Job Discussion Forums

[chickenpuddle]

Hi guys,

I'm hoping to move to BA this summer to teach English for a year, and at present I'm trying to decide which program to go with...Can anyone give me their input based on personal (or a friend's) experience? My main concerns are:
- how well they prepare you to teach
- how they help you with housing arrangements
- whether or not they offer job assistance after graduating from the program and how good this assistance is

Did anyone find it very difficult to get a job after graduating? Was it necessary to get more than one job in order to make ends meet (I hear housing prices are pretty steep in comparison to how much you make as a teacher)?

Any sort of information would be really helpful!!

[Aleksandra]

I can't really answer your question, but I was hoping to move to Buenos Aires in December to teach English too and am having the same amount of trouble.

Apparently, according to the job placement advisor at the TEFL school I finished, you have to be in the country to get hired... So, I am still trying to figure out what to do. I might go down there and try and get a job, but if that fails, I will let my TEFL school place me somewhere else in South America...

Let me know if you find anything, and I will do the same!

Cuidate,
Aleksandra

[travelman]

I can't say from personal experience, but a lot of people seem to like EBC. There main page is here:

http://www.teflgap.org/index.html

I BELIEVE that this is the EBC that many people have mentioned. It seems that they give a lot of help when it comes to finding jobs. I've never used them, but people have mentioned "EBC" Institute before.

If you want more information, just look up some old posts about Buenos Aires. People mention plenty of other places to go to.

Actually, if you want some more institutes, try this page:

http://www.learn4good.com/tefl/tesol_training_courses_argentina_buenos_aires.htm

A simple Google search brought me to this page.

Good luck!

[mndking]

Yup that's the school I went to - actually I studied in Madrid but coz of BF reasons, I'm now in BsAs, not enjoyng the floods and rain BUT everything else is great! , its easy to like Buenos Aires, the people are friendly and because my Spanish is Espa�a Spanish, they have a good laugh at some of the words I use and thats coz lots and lots of Spanish people use some words that I found out much later you don't use in Argentina!! Oh well .... u learn something new everyday! I've finally settled down with my teaching hours and although I studied at EBC , Madrid, they took care of getting my resume sent to lots of institutes and everything just went pretty fast. I'm happy with the 2 institutes I work for but it's still kinda early so we�ll see ....

[chickenpuddle]

mndking, did you find that EBC helped you out enough in finding a job? did they set you up with a job that pays you well/enough? how about housing? did they help you with housing/what did you do about that when you first got there and after you'd been settled in for a while?

does anyone else have experience with EBC and can answer any of these questions? if so I'd REALLY appreciate it. I'm trying to decide between whether to go with EBC or Bridge...

Thanks!

[rrruss]

I took the TEFL certificate with EBC in January 2006 and can thoroughly recommend them. The first half of the year was a bit slow, not helped by a short visit back to the UK as employers didn't believe I would return (!), but the second half was very busy. The big problem in BA now is the price of rent, and the pay really is just about enough to cover that but nothing more, unless you are very lucky.

Now I am in Salta in Northwest Argentina. The pay is much less but then again, so is the rent! There are not too many institutes here but there seems to be enough work if you look for it.

If anyone else comes here, please get in touch!!

Russ

[mndking]

hi,

i felt they helped me a lot in getting started, i had a lot of interviews and choices but of course there will be different institutes, different pay scales, all paying in cash ! the institutes i interviewed with offered between 17-20 pesos an hour. housing, there are apartments but then there are rents for foreigners and locals, we were lucky enough to take over someone else�s apartment so we're all settled for now. i was happy with ebc and i have no problems recommending them.

[Gauchito]

Guys,
As an Argentinian with a little experience in living around the world and being involved in one way or another in the "English Teaching Industry", want you to be aware of a couple of things.

1- December is not the peak hiring month. To us December is tha last month of the year and in January and February 25 million people will take their yearly vacation period. So here's what you want to do.

Enroll in any TEFL schooll as you see fit in the January or February course.
Keep in mind that all schoolls and private institutes start their yearly recruitment campaign usually in February, with classes starting in March/April.

Arriving later here means saving some money.

2- Renting in Buenos Aires. This is a difficult task and an expensive one. Just for being a forigner and not having the proper guarantees prices will be in USD.
You'll be able to get fine accomodation but you may need to really balance your economy.

3- Monthly wages. It is not that we pay little money is that to us we're paying a lot!!!. You can not compare our economy to the American, French or any other. Life is cheaper here so as the wages.
If you pay attention to the offer and you're smart you can make a good living, but dont expect to be flooded in money. Understood?

Well that will be all.

Cheers

Gauchito