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sdhubbard
Joined: 18 Dec 2006
Posts: 1
Location: Germany
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 Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 1:18 am Post subject: Need Advice on TESOL and teaching in Mexico City |
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Hey Everyone..
I'm currently thinking about going to Mexico City next April/May to teach English and am looking for some advice/info. I have my MA and have had about 6 months previous teaching experience in Thailand, but do not have a TESOL certificate.
1) I've heard different stories: is it necessary to have a TESOL certificate/does it make a difference in pay (in Mexico)?
2) If I should do a TESOL, does anyone have advice on online courses?
3) I will have a place to stay in Mexico City (basically free) and would therefore like to stay there. What are the best options there? Salary ranges? Cost of living? Any other important info?
Thanks for any help!
Steve Hubbard |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 1:06 am Post subject: |
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The MA will probably be sufficient to teach (is it in Education?) just about anywhere combined with the previous teaching experience. It probably won't make much of a difference in pay to have a TEFL or TESOL cert...you should do a job search first and ask about it with employers.
There are a couple of other threads on cost-of-living you could look up. Generally speaking, I'd put cost-of-living in DF at 30-50% of a large US city, though that depends on a lot of things such as health insurance, if you're bringing a car, if you have dependents, lifestyle, etc, etc.
Things that are cheap:
-accommodations (but this can be expensive if you want it to be)
-eating out
-groceries
-transportation
-sin
Things that are expensive:
-imported electronics
-US brands of just about anything
-credit
-select toiletries
Salary ranges widely...you say April or May for an arrival, so I'm going to assume a language school, at least to start. 50-250 pesos per hour (so, maximum 12,000 pesos per month) on part-time hours. Get into a good private school in August and you can earn up to 20,000, but I wouldn't expect to start out that high. |
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FreddyM
Joined: 05 Jan 2006
Posts: 180
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 2:00 am Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
Things that are cheap:
-accommodations (but this can be expensive if you want it to be)
-eating out
-groceries
-transportation
-sin
Things that are expensive:
-imported electronics
-US brands of just about anything
-credit
-select toiletries
Salary ranges widely...you say April or May for an arrival, so I'm going to assume a language school, at least to start. 50-250 pesos per hour (so, maximum 12,000 pesos per month) on part-time hours. Get into a good private school in August and you can earn up to 20,000, but I wouldn't expect to start out that high. |
I'll add a little more detail since I've lived here for over a year now.
Cheap things:
-accomodations so long as you avoid places like Polanco and Pedregal.
-eating out, at least eating like the locals (comida corrida, off the street, etc.) American style fast food can be pretty pricey if you do it all the time.
-groceries: If you shop in the local markets. You can have fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and dairy fairly cheap. I would say shopping in the big box supermarkets would be as pricey as in the U.S.
-transportation: So long as you stick to public transportation, the metro, micros, and the occassional taxi every now and then. Owning and operating a car here can be really expensive (and not even worth it with all the traffic).
-sin: This can be as expensive or as cheap as you want it to be.
I would add to the cheap list: electricity (it's subsidized, at least where I live, I was shocked at how low it was), and gas.
expensive:
Like Guy said, electronics are expensive, unless you buy brand names nobody's ever heard of. Anything imported. I would also add cable tv, broadband internet access, and cell phone time if you actually use it a lot. And flights home if you get homesick a lot.
As far as salaries, if you are arriving in April or May, and can hold off starting to work until August, I would definitely hit up all the private international schools in the area, they will end up paying you the best, with the best benefits as well. The difference can be two or three times what you can make in the language schools. I think if you can manage to get a take home salary of about 10,000 pesos a month, that should be more than adequate to live a comfortable life here...and you should be able to do that with not much difficulty at the private schools, especially with an MA and experience.
Now if you really wanna live cheaply, I think I met a guy once who claimed to be living on 5 pesos a day. Guy might have more details on that however.  |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Now if you really wanna live cheaply, I think I met a guy once who claimed to be living on 5 pesos a day. Guy might have more details on that however. |
That particular person is a poster here and should post his miraculous method. I couldn't live that cheaply and maintain any level of sanity.... |
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Ms. Hauser
Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 12
Location: DC ---> DF
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| Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 7:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
private international schools in the area, they will end up paying you the best, with the best benefits as well. The difference can be two or three times what you can make in the language schools.
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How accurate is this statement taking into account hours worked per week? Also, I've heard that, in addition to having a certificate or experience, you need to know someone to get into private international schools. What are your thoughts on that? |
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