Job Discussion Forums

[english2go]

I just want to let readers of this Costa Rica forum know that there are currently a lot of teaching jobs available for qualified ESL teachers here. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have about teaching in Costa Rica.

[peripatetic_soul]

Hello,
Any information you can furnish to the following questions would be greatly appreciated. First, some background info - I earned MAs in Applied Linguistics and TESOL at American universities, over 20 years of ESL/EFL experience, have VA state teaching license (certified through 2018).
1. Are there age restrictions?

2. What would be a typical salary at university with MA credentials or must one have a Ph.D.? What would a typical week consist of (courseload and office hours)?

3. What is your assessment of teaching in private or public schools there?

4. What is the cost of living like in major cities or do you know of any non-urban areas that are safe, decent and more economical?

Thank you for any information you can share.
PS

[Whatever will be]

I'm also interested in the same questions and have a few more:

What kind of support is provided (i.e. finding accommodation, arranging work visa, assistance with setting up a bank account...)

Are flights provided? If so, what kind (only to arrive, annual flights home, flight out at the end of the contract...)

What kind of health/ accident insurance is provided?

What kind of incentives are available, if a teacher consistently performs over and above her/his duties?

What kind of professional development and promotion opportunities are available?

Thanks in advance!

[peripatetic_soul]

hello, WWB,
I too am interested in answers to particular questions. I googled Costa Rica English teaching and thought you may find these links helpful:

http://www.eslemployment.com/articles/teaching-english-in-costa-rica-375.html

http://www.gooverseas.com/teach-abroad/costa-rica

http://www.teacherkick.com/blog/tag/teaching-english-in-costa-rica/

Greatly appreciate if anyone on the ground in CR has more information to share. Thank you.

[mtiz]

I spent a year in Costa Rica for 2013. I worked in several different schools part time as is usual there. I also worked for the original poster for quite some time. The poster here is a small private business English institute where you must travel to different locations. Average pay 8.50 an hour, no real incentives, no travel reimbursements for your classes, much less a flight reimbursement. Plus, you must take visa runs at your own expense, you will NOT be provided any information or assistance with a work visa. They will set up a bank account for you. You may or may not have help finding accommodation. No insurance, no promotion, probably an average of 10 hours a week could be provided by this particular posters company. That being said, Costa Rica is not a hotspot for making money. If you have credentials, the best thing to do would be to contact a university directly. Some places do age discriminate openly and won't hire people over a certain again (unfortunately, but it happens.) These questions that you have seem more specific for a university and not for this post, which is why he hasn't even responded. The most difficult thing about working in Costa Rica is that it is almost impossible to get a work visa on your own, and most places, even universities won't be willing to sponsor you until you've been there for over a year. This particular poster had promised to sponsor a coworker of mine who worked with them for a year and a half. Near the end, they ignored her and then finally told her they could not help her with a visa. If anyone has anyone particular questions about anything, please feel free to send me a PM, or ask them on here, I would be more than happy to answer.

[PuraVidaPolitecnico]

mtiz brings up some really good points. A lot of foreign (and Costa Rican) English teachers in Costa Rica do work at multiple institutes and many of them require a LOT of travel time. If the salary offered seems too good to be true, it probably is. I know many teachers who have started out at institutes that offered $10 or $12 per hour who ended up having to travel for more hours than the hours of the teaching gig itself.

However, there are several institutes in the Central Valley that offer work visas to qualified instructors who are able to commit to a year-long, full-time contract. The problem is that a lot of places are afraid to offer this benefit because (it seems like) the majority of EFL teachers can't actually commit to a year-long contract.

[english2go]

Hi everyone,

I want to apologize for not answering your questions, especially after offering to answer them. However, I did not receive any notification that this post was actively receiving additional posts. I only occasionally check this forum because its activity has dwindled to almost nothing in the last couple of years.

Well here goes,

Are there age restrictions? Our company's preference is 25 years of age and up, but some a very specific.

What would be a typical salary at university with MA credentials or must one have a Ph.D.? What would a typical week consist of (courseload and office hours)? I really can't answer that question accurately. You would be best to contact Universities directly.

What is your assessment of teaching in private or public schools there? It would be a bit difficult for a non-resident to teach in the public school system here. However the private schools will hire non-resident teachers.

What is the cost of living like in major cities or do you know of any non-urban areas that are safe, decent and more economical? Costa Rica is much more expensive than most people realize. I would suggest really doing your number crunching prior to coming here.

What kind of support is provided (i.e. finding accommodation, arranging work visa, assistance with setting up a bank account...) This varies company to company, school to school. some will offer absolutely no support. Our particular company will help you find accommodations and help you set up a bank account. The working visa is something that we would like to be able to offer and have pursued. however, the Costa Rican immigration laws and the bureaucracy makes it quite difficult. That being said some private schools do offer working visas for full time teachers.

Are flights provided? If so, what kind (only to arrive, annual flights home, flight out at the end of the contract...) I know of no one in Costa Rica paying anything towards flights.

What kind of health/ accident insurance is provided? We suggest that you get an international policy for health insurance. Costa Rica's socialized health care system is only for residents. Only full time teachers in schools that provide working visas will get healthcare.

What kind of incentives are available, if a teacher consistently performs over and above her/his duties? The ESL teaching positions in most companies and schools do not offer much in the way of additional incentives.

What kind of professional development and promotion opportunities are available? Other than gaining teaching experience for those new to teaching there are few professional development and promotion opportunities. Most ESL position in Costa Rica are part time positions.

mtiz paints a fairly accurate picture of how things work here. Although our staffs average teaching hours is more like 16 hours per week. We try to help our teachers get up to around 20 hours per week. However, since most ESL classes given to adults happen either before or after work hours it is often difficult to achieve. As for the particular case involving our institution and a former teacher wanting to obtain a work visa. We offered to possibly help her as her and her husband were wanting to retire here from Canada. However, her husband was still working and her pension was not enough to meet the requirements of pensionado status.

We have started an accreditation process with a Costa Rican public agency to eventually be able to offer work permits, however at the time of this writing it is stuck in the bureaucratic black hole that exists here as in many government's agencies throughout the world.

I personally have been living, teaching and working here for 15 years. These are my quick pointers on ESL teaching in Costa Rica.

1. Be prepared for the difference in culture. Things do not always happen when and the way you want.

2. Be in a financially stable situation, meaning have a pension, some money in the bank or other income to make the transition easier. If you have obligations i.e. student loans, car or house payments DO NOT come. There are other places in the world to go and teach if your objective is to make money beyond basic living expenses.

3. Be proactive in your job hunt. You may not get enough hours from any one source to make ends meet. However, a responsible qualified teacher who is actively pursuing teaching opportunities here will find enough hours to make it.

I hope this has helped you in your decision making process.