Building a career in Vietnam

Cover of The OV Guide to Building a Career in VietnamThe full guide is for OV members

A guide for Overseas Vietnamese who want to work in Vietnam, or who have just started.

Vietnam is short of skilled people: about half of employers say they cannot find the candidates they need. The move still comes with questions. What will I earn? How is my salary taxed? Is an offer gross or net? Where are the jobs, and is Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi the better choice?

This page answers them for your situation as an Overseas Vietnamese, and we keep it current as the rules change. It is the open part of The OV Guide to Building a Career in Vietnam. The full guide is for OV members and adds the experience of 13 people who found work here.

Expect a lower base salary than abroad, except at a few employers and in senior roles. A software engineer with five or more years earns VND 70 to 130 million a month in Ho Chi Minh City, and since the 2026 tax year income tax runs from 5% to 35% in five brackets.

In short

  • Skilled people are scarce: unemployment is 2.23%, and Vietnam's hiring outlook for Q4 2026 is +36%.
  • The average wage employee earns VND 10 million a month; professional pay is a large multiple of that.
  • Raises of 8 to 10% are expected in 2026, more in AI, data and cybersecurity.
  • After 183 days in Vietnam in a year you are tax resident; a non-resident pays a flat 20% on salary.
  • Offers can be gross or net, so always ask which.

1. The job market

Skilled people are scarce. Vietnam has 53.8 million people in the labour force and 2.23% unemployment (Q2 2026). Its hiring outlook for Q4 2026 is +36%, 11th of 42 markets in ManpowerGroup's survey, and about half of employers say skilled candidates are missing.

Average pay is low, and rising. A wage employee earns VND 10.0 million a month on average, VND 11.1 million in cities (first half of 2026). Raises of 8 to 10% are expected in 2026, and 15 to 20% in AI, data and cybersecurity.

Where demand is.

Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi. Hanoi grew job postings faster in Q2 2026 and is stronger in IT and banking; Ho Chi Minh City pays more in most roles. Alice Nguyen grew up in Hanoi and moved south:

"Career-wise, I think Ho Chi Minh City is a much better choice. Things move at a very fast pace there." (Alice Nguyen on the OV Podcast)

Sources: National Statistics Office · VnEconomy · Talentnet · VnBusiness · Tuoi Tre · EY · VietnamWorks

In the members’ guide: where a headhunter sees the senior gaps Overseas Vietnamese fill, and why a foreign degree alone no longer sets you apart at junior level.

2. Finding a role

Many global companies run only one function in Vietnam. At Expedia in Vietnam, Alice Nguyen found only one: the client-facing account role. Find out which teams a company has here before you target it.

Many senior roles are never posted and are filled through recruiters and people who know you. Founders often hire directly: Hao Tran of Vietcetera tells candidates to message him if they see a clear match.

The OV job board lists jobs in Vietnam and the region from employers' own careers pages. You can filter for jobs that work in English or offer relocation or visa support, and get a weekly email with new jobs.

In the members’ guide: how a member mapped her target companies and teams across Asia before applying, and why her replies went from about 5% to most of her messages once she used OV contacts.

3. Salaries and packages

Monthly base salary, gross, for five or more years in the role (Adecco Vietnam Salary Guide 2026):

RoleHo Chi Minh City (VND million)Hanoi (VND million)
Software engineer70 to 13040 to 80
Data scientist120 to 20060 to 150
CFO350 or more140 to 260

Other benchmarks: a product manager with 8+ years earns a median VND 75 million and a CTO VND 101 million (ITviec 2025-2026). Senior leadership earns from VND 100 million to about VND 500 million a month (Navigos 2026).

Count the whole package. Performance bonus for mid and senior roles is often 20 to 25% of annual pay. A 13th-month salary is owed only if your contract or the bonus policy says so. Housing paid straight to the landlord is taxed only up to 15% of your other taxable income.

Count the hours. The legal limit is 48 hours a week. People worked about 41.7 hours a week on average in 2025, and nearly 29% worked more than 48.

Sources: Adecco · ITviec · VietnamFinance · Talentnet · Vietnam Briefing · Vietcetera

In the members’ guide: which employers pay global packages and for which roles, what a data leader asked for when he moved from the US, and how one hire's package came out higher than in Australia.

4. Tax and insurance

Income tax (from the 2026 tax year). The new law has five brackets: 5% on monthly taxable income up to VND 10 million, 10% up to 30 million, 20% up to 60 million, 30% up to 100 million, and 35% above that. You deduct VND 15.5 million a month for yourself and VND 6.2 million for each dependent. Overtime pay is now tax-free.

Tax residence. You are resident after 183 days in Vietnam in a calendar year or in the 12 months from your arrival, or with a registered residence or a fixed-term lease. A non-resident pays a flat 20% on salary, with no deductions.

Insurance (Social Insurance Law 2024):

  • With Vietnamese citizenship, you pay 10.5% and the employer 21.5%, including unemployment insurance.
  • With a foreign passport only, you pay 9.5% and the employer 20.5%, with no unemployment insurance, if your contract is 12 months or longer.
  • Both are paid on salary up to VND 50.6 million a month, from 1 July 2026.

Sources: Vietnam Briefing · Thu Vien Phap Luat · PwC · EasyHRM

In the members’ guide: how citizenship changes what an employer pays and how it treats you on pay, and how to negotiate on value instead.

5. Contracts, notice and leave

Sources: Labour Code 2019 · Thu Vien Phap Luat · Le & Tran

In the members’ guide: the questions to ask about your manager before you accept, from two OV Summit panels, and what to check in an offer before you sign.
Cover of The OV Guide to Building a Career in Vietnam

For OV members

The OV Guide to Building a Career in Vietnam

This page has the numbers and the rules. The guide has the people: how 13 people found their roles in Vietnam, and what they would do differently.

people in the guide
13
steps in the plan
11
  • Lessons from recruiters, hiring managers, founders and members, from OV sessions, the OV Summit and the OV Podcast
  • An 11-step plan, from choosing your direction to your next move after your first Vietnam job
  • The full checklist for your career move, and the PDF edition
  • Updated every month, and you can ask the people quoted
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OV is a private network of 1,000 Overseas Vietnamese in 50+ cities.

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Checklist for your career move

The questions to answer first. The members' guide has the full checklist.

  1. Where do you want your career to be in three years, and why does Vietnam get you there faster?
  2. What do you bring that local candidates do not?
  3. Could AI replace the role you want?
  4. Which companies and teams in Vietnam and the region hire for your skills?
  5. Which functions does each global company run in Vietnam?
  6. Have you given your search six months or more?
  7. Which recruiters in your field know you are open to Vietnam?
  8. Have you tested the work with an internship, a contract or a side project?
  9. Is the offer gross or net, and what salary is insurance paid on?
  10. Will you be tax resident in your first year?
  11. Who is your manager, and how many days a week does the team work?

For OV members

The OV Guides

Moving to Vietnam, building a business and building a career. Built with the people who did it, updated every month, with more guides on the way.

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