Job Discussion Forums

[GueroPaz]

Okay, just suppose I move to Puerto Veracruz, hoping to make 7,000 pesos per month teaching private lessons. I make more than that now doing privates, in Thailand, to supplement my pension and keep me occupied.

I guess I should rent a decent two room place, plus bath, centrally located with air con, so I could do some lessons in my home (any rule against that, if I am proper with visa and work permit?). Be on a bus line, but also have a new motorbike when I need to go elsewhere. Put up flyers everywhere, ads on the bulletin boards, etc.

I have researched the Puerto and found that apparently there are very few English teachers there (some, not many), not a whole lot of foreigners generally, a big medical school, maybe a million people in the metro area if you count tourists, most of whom are Mexicans. My intermediate Spanish should suffice to make a deal with a prospective student. I guess I would get a mobile phone, not a landline. I think it would work. Am I overlooking something obvious?

[Guy Courchesne]

[dixie]

I would have to agree with Guy about the need to consider why there are so few foreigners in the city.

But, I really wanted to comment about your phone idea. Having a cel, and not a landline is not only okay, but will really cut down on your costs. I would also suggest buying the cheapest one (I have been through more than one should in a nearly two years here!), and buy the phone cards rather than a plan (again, it should be more money efficent although if you are doing a lot of talking - opposed to texting - look into the difference).

Being able to speak Spanish is also a huge bonus for you, as it will allow you to reach out to people easier, and make those connections that will be gold for you.

[gandalf7]

I'm not really sure on the whole phone thing, though...with landlines, you pay per call (if to another landline), whereas with cells you're paying by minute to everything, unless you have a cell plan that allows you to pay by call. I've got Movistar, which has such a plan (even for pay-as-you-go people), but the service isn't that wonderful and coverage across the country is pretty bad. Telcel might have a plan like that, but I think that having a landline, and maybe using public telephones when you're out, would be the cheapest (though by no means the most convenient).

One thing that I've been told with private lessons is that you should get your students to pay a certain time period in advance, like, two weeks pay upfront-- this way, if they decide to skip over to Cuernavaca for a few days, you'll still be able to have your churros and chocolate

Guy is right -- most of the people are not going to be able to afford what you'll need to charge...if you have a knack for endearing yourself to either bored rich housewives or the little children of bored rich housewives, you should be fine.

[Samantha]

I don't believe you all are giving enough credit to the busy port of Veracruz. There is a market there just waiting to be tapped.

[MELEE]

I agree with Sam,

I think Veracruz is waiting to be tapped. I know that in my 72 hours there I got asked to give classes!!
But it is always a problem getting established and keeping a student base.
Then there is the accounting nightmare.
When I was considering going independant, I was going to make use of a valuable resource I have the guero doesn't. Bachelor in Business Science students. I was going to have a student do a market study and buisness plan as their thesis. Then If based on that plan I decided to give it a go I was going to hire that student, or another one, as my manager. In the end I decided I really loved my current job.
I really believe there are enough students to support guero in Veracruz, the bigger problem will be finding students, keeping enough at any given time, and managing his taxes, etc.
Maybe he should find an accountant who wants to trade English classes for accounting work???
I would also suggest marketing small group classes--you can charge each individual student less and make more--more attractive to both of you.

I have to disagree about a landline. It will cost you $1600 + to put it in. Then the rent is like $350 a month. Sure you don't pay per call, but I have a Telcel cell and I can't imagine going through $350 a month in calls if you are calling locally and you get you 10 friends at a peso a minute. I barely spend $200 pesos for two months on my cell. AND unlike Dixie, I've had the same phone (the cheapest one at the time) for 4 years.

[dixie]

[mapache]

After two years of torture working for either crazy or crooked private school owners, I have been able to make about 10,000 pesos a month in a city with about 500,0000. The key is to bill two weeks in advance with maybe 1/2 credit for cancellations that are notified in advance. After a while, I had more referrals than I could handle and several students who have been with me for over two years. One can do it but, as Guy mentioned, holidays are a problem and sometimes students quit during Semana Santa, Summer vacation or Christimas. When this happens, I run a free classified in the local paper and soon my schedule is full again.

[GueroPaz]

Thanks for the advice, especially specific to the Puerto. I like how Melee was asked to teach when she was just passing through!

I have it so good now, I am almost afraid to make the leap across the world. Twenty to thirty hours per week, and except for a gig across town, they are all in two suburbs within easy ride from my house. Some students are in the next room, or next door or down the street. I only teach children, ages 5 to 17, one or two at a time, but I help them with anything: science, math, history, and English. I have grandkids the same ages; some even with the same name!

I love mobile phones. I hate dealing with the cabrones and ladrones at the Mexican utility companies. They wanted 16,000 pesos to hook me up to the power grid permanently, so I left two days later.

Maybe I am overconfident, but I worked as a tax accountant for over 20 years, and cannot imagine there is all that much work for a Mexican accountant to do for a client who keeps good records

Again, thanks for the responses.

[veroax]

guero, i remember that you had asked about hospitals and medical care in veracruz... i was there over this past weekend and did some investigating. it sounds like you may already have found this information, but there is a large hospital (hospital general) that is physically attached to the universidad veracruzana school of medicine. so i guess you could say that it's a teaching hospital. the veracruzana is one of the top unis in the southeast of mexico, and this hospital also seems to have a good reputation. i asked a friend who has worked there as a radiology tech, and he seems to think that the cardiologists and other specialists there are pretty good.

as for the potential of veracruz, i'd agree with those who think that there are a fair amount of possibilities, especially in the boca del rio area where much of the money is. regarding why there aren't all that many foreigners there, i think it may have more to do with the weather and lack of cultural offerings. a lot of people seem to prefer the dry and temperate climate of the mountains. and, although i like veracruz a lot, it's not a place for museums and the like.

[leslie]

Bye

[MELEE]

One of the interesting people I met while on my short visit to Veracruz last fall was an English teacher (Mexican) who taught English at the naval academy.

Another guy who asked me to teach him, was an instructor of who-knows-what at the academy.

So I think you are on to something leslie!

[Samantha]

Exactly right. There is going to be new opportunities in various locations once the Mazatlan/Durango highway is completed, connecting the Pacific with the Gulf of Mexico. This article mentions the new option to the Panama Canal.

http://www.bnamericas.com/news/infrastructure/Govt_invests_US*1,1bn_to_fast-track_Durango-Mazatlan_hwy

[MO39]

[GueroPaz]

Well, my resume includes four years as a senior instructor in a military medical school, shortly after the Wright Brothers flew. Maybe there is hope, after all.