Job Discussion Forums

[pabo]

hello,

i know the school and uni year starts in march, but it seems like the institutes hire year round. i�ve been traveling for 5 months in central america and i�m almost to panama where i make my decision which place to fly to and start the job search. the question being is it relatively easy enough to find jobs when the peak hiring season is over in the big markets like santiago, buenos aires, quito and bogota.

i know a lot of this depends on university versus language schools. i have 5 years of experience at universities in korea and china, but no master�s, so i know it�s hit or miss for finding uni jobs depending on the place. but i�m okay with starting out with a good language school, just didn�t want to be in a hurry to fly down for the march season. so, is it easy enough to find good jobs later or would i be much better off getting down to one of the above mentioned cities soon and start looking. thanks in advance.

pabo

[naturegirl321]

I heard that it is pretty easy to find jobs. YOu should be able to get one within a few weeks.

[Justin Trullinger]

[lozwich]

When and where are you looking at arriving?

[MamaOaxaca]

Mid-year positions always come up. Not masses of them, but one or two. When you are dealing with foreign nationals, it it not unsual for someone to have to leave mid-term, or even just after the start of the term. Or someone hired back out at the last minute and the school is left scrabbling to find a replacement ASAP. If you travelled around, just go back to the place you liked best and felt you'd be happiest living in, that's a better bet than going to a place you didn't like as much, just because you heard some rummor about the hiring times or likelihood of finding a job.

[John Hall]

If I were you, I'd check out Panama before you leave it. Pay rates are supposed to be quite good there in comparison to the rest of Latin America. Check out posts in this forum by pirateinpanama.

[pabo]

thanks for the help guys. i realize now how diverse the continent is for employment and school seasons. i�m heading to colombia tonight from panama, with the typical backpacker couple month open schedule, so will travel first and look for jobs later. reckon it�s the best way, to travel around, find a place i really like, and sort it out later. i�ll be in touch on this forum. thanks again.

and about panama. great idea, and it is definitely the best paid in central america, but i heard it�s hard to get a job without being a certified teacher from the states or another western country, which i�m not.

cheers

[pirateinpanama]

again, about PANAMA;
actually, certification means absolutely nothing here. In fact, I`ve seen people teach without a college degree. A few are even getting away with teaching in universities without degrees even though the law states you must have at least a BA or BS.
The sticky point (again) is the work permit.
Good luck in your travels!