Job Discussion Forums

[rdarabos]

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.

[Jultime]

You'd have better luck finding decent paying jobs in Mexico. But life won't be easy for you trying to pay student loans in USD on the wages earned in Mexico and Central America.

[spiral78]

[MotherF]

I agree with everything Spiral said.
And...

[wanderingxelmundo]

If you have, or can switch to, an income-based repayment plan then you wouldn't have to pay anything during this time because you'd have a low income (and your foreign income is exempt anyway). But interest would accrue and you'd have to make payments again once you had an income over 150% of poverty rate (currently $17,500 for single person). With this kind of plan you also have to pay faster if you're earning more (generally 10% of all income over that 150%). I'm assuming you're from the US since we have such terrible support for higher ed.

Just make sure to file taxes to show low income.

It's either that or pay off before going or go to a different region.

[BadBeagleBad]

Your wife might try applying at Campoalegre or Instituto Guatemalteco Americano, those are two of the best paying schools in Guatemala City.

If you don't have a degree yourself you are going to have a hard time finding work that pays well. Perhaps teaching online would be something for you to consider.

[spanglish]

Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. It also happens to be currently going through an acute, long-term political crisis. Drinking coffee, chatting with the lovely locals, and learning Spanish - all good, but I would certainly not recommend taking up long-term residence there with the intention of living off the local economy. Paying off debts back home is even less feasible to the point of being unthinkable. Now, your plan MAY become marginally more feasible if your wife can find work at whatever the country's top international school is.

[wanderingxelmundo]

Your wife would probably need to be certified in addition to the degree.

Below is an example of a high-paying job, but she might not have enough have the experience, though they don't say that's an absolute requirement. The other problem is that part of the pay of international schools is free housing, and places often prefer singles or teaching couples.

Most of the internationals schools want teachers with at least two years' experience.

http://www.idealist.org/view/job/32hbXGws4Wccp/

[spanglish]

[MixtecaMike]

I was offered Q35 an hour recently, but jumping through hoops trying to get my permanent resident visa is sufficient torture for the moment, so I decided to politely decline. I have seen ads with people asking Q50 an hour for privates, but have no idea if they get many takers.
So to echo the above comments, no loans are going to be paid back while working as an English teacher here.

[MotherF]

Mike!

Are you back in the Americas?

[MixtecaMike]