Job Discussion Forums

[earthjen]

A bit about me:
-blond (not sure that it matters) Canadian female
-BA in math/business
-3 years experience teaching ESL in South Korea
-worked for 4 years as an accountant and 4 years in marketing (in case would help with business esl)

Hi,

I am planning to do the CELTA at Southern Cross in Ecuador. It looks like a great program at a great price.

Afterwards, I would love to teach esl somewhere, anywhere, in Latin America. I am so sick of Asia. I speak a little Spanish, have traveled to Latin America several times, and absolutely love it.

My problem is that I have about $500 in debt that needs to be covered every month back in Canada.

Is there ANYWHERE in Latin America where you can make more than a living wage?
Is there ANY country/city where you can do private classes for extra money? Legally or illegally. Is there any country where it's legal to do that on a work visa?
Is there ANY country/city where there would be a market for me to do any other extra work for money? i.e. teaching yoga, helping out with tourist agencies....I know I'm reaching here....
What country is the best country for a stable and reliable work visa? (If it exists???) If I'm going to be sending money home, then obviously I'd need a bank account. So presumably I'd need a work visa. If there is any country where this isn't the case, please let me know.

Of course, I would head down there with a few months' living expenses saved. But can I make it sustainable with the debt back home?

Is any of this realistic? Or am I living in a fantasy world? Please tell the painful truth....

Thanks for your time...

[JZer]

I think your best bet would be to find a job with minimal hours and teach online. You can earn $2,000 a month, but it will require working 40 hours a week.

[shebab]

I saved quite a bit of money at Universidad del Norte, in Barranquilla Colombia-enough to even pop off for a week to Europe during Holy Week! However, you need to have an MA to get a full time job there.

Colombia seems to pay better than most of Latin America...

Of course, international schools will pay top dollar (in dollars!). However, you need to be certified in the US to have one of those gigs...

[kona]

I'm sure Canadian teacher certification would be fine too, for international schools.

[Prof.Gringo]

LatAm is a famous EFL destination for saving tons of money

[Katm]

It's easy to pick up extra private classes (usually illegal and paid in cash) but latinos tend to be very flaky and cancel often so don't rely on this money. Ecuador/Peru I would generally say you wouldn't make much more than a living wage. There are a couple of universities that pay well but only if you have a doctorate or minimum masters. International schools pay up to $3000 a month with benefits but you'd need a teaching qualification from your country to do that. At language institutes hours vary so some months you can be really low on hours (and therefore money) - the best thing is to get hired from abroad with a contract rather than being a 'local hire'. I did the CELTA at Southern Cross if you wanted to PM me with any questions. I like living in South America but I think it would be difficult to guarantee having an extra $500 a month unless you really lived cheaply/shared apartments etc.

[JZer]

[spanglish]

You can easily save $500/month in Colombia, but you'll probably need more than basic qualifications plus Spanish and it might take you 2 years of solid experience and networking in-country to get to that point.

[Prof.Gringo]

[Professional TEFLer]

[Prof.Gringo]

[sprightly]

is the debt student?
(also following this as we're interested in heading that way and are trying to learn as much as we can)

[Professional TEFLer]

[Professional TEFLer]

"Is there ANYWHERE in Latin America where you can make more than a living wage?"

If you want to SAVE money AND TEFL, you should head to Asia or the Middle East.

[Prof.Gringo]