Job Discussion Forums

[dreamer23m]

Hey everyone.

This is my first post and I guess im a complete ESL virgin

Anyway a lotta great and useful posts here..

But I feel I have a few questions are NOT so frequently asked,

Here is my story.

I am currently a 23yo male living in NZ.

After many months of deep thinking ,researching and reflecting I have decided teaching in CR may be what I need to sort myself out.

However I have been slightly dis-heartened by few comments made by a few posters .

While I speak 100% fluent English ,im of Indian descent and thus have light brown skin.

I guess my question is..

Will I be discriminated because of this and also my age ???,I also don�t have a degree but am considering doing a TEFL course, which I have heard isn�t that necessary.

also what are costa ricas like to non-whites,i heard they are quite friendly and easy going?is that so?

So hopefully someone can help clear this up as this is a dream of mine.

Many thanks for reading this..

[John Hall]

Your accent will probably be more of a problem than your skin color. I have a Canadian friend here whose parents are Guyanese and Portuguese; I don't think his skin color has ever been a problem for him. Also, many Costa Ricans are "morenos," meaning that they have darker-colored skin. Your skin color is probably the same as theirs.

Your accent will prevent you from getting hired at a few places that advertise that all their teachers are North American. On the other hand, it may be an advantage for getting hired at Instituto Britanico. But still, there is lots of work here, so come on over.

I don't know what you think is the problem with being 23 years old. In fact, that is probably the average teacher's age here!

[OleLarssen]

Mr. Hall is right. I've a friend who is of Colombian decent but speaks American, and he got a job easily. As long as you're a native speaker you'll find a decent job.

Costa Rica is a nice country and I really like the people who live in San Jose. Lots of discrimination here as everywhere else but it's not like you're going to be stoned to death or anything. Mostly Ticos hate people from Nicaragua, it seems.

In short, your plan is feasible and Costa Rica is a good a place as any to be clueless about your life. Join me and the horde of 23-30 year olds who live here. ;)

[dreamer23m]

well thanks for both your posts,

sad to see the scourge of discrimination exists in even such amazing places like that,but i guess thats everywhere though,ny,paris,la...

so what areas/schools would be my best shot...and what should i look to make?,any other tips would be much appreciated for someone in my position...

thanks again...

[OleLarssen]

Well, do you have a NZ passport? Education? Prior work experience? TESOL certificate? It all depends on a bunch of stuff I don't know about you so I can't help much before I do. :P

[dreamer23m]

[OleLarssen]

If you're a native English speaker and have experience from a business like IT, you shouldn't have much of a problem getting work. You won't find well-paying entry-level jobs here though, so if you've debts to pay off or something, you might consider looking somewhere else.

Don't know which schools specifically would be your 'best shot', but I would guess anyone who does business teaching (which is most) would pick you up.

[dreamer23m]

thanks OleLarssen

thats very helpful.

just a few more questions if you dont mind..

any particular reputable school i can get in contact with?,,i dont have any debts but do not earn that much that i could really afford a tefl cert,i mean i could but id need to work another few months to pay for the course,is it even worth doing the course?

and finally what should i look to make per month/week?,will i have enough to
go out in the weekends,beach trip,eating out etc..basically i want to have a social life hopefully???

thanks again

[OleLarssen]

Can't really help you much with schools. Look around on the Costa Rica blogs and send a few mails to the authors and ask them, I guess.

There are options to work/get a TEFL certification in one, but I've no idea how they work, or if they're even available in Costa Rica. If it's worth doing the course, well, that depends on the person. I definitively benefited from it because I'm not super-comfortable in front of a group of people, so I got some valuable experience and a good intro into the world of TESOL. And I'm not a native speaker of the language so the certification is good to have.

You'll be looking at somewhere between 5 and 700 a month for an entry level job. Enough to cover your living expenses but not for travelling (the buses are cheap, but accomodation, tours etc aren't) a whole lot. What most people seem to do, especially if you're new, is have some savings when they come down here, and use that for travel and leisure and the money they earn teaching for covering living expenses.

You also need to have the cash to support yourself here for a month or two. You probably won't be getting the hours you want right away, it'll take some time to build up. Also, if you're unlucky in your job search it's good to have savings to fall back on in case you're stuck here longer without any income than you planned to.

Business teaching is in nine out of ten cases split shifts (meaning you work mornings and afternoons/evenings), and often you'll be offered work on Saturdays (daytime), so most your social life will be confined to daytime in the weeks and whenever you can in the weekends.

All this information, by the way, can also be found looking through various TEFL in Costa Rica blogs, plus info about how it is actually living in San Jose (where most ESL jobs are in Costa Rica).