Job Discussion Forums

mugwump · Joined: 04 Apr 2008 Posts: 2

I'm a newbie here but not a newbie to Mexico. After several glorious months in Guanajuato last year I have finally made plans to return in the fall. I will be enrolling in a CELTA course, as this seems to be the most widely-recognized and "prestigious" certification course you can do (although I've heard from some that in Mexico the CELTA name doesn't carry much more weight than any other course).

I've read all of the posts on the Playa del Carmen course but have seen nothing else about the course in D.F. (and the other CELTA courses that International House offers in other locations in Mexico). Anyone have any experience with this course? It's seems to me that it would be much smarter to enroll in a course in D.F. (where there seem to be so many job opportunities, not just in D.F. but in the surronding cities and states) than to go to Playa, where I imagine jobs are much harder to come by.

I just want to maximize my chances of finding the best job opportunities after I finish the course. Any thoughts?

JakeJakeJake · Joined: 13 Nov 2007 Posts: 135

Hi there. I will be on the CELTA course starting this July in DF. All the communications I have had with them have been very professional. I know that they do not offer a placement service after completion, though from everything I've seen it's not going to be hard to get a job. I've also had contact with two people who were offered jobs at IH DF after completing the CELTA at playa del carmen.
I opted for DF as I want to stay there after and also I imagine the pleasures of the beach will be a massive distraction from the course! PM me if you like. Smile

sweeney66 · Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 147 Location: "home"

I can tell you one thing, it is much cheaper to live here in DF. Much. Even for the six weeks. It is not difficult to find work here, though the combination of good pay and good conditions is more challenging. I settled for good conditions and I've been pretty happy with the results. CELTA courses are closely monitored by Cambridge, so it's a valuable experience no matter where.

sweeney66 · Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 147 Location: "home"

sorry,didn't want to repeat myself

mugwump · Joined: 04 Apr 2008 Posts: 2

Thanks for the responses. I am leaning towards taking the course in DF for a number of reasons.

Sweeney, you say that it's cheaper to live in DF, even just for the short time while taking the course. I was under the impression that IH provides dorm style housing for their participants (at least they do in Playa Del Carmen) and I figured this would be a decently-priced option, no?

I don't plan on staying in DF after I finish the course, unless I find something really good but being a newbie I don't expect much other than the bottom of the barrel - I'll be happy with what I can get!

sweeney66 · Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 147 Location: "home"

Well, everything in Playa is tourist-priced. I did the CELTA at IH Playa, and found the housing they provided too expensive for me, anyway. The chain language schools are out to make a profit - and they do. I worked for a few months in a private K-12 school there, and eventually met some nice folks and found better deals, but during the CELTA you really dont have time to comparison shop. The course itself was good, I'm glad I took it. Typical newbie "hard way" experience, and I crossed kids and chains off my list!

JakeJakeJake · Joined: 13 Nov 2007 Posts: 135

IH in DF do offer accomodation. Though it's pretty steep ($190 pw), I considered it for sheer convenience and closeness to the school but I'm now going to jump into DF and rent a room from the week before the course starts, im going to have to do it anyways. the fact that i even considered this now seems daft to me. Seems to be