Job Discussion Forums

harmonica · Joined: 21 Sep 2009 Posts: 13

I am thinking about getting a CELTA so that I can teach English to adults in Chile. My goal is to save a modest amount while I am there, basically enough to pay for my flight out of there and start up cash for my next destination. However, some of what I have read on Dave's has been a little discouraging. Can anyone give me an idea of how much I can expect to earn with a Celta & 1 yr experience? Also, I've heard that Santiago is very polluted & having lived in some pretty polluted places already, I'd like to avoid that. I would appreciate any input on other Chilean cities. Thanks.

SeHablaIngles · Joined: 17 Nov 2009 Posts: 35 Location: Santiago

Hi Harmonica,

The CELTA teaching qualification is very much sought after here in Chile. Salaries here vary between hourly rates and monthly salaries.

You can easily live here teaching only 20 hours a week. If you want to save then you need to get a private student or two.

A school typically pays between $5,000 and $7,500 per hour (that's 10 to 15 US dollars). With private students you can get twice that.

Santiago is quite polluted but it the country is amazing. Well worth the trip.

I'm trying to get a new forum off the ground aimed specifically at Chile.

MOD EDIT-SEE WARNING BELOW

harmonica · Joined: 21 Sep 2009 Posts: 13

Thanks for the reply profe. From most of the things I have read, it sounds like saving even a modest amount in Chile is quite difficult. I may look into teaching in Uruguay or Japan.

RabbitWho · Joined: 16 Jan 2010 Posts: 30 Location: Spain

As far as I know if you're looking to make money the two best countries to teach in are Germany (If you're an EU citizen and speak German) or Korea (If you're from the US, American English is in great demand)

I'm looking to learn Spanish and survive..that's why i'm reading these forums.

Is there anywhere to go to get a proper run down of the Cost of living in Chile?

is Santiago the only place it's possible to teach?

What, if the wages are 10-15 american dollars an hour, what is the rent for a single room and cost of food / electricity / water for a month?

SeHablaIngles · Joined: 17 Nov 2009 Posts: 35 Location: Santiago

Dia · Joined: 09 Apr 2008 Posts: 92

i think its possible to answer this question here on this forum...

I dont live in Santiago, but my rent and all utilities cost 170,000/month. thats around 340 US. I think its possible you'd spend somewhere around that same amount in food- but it will vary a LOT depending on if you are buying packaged, imported products or making things from scratch like using a lot of fruits and veggies. (for instance getting ravioli, tomato sauce, and parmesean cheese will cost 3,500/ US 7... but buying rice and doing a stir fry or something would cost you maybe 1,000 / 2us)

toast for breakfast is cheap, granola is not. stuff like that- your food choices will hugely vary your expenses.

Also, how much you go out at night will make your expenses fluctuate a lot as drinks, eating out, taxis, club cover charges, etc... add up very easily. If you tend to do more house parties or gatherings or are a homebody, you could be saving a lot of money.

There are some other factors, for instance health care which can be expensive for women (around 75 US a month is probably the lowest private health care insurance youll find...let me know if you know otherwise anyone), for men its less, but costs like this bump up your cost of living.

Check out google and maybe some expat websites to get some more specific prices and such. for instance, here's a personal breakdown by someone in santiago http://emilyinchile.blogspot.com/2009/02/cost-of-groceries-in-chile.html

Lunkey · Joined: 20 Jan 2008 Posts: 66 Location: Santiago

the celta is not very much sought after here. anyone telling you that has a celta themselves and is trying to convince themselves it was worth the money.

to get a good job, you do need a celta-equivalent degree, but not the "real" thing. save yourself some money that you'll need for when you become thoroughly broke Laughing

ottawajoe · Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 1:11 pm Post subject:

Celta, tesl, whatever. You don't even need a degree to teach here. All you need is a lot of cahones and patience. Get yourself a couple of gigs with language institutes and then start advertising private and you'll do alright. As for cost of living, I lived in a brand new apartment in Santiago on the corner of San Francisco and Santa Isabel. My utilities, condo fees and rent came to about 400/month. You can do better if you shop around. Billeting with a family would be your cheapest way to go (if your into that) or finding a shared accomodation. Food is cheap if you know how to cook. I didn't go to the supermarket much, I would go to a farmers market called La Vega. I could eat for a week on less than 30 dollars.