Job Discussion Forums

[chica88]

A few questions for people working in Chile.

I have been wondering about this again and again so I finally thought I would ask...

There have been many, many, many forums about

www.teachingchile.com

and the services they provide.
Everyone agrees the service is way to expensive for what it gives.
I happen to agree.

questions:

1. Are there any teachers out there that can share if they have used teachingchile.com?

2. Did the service get you a job in the location you wanted?

3. Did the service get you the pay promised?

4. Did anything go wrong while using the service?

5. Was the Chile visa process so complicated that you absolutely needed the service to help you or could you have done it by yourself?

6. Did the service help you get housing not only in the area you needed but in the price range you needed?

7. Looking back on it would it have been better to just by a plane ticket to Chile and find a job on foot?

8. And a question you can't help but wonder, is it impossible to find work in Chile if you don't speak spanish?

9. Was the money you spent worth it for the placement agency?

10. If you had to do it again would you use the service again?


This is a loaded question but I'm interested to know from those who have experienced Chile first hand...


11. What advise would you give your sister, brother, mother, or father about the best way to land a job in Chile?

Please don't say you would tell them just not to go to Chile.

[derekchile]

Hey,

I have expierence with Teaching Chile...or a money trap!
I would suggest not doing it...

1. I got a job...with Norte Americano Institute.. They have a good reputation but when I started, they went bankrupt. They didnt pay me for 3 months...Did Teaching Chile help me no! was it something that when you pay all that money should have been researched yes! So, once I quit I was out...Never heard from them again...so be it...

2. Teaching Chile did an orientation paid for three weeks of a hostel, but they never found me an apartment...I found my own...

3. Visa, tampoco! You do it yourself, they give you a rough guide but nothing more...and no, its not complicated...Just go extranjeria with a lot of copies of everything!!! 4 copies of every document, identity photos, and a contract from an institute.

4. Its just too much money...save the money you would use for teaching chile...and find a cheap apartment and use that 1,300 while you are looking for a job....there are many many jobs in santiago...vi�a/valpo not too many...even looking at craigslist santiagoo,,,filled with english teaching jobs.

5. You can find work without spanish...but you should know some spanish...not so much for classes but more for the administration...

6. Listen I can�t tell you what to do, that�s my story...I have been now living in Chile for 2 years now. I would get a tefl if I were you..but Teaching Chile will get you a job for sure! is the money worth it I dont think so...but if you are concerned about finding a job...they will get you one...

7. Hope this helps! let me tell you chile is a great place...i think you will enjoy it! good luck!

[chica88]

Hey thank you!

I appreciate your reply.

I actually got an offer in another country.
But, Chile is so very beautiful.
I saw a TV show on Chile the other night, I love it!
I wanted to see if anyone working with teachingchile.com would talk about their experience with them.
I have always heard you should fly their on your own and look for work.
Its scary though - I know that.
Thats were the placement service gets you.
They thrive on your uncertainty, on being unfamiliar with the process and just being in a different country altogether.

teachingchile.com is always a hot button issue.
So, I have always wondered what teachers have thought about it once they pay the fees and have the time to look back on it.