Job Discussion Forums

[TexasTeacher]

Hi. I'm planning to move to San Luis Potos�, SLP for a year. Arriving in June, hoping to find some work teaching English by the beginning of the school year in August.

A bit of explanation. I don't necessarily need to completely support myself by teaching. But I want the experience, and of course the money would help. Also, from what I've read, I think I can probably find some kind of job. I speak good Spanish, have a Ph.D. from a very respectable US university, many years of experience teaching Spanish at the college/university level, and good recommendations / evaluations.

Also, I studied in Mexico City many years ago, and have traveled a lot in Mexico since then.

Ideally, I would like to teach young adults in the setting of a university Centro de Idiomas (like the UASLP one in the center of SLP), but I'm not necessarily opposed to starting at a private language school.

I've been to SLP several times. I like it. I know that it's not as beautiful as some Mexican cities. And yes, I know it's nowhere near a beach. But it seems very pleasant, and I'm old enough not to need a lot of nightlife/entertainment.

Any advice???? Especially about:

1. Places to live? Prices of furnished studio-type apartments (if they even exist)? Or other reasonable options?

2. Documentation to bring with me to look for a job? So far my list includes apostilled copies of diplomas, transcripts, and birth certificate. Anything else? (I'm a US citizen.)

3. General comments about cost of living / salaries?

4. Any other advice/guidance?

Thanks!!

[Prof.Gringo]

Don't work for Berlitz!!!

[J Sevigny]

With your resume, finding work should be easy, particularly at universities.

You might check these:

http://www.uaslp.mx/

http://www.sanluispotosi.uvmnet.edu/

As for the city itself, it's not beautiful like Zacatecas or Guanajuato but it is charming in its own way. The architecture downtown is lovely and it's not far from La Zona Huasteca, one of the most beautiful natural areas in the Mexican north.

[hoshi]

As prof.gringo said, I would not recommend working for Berlitz. They pay reasonably well, but there are a lot of weird politics. I don't know if that's just in SLP, but that's the only place I've worked for them.
With housing, the east side of town is much cheaper than the west side. I had a fully furnished apartment near Othon where all the buses run for $1500/month (which some of my Mexican friends from the area even thought was expensive). On the other side of town, a similar apartment would cost about double that.
Finally, I had a friend who worked at the Centro de Idiomas which I think you're referring to. She said it was a good job, but they don't pay much (at all) and they start you out really slowly doing substitute classes and eventually give you your own classes. You'd probably be better off at one of the numerous universities around town. I hear the Universidad Politecnica is pretty decent. Good luck!

[TexasTeacher]

I really appreciate the helpful advice.

I guess we'll see how it goes. I'm feeling a bit nervous at the moment.

There's a bit of the chicken-and-egg thing going on. Hard to go to a place, get established, meet some people, find a home, etc., without a job lined up. Hard to get a job without going to a place, getting established, meeting people, etc.

Oh well. At the very least things should be interesting.

[TheLongWayHome]

Schools to avoid: Berlitz, for the above reasons, Big Learning, Ingles Interactivo, United English. From my experience, the Politenica is really not that great. UASLP sounds better.

Try English Unlimited, I know a lot has been written about them on this forum but I'd recommend it as a great place to start out and get established. They also provide accommodation close to the school upon arrival.

Personally I find the teaching side far more rewarding and tolerable in private language schools as uni students tend to be extremely lazy - English for them being just another subject they are obliged to study.

Good luck.