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Fitzgerald
Joined: 10 Aug 2010
Posts: 224
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 Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 1:46 pm Post subject: |
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| 22Yossarian wrote: |
I am curious... I have been having ongoing discussions with a campus principal at Preppa for an August 2014 start date since July. I had a good interview, sent a video of a sample lesson they liked, and was even given a prileminary financial package and put in touch with a current foreign teacher, and out of the blue received an email telling me "big changes" are occuring and they cannot proceed with hiring me.
I am not too disapointed as over the last month I have really gotten my feet on the ground at my current job and the thought of readjusting to another school in another country did not seem as appealing as it did two months ago. I like the kids I work with here in Beijing but I would rather live in Mexico and this saved me the tough decision between a job i usually like to go to and a place i would like to live. I am curious if Preppa is making big changes or if they just found a candidate that they prefer. |
Well, I can't speak for individual campuses other than my own, but across the system, yes, next year (2014-15) is the year when a total (and to my mind, unnecessary) overhaul of the Tec Prepa curriculum is starting. (They do this every few years.) This is one reason I am leaving. I have worked hard for three years to get the courses I teach into good shape, and now the attitude is, "You can throw out all your old lesson plans and start over! Isn't it wonderful?" I'm sorry, it's not wonderful.
That is lousy what they did to you, but characteristic. I wouldn't trust this place at all. But keep looking in Mexico if you're interested in the country. I like the living here. |
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22Yossarian
Joined: 20 Jan 2013
Posts: 68
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 2:28 am Post subject: |
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Well, I can't speak for individual campuses other than my own, but across the system, yes, next year (2014-15) is the year when a total (and to my mind, unnecessary) overhaul of the Tec Prepa curriculum is starting. (They do this every few years.) This is one reason I am leaving. I have worked hard for three years to get the courses I teach into good shape, and now the attitude is, "You can throw out all your old lesson plans and start over! Isn't it wonderful?" I'm sorry, it's not wonderful.
That is lousy what they did to you, but characteristic. I wouldn't trust this place at all. But keep looking in Mexico if you're interested in the country. I like the living here.[/quote]
Thanks, the more research I did about Prepa (both here and on other websites) made me more concerned about taking a job there. My school here in Beijing has problems, but the kids do not make my classroom experience a nightmare. Many of them probably don't have the academic skills to be here, but they are nice kids. But, what I have read about Prepa is that the kids shouldn't be their academically and many of them are very disrespectful and difficult.
Really what I liked about Prepa was that they paid $2,000 USD a month, plus housing and other perks. It would be a bit of a pay cut from China, but with the cost of living it would have evened out. I am not greedy but I have student loans to pay, and I need at least $2,000 a month to live and pay my student loans. That really limits the schools I can work for in Mexico. |
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Fitzgerald
Joined: 10 Aug 2010
Posts: 224
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| Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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I had a few rough classes during my first two years here, and no help whatsoever from the administration in dealing with them. Now, in my third year, I have much better student relationships generally, which I attribute to some luck, a lot of hard work, and my being more familiar. Other Tec prepas (or, for that matter, non-Tec prepas) may be better or worse discipline-wise.
I hope I have benefited from my time at Tec so that, when I move on to another Mexican high school or university, I will have a much better sense of how to handle the students from the get-go. Every culture is slightly different in this respect and takes some adjusting to.
It is rather difficult to find $2,000/month jobs in Mexico, no question. I completely understand that being your minimum requirement.
I find that the lower cost-of-living idea is a little overrated. Apartments can be had affordably, yes, but other items vary. It is much more expensive to eat out at restaurants here than in Korea, for example (where I ate out almost every day).
My Tec prepa used to make intial offers in the $1,600-2,000 range, but now their maximum offer for a new international hire, even with a master's degree, is $1,200. Which is way inadequate if you ask me. |
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BadBeagleBad
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
Posts: 1186
Location: 24.18105,-103.25185
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| Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Fitzgerald wrote: |
I find that the lower cost-of-living idea is a little overrated. Apartments can be had affordably, yes, but other items vary. It is much more expensive to eat out at restaurants here than in Korea, for example (where I ate out almost every day).
