Job Discussion Forums

[SETH D]

I am exploring teaching english abroad as a way to be able to finance spending more time in Mexico so as to improve my language skills and build my resume for a future internationally-oriented career. However, I have many questions that I need answered as I consider whether or not teaching english would be a prudent or even viable means of doing so, and I need brutally honest, real-world answers from people at ground zero who are actually engaged in this. I am hoping that the members of this forum can help to answer some of the following questions. I know that my posting is long and contains many questions, so feel free to simply answer only whatever question(s) you can provide input on.

1. If I graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree this coming May and then attend a 4 week TEFL certification course, would my qualifications be competitive when searching for paid teaching employment in Mexico?

2. Would holding a Management degree assist me in perhaps finding better paying employment in areas such as teaching Business English? (does this even pay better?)

3. Would having a conversant knowledge of Spanish and my study abroad experience in Mexico better my employment prospects?

4. As an inexperienced entry level teacher with the above qualifications, would I realistically be able to expect to support myself with a teacher's salary in Mexico? What salary should I realistically expect based on what would be my limited qualifications?

5. Would I realistically earn enough to also pay $100 a month on outstanding college loans?

6. Would the time demands of an english teaching job exceed the usual 40 hour work week and therefore perhaps constrain my opportunities to learn the language/culture of Mexico?

7. It is very important to me to work in Mexico legally and within the guidelines of the law. (Yes, I am aware that the "rule of law" in Mexico can be a quite loose phenomenon indeed, but nevertheless I would wish to be law-abiding both for ethical and practical considerations). To keep everything above board and get a valid FM3, etc, what type of institutions would I be most advised to search employment with that would share the same ethical concerns?

8. What qualifications/background/personal characteristics would make an english teacher more competitive from the perspective of a hiring Mexican language institution and thus better one's chances of securing employment as well as securing a higher pay rate?

9. I am 24 years old and will turn 25 this July. I know that in Mexico sometimes there is an age preference--at times even overtly stated--for those working in certain positions. Would my age likely be an advantage, disadvantage, or simply irrelevant in looking for a job?

10. I am particularly interested in working in Guadalajara. How plentiful are the job opportunities in that city?

[dfields3]

Your story sounds almost identical to mine. I graduate in May and plan to teach down there shortly thereafter. Although, I went ahead and got my TEFL certificate last summer at ITTO Guadalajara. I would HIGHLY suggest that if you want to work in Guadalajara that you get your TEFL certificate there. You will do your practice teaching in a partnered language school and they can easily find you a job in Guadalajara (In fact I think they guarentee you that at the least they can get you a job in Guadalajara). A B.A., a TEFL certificate, and a conversant level of Spanish should be more than plenty to get you some work in Guadalajara (You will have to get your degree apostillized). You probably won't be working more than 30-35 hours a week so you should have plenty of time to see Mexico. The only thing that may be a problem is the $100 a month for college loans. I plan on spending a year (or however long it takes) here in the states paying mine off before going down there because you will make plenty of money to live off of while in Mexico but you won't have any left over for things such as student loans back home. Hope this helps and good luck.

Derrick

[SETH D]

Thanks--your advice sounds quite reasonable. I can certainly see the wisdom in your planning to remain in the United States for a year to pay off college loans and gain some financial stability before teaching abroad. It may be best for me to do likewise. Especially in a time when experts are predicting an upcoming economic recession, the most prudent course of action may be to take the safest route most likely to earn you a living.

I too may have to be content working in the US for a year to gain some financial leverage, and in the meantime just make some shorter trips to Mexico to maintain my Spanish and perhaps try to get involved in some ESL tutoring back here in the US to get some exposure and experience.

Do you have any idea what pay rate one should expect? The International Teacher Training Organization (ITTO) in Guadalajara told me that beginning teachers normally only earn about $500-$600 US per month, although emphasizing that the cost of living is substantially lower there. A Mexican friend there was more optimistic and told me that one could perhaps make around 10,000 MXN/1,000 US in a teachin job. Any idea?

In any case, I am still interested in hearing from anyone else who has knowledge of teaching in Mexico and particularly Guadalajara so I know what my opportunities may be in the future. Thanks again, Derrick....

[reddevil79]

I haven't got time to answer all your questions, but yes, don't expect to earn much more than 6,000 pesos a month in your first job. There are jobs in Gdl, but not many well paying ones. I can't think of any regular posters here who work in Gdl

Gdl is quite expensive as far as Mexican cities go. Rent is usually around the 2000 pesos mark, though you can pay less. You might pay a bit too in transport, as most people have to take a couple of buses (at least) each way to wherever they're going. All this adds up

I would say do a course here if you can, and then you will get a feel for the place. Personally I love Gdl, but there are other options to consider.

Also, do a forum search under 'Guadalajara' and then 'ITTO' especially, you'll find loads more info.

Suerte!

[SETH D]

Thanks for the advice concerning average wages in GDL. I have been to Guadalajara before and have a personal connection there, which is why I have a preference for looking at teaching in that particular location. My next preference would probably be Cuernavaca given that I spent a semester there in language school. I know that one cannot limit oneself to a handful of cities when job-hunting, but perhaps seeking employment in a place with which I am familiar would increase my chances of success.

[naturegirl321]

connections are gold and a good way to get your foot in the door.

[MELEE]

I don't have much infomation about Guadalajara. But no one has mentioned your age question yet.
I'd say 25 or 26 if you wait a year is a very good age. There are some schools that will descriminate on either end, too young, or too old. 25 or 26 is just old enough not to be considered too young and plenty young enough that you won't have to worry about too old, even at the pickiest of school.

