What do you think? Should we study/work abroad for a year or so in order to develop ourselves?

While I partly agree with Tran Minh Phat, I still think its almost a must to study/work abroad for the young today. It's not just about the knowledge/skills or the education system which is different (or advanced). It's all about yourself. Studying overseas depends just on you yourself. One of my friends did her PhD in (shamefully) linguistics in Melbourne for 4 years being better at ... speaking Vietnamese with the Southern accent (no biased - she's from Hanoi) as she shared the house with four other Southerners. She returned to Vietnam not knowing where Southern Cross Station (the biggest connecting station in Melbourne - right in the heart of the city!) is...Studying 'abroad' all means learning about yourself in different social and cultural contexts, understanding you yourself in terms of adaptability and applicability. There's no need to distinguish among what 'types' of oversea study either. Two months' working for the ASEAN Secretariat in Indonesia and Malaysia taught me more than almost 8 years teaching at a Vietnam's leading university. The more you go, the more you learn. The more foreign countries you know, the better you appreciate your motherland and your own cultural and traditional values... For me, it is this philosophy that matters all.

.i was lucky to have financial supports from my parents so i went to high school and university in Australia .i didn't plan for this actually since i was doing secondary school in HCM .just like my fellows back at that time, we were too young and naive to think about what we would like to do/become in the next 10 years! .anyway, since my sister (two years older than me) already went ahead so my parents sent me out too after i finished grade 9 .and now after graduating university, i came back and started helping my dad leading his company

.well, like Duong Mai and Chris Dang Tran have shared their experiences, there is a couple of good things that life will teach you once you stay overseas for a period of time .first of all, you learn how to be indepedent .second, you will be able to expose to many different things like cultures, educations, workplaces, and living environments

.again, you should but you don't really have to

Rosie,
I think it comes down to what you want to do/achieve in life/career.
Comparing the quality/style of higher education, Indonesia and Vietnam are similar, that in university there's a lot of memorizing involved as compared to university in US or Europe which is less memorizing but more comprehension. But it doesn't mean that local universities are inferior to western universities, it's just a different approach that we need to balance with our own activities. Nothing is stopping you to attend seminars or workshops to further develop yourself in areas which are not covered by university classes.

My advice to students preparing to enter university always comes down to in what field do you want to build your career? Is it something which you can prepare for in local university or is it so specific that you can only find it abroad. For example: if you want to enter the financial services sector, better to study in Vietnam because you'd be better able to learn about the local economy, its business nuances, and linkages with abroad. Adversely, if you want to be a bio-engineer, then it's probably better to study abroad as they're more up to date, and try to get a job abroad where this field is actually applied.

Personally, if you want to build a career in Vietnam, then i think it's better to get your bachelor's degree in Vietnam, because you can build up your network. Work for 2-3 years, before taking your master's degree abroad, to deepen your knowledge and since there are many case studies in a master's program, you have your own working experience as a reference point. You will most likely get more out of a master's program than someone who goes straight from their bachelor's degree.

Whether you choose to go to university in vietnam or abroad, make sure to balance your formal education with informal activities like seminars and workshops in topics/areas which will better prepare you to enter the workforce.

As an employer, when hiring fresh graduates, i like to balance between book smart and street smart. Your university degree is a decent indicator of how book smart you are. Your extra curricular activities, especially seminars, workshops, student organizations, are a decent indicator of how street smart you are. The interview, and balancing between how book smart/street smart you are from your resume, will determine whether you get hired or not.

Hope this helps.

Thanks you guys for all your advice.
@Phat Minh Tran: After all what you said, I think I'd study in Vietnam and take the trip abroad whenever I can. Um, I must say I haven't had the intention to work overseas. Besides, the education here in Ho Chi Minh city has been getting better. PACE is a good idea as well. Actually, I was thinking of going to Australia for a MA degree, however, I suppose it's better off studying here since I will get many useful examples and advice as you just said, relevant closely and best applying to the situations happening in Vietnam. I can also seek help with the help of internet.

How about going for a year to improve my English? Nevertheless, I'm not so sure about that as thinking of the idea that I'm gonna stay inside the whole day.. Just because I wanna live in an environment where nothing other than English is allowed, it forces me to speak English all the time.

Hope to get the advice from you all soon.

Rosie

You should go if you have chances, but its not always as a pink dream. Many my friends/ colleagues is struggling in finding a job which suitable with their oversea education and their invested money for studying abroad.