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I have to disagree with you here. I have lived in Mexico for many years and found everything, with the exception of luxury items, imported items and American wanna-bes (and American businesses themselves) to be less expensive, in many cases much less expensive. But if you want to eat at American chain restaurants, or the Mexican equivalent - Sanborn's, Toc, El Porton, VIP, etc. yeah, you will pay more. But middle class Mexicans know where to find a comida corrida that costs half as much as tastes twice as good. Rent, outside of trendy areas, is less than half what you would pay in a similar sized city in the US, trendy areas would give the US a run for their money. Transportation, across the board, is far cheaper. Good, bought at a traditional market, or tianguis, again, far, far cheaper, and usually better, than at WalMart or Chedrahui. What did I miss? |
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Fitzgerald
Joined: 10 Aug 2010
Posts: 224
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| Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:52 pm Post subject: |
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| BadBeagleBad wrote: |
| Fitzgerald wrote: |
I find that the lower cost-of-living idea is a little overrated. Apartments can be had affordably, yes, but other items vary. It is much more expensive to eat out at restaurants here than in Korea, for example (where I ate out almost every day).
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I have to disagree with you here. I have lived in Mexico for many years and found everything, with the exception of luxury items, imported items and American wanna-bes (and American businesses themselves) to be less expensive, in many cases much less expensive. But if you want to eat at American chain restaurants, or the Mexican equivalent - Sanborn's, Toc, El Porton, VIP, etc. yeah, you will pay more. But middle class Mexicans know where to find a comida corrida that costs half as much as tastes twice as good. Rent, outside of trendy areas, is less than half what you would pay in a similar sized city in the US, trendy areas would give the US a run for their money. Transportation, across the board, is far cheaper. Good, bought at a traditional market, or tianguis, again, far, far cheaper, and usually better, than at WalMart or Chedrahui. What did I miss? |
All I can say is, I have lived in Changwon, a city that has an expensive reputation in Korea, and Culiacan, a city that does not have an expensive reputation in Mexico, and find the overall costs of living to be very comparable between the two.
As for restaurants: in my experience, cheap restaurants in Culiacan are cheap for a reason, and offer little variety beyond lower-quality Mexican and Chinese cuisines. In Changwon, good restaurants were MUCH less expensive than so-so restaurants here, and came in many more varieties - Japanese, Italian, Vietnamese, Thai, etc. The only Thai restaurant in Culiacan closed for lack of business, ditto the only Vietnamese restaurant, despite the fact that both were quite good.
Low-cost Korean restaurants are cleaner and more pleasantly appointed than in Mexico.
(And if, say, you wanted American fast food in Changwon, a meal at Burger King there costs half as much in Korean won as the equivalent meal costs here in Mexican pesos. I know; I've done this experiment.)
Taxicabs in Korea are not only cheaper, but metered, which is better for the customer, and MUCH cleaner. Buses cost about the same. Good quality clothing is cheaper in Asia generally (although it can be difficult finding large sizes).There is no tipping in Korea; that really keeps costs down.
Not hating on Mexico or anything, I just don't think it is as cheap as is sometimes stated. |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 10:05 pm Post subject: |
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| BBB's comments compared prices in Mexico to prices in the States while Fitzgerald's remarks compares the cost-of-living in a city in Korea to the cost-of-living in Culiacán, making this a sort of "apples and oranges" comparison. |
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Fitzgerald
Joined: 10 Aug 2010
Posts: 224
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| Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 10:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| BBB's comments compared prices in Mexico to prices in the States while Fitzgerald's remarks compares the cost-of-living in a city in Korea to the cost-of-living in Culiacán, making this a sort of "apples and oranges" comparison. |
I think so, yes. It would be interesting to get a sense of which countries present the best ratio of Probable Salary and Benefits: Actual Cost of Living, for ESL and other international teachers. My take-home (high for Mexico) is about the same as in Korea, but there, my apartment was provided. Overall, financially, I was a little ahead in Korea.
Maybe the ratio is good in China. Definitely not in Japan - costs are too high. Definitely not in Central America and some parts of South America - pay is too low. No idea about Brazil or Argentina. I get the sense that the ratio in many European countries is bad. You hear about all these high salaries in the Middle East, and people get the idea that they could work in Saudi Arabia or Dubai for a couple of years and bank oodles of money, but I'm not sure how that all shakes out in actuality. |
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22Yossarian
Joined: 20 Jan 2013
Posts: 68
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| Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:05 am Post subject: |
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| The folks who have been in Beijing tell me it is expensive here. It still seems cheap to me, I eat out regularly, go to the bar on the weekend | | |
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