Job Discussion Forums

[travelNick]

Hey all!
I'm an ESL pro who'll be arriving in Bogota in 2 and a half weeks without a job offer. I'm staying for 3 months before heading off to Russia.

Somebody please tell me that in Bogota right now it's a good time to find a good job! haha

[Hawko79]

Hi Nick,

I am currently in Bogota at the moment looking for work. I�ve got a couple of interviews lined up. Might be a bit more difficult because you are only staying for 3 months.

PM me if you need some help/info.

[travelNick]

Thanks Hawko! Sent you a PM.
Anybody looking for a fatmate in the north?

[travelNick]

In Bogota now... lots of schools... see what happens =)

[travelNick]

Bogota = no problems for finding work. Good AND bad rates of pay with cheap transport for private students all around the place. All good =)

[Raindrops]

What was/is your budget when you traveled to Colombia?
How long did you stay without a workload able to sustain your living?

I am in China right now, and frankly speaking things here are getting on my nerves ..............

I am fluent in Spanish with all kinds of certs and a MBA as well.

[travelNick]

I came to Bogota with around $800US. It's lasted me 4 weeks so far and I've been living pretty comfortably i.e eating McD's, going to the movies, paying rent, having plenty of coffees etc. It could last a frugal person 2 months... maybe.

I've been working a lot, but payday still hasn't arrived, so I'm living off my savings.

With certs, experience and an MBA (and a good personality of course), you shouldn't have any trouble finding good work for schools who are contracted to major companies.

Spanish will help your day to day life, of course, and perhaps help you to find 'cheaper' options on just about everything. I arrived with NO Spanish, but have many local friends here so I've been shown the ins and outs of things. Saying that, I haven't seen any opportunities where I could be ripped off. Except maybe with regards to rent, which will vary immensely per month depending on where you choose to live.

[Raindrops]

I appreciate your time and answer travelNick.
You are in Bogot�, I do not know yet which city will be best for business teaching. But basically $800 did it for you, and it should do it to others as well.

I trust that anyone that has experienced Asia's madness should come out of it with a "a good personality"

[windowlicker]

I realize I'm fairly conservative when it comes to money, but I'd definitely recommend arriving with more than $800. Even at an institute, it could take up to a month to find a job (probably will take you less, but I'd certainly budget for a month), and then once you find a job you probably won't get paid till a month later...and even then you have to add in the uncertainty that comes with living and working in Colombia...I know a couple (though granted, not many) people who've gotten screwed and either were never paid at all by their school, or had to wait MONTHS to get paid their first pay check until they'd gone through the whole visa process. On top of that, I would also budget an extra $200 in case for some reason you need to change your return flight to come home early for an emergency (or because you ran out of money).

This isn't a country that is kind to people without money...and I would expect people to be much less understanding if on top of not having money, you're also a gringo. Running out and getting stuck here would really, really suck. Try to avoid that risk as much as possible.

[travelNick]

Definitely! The more savings the better There's no way I'd want to be here without any money!!! That would be a disaster :-/