Many college and university graduates in Vietnam have had to put their dreams aside to earn a living. A number of them even opt to work as domestic helpers for better income after failing to find a stable and good job.

Many Vietnamese graduates turn to work as domestic helpers for better income.

After failing to find a stable job, Thuy Trang, a business administration bachelor in HCM City decided to become a housemaid as it provides her with a better income.

Trang said that after graduation in 2011, she got a job suitable for her major, but finally she left the post because of low salary. Then Trang worked for a supermarket and an insurance company, but her income was unstable.

Since mid-2014, she has worked as a domestic helper for a family in the city. She said that after posting that she was seeking such work on websites, she received dozens of calls from families.

Her daily work is doing housework and taking care of a child for a local family with an initial salary of VND5.5 (USD261) million per month. The family said the pay would be raised after the two-month probationary period.

The work gives Trang a stable salary and she can save some money every month.

Trang introduced the work to some of her friends who were in the same situation. Now, five of her friends are working as home helps in HCM City.

Despite graduating from a teachers’ training university in the central region with excellent results and having a master’s degree, Kim San failed to find a stable job in her hometown. Then one friend introduced her to apply for position at a private school in HCM City.

Initially she felt very happy to get the job, but later, but she was disappointed later. The school attracted a small number of students, while they had invested heavily in infrastructure, so they could only pay low wages for the staff. Finally, she decided to work as a domestic help. She also teaches English to the family’s children, which gives Trang extra income in addition to the monthly salary.

San said she had the stable salary and also got a bonus on Tet and has saved on rent and meals, allowing her to save.

Vietnam has 436 universities and colleges with 2,363,942 students. A recent report by the Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs showed that although unemployment declined in 2015, the number of graduates being unable to find a job is on the rise.

More people are applying for higher education after being unable to find a job with just school-leaving diplomas.

Dtinews