Job Discussion Forums

[Tinman]

I have a few questions about Ecuador.

When is the best time to look for work, especially for university jobs?
I have heard about an " investor's visa" that one can get by depositing dollars in an Ecuadorian account. Does anyone on the board have one? If not, is anyone sure that this option actually exists?

I am planning a job hunting trip to Ecuador in June. Any help would be appreciated.

[Gary B]

Wha'z up?
I can give you some names of places you can check out once you get there. I taught and lived in Quito for 5 years before coming back to the States for 2 and a half years so I still know the place quite well. In fact, my Ecuadorian wife and I are anxiously awaiting for our trip back in May. You can always find work in the many English language institutes. Key Languages, English First (known simply as EF). Inlengua, South American Spanish Institute (name might have been slightly changed on this one, but it's right on Amazonas Avenue in Quito). If you have a college degree and are EFL/ESL certified you can try the universities such as Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Quito or La Universidad de San Francisco in Cumbaya. They may hire you on only with a college degree and no ESL/EFL certificate. The best paying jobs are in some of the private primary and secondary schools, but I think you need to have credentials in education and it's a lot of work and you have to be a special breed of cat to handle the discipline problems. Timing isn't so important because in many cases people come and go except for the university positions where they obviously have semesters. Of course it depends on what city you want to hang out in as well. You could also post notices on the many message boards in the gringo joints around Quito anyway advertising that you'll do private lessons.
Chow for Now,
Hope This Helps Enjoy Ecuador, I Know I Did Both Good And Bad From Motown Gary B.
PS: If you want further info e-mail me. Word of warning. Since the country dollarized their economy, prices have gone up drastically and wages have gone up very little in comparison to inflation. I have a friend that's still teaching there and he gives me all the latest scoops.

[Gary B]

Wha'z up?
Tinnman, I forgot to address a couple of your concerns. As far as the existence of an investor's visa, I'm not sure about that one. However, to invest a heavy amount of money in any of the Ecuadorian banks is a high risk. I know two of the major banks, namely Banco de Progreso and Filanbanco went bust and some people lost all of their savings. As far as the timing for the universities I think it's similar to the U.S. system, can't remember exactly when the semesters started and ended, but pretty sure it was around September for fall semester and January for winter semester. If you're going in June, you may hit it lucky and catch a summer class at one of the universities.
Chow for Now,
Investing In Ecuadorian Banks Is Risky Business From Motown Gary B.

[El Monstruo]

[liverpool lass]

I had some friends just come back from teaching in Ecuador in Loja, which is in the south. It was called the Canadian House Center. They had a fantastic time,not just teaching at the school but also at teh university teaching conversation, they played games, watched movies, quite a laugh really. However, think that there are certain times you need to go like schoo term starts such as Sept, dec and Feb. U should check it out. Just trying to build up the courage myself

[just_a_mirage]

Ive been living and teaching in Ecuador for about six years now. An investors visa requires that you deposit 25k into a bank CD, or you can also buy property of at least that amount.
I have to disagree about discipline problems. I have worked in a couple of high schools, both for wealthy students and fundacion schools and have found the discipline to be much better htan when I taught in the states. In Quito and north areas, school is the same as in the states, but in Guayaquil and other southern cities, it is the opposite as we are in the opposite hemisphere. School here starts in March or April.
Ive heard people enjoy Canadian House, but they reportedly arent good about getting you a visa, and you cannot work legally in Ecuador on a tourist visa. If you work illegally on a tourist visa, the likelihood is that you will be taken advantage of, and may not be paid. And you will have no recourse. Canadian house reportedly pays about $4 an hour which is not much.

[liverpool lass]

Visas can be a problem but there are always under the table options, Ecuador is about connections and bribes! However, CHC posted a job recently and they are now paying for visas if you commit a year, which I suppose is fair, lawyers cost an arm and a leg. $4 doesnt sound great to us 1st worlders, but how many hours are they giving, I bet they dont tax and also what about their ad costs, getting students doesnt grow on trees, and people dont always pay their inscriptions. SOmetimes I think we are blind to admin costs and the like we need to calculate everything. ESL teaching is never really about money and profit but enjoying ourselves, a different culture and being able to afford where we are. We think too European sometimes

[HLJHLJ]

Why drag up an irrelevant 7 year old thread for this?!

Under the table options are very limited now, Ecuador have seriously tightened up on visas in the last 6 months.

Canadian House have always promised visas, but in the past they have rarely materialised. For that, and many other reasons, they don't have the best reputation as a school or an employer.

They have the same running costs as any other language school in terms of advertising etc, and less if you take into account the cheaper costs of property etc in Loja. Yet virtually all the other schools manage to pay a better wage. Of course, if they didn't have such a high staff and student turnover, they wouldn't need to advertise quite so much either.

If I was going to work for a pittance I'd rather go and volunteer somewhere instead, at least I'd be doing something useful rather than short changing students and lining the school owner's pockets.

[just_a_mirage]

IMHO, EFL teaching is about providing the best possible education to our students. And I believe that working under the table is a bad idea for several reasons.
First, you are working ILLEGALLY. When you work illegally in Ecuador you are taking away a job from an Ecuadorian teacher (and there are many fantastic Ecuadorian English teachers), or from a legal foreigner who has taken the time to jump through the hoops to do things the right way. ANY school that hires you on a tourist visa is breaking the law, no matter what they say. And do you really want to work for a dishonest company? There are several here that I know of that will hire foreigners on a tourist visa, then simply not pay them. The teacher will eventually quit, and never be paid because they were working illegally and have no legal recourse. Then the school simply hires again, repeating the process with other naive foreign teachers.
It also affects the reputations of those of us working legally. Anytime you are a foreign teacher at a job interview, you have to go to great lengths to show that you are responsible, and not a "backpacker" who will work for a month or two and take off.
And even though Ive been working many years in this third world country, I still believe $4 dollars an hour is very low for a trained EFL teacher. I cant believe that there are many teachers here, working legally who would accept that wage.

[HLJHLJ]

[sendintheclowns]