Dozens of new graduates receive starting salaries of up to $3,000

According to Hanoi University of Science and Technology, in the 2015-2016 school year, the school recruited more than 60 students with salaries ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 USD per month.

In the context of 63% of university graduates being unable to find jobs and 225,000 bachelors and masters being unemployed, the issue of a salary of 2,000 USD is still considered a distant, unrealistic dream.

The dream was once 'stoned'

In 2011, a student at the Foreign Trade University announced that he would not work for a salary of less than $1,000 after graduation, causing a “shock” to many students and employers. This statement became the subject of ridicule on the internet.

In 2016, a student at the Cryptography Engineering Academy asked a question at a seminar on career opportunities: “How should I study and work so that employers here will hire me with a starting salary of 2,000 USD/month?” The question attracted many eyes and she was then criticized online.

Employment statistics of Hanoi University of Science and Technology students in the first 6 months of 2016. Photo: Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

The above two questions from students about a thousand-dollar salary received mixed opinions from the public. Some people said that it was a "fanciful, baseless" dream because Vietnamese students often cannot find a job after graduating. However, many other opinions affirmed that "without dreams, you cannot do great things".

According to a survey of some universities, new graduates can receive a salary of 2,000 USD/month at foreign companies.

Recently, Hanoi University of Science and Technology announced the average salary of graduates in the first 6 months of 2016 (80% of graduates responded to the survey). Accordingly, the average is 8.2 million VND/month. The salary range ranges from 3 to 60 million VND/month.

At the University of Natural Sciences (Vietnam National University, Hanoi), actual surveys conducted by the school in recent years show that the salary that students receive ranges from 6-20 million VND/month. The number of students receiving a salary of 30-60 million VND/month is not much. Some excellent students have a salary of 60 million VND/month.

Dare to think about a $2,000 salary

According to the University of Natural Sciences, two female students received starting salaries of $2,000 before graduating: Nguyen Thi Quy (Advanced Chemistry major) and Do Thi Phuong (Chemical Engineering Technology major). They were hired by Kyowa Chemical Company (Japan).

Nguyen Thi Quy - student of University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Photo: University of Science.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh - Head of Student Affairs Department, University of Natural Sciences - explained that students in the school have many opportunities to be recruited to work at large foreign corporations, so their salaries are high. Most of them are students working in fields related to chemistry, biology, biotechnology, food technology or microbiology...

Associate Professor Dinh Van Hai, Head of Student Political Affairs Department, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, also said: In the 2015-2016 school year, the school had more than 60 students recruited with salaries of 2,000 to 3,000 USD/month, most of them working for foreign companies, in the information technology industry.

Among them, Nguyen Xuan Bach (final year student) was selected for the position of software engineer, working in Japan with a salary of 60 million VND per month.

Regulations on regional minimum wages for employees working under labor contracts. Source: Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs. Graphics: Nguyen Suong.

Dr. Le Nhan Tam - technology consultant and cloud computing architect at IBM Corporation - said that students should dare to think about a salary of $2,000. Currently, new graduates can receive this salary, mainly in the field of information technology security.

Mr. Tam also believes that it is more important for students to ask themselves: Who will you be in 2-5 years? From there, you will know what you are doing and what you should equip yourself with to achieve your goals.

Dr. Le Nhan Tam explained that big companies like IBM, Microsoft, Google... all recruit people with a lot of experience. Therefore, young people should learn from their managers what work they do and what skills they have to supplement what they lack.

According to Zing