Cùng anh Nguyễn Hữu Tuất - người sáng lập FastGo định hướng cho ứng viên ngành kinh doanh công nghệ

Okay, as you all know, now everyone uses smartphones and the internet. The internet has become a part of life; it is a foundation of society. The world cannot be considered a problem when it has the internet. Today, IT is not just a narrow term; it is a core element serving the development of information technology, especially serving life. In this era, it is very broad. If we break it down, there are many levels. First, there are people who believe in the future of IT. There are many engineers in hardware, information security, telecommunications systems. The second field is developing applications, writing software. That is the field of software engineering. It is also very broad, with many languages, many tools, and many platforms from mobile, desktop, to web applications. The third is related to data, cloud computing, and supplementary technologies. All three of these are developing together and are interdependent. For Vietnam, we are facing a big question about the development of the IT industry. The government and the whole country are pushing for national digital transformation. Large corporations and enterprises are also starting to shift and invest in Vietnam. We need to have a better infrastructure for IT and a belief in the future. This is a once-in-a-thousand-year opportunity for Vietnam, especially for young people. If we seize this opportunity, it will be good for Vietnam and for your future careers.

Actually, Vietnam is a country with good talent potential, due to our strong foundation in mathematics and the A-block subjects. In Southeast Asia, most AI engineers are Vietnamese. Vietnamese people participate in and contribute to major AI projects worldwide, from big companies like Facebook to others. This is due to our tradition. However, in the past, talented people in this field from rural areas and provinces often didn't pay attention to IT; they usually took exams for pedagogical or military schools to get tuition exemptions. But truly, the career opportunities and contributions to the country and for individuals are now very large for those who study IT. If you have even a little aptitude in the A-block subjects like Math and Physics, you can be confident and pursue this path. There are many training institutions in Vietnam, including big universities like National University, Bach Khoa University, and private ones like FPT University, or even centers. Nowadays, you don't even need to finish 12th grade; you can start working and earn tens of millions of VND, much higher than those who studied other fields. This creates a huge opportunity, especially for students from remote areas.

The starting salary for new graduates is usually around 10 to 12 million VND. However, if you have good ability, it can be from 15, 20 to 25 million VND. From the third year onwards, if you have good professional skills and learning ability, it can range from 25 to 40 million VND. For senior positions, the salary for senior specialists and total income can range from 40 to 100 million VND. That is entirely possible.

The working environment helps create career opportunities. If the environment is good, it gives you many opportunities to develop. A bad environment will negatively influence you and give you a limited perspective, making you feel there are no new opportunities for success. There are three things everyone needs to try. First, you need to be in a work environment that supplements your knowledge, increases your experience, and has many professional challenges for you to develop. That's the first condition. Your career and future lie in continuously opening up opportunities and positions. If you are in an environment with only 5-7 people or 10-20, you will just be doing repetitive work, making products or software for someone else, which will degrade your thinking and career.

First, you need to research. A few days ago, I saw an article on a site about experience for job seekers on how to prepare a CV for interviews and job applications. It's very fast. Sometimes students have too many things and can't use them effectively, leading to wrong thinking. For jobs that require experience, it's different. You can prepare a CV that shows your learning ability, the nature of your environment, what your school taught you, your life experiences, and even your family background. These factors help you build a good CV to get into big companies and corporations. At my company, we hire many new graduates, and after one year, they can surpass others who have been working for three or four years. We don't just look for experience. In IT, anyone can be retrained from scratch to follow a project. The most important thing is to show your learning process in school—what you learned and your ability to learn. This is shown through your studies, any prizes you won, and internships you've done. Internships are the most important for a student. Besides, you can get into a big corporation or a small company. A small project has many positions, but they often don't hire many people. So, the first choice is the environment. You also need ability. Everyone has the right to be trained and to communicate with recruiters. Recruiters base their decisions on your learning ability, ethics, attitude towards life, and simple skills like communication. Both small companies and large corporations have their own advantages. What matters is your working ability and the right attitude.

When I started, about 10 years ago when the internet first began in Vietnam, to access the internet you had to go to an internet cafe and pay a lot of money. Information was also limited. I was among the first generation to bring IT to Vietnam. It was difficult because it was very new. There were no experts, mentors, or communities to help. We had to self-study and figure everything out from foreign sources. Now, you have everything. You can find anything online. You can ask anyone. Now, I am developing a platform for on-demand teaching and guidance. You can pose a problem and someone will answer immediately for a fee. That's how it is. Comparing 20 years ago to now, it's very different. Now, there is so much information and so many things to do that you can lose focus and pursue too many different goals. The biggest challenge now is focus. Actually, every industry has its own challenges. In IT, banking, or sales, you see it. There are many opportunities. If you want to be outstanding and successful, it requires effort, perseverance, diligence, and companionship to overcome everything. The challenges are the same for any field.

Now, working from home is common. Many people love their workplace. There are two types of entities: those with recruitment needs and businesses that are struggling and can't provide jobs. This has a significant impact on the future. For those on a normal educational path, it's not about having money or not. It's like in Western countries. But now, according to current demand, formal university education faces difficulties in career development. It gives you a foundation. You can choose a university with a good brand. Compared to others, it's just a matter of time. Others are already there. So, you still have many opportunities. If you see a job posting and can learn from it, you can start working early. That's the practical experience. Working early is good.

You can learn IT now. There is no barrier. Learning is just the outer shell. There are many online courses. Now, you can study anything. You can learn design. You see everyone learning online. It's all about self-study. Honestly, in other industries, finding a high-paying job is hard. But in IT, it suits many people. At 20, you can switch. You can spend two months or a year to develop yourself. You can correct your path.

It's very difficult to find people who can actually work. We are short of people who can do the job. We need people who can work on large systems. It's not easy. We have trained them, but they can't be trusted. Honestly, there aren't many. A company may have enough people, but not the right environment for you to develop. When you join, if you do something wrong, it's a problem. What is needed is a formal framework. If you want real career development, you need an environment with a system to handle clients and projects. It's simple. It's like a website that handles waste.

That is a misconception. If you look at large tech companies, the people who design large systems are older people with deep experience and solid knowledge. In Vietnam, it's because of a mindset. People think they have to move into management, but they don't have management skills, so they fail at both. Saying 35 is the peak for IT is wrong. Compare it to 70-year-olds who are still working and getting better. That is a wrong notion. In IT, you must be very clear and very deep in your expertise to do big things and deep work. Young people cannot easily replace that.

That's a difficult question. Personally, I like to do useful things that bring value. That gives me great energy and helps me have the mindset and strength to overcome difficulties, or to be productive and earn money. For each person, it's the same. I always encourage everyone in the company to take on challenges that help them improve themselves.