Job Discussion Forums

rdarabos · Joined: 27 Sep 2014 Posts: 13 Location: Philadelphia, PA

My wife and I are interested in moving to Guatemala on a mostly permanent basis and teaching English there to get by. I have a degree and am finishing my certification in TESOL this year. My wife will have a degree in elementary education.

Does anyone know of good places to teach in Guatemala? Or in close by countries? We're pretty open to locations, as long as its not much more than 6 hours outside of Guatemala: so Mexico, Belie, El Salvador or Honduras are fine. If Costa Rica or Panama paid significantly more wed consider it, but we'd prefer to stay within driving distance of Guatemala (we know people there we are trying to live close to, fyi).

Do any places there actually pay good? I've seen them in the $500+ per month range, but not much better. I know that's actually pretty good for the area, but our student loan debts won't allow us to have that low paying of jobs! Any thoughts? Is Guatemala City and Antigua the best bets?

Thank.

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

Best to post this on the General Latin America forum.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

International Schools ?

I am not sure about the answer to

"Do they pay good ?"

Xie Lin · Joined: 21 Oct 2011 Posts: 731

If you can postpone the move long enough for your wife to acquire a couple of years teaching experience in the US, she would be competetive for international school positions which can pay quite handsomely--even in Latin America. Without the home country experience, as a licensed teacher (presumably?) she should still be able to find a position that pays quite well in a colegio, or perhaps a lower-tier international school. Of the countries you've listed, Mexico is the best possibility for paying back student loans. Colombia, if you want to go a little farther afield.

If she is not a licensed teacher, you will still be in a better position than most with two incomes. But with a B.Ed already under her belt, licensure is the quickest road to a better salary. Antigua is lovely, but I can't imagine anyone with other options being willing to move to Guatemala City!

Also, if you don't need to be located near Guatemala immediately, (I'm assuming family reasons), you might consider putting in a couple of years somewhere that will allow you to pay down those loans and build some savings for living in Latin America. (Korea, China.)

Good luck!

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