Job Discussion Forums

[Tenman]

hmmm, where to start...

right complicated... I'm English and currently in the UK but my Girlfriend is Chinese, originally I was going to move to China but she's now working for a company who are going to send her to Sao Paulo to manage a new company over there. Originally we thaught, what the hell, Brazil's gonna be easier for me to get into than China, now however :s

anyway, I was planning to join her over there for christmas and poss. have a holiday with her over there before and then I got made redundant from work... even more fun as I was in China when my company went bust, so plans have to be moved forward, I'm doing my best to get to Brazil as fast as I can now, I'm an I.T. specialist and have 10 years experience, but I've as yet had absolutly no joy in finding an I.T. job in Brazil, so I'm looking at teaching now, getting a Visa to teach seems to be just as hard as getting an I.T. job.

thinking now of possibly trying to go over on a student visa, to study something in Brazil and poss. try and work at the school I'll be studying at teaching English and I.T. heh, if anything thinks this is a good idea or not I'd love to know, and if anyone has any other tips for getting to Sao Paulo I'd be most grateful, I don't speak Portuguese that well as yet but I'm learning quickly.

[AcidBurn]

IT is booming in Brazil now, but the best way for you to get an IT related job is with a multinational in a managerial role. Big multinationals will bring in expats for a few years to run the show in Brazil since they don�t trust the locals. That�s probably what your girlfriend is moving down there for.

Actually, she will probably be making a lot of money to lure her there to begin with as Sao Paulo isn�t exactly a prized place to live. You can live very, very well on an expat salary in Brazil, as the cost of living is much lower compared to England.

What does this have to do with you? If she doesn�t mind supporting you (and on her salary, she will probably be able to), you don�t need to get an IT job and you can teach English or take courses to pass the time.

Also, most likely, you won�t get a professional job in Brazil without knowing Portuguese. Furthermore, you�ll have a lot of trouble getting a work visa, even for teaching English. Most people who teach there do it for six months and then leave, or stay on illegally.

[Tenman]

nope, she's going over for a Chinese company managing a new firm for them importing shoes to Brazil, she's not gonna be on that good a wage as her contract's have been sorted out in China...

[brasilstu]

I worked in Sao Paulo for two years as a teacher. Loved it there, I'm in China now but will definately go back to stay one day.

You will have no problem making a living in SP as a teacher. Maybe their not paying your gf that much but it's probably a heck of a lot more the most teachers. If you can share the cost of a house you only need 1500 R$ to live comfortably. Schools in SP must pay about 30R$ an hour now so if you can teach 15-20 hours a week you'll be laughing. Once you are there make friends, network and pick up private students and teach for 50-75R$ an hour. I'm allowing for inflation in the last couple of years, I might be a bit off but two years ago I was getting 25 for my school lessons and 50 for my privates.)

Go there on a tourist visa, you get three months and can extend for another three. After six months you'll have figured out how to stay
It jobs a possiblity, but impossible sorting it out until you get there. Once you've been there six months you'll figure out how things work.

I feel like I've written this advice 100 times on this board so I'm not gonna write anymore. If you have any question PM me.

PS: Ignore the guy that said it's not a desirable place to live - it's fucking awesome

[AcidBurn]

[Tenman]

right, think I'll just apply for a working visa... she's got Resident status in Brazil so I'll have to see if that helps in my application at all... you never know..