With over 700,000 ride-hailing drivers across Vietnam, working for platforms like Grab has become an increasingly common way for students to earn income. The promise is appealing: flexible hours, be your own boss, work around your class schedule. However, recent research reveals a troubling reality that every student should understand before committing significant time to platform driving.
The brutal math: To earn a living wage in major Vietnamese cities, drivers must work an average of 11 hours per day, 28 days per month—covering 200-250 kilometers daily. This is 2.5 times the legal overtime limit.
Dr. Do Hai Ha from Melbourne Law School, who led a comprehensive study on platform workers in Vietnam, found that working standard hours (48 hours/week) yields only 6.2 million VND monthly—17% below the living wage of 7.5 million VND. To survive, drivers must work over 103 overtime hours monthly, creating an exhausting cycle that devastates academic performance and health.
For students, the opportunity cost is severe. Every hour navigating traffic is an hour not spent studying, building professional skills, or creating networks that lead to career opportunities. While platform work might generate 6-8 million VND monthly, it sacrifices investments in education that could yield 40-60% higher lifetime earnings for university graduates compared to those with only high school education.
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Time invested in education yields far greater long-term returns than platform driving
The physical toll is equally concerning. Drivers describe chronic exhaustion, exposure to extreme heat (39-40°C in summer), and deteriorating health. Research shows that over two-thirds of physical capacity decline in outdoor workers results from heat exposure alone. For students, chronic sleep deprivation and exhaustion severely impair cognitive function, memory retention, and learning capacity—the very skills university education aims to develop.
What makes platform work particularly exploitative is the algorithmic control masked as freedom. Drivers are classified as "independent partners," not employees, which means no labor protections, no health insurance, no maximum working hours, and no occupational safety regulations. Yet algorithms strictly control their work through ratings, automatic penalties, and commission rates of 20-27%.
The Bottom Line: Students should treat platform driving as strictly limited supplementary work—maximum 10-15 hours weekly. The short-term income cannot justify sacrificing education, health, and career prospects. Your university years are an investment in human capital that will generate returns for 30-40 years. Don't trade your future for today's convenience.
Vo Hoang Bac - Faculty of Economics and Management
References:
1. Do Hai Ha et al. (2024). "Behind the Myth of 'Business Partners': Platform Drivers in Vietnam Urgently Need Legal Protection." Information and Communications Publishing House, Hanoi.
2. Nguyen Duc Loc (2021). "Assessment of Management and Methods of Organizing Workers Providing Technology Platform-Based Transportation Services in Ho Chi Minh City." Report commissioned by the Mass Mobilization Committee, HCMC Party Committee.
3. Nguyen Thi Hoai An (2022). "Social Security Access of Grab Technology Drivers in Hanoi and HCMC." Journal of Human Resources and Social Security, Vol. 540.
4. Buckley, Joe (2023). The Labour Politics of App-Based Driving in Vietnam. Mainland Press.
5. Flouris, Andreas D. et al. (2022). "Occupational Heat Strain in Outdoor Workers: A Comprehensive Review and Meta-analysis." Temperature: Multidisciplinary Biomedical Journal, 9(3), 255-276.
6. Turner, V. Kelly, Ariane Middel & Jennifer K. Vanos (2023). "Shade is an Essential Solution for Hotter Cities." Nature, 619, 694-697.
7. Scott, James C. (1985). Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance. Yale University Press. [On collective action among vulnerable groups]
8. Thu Quynh (2026). "The Working Class of the Digital Age." Tia Sang Magazine, February 5, 2026. Available at: https://tiasang.com.vn
Additional Resources:
• ILO (2021). "World Employment and Social Outlook: The role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work."
• Vietnam General Statistics Office (2024). Labour Force Survey Reports.
• European Commission (2024). Directive on Platform Work.