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I don’t feel like finding/can’t find the exact stats for this, but most of Vietnam’s population is under 35. It’s a new age (hmmm, when is not a “new age”?), there’s excitement in the air, and I guess it’s time to make love.

Wait.

What?

Ok then, I guess it is an exciting time for Vietnam in terms of being young. The economy is growing, opportunities are rampant, and there a lot of tools for the emerging youth to better themselves if they’re willing to work for it: through the Internet (see Friedman’s The World is Flat)

The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman Read more about this title…

TWIF talks about how technology (the Internet) has given people worldwide the tools and potential to compete on a global landscape. For example, 10 years ago E3 was a necessary trade show for the video game industry because that was often the only way you found out about new gaming properties. Now, with the Internet, who really needs to go anywhere. Do all your research from there.

Maybe a better example is with video game magazines. 10-15 years ago, you had to read EGM, PSM, Nintendo Power, etc., for the newest scoops, reviews, and rumors. Now, there’s rarely any reason to buy a paper magazine unless you like 1 month old reviews, editorial content that is often better somewhere online, or just need a paper object to hold in the bathroom.

So the same thing with how technology and the Internet has opened possibilities for people everywhere. An smart and hardworking student in Vietnam who never goes to college could code just as well as some guy who went to UC Berkeley in the US. (Hah, much better than me)

I think I’m getting off track from my main topic, Vietnam.

Vietnam has a very young office work population. 10 years ago, office work didn’t really exist, even in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Now, with the options granted by technology, software and Internet (like my own) firms are sprouting and looking for talent. In the US, if I said I had 3 years of work experience like I was some kind of bad ass, I’d be laughed out of every interview. In Vietnam, however, you can have 3 good years of experience and be considered a high-end commodity.

At the same time, the kids here really believe that 2-3 years is something special. I can’t blame them. The market says they are, because perhaps in reality, they are. They just aren’t many people with tons of work experience out there.

Unlike in the US, where you have to stay at a company for at least a year or risk being deemed a problem worker on your next interview, in Vietnam, people switch to new jobs whenever they want. After 2 months, 3 months, whatever. Turnover is super high and loyalty doesn’t necessarily exist and may not be expected. There are also no reference checks to see why a situation didn’t work out, so workers really are free, and companies are stuck training someone without really knowing if that person is already considering leaving.

People can become managers at 25 (ok, so I did that in the US), just get thrown in the mix because there’s no one else. But people here also have trouble seeing the long term, especially when working for a startup company. There’s no real understanding, a sense of needing to build a career. I guess maybe I should not be one to speak since I haven’t really worked that much myself, and have been at 3 different companies, but I feel like I know I am committed now. Again, though, I understand. While I grew up in the start-up and tech capital of the world, Silicon Valley, and came out of high school right when the tech boom hit (1998), how many people here have seen a startup actually get bought out or go public and hit it huge.

None. As far as I know, anyway. Not like a pure startup.

My company plans to be the first.  Big aspirations? Of course! But I wouldn’t be here otherwise. It’s hard to convince people of the opportunity here. They believe in it to an extent, but not really. Not really in the way some employees will just leave for another job that’s willing to pay an additional $100 to $200 a month. Sure, that may be up to a 50% increase in pay for some. But if you realize what the true value of (I like to think I do) a company like ours is worth and its chance of success, then I would say you are a fool to give up that opportunity. I would leave here kicking and screaming, because these opportunities are once in a lifetime unless you are a superior entrepreneur type, which sorry, you (and I) are probably not.

People here have the chance to work for 3 years to take care of the next 20 YEARS of their lives. A pay raise is great in the short term, and maybe a good choice if you have a family to support, but otherwise, if you’re young, confident, and want to kick ass, take some risk, lay it out for an opportunity of stardom. Afterwards, you can go look for stability or that sure thing.

Believe in yourself. Believe that you can go beyond everyone else.

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