Year-end wishes for a warm Tet: Students work overtime to earn 3-4 times more, but miss home terribly during Tet

As Tet approaches, not only workers but also students are rushing to find part-time jobs from restaurant service to supermarket sales, security, shipping... with salaries double or even quadruple compared to normal days.

Duc Minh chose to work extra during Tet at the coffee shop he has been attached to for quite a while - Photo: M.QUAN

Despite the many reasons, most students who choose to work during Tet are from difficult circumstances. They see this as a season to earn extra money for their planned expenses, even if it is only for a short time.

Working during Tet season is enough to pay for six months of rent

Kim Thi (HCMC University of Transport) said she will not return to her hometown this Tet, which is also the third Tet away from home since coming to HCMC to study. "I can't afford the plane ticket, and the buses are cramped and extremely crowded. From Hanoi , I have to take a bus back to my hometown, which is also extremely crowded, even though the price is more than double the usual price. Not to mention that after staying home for a few days, I'm worried about how to get back, so that's it," Thi said of the reason for not returning home for Tet.

But more importantly, Thi decided to stay to work extra. The past two Tet holidays, she also stayed in Ho Chi Minh City to work, in the morning she worked as a waiter at a pho restaurant in Go Vap district, then from 11am to 10pm she worked as a restaurant server in Tan Binh district. This year she plans to go back to the same place and with the same schedule.

"On New Year's Day, you work two days and your salary is one and a half times the normal salary. On Lunar New Year, your salary will be even more generous, tripled. If your restaurant's revenue reaches the target, it will be quadrupled. If you work hard for about ten days during Tet, you won't have to worry about rent for the next six months. If your customers are kind and give you lucky money, you might even have money to buy a new phone," Thi laughed.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Dang Tien Anh (student of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City National University) has already made plans for the upcoming busy Tet season.

Having been a dancer for a long time, Tien Anh knows that the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year often have many spring programs and big music festivals, so he also runs shows continuously, with no fixed schedule. Although it is hard, if he knows how to proactively arrange his time reasonably, he can also earn extra income to cover his living expenses.

Tien Anh said that his average monthly income is about 10 million VND, and working during Tet season is also nearly 30 million VND, because in addition to his salary, he also gets a bonus from the company. "I know it's harder than usual, and it's the season when people are resting while I have to work, but the income is much better. When the entertainment programs cool down, I go home to celebrate Tet late," Tien Anh said.

Experience celebrating Tet away from home

Duc Minh (a student at the University of Technology, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City) is currently a shift leader at a coffee shop in District 1. Minh said he chose to work part-time during the upcoming Tet holiday because his whole family has settled abroad. "Now I'm alone here, so celebrating Tet at home doesn't mean much anymore. It's better to go to work, it might be more fun," Minh laughed.

On a normal day, the salary for serving and serving at a coffee shop is only about 40,000 VND/hour, but during Tet holidays it triples, to 120,000 VND/hour. Working is less boring and the high salary motivates Duc Minh to work harder. But there is another reason: he wants to save up and buy a ticket to visit his family next year with the money he earned himself.

There are enough reasons for students to choose to work part-time during Tet. Phuc Khang (a student at the University of Foreign Languages ​​and Information Technology, Ho Chi Minh City) once chose to work part-time as a waiter in a restaurant during Tet because he wanted to experience the feeling of Tet away from home. When he was informed that his salary would double during the days leading up to Tet, and quadruple during the Tet holidays, he was initially quite excited to take the job.

However, going to work and approaching New Year's Eve, Khang confessed that he missed home terribly and felt sad when there was no one around.

"Everyone has different circumstances, so choosing to work extra during Tet is different for everyone. But deep down, everyone has the same desire to reunite with their family to celebrate Tet at the beginning of the new year," Khang confided.

Work and regenerate energy

Due to financial pressure and many plans, Minh Thu (24 years old, a legal staff living in Phu Nhuan district) chose to work overtime instead of returning to her hometown for Tet this year. The company where Thu works encourages and rewards employees who work overtime during Tet to work with foreign clients and Thu has registered to stay.

"I consider this an opportunity to create my own quiet space to recharge my energy and find inspiration for work. Not to mention the savings from working overtime during Tet that I use to pay for my current graduate tuition," Thu said.

Nearly 32,500 job positions waiting for workers

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs said that this time of year the economy will be cyclically active because it is the sprint stage to prepare for the peak holiday season, Tet, and to complete export orders as well as the high demand for domestic consumption.

This is also an opportunity for businesses to launch programs to attract customers, boost production and business, and sell products. Therefore, the demand for labor at this time increases, especially seasonal and part-time jobs in the trade and service sector.

There are many vacancies in need of workers during this peak season, so workers need to carefully check recruitment information - Photo: C.TRIEU

The Ho Chi Minh City Employment Service Center (Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs) receives recruitment needs from businesses with 32,476 vacant positions waiting for workers. These are concentrated in the textile and footwear industries, sales staff, business staff, market development staff, accounting - auditing, tourism services - restaurants - hotels...

Many seasonal and part-time job positions such as production workers, sales staff, business staff, delivery staff, packaging staff, service staff... are suitable for workers, students.

Depending on the position and nature of the job, the salary will be different. Some seasonal and part-time jobs have salaries ranging from 25,000 - 100,000 VND/hour. If the employee works during Tet, in addition to the salary, there will be bonuses and New Year's gifts.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cuoi-nam-mong-tet-am-sinh-vien-tang-ca-kiem-gap-3-4-lan-den-tet-nho-nha-kinh-khung-20250116234034588.htm