Also, you might want to look into the possiblity of deferring your student loans.

[MO39]

A comment about your wish to combine teaching English with learning Spanish: from experience I have found that when I spent most of my day teaching (hence speaking) English, I had very little time to immerse myself in the Spanish-speaking environment I was living in and my ability to improve my Spanish fluency was limited.

[Jetgirly]

Hey - we are now going through the horrible process of trying to find an apartment within walking distance of our school. We think we've found one, and the price is definitely right, but we're now wondering what to expect in terms of bills for electricity, gas and water. Any idea of a monthly estimate for two people in a small apartment?

[jillford64]

With regard to your #6: Yes. I too came to Mexico thinking that I would learn the language and teach English at the same time. I had studied Spanish before and can do OK travelling, but I naively thought I would would be "fluent" after a years time. For me, it was just not possible for three major reasons.

First, I was in an English speaking environment 6 hours a day and when I wasn't at the school, I was home alone working on my lesson plans.

Second, there was just not enough time to devote to it. This was my first real teaching job. I taught anywhere from 25 to 35+ hours a week. At the beginning, for each hour of teaching I spent up to 3 hours preparing. In addition, I had to spend hours and hours learning the grammar I was teaching. One thing is for sure, you don't really know the grammar of English until you teach it. I literally got 3 to 4 hours of sleep a night for the first four months.

Third, my brain couldn't handle learning two grammars at the same time. After the first four months, my schedule was a little lighter and I didn't have to spend so much time preparing for each class, so I tried to just go to Spanish class one hour a day (the school where I worked taught both language, so this was convenient) and study for one hour a day on my own. I had a split achedule so I taught in the early morning, went to Spanish class, taught in the afternoon/evening, and tried to study Spanish at night. I discovered that it was impossible to switch between trying to concentrate on two grammars at the same time.

Toward the end of the school year, I was only teaching two hours a day in the afternoons and the classes were repeats, so I was able go to spanish class and study in the mornings, then switch to teaching English in the afternoons. After I decided to not continue teaching the next school year, for the final two months I was in Mexico, I stopped teaching all together and took three hours of Spanish class in the morning then studied and practiced in the afternoons.

Basically, I made almost no progress with the language for 10 months. I was quite frustrated during that time, as were two other teacher I worked with who were in the same situation. All in all I spent about 5 months working on my language skills: two months before I starting teaching, one month while teaching a light schedule, and two months at the end. I have studied a lot of advanced-level grammar, but I speak at an intermediate level in the real world.

[MELEE]

I've also seen a lot of people struggle(unsuccessfully) to learn Spanish while teaching English. It seems pretty dependent on your social life. If you hang out with other English teachers, and why wouldn't you we're all pretty cool people , and work as an English teacher, you will not learn Spanish. You'll learn shopping Spanish, but not much else, and you'll probably find you are just having the same conversation over and over again, with the taxi driver, the corner store owner, ect.
But if you find a Spanish speaker to socialize with--AKA date---you will do fine.

[SETH D]

Thanks for all the good advice, guys, and keep it coming. I appreciate it. To simply be candid and honest, from my perspective teaching english abroad would be a means to the end of acquiring more language fluency and international experience so as to build my resume for my career. To spend an extended amount of time abroad one either has to have a large amount of savings with which to live on--which I don't--or one has to find a job to support his/her self. I really do not know what other legal work opportunities exist for foreigners in Mexico other than teaching english, unless of course one is employed by a multinational corp. and sent there, which probably won't be very likely for someone who will be just out of college like me. However, the reason for many of my questions about whether or not one can learn the local language as a teacher was to find out whether or not using teaching english abroad as a vehicle to learn another country's language was simply an excercise in working at cross-purposes. Of course, I understand that the language school and students expect you to do your best at what you were hired for and teach them english. You have to do your job well no what your personal reasons were for coming to Mexico, because you are there to work for them and not just do your own thing. And that is no problem to me in cases where you can just say, "okay, for 40 hours a week I devote my energies to doing the best job I can at teaching my students english and thus be honest and sincere in fulfilling my responsibilities to my employer, and then in my personal time in the evenings and on the weekends I can pursue my personal goals of learning Spanish". However, when the time demands of teaching are pushing the 50-60 hour a week mark, as at least one poster seems to have implied, there really is no time to pursue two goals simultaneously. What have been the experiences of others amongst you?

Maybe I should rephrase a new question this way: Is teaching english abroad an appropriate vehicle for those seeking an avenue through which to gain more language fluency and international experience prior to pursuing another career direction? Or is it inappropriate or inadvisable to use teaching ESL as a means to a different end other than itself?

[imbabyj]

I feel if you come for other reasons than to teach and experience the culture that will affect you in the classroom. Significantly or not depends on the person. You can gain language fluency here if your not anti-social and get out and make Spanish speaking friends. When your younger its a bit easier to make friends to hang out with and learn. Yes it will give you international experience in a country and language that is important to the USA. You can make it financially here but you will have to adjust your lifestyle. I do not have a life savings at the ripe old age of 29 but have been teaching/working here for quite a few years and live very comfortably. You just have to be flexible here and make the most of your time here to accomplish your goals. If you dont think teaching is going to accomplish that there are various websites for corp. that you can apply with. I have quite a few students working with Dell, At&t, honeywell, and other corporations that you can check the company sites. www.latinpro.com is another you may have to google it. Just remember everyones experience on here is different and dont get scared by what is written. It is difficult to do the first time but well worth the adventure. Otherwise, none of us would be here.