Finding your way
Understand yourself, then see the whole map: university, vocational school, studying abroad, working abroad and work-study.
At some point, you get to choose your own direction. That can feel exciting and scary at the same time. This page doesn’t ask you to decide anything yet. It helps with two things: understanding yourself, and seeing the whole map before choosing a road.
1. Start with yourself
Before looking at the map, write a few lines about yourself. Nothing here is a test and there are no wrong answers. Everything you type is saved only on your device.
2. Know yourself before choosing
Ikigai: a Japanese reason for being
Ikigai (生き甲斐) is a Japanese word made of iki (life) and gai (worth, value). It means roughly “a reason for being” — what makes you want to get up in the morning. In Japan, ikigai does not have to be a job: it can be tending a garden, cooking for your family, or teaching the kids next door. The people of Okinawa, one of the places where people live longest, are often described as having a strong ikigai.
In the West, ikigai was later drawn as four overlapping circles to think about careers. That diagram is a modern interpretation (it became popular around 2014), not the original Japanese meaning — but it is a very useful map for understanding yourself:
A few things to remember when you use this map:
- Nobody finds the centre straight away. At 18, what matters is knowing which circles are strong for you and which are still missing.
- The “good at” circle grows. Most skills come from practice, not talent.
- There is one more factor: your situation — your family, your budget, where you live. That is not a weakness to hide. It is information that helps you plan honestly.
A useful tool for the “love” and “good at” circles is the Holland test. It sorts interests into six types — Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional (RIASEC) — and suggests majors and jobs that match. It takes about five minutes.
3. The map: five roads
University is one road, not the only one. Here are five, side by side. Many people combine them — for example vocational school first, then a degree later; or learning Korean at university, then working for a Korean company in Vietnam.
Open each road to see how long it takes, what it costs, the good parts and the hard parts:
University A 4-year bachelor degree. Many majors, from teacher education to IT, languages and business — including military and police academies, which are universities too.
- How long
- 4 years (5–6 for medicine, engineering)
- Cost
- Tuition + living costs. Teacher education students can get tuition and 3.63 million VND/month living support from the state.
✓ Good
- Widest choice of careers later, in Vietnam or abroad
- Needed for jobs like teacher, doctor, engineer
- Time to grow up, join clubs, build confidence
- Military and police academies: free tuition, food and housing, and a guaranteed job
! Watch out
- Longest before earning a full salary
- Living costs in the city; often needs part-time work
- Military academies take very few women (only 4 did in 2026), with high scores, health checks and spring preliminary selection
Might suit you if… You like studying, want a profession that needs a degree, or want to keep many doors open.
→ First step: List 3 majors you are curious about and check each school’s 2027 admission plan (đề án tuyển sinh).
Sources: Nghị định 116/2020 – hỗ trợ SV sư phạm (hoatieu.vn) · Bốn học viện quân đội tuyển nữ 2026 (Báo Lào Cai)
College & vocational school Practical training for a specific job: cooking, nursing, electrical, IT support, hotel, mechanics…
- How long
- 1–3 years
- Cost
- Lower than university; many public schools have tuition support. You can continue to a university degree later (liên thông).
✓ Good
- Earn sooner with a real skill
- Lots of practice, less theory
- Skills are in demand abroad too (Japan, Germany, Korea)
! Watch out
- Some families see it as "lower" than university — it is not
- Choose the school carefully: check practice workshops and job placement
Might suit you if… You learn best by doing, and want to earn and help your family sooner.
→ First step: Visit one college near you, ask for the tuition, practice hours and how many graduates get jobs.
Study abroad Language school then university (e.g. Korea D-4 → D-2 visa), or paid vocational training abroad (e.g. Germany’s Ausbildung).
- How long
- 1–2 years language + 2–4 years study
- Cost
- Korea: visas usually need proof of USD 10,000–20,000 in the bank. Germany Ausbildung: German B1 required; trainees earn about €800–1,200/month.
✓ Good
- A new language and international experience
- Part-time work allowed (Korea: up to ~20 h/week)
- Scholarships exist for strong students
! Watch out
- Expensive to start unless you win a scholarship
- Far from family; homesickness is real
- Watch out for agencies that over-promise
Might suit you if… You love languages, can study one for 1–2 years first, and have a plan for the money.
→ First step: Start Korean (or German) now with free apps and aim for TOPIK 2 by the end of grade 12.
Sources: Visa D-2/D-4 Hàn Quốc (tanvanlang.com) · Visa học nghề Đức (tanvanlang.com)
Working abroad (labour export) Contract work in Korea (EPS programme), Japan, Taiwan… mostly factories, farming, fisheries, care work.
- How long
- Contracts of about 3–5 years
- Cost
- Korea EPS (run by the State): age 18–39, Korean test (EPS-TOPIK), a 100 million VND deposit (loan possible from the Social Policy Bank), refunded when you return on time.
✓ Good
- Higher income than at home, sooner
- Learn a language and work discipline
- Japan is replacing its trainee programme from 2027 with one that allows job changes
! Watch out
- Hard physical work, long hours, living costs abroad
- Without a degree, options after returning can be limited — plan what you will do next
- Scams are common: never pay unlicensed brokers
Might suit you if… You are 18+, healthy, have a clear money goal and a plan for the 3–5 years after.
→ First step: Learn how to check a licensed company on dolab.moha.gov.vn — and learn Korean or Japanese first; it helps in every path.
Sources: Tuyển chọn 4.200 lao động đi Hàn 2026 (VnEconomy) · Ký quỹ 100 triệu đi Hàn (VnBusiness) · Nhật thay chương trình thực tập sinh (VOH)
Work-study & sponsored programmes Programmes where a company or foundation pays for your training (sometimes food and housing) and you work with them while or after you learn.
- How long
- 1–4 years, depending on the programme
- Cost
- Little or none — but read the contract: how many years you must work, and what happens if you leave early.
✓ Good
- Removes the money barrier
- Learning by doing, with income
- A job is often waiting at the end
! Watch out
- You commit to one employer or field for a while
- Quality varies — ask graduates of the programme
Might suit you if… You want to study but money is the main obstacle, and you are ready to commit.
→ First step: Write down every condition of a programme you heard about, then ask a trusted adult to read the contract with you.
4. Try a job, try a campus
Remember the line above: choose a career first, then a school. But choosing a career is hard when you have never worked a single day. These two games let you “try the job” and “try the campus” — see what the work is really like and what it pays, then visit a few universities to see the scores and costs.
A day on the job
Each job has a salary for you to guess, a normal working day, and one real situation to handle. Figures are rough 2025–2026 ranges; public-sector pay uses the base salary of 2.53 million VND from 1 July 2026.
Campus tour
I picked a few big universities in Hà Nội as examples. Ho Chi Minh City, Đà Nẵng, Huế and your own province have strong schools for each field too — you read the information the same way. Drag the score slider to see where your target score stands.
5. Two directions worth a closer look
Two directions come up often for young people: becoming a teacher and learning Korean. They are also a good example of how one interest can lead to several paths.
Becoming a teacher
If you love explaining things to others (a strong Social type), teaching may suit you. Teacher-education students can receive state support for tuition plus 3.63 million VND a month for living costs. In return, you must work in education for at least twice the length of your training, starting within 2 years of graduating — otherwise the support must be paid back (details, conditions).
Learning Korean
Korean opens several doors, and they don’t exclude each other:
- Korean language at university → interpreter, office jobs at Korean companies in Vietnam (South Korea is one of the biggest foreign investors here).
- Study abroad in Korea → language school (D-4 visa), then university (D-2), with part-time work allowed.
- Work in Korea through the EPS programme → from age 18, after passing the EPS-TOPIK Korean test.
Whichever you choose, starting Korean now costs nothing and helps every option.
6. Explore the world
Many rich countries are ageing fast and running short of workers: Germany needs nurses, Japan needs mechanics and carers for the elderly, Korea needs factory workers and shipyard welders. For a young person with a language and a skill, that is an opportunity — to study, to work, or to work for a foreign company right at home in Vietnam.
Before you pack your suitcase
Studying or working abroad can change a family’s situation — and it can also go badly wrong if you trust the wrong people. Before anything else, decide why you want to go and what you will do after the contract or the degree ends. Then protect yourself:
- They ask for money before you have a contract, or only take cash.
- They promise "guaranteed" visas or very high salaries with no language test.
- The company is not on the licensed list at dolab.moha.gov.vn.
- They recruit only through Facebook or Zalo, with no office you can visit.
- They rush you: "only 2 places left, pay today".
7. Your grade-12 timeline
- Oct – Dec 2026Explore: Holland test, research majors and paths, talk to people. Keep grades strong — transcripts (học bạ) count.
- Jan – Apr 2027Narrow to 2–3 options. Aptitude tests (ĐGNL) and preliminary selection for military/police academies usually happen in spring.
- 11–12 June 2027 (expected)National high-school graduation exam.
- Jul – Sep 2027Register university/college choices, or start language school / job preparation.
You don’t need the final answer today. But by spring you’ll want to have 2–3 options narrowed down, because some roads (aptitude tests, military and police academy selection) start early.
8. Things to do this month
Pick a few of these to do this month. If you have a mentor, tell them what you found — especially anything that surprised you.
Next in this series: how to study smarter for the exam year.