Job Discussion Forums

[browniea]

i am a single 21 year old recent college grad, with no dependants...so does that change things a bit?

first of all, i don't expect much more than an entry level salary. due to my age and lack of experience..

and second of all, if its only me, wont I be able to live alittle more cheaply? i've been a "poor college student" for the last couple of years so i have learned to make some sacrifices. (although i do enjoy to go out once or twice a week and take the occasional trip...which i am sure i will have to give up on 7,000 pesos a month)

just wondering what all of you thought about that.

[browniea]

Also would it be smart to even try to negotiate a bit higher salary? Especially because they asked me to do some translation work on top of my teaching...or will they just say forget it and find someone to work for cheaper?

They've already said that they wouldn't want me to take on private tutoring becuase it competes with the school.

Is there any other way I can make any extra income? Has anyone gotten other jobs on the weekends to supplement?

Thanks so much, sorry for all of the questions.

[BadSlink]

Alright, perhaps this will put a bit of a solid twist to this discussion This is gonna be lengthy, so prepare yourself javascript:emoticon('')
Smile

I am currently a full time English teacher at Linguas, and I've been here for about a week. To put it flatly and quickly, I'm already looking for a different job. Allow me to explain:

The 7000 a month salary that Linguas offers their full time teachers is below average for most ESL jobs in GDL. Most places I went to offer at least 50 an hour, and with the 40 hours a week that Linguas requires for full time teachers, one will average about 43 pesos an hour. Not much, though not necessarily bad. HOWEVER, the trick with this school is that the workload they expect of their full time English teachers is not worth how much they pay. The translations are a serious headache, as subjective a statement as that may be, and there are too few teachers for the amount of students coming in. This last week was excruciating for me, and I was kissing the air when Sunday finally came and I didn't have to work. This is not how one should have to live, especially when there are other offers out there.

Because I live in the center of the city, and Linguas is in Zapopan, far far away, my daily schedule looks like this: Get up around 6-7 to shower, eat and catch a 40 minute bus ride to take me to Linguas. Start class at 9 (some other poor fools around here have classes at 7, guess I'm lucky in that respect), work until 1 or 2, take another 40 min bus back to my house to eat (there's no real restaurants within walking distance around here), ideally catch an hour of sleep cuz I'm tired as hell, get back on the bus for a THIRD 40 minute bus ride to return to work at 4-5. Work from 4-5 to 9, get back on the 40 minute bus and make it home on average around 10:30 at night, after having eaten dinner. Then, it is straight to bed because I have to get back up at 6-7 the next day. In short, I'm either sleeping, working, or on the bus, and I squeeze in food where I can. I can't continue this way.

So I have two options: either move closer to the school in Zapopan, where houses are significantly more expensive (unless you want a casa de asistencia, essentially individual dorm rooms for college students), or find a different, higher paying job nearer to the center of town where I already live in a comfortable and affordable home, with good roomates.

But I believe I have found a 3rd and better option. Work part time at linguas, get paid 70 pesos an hour (that's right, they pay their part time teachers more an hour than their full time, and for less workload), and use my connections here in GDL to get some private lessons, where the real money is at. That kills two of the 40 minute busrides, gets me more pay, lessons my workload, I don't have to move, and I don't have to quit this job so soon after starting.

You may be asking why I went to Linguas in the first place. The truth is, out of all the places in GDL that I interviewed at, Linguas was the only one who had their stuff together. They were expecting me, they had my resume in front of them, they were honest, clean, organized and highly motivated about their work. Furthermore, the people who work here are exceptional people, very nice, effective, and the place is just generally well run. If the pay were higher, it would be the perfect place to work as a full time teacher. It should be noted that they offer a pay raise after 6 months of work, but it is not guaranteed.

So, browniea, I hope this helps, and I hope this information gets to you before you make a decision to work here or not. If you do decide to work here, do yourself a righteous favor and at least find a place to live within walking distance of the school. That, I believe, was my first mistake.

Adios.