Job Discussion Forums

[ShanghaiSteve]

Hello
I'm writing this to ask anyone who's been in Mexico city for a while about teaching work there.
I've been living and working in Taiwan, South Korea and China for almost 10 years. My girlfriend has a good job offer from Mexico city and so we're going to go for it. She has lived there before, but I know NOTHING about the place. She isn't an English teacher and so can't tell me much about schools and pay. I've seen some stuff on this forum that makes teaching in Mexico look pretty hard going. I've also looked at other websites that give the impression of Mexico as being a low pay destination for teachers, full of difficult students and bad schools, etc. Mainly, what I want to know is - what is the average hourly pay and which schools to avoid in Mexico city? I have a BA degree and celta + lots of experience, so I don't want to accept the same pay as a first-timer(no offence to first-timers) I'd be happy to provide the same info for anyone thinking of coming to this part of the world

[Guy Courchesne]

With the BA, CELTA, and some experience, you should be able to get into a job with kids in primary or secondary schools. There have been some posts about snotty rich kids in private schools...good chance you'll run into that.

Mexico is low pay compared to Taiwan and Korea, but I think a bit better than most China destinations. One thing I always point out is that one shouldn't come to Mexico for the pay...the culture and lifestyle are what keep most of us veterans here.

On the brief bio you gave, I'll give you the range of 600 to 1500 usd per month. It depends heavily on arriving at the right time and if there's need of someone without a degree related to education, or some trust in your experience. If at the wrong time, you could hold yourself down fine at language schools with a business EFL focus earning around the same range.

[guatetaliana]

Definitely take your time and do your research. If you can, try not to HAVE to get a job right away when you arrive. I made the mistake of accepting a job as soon as I got here, and now I'm stuck being miserable until July.

Also, I really don't recommend working the private primary/secondary school sector unless you have lots of previous experience with kids, particularly of the bratty, spoiled, defiant variety. I enjoyed teaching bilingual elementary in urban Chicago for several years and it did nothing to prepare me for the horrors that awaited here. While the pay is higher than it might be in adult language institutes, I don't think it's worth the aggravation and years off your life.

Luckily, Mexico City is full of English teaching jobs, so if you plan well and take your time, you should be able to find something that will pay decently. I think coming from Asia, you're going to find it a bit of a shock to see how low the teaching salaries are here, but you'll adjust, especially with the lower cost of living!

[john_n_carolina]