In 2024, after finishing grade 12, Tran Ngoc Tu (Van Mieu ward, Hanoi) registered to attend a cooking class at a vocational school in Cua Nam ward (Hanoi).
Ngoc Tu said that he is passionate about learning to cook because his aunt is the chef at a 5-star hotel. Since grade 10, Ngoc Tu has often cooked for her family.
"At first, I would let it be small every time my family had work, on New Year's Day, the dishes cooked by my sister were praised by the whole family for being delicious, round, and beautifully presented. Not to mention, her work brings in a very good income. Since then, I have cherished the dream of becoming a professional chef..., Ngoc Tu shared.
After 6 months of cooking, Ngoc Tu focused on her studies. I registered to learn Asian dishes and often asked my aunt for advice. After finishing the course with a tuition fee of 9 million VND, Ngoc Tu was introduced to a job by a vocational training institution.
As one of the 3 students with the best certificates of the course, Ngoc Tu was quickly accepted as an official employee of a restaurant in Hang Bai ward (Hanoi). After 4 months of working, Tu was assigned to be the leader of the group in charge of Asian dishes.
Currently, Ngoc Tu has a salary of about 25 million VND/month, not to mention the sales bonus for months of high-income restaurants due to many tour guests. Every week, Tu has a day off and she is spending this day learning more high-end dishes and learning more about culinary skills.
Le Anh Na (Ngoc Ha ward, Hanoi) studied a comprehensive mixing course with a tuition fee of 6 million VND for 4 months. Graduating in October 2024, Mr. Na applied for an extra job at a bar and took the opportunity to study an additional skill improvement class.
After a period of focusing on studying and working, in March 2025, Anh Na was hired as a mixing staff at a bar in a 5-star hotel in Ba Dinh ward (Hanoi).
Mr. Na said that the decision to learn a brewing job was not an impromptu one, but a long-standing dream. When I was in high school, my whole family traveled to Thailand. Her parents took her to a bar on the hotel's premises and she was extremely impressed with the drinks of this restaurant.
Talking to the brewing staff, they said that in addition to international guests, because of the reputation of the drink, the hotel has many more local guests. I find the wonderful appeal of drinks and think this job is very suitable for my personality. When talking to my parents, I was absolutely supported, so I devoted all my time and effort to studying and improving my skills, said Anh Na.
Mr. Na shared that his current salary is also considered "capital-level" (USD) and job opportunities are always open because there are many luxury restaurants and hotels, the need to recruit mixing staff is always there.
Also choosing to study a trade right after graduating from high school, Tran Mai Ninh (from Ninh Binh) studied Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineering at a vocational college in Cau Giay ward (Hanoi). Graduated from a vocational college in 2024, Ninh is currently a technical staff member of a company specializing in electrical appliances and household appliances in Ha Dong ward (Hanoi).
Sharing about her decision to study a trade, Ninh said that in her high school class, only she registered to study at a vocational college, the rest of her students attended universities. Currently, many people have stable jobs but many people work illegally, even some have friends who work but have low salaries, so they have to take advantage of being technology motorbike taxi drivers to earn more income.
I am very satisfied with my current job and salary. When I first started working, my salary was 8 million VND/month, now it has increased to 12 million VND/month. The daily work is in accordance with the expertise I have learned. Working hours are also office hours. If the company has a job of hiring technical staff to work overtime or work overtime, I will be paid for overtime, Ninh shared.
