Job Discussion Forums

[jimi2times]

Hi

I'm thinking of going to Buenos Aires in April with my girlfriend to teach English there for about 4 or 5 months. I have 3 years teaching experience, a degree and the Tefl certificate. I speak about First Certificate level Spanish. I also hope to go there with about 13,000 pesos.

My questions are these:

1. Is work easy to find there at this time?

2. I have a lot of experience teaching adults and business classes - is this what the classes will mainly be?

3. How much is a pretty good flat for 2 people?

4. Will 13,000 pesos be enough for the 4 or 5 months? I hope to use it for the first few months to help with the rent, food and travel, in case i can't find any work.

5. Does anyone know any companies or schools over there?

6. Is it better to start looking for work now while I am in England?

I have been to Argentina before and really like the culture, food etc.. Any help that anyone can provide will be genuinely much appreciated.

Cheers

[McBrainiac]

Hi, since nobody has attempted to respond to your questions, I will try to do so now. I live in San Rafael, Mendoza and although my info may not be completely relevant to you, it is better than nothing, so here goes.

First of all, there is work available if you live in Buenos Aires. In some other parts of the country it is much more difficult to get work that is reliable and well paid. Mendoza, for example, it is extremely difficult to get work, even at language institutes and the like. I have a Masterś in Bilingual Education and 18 years of teaching experience, so I figure that I am qualified, but they would not hire me. In BA, if you are a qualified teacher, I have heard that there are jobs, but that the pay is not really all that great.

If you want to work in the public schools or even a good private school, try to bring the right documents with you. You need official transcripts from college/university that are sealed with the Apostille seal (look for the State Department of State from wherever you were educated, in my case Arizona and Ohio (www.sos.state.oh.us/) and they will have the procedure on how to apostille seal your documents on their website). Once you get all your transcripts from high school on apostile sealed you bring all of this to the Department of Education in Buenos Aires and get them to translate these documents at an official translator. They will then officially approve your education for use inside Argentina. You will be able to teach English in public or private schools with this and not have to rely on sweat shop language schools if you do the paperwork. I advise it if you want to make a living teaching here.

13,000 pesos may or may not last more than a few months in BA. What will cost you most are deposits for apartments, rent, etc. Expect to pay about 200 pesos per week for grocieries or about 800 to 1000 pesos a month.

I have chosen not to continue living here in Argentina and if you send me a private message, I will be glad to communicate further with you.

All the best,

[Stevie-G]

Wow, that was negative....

[McBrainiac]

Sorry don�t want to sound so negative, but my experience here has been mainly negative. To be honest, though, I attribute much of this to bad luck and the excercise of bad judgment in certain critical decisions that I made when relocating here. Those horrible mistakes I made had nothing to do with TESL, BTW.

Argentina is a beautiful country and there are plently of reasons for coming here, just be careful who you trust with your money. Those best at pouring on the charm are often the worst. Cultural differences tend to neutralize your ability to sniff out BS IMHO.

Good luck to all

[Stevie-G]

Sad to say...I have to agree with you. Not to lump all Argentinos together but sometimes you have to take what they tell you with a grain of salt. If someone here promises me something or makes plans with me I have a wait and see approach.

But Argentina is still an awsome country, and very affordable!