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| What is the best country to make & SAVE money in Latin America? |
| Mexico |
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66% |
[ 10 ] |
| Panama |
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6% |
[ 1 ] |
| Colombia |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| Ecuador |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| Brazil |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| Argentina |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| Chile |
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20% |
[ 3 ] |
| Peru |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| Uruguay |
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6% |
[ 1 ] |
| Other (Please comment below) |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
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| Total Votes : 15 |
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Message |
lagringalindissima
Joined: 20 Jun 2014
Posts: 105
Location: Tucson, Arizona
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 Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 4:02 am Post subject: Me |
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| Hopefully anyone reading this already knows you start with a less ideal job when you go abroad. But you can't make 92000 a year as English teacher in the region. That one job was posted was a) a scam or b) requires experience no one on this board asking where good jobs are is likely to have. Most job hunters in Latin America don't want to move assuming "I will live here for at least 10 years". There is a reason you have to move to the jobs to find jobs in the region; it is that they are intended to employ you for a year or maybe 2 so you can travel, have a resume booster and learn Spanish.Can you stay forever and move up in field? Of course. But is that easy to do? Absolutely not! And can you skip the " make 500 a month and pay for my own visa?" step with the right skills? Probably not...unless you have a PhD or you already put in your crap job time in another region. The problem is that new TEFL certificate grads fail to grasp that 350 to maybe 1000 a month is the standard salary for the region.. and even for the decent jobs. People are falsely led to believe that they will find the "hidden gem" jobs that are so much better.-- and the visa is not a problem. But the reality is that it is extremely difficult to support a foreign family off of jobs offered in the region. I know the game rules; the next move is "I did it! You need real credentials." You do need real credentials, but is still very difficult--and yes even with a masters. Brad Pitt made it as an actor.. and he never finished college.That doesn't mean most actors make it at all..let alone get to the very top of the field. |
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wanderingxelmundo
Joined: 25 Mar 2015
Posts: 86
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| Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:30 am Post subject: Re: Me |
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| lagringalindissima wrote: |
| Hopefully anyone reading this already knows you start with a less ideal job when you go abroad. But you can't make 92000 a year as English teacher in the region. That one job was posted was a) a scam or b) requires experience no one on this board asking where good jobs are is likely to have. Most job hunters in Latin America don't want to move assuming "I will live here for at least 10 years". There is a reason you have to move to the jobs to find jobs in the region; it is that they are intended to employ you for a year or maybe 2 so you can travel, have a resume booster and learn Spanish.Can you stay forever and move up in field? Of course. But is that easy to do? Absolutely not! And can you skip the " make 500 a month and pay for my own visa?" step with the right skills? Probably not...unless you have a PhD or you already put in your crap job time in another region. The problem is that new TEFL certificate grads fail to grasp that 350 to maybe 1000 a month is the standard salary for the region.. and even for the decent jobs. People are falsely led to believe that they will find the "hidden gem" jobs that are so much better.-- and the visa is not a problem. But the reality is that it is extremely difficult to support a foreign family off of jobs offered in the region. I know the game rules; the next move is "I did it! You need real credentials." You do need real credentials, but is still very difficult--and yes even with a masters. Brad Pitt made it as an actor.. and he never finished college.That doesn't mean most actors make it at all..let alone get to the very top of the field. |
You have some false assumptions and circular logic here. Usually people decide to move to another country because they're interested in that country -- not because you "have to move to get a job." It is true that for most ESL jobs in the region you have to be there locally to apply. This is for a number of reasons, mostly because the employers are tired of flakes who say they will arrive and don't show up. It isn't because of the expected longevity of someone is they're hired and starts to work.
The top paying jobs are generally at the top colegios, and perhaps those people don't often come here to Dave's to find out where to apply, but there is generally much lower participation here from people in all kinds of jobs than there was 15 years ago. Some of those people might still come here for general information about working and living in a country. And yes, they generally want 2-3 years' experience at least, and Guy specifically was talking about people with certain kinds of experience, but that doesn't mean that people go directly from $500 per month to the best jobs.
Even in other countries in the region, the pay at the better international schools (you need a teaching certificate and at least a couple years' experience, not a PHD) is perhaps $30,000 per year (depending on the school and country), plus full housing, health care, visa, and yearly or semi-annual round-trip airfare, and sometimes transportation to school and lunch and other perks. I'm not sure how this is considered less-than-ideal. Many school systems in the U.S. pay in that price range, except without the housing, transportation, lunch, and airfare. And in places with much higher costs of living than most of Latin America. And without the experience of living abroad. Again, you're right that those job hunters are probably looking somewhere other thane Dave's for a job, but the jobs are there.
I haven't seen much mentioned here where with a CELTA and a university degree the entry-level wage is only $500. The dollar is particularly strong right now so it's possible that jobs that paid $800 a year ago pay closer to $500 now, but the cost of living is still closer to what it was then. You then talk about jobs up to $1000, and supporting a family. You're right that many jobs in the region pay under $1000. Maybe even most entry-level jobs. But the cost of living is less. An entry-level teacher in the US can't support a family and travel throughout their vacations on a teacher's salary, and generally there's a relationship between the cost of living and the salary. D.C. teachers are the best paid, but it's the most expensive city in the country on many years' surveys. In the US most families need more than one income to survive, so I don't understand the negativity that it is often (though not always) true in Latin America.
I've never read anything by anyone here who said, "I expect to find a gem that makes lots of money." Most people say they live modestly and want to support themselves. Sometimes people come and ask if they can support a family, and depending on their qualifications they're told it may be possible or it's probably impossible. Others state they have certain housing requirements, and they're told whether those are realistic or not. |
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abbott123
Joined: 08 May 2016
Posts: 29
Location: Queretaro, Mexico
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| Posted: Sat May 14, 2016 6:02 am Post subject: No teacher expects or should expect to get rich teaching.... |
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Teaching is something you do because you enjoy it. It is something you do, because you like the lifestyle and being of help and service to others especially in Latin America. Almost no one gets rich here. Teaching is about a lot of things geting rich isn't one of them...  |
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CTravel32
Joined: 01 Mar 2017
Posts: 85
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| Posted: Thu May 25, 2017 7:42 pm Post subject: Re: none.. |
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| lagringalindissima wrote: |
| Unless you marry a local or have a very unique skill set (i.e. you can tech medical English in a university) English teaching jobs in the region aren't intennded to be jobs you keep for 18 years and use to create a middle class lifestyle for yourself and the kids you have. Places with higher salaries havve higher costs of living. Are there expections? Of course! TEC de Monterray in Mexico used to pay very well. But in general the jobs availle aare for young people who want to travel and break even doing that. |
I disagree. I make 1500 or 1600USD/month (after conversion and depending on current rate) and I live in a great 2 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment with my wife for, like, 300 or 325 USD (depends on conversion, again). Counting my wife and her salary, even if half mine, you could easily raise a kid here. These kind of jobs are not THAT hard to find either.... |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 4:48 am Post subject: Job Outlook Update for 2019 |
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It's been almost 3 years since this poll was done, are there any updates or changes anyone would like to add?
Perhaps there's a new TEFL hotspot in Latin America for 2019? |
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