VietNamNet Bridge - The story about a third-year university student who asked company executives what she needed to do to earn a salary of $2,000 after she graduates has stirred controversy among the public.

“How do I need to learn and work to be able to receive a starting salary of $2,000?” Pham Thi Thanh, a student of the Academy of Cryptographic Techniques, asked employers at a discussion on the role and responsibility of the young generation in the information society, held recently by the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC).

The dream of receiving $2,000 soon after finishing school was described by some in the public as ‘crazy’ and ‘delusional’.

The story about a third-year university student who asked company executives what she needed to do to earn a salary of $2,000 after she graduates has stirred controversy among the public.

“It is unacceptable that a new school graduate who still does not make any contribution to society and does not have any work experience, makes such claims,” said Hoang Hoa, a fourth-year university student in Hanoi. “She is so impractical.”

Nguyen Van C, 27, a programmer of a big software firm in Hanoi, said he received about $300 for his first job in 2012, a coder at a large information technology group. 

He was sure that coders at other businesses also received $300 or a bit higher. Only a friend of his, who worked for Samsung, got $400.

“The salary of $2,000 for new school graduates is impossible. The pay level is only offered to those with 10 years of experience,” he said.

Wholly foreign owned companies, especially ones from Europe, may pay higher than the average level in Vietnam, but just a bit higher. 

After four years of working, C, who is now a team leader, can receive $800, but he has to work very hard under a lot of pressure.

Le Huu N, 28, who works for a Japanese invested firm in Hanoi, said a bridge engineer could get $2,000 if he trained in Japan in very strict conditions. 

“In the first year at university, he will have to learn Code and JP. When he finishes the third year, he must obtain N2 certificate in Japanese and begin working in the fourth year,” he said.

However, those who graduate from schools in Vietnam, will get $1,000 only with five years’ experience.

“It is impractical to hope for a $2,000 salary right after finishing school,” he said. “It would be better to face facts.”

While many people criticized Thanh for her dream, others have shown sympathy towards her. 

Dinh Xuan Hoang, the founder of Monkey Junior, the first and only Vietnam project selected at the finals of GIST Tech 2016 organized in Silicon Valley, said that Thanh’s thinking was progressive, positive and laudable.