Job Discussion Forums

[nise_chan]

I have been living in Mexico for the last four years (in Chiapas and now Mexico City) doing social justice advocacy (research & pop ed) work for US-based NGOs. Prior to that I was an ELT professional in Japan, the Czech Republic and US for 10 years. I have my MA in Applied Lingusitics and am re-entering the ELT field in Mexico. I have done the mind-numbing pick & click ELT internet search for jobs here in Mexico, and have found one at the Centro de Investigaci�n y Docencia Econ�mica.

Question: has anyone ever worked for them? are they reliable?
Question: what sort of time line have other teachers had in getting their FM3?

With my US-based NGO work, I have been here as a tourist ... for 4 (!) years, and that was no problem given that I was paid in the US, paid US taxes on my earnings, and traveled internationally a lot for my work. In fact I visit immigration just once in the four years I have been here to re-new my visa.

I am currently in the process of "desistimiento" of another work visa that did not work out because immigration took so long to process me that the employer and I agrees, �ya, basta!

I found CIDE on the internet and they seem like a great institute, and according to Mexican friends in terms of scholarhip and research, they�re tops. But how do they treat their non-Mexican employees? Anyone know? And then the other question is, with my last job, i waited 6 months and was asked again and again for more supporting paper work as to my qualifications (this job though was as a journalistic research positon that while I am qualified, I don't have the academic credentials to show such, nor was the employer willing to go out on a limb for me ... more on that if you are interested -- evil corporate media monsters!! ).

CIDE says they will hire a substitute teacher while I am in the visa process, and that SOUNDS GOOD but basically 2004 has been turning out to be an unexpected and unwanted sabbatical and I wonder if I should keep looking?

Any opinions, gente?

BTW, if anyone is interested, I was doing pop ed field education and research and writing for Witness for Peace, www.witnessforpeace.org
I highly recommend it for people committed to non-violence and people interested in working for change in US foreign policy Latin America. They currently have project in Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Colombia.

Cheers! and agradezco a todos y todas de antemano.

[quierounachica]

I am currently in the interview process with CIDE and would like to know also. Has anyone worked for them?

Thanks

[nise_chan]

Dear quierounachica,

as we're both looking into the same institute, I wonder which position you've applied for, and what you have been told by the institution?

I do not see this as a "competition thing" -- for me it's more about protecting myself and knowing when to move on and keep looking. I have worked here in Mexico for 4 years, but with NGOs -- all good experiences, but frankly, what I have read on message boards about teaching in Mexico is a bit disconcerting in terms of employers upholding their word.

the position i have applied for is full-time, and I've been told they are interested and looking into getting the paperwork together on their end (carta de oferta de trabajo).


and you??

[quierounachica]

I was offered a full time job by Heriberto Dias, but he has been very vague lately. I tried to get him to send over all the information in the form of a contract. I know very little information on the school, him, and the position. I would like to know more, like you. Wish I could help you more, but it looks like you have more information than I do.

[nise_chan]

ta, that's the same guy I spoke with. For more info on the institute you can go to www.cide.edu

as far as a contract goes, well, haven't seen one of those either .....

I would say we are about in the same boat. time to port, or keep sailing???

[moonraven]

Sounds like you have been doing very interesting work that could have a good impact on US/Latin American relations--why go back to ESL teaching? None of my business, of course, but folks on this forum are pathologocally "metiches".

FM-3 processing can take anywhere from 2 days to a month. The only times I know about when there have been problems--it was because the prospective employers didn't get their act together--especially in regard to spelling out the terms of the job they were offering--salary, work schedule, kinds of courses to be taught, etc. It happened to me 10 years ago when I was still very green to the immigration rules and also didn't speak Spanish very well. I lost patience and met with the "delegate" of the Mexico City office, who told me that the problem was the university's ineptness or bad faith in doing their paperwork, that there had been a number of problems with them in the past, and that if he were me he would send them to....etc. Which I did, and I was grateful for the guy's candor.

I have established a rule of thumb for dealing with prospective--or actual--employers here, which is the same as it is anywhere else: at the first sign of their not having their act together, not being straightforward or trying to screw me, I cut my losses with them. (The price of continuing in a problematic situation always increases--it never decreases.)

[nise_chan]

Dear Moonraven,

Thanks for your input ... and to answer your question, I would stay working in human rights, social justice advocacy if I could find a job! Previously I worked for US-based NGOs, and as is the case everywhere, funds are getting cut, having to shore back on international work, etc etc.
And then getting a job in that field with a Mexican organization is extermely difficult (their funding also on the decrease and) because the org has to prove that you are doing a job that a Mexican cannot do in order not to take jobs away from Mexicans, which I can understand.

So, I want to stay in Mexico, and in order to do so I need a job. I've taught, can teach, and I like it ... under the right circumstances and with motivated, curious learners.

I appreciate your rule of thumb, and ordinarily I am not so "cautious" -- I believe in people and believe their words, and in my four years here have not been lied to, treated poorly or taken advantage in any way because of my non-Mexicanness. But the message boards are full of bad experiences, and after the last 6 months of waiting for my potential employer (a US compnay!) to get their paperwork together and follow through on their promise, I feel a bit burnt and now am cautious.

[moonraven]

It's tricky. You can't really work for most of the Mexican ONGs without running the quite real risk of being given the boot by the immigration folks for engaging in political activity.

There are a lot of schools right where you are in Mexico City that will be starting classes in a week or 2. The ones that pay the best are located in the Santa Fe area--a hassle to get to from the Centro, though. I have taught in junior high schools, a high school, several universities and a couple of language schools and I have always found my students to be motivated and curious.

Good luck!

[MixtecaMike]

This might not be what you want, but in Mexico City I used to get a fair amount of on the side work translating reports and funding proposals etc. from Spanish to English, mainly regarding reproductive health.

It was usually last-minute stay-up-all-night work, but it paid very well. You need to make a personal connection with somebody in one of these organizations and from there you can be referred to others in a similar field, and I would guess with your background you should have or be able to find a few connections.

You could find a teaching job easy enough to cover the legalities of your stay in Mexico, and the only people I ever heard of in Mexico City who had problems about political activities were some machete-wielding protestors against the new airport.

Disclaimer: Working for people other than those specified in your FM3 is not legally permitted, but I never had a problem with it, including working almost fulltime for a government organization for a year.