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Availability of Jobs and Salary Question...

 
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Aristophanes



Joined: 07 Sep 2014
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Mon May 30, 2016 4:05 pm    Post subject: Availability of Jobs and Salary Question... Reply with quote

I am a CELTA qualified native speaker with four years experience and am currently living in Spain.

I am interested in going to Colombia for a couple years and was wondering when the best time is to go?

I finish a summer camp in London in August and am available from September onwards.

I have been to Medellin before but am open to going elsewhere such as Bogota or Barranquilla for instance. Are there a lot of job opportunities available?

I will be arriving with savings but ideally I don't want to dip into them too much. How are salaries?

Thanks for answering my questions.
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jimpellow



Joined: 12 Oct 2007
Posts: 913

PostPosted: Sat Jun 04, 2016 7:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'll start this as no one else wants to.

I have been living in Medellin for a year and have had zero interest in pursuing an ESL position position here. I think the salaries are rather laughable, and the working conditions generally are not so great from the feedback I have heard.

Personally, I have some income luxuries that a fair amount of ESL teachers do not, and I do supplement my income streams from a couple better paying online ESL positions.

I think that is the way to go to enjoy Colombia at its fullest. But, one does run into the major obstacle of how best to extend the visa after the six month tourist visa runs out.

I think you will not find it too difficult to find a position in Colombia, though Medellin may well prove harder.

I do not think you will be too thrilled with the salaries, but it is hard to gage from what you wrote how high your expectations are. It sounds like you are well qualified for a better paying position in the wonderful world of ESL. Yet having taught in Spain, your reality is probably lower paying positions.

So to generalize, it is a great place to live (which after a dozen countries I am fairly confident in saying), but it is not so great a country to make a "good" salary (this highly dependent on your expectations of what a quality lifestyle is).
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currentaffairs



Joined: 22 Aug 2012
Posts: 828

PostPosted: Sat Jun 04, 2016 4:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree 100% with Jim with the caveat that with some perseverance you can climb the ladder but it will take time. Salaries are really low in general. I lost my appetite for searching because of the low figures and all the commuting required. I was in Cali, and it was a great place to live but not so good for working.

Perhaps next time around I will try and get hired from abroad and go straight into a university or decent colegio because then you can make some half decent money.
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Aristophanes



Joined: 07 Sep 2014
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 7:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the responses...

The money isn't too much of an issue...I intend to return to Spain but thought I would take a year off somewhere...i would like to Latin America...and do some teaching and develop my Spanish...

I've seen the ESLStarter program online...but it says 40hours which is certainly not what i'm looking for...

Ideally be hoping for 15 hours a week and hoping that can cover my rent and say 10 hours of Spanish classes a week...

I'll be arriving with savings and don't mind dipping into it...just hoping what i mentioned above is feasible...

How is the job market in Cali?...
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currentaffairs



Joined: 22 Aug 2012
Posts: 828

PostPosted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 9:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are a number of jobs but also quite a lot of backpackers and people passing through taking those jobs.. Cali is a great place to live for six months or a year, though. A real party town..
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Aristophanes



Joined: 07 Sep 2014
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 7:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

currentaffairs wrote:
There are a number of jobs but also quite a lot of backpackers and people passing through taking those jobs.. Cali is a great place to live for six months or a year, though. A real party town..


I am considering doing 3 months of intensive study in Guatemala and then possibly going to Colombia in January.

What's a reasonable salary expectation in Cali?

The ESLStarter program offers 2.3m...beginning in January...is that a decent salary?...are there decent alternative options with similar salaries?...i don't wanna dip into savings too much...but i might add a couple hundred a month...is 3m a decent amount to live on there?...
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leretif9



Joined: 24 Mar 2013
Posts: 152

PostPosted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 6:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And on a related note -- is this for real...

http://www.eslstarter.com/teach-english-in-colombia.php#resp-tabs7
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Aristophanes



Joined: 07 Sep 2014
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Sun Jun 26, 2016 10:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

leretif9 wrote:
And on a related note -- is this for real...

http://www.eslstarter.com/teach-english-in-colombia.php#resp-tabs7


I'm presuming from that reaction that you're suggesting this isn't a good deal?...
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leretif9



Joined: 24 Mar 2013
Posts: 152

PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 7:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

No, actually it sounds pretty good to me.
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currentaffairs



Joined: 22 Aug 2012
Posts: 828

PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 8:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A mid-tier colegio in Cali offered me 2 mil pesos a month. 2.3 mil is reasonable to start out. Really, though, you need to be earning quite a bit more to make some money and be able to travel, etc. Okay for 6 months, I guess..
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jimpellow



Joined: 12 Oct 2007
Posts: 913

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2016 2:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You know, if you are arriving n September, why not just take the online route?

Getting at least 15USD an hour is easy for someone with qualifications like you have, if you have the ability to find what you are worth through a little digging on the Net. You can write your own paycheck and not have to deal with an onsite boss.

You would get to the end of the year and then another six months for 2017. You would need to do one visa run and an easy tourist renewal during that time, but simpler than dealing with a work visa.

With a little trial and error you will find a place and city with sufficient Internet.

That would give you 10 months to decide if you want to stay in Colombia or move on (with your online employment intact of you chose) and network for a better brick-and-mortar position if you so chose.
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rustyrockets



Joined: 06 Sep 2015
Posts: 78
Location: Thinking about it...

PostPosted: Sat Jul 30, 2016 4:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can get a job on the spot at IH Bogota, I also think you can easily get an offer from the British Council (also Bogota). To be honest, the few decent jobs available will be in Bogota.
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