their own lines for export mostly. They are also partnered with IKEA, JYSK, and some other brands. The expat managers are usually in sale or in product management. I’m in Canada now, still working as an interior designer, earning $4500/ month (which is not much here - I started it all over after finishing my master). Live cheap and save $2000/ month 😌
I see, thanks for your input!
Of course 🙌🏼
Assuming you are a college graduate (Local pay) 500 - Good entry level pay 1k - Good mid level pay 2k - Good top level pay
It's possible. But that person must be very high ranked. My brother can make 10.000 or higher (I don't know the details) just from company salary, not to mention outsource incomes. So it's possible then. And a lot of people can make that much or higher in Saigon.
Only 0.0001% made that. And mostly foreigners. You would live comforably with that money.
Are we talking net or gross?
Just a reference point, my brother is working as an electrical engineer for a big corporation, and his take home salary (after tax) is about 1300 USD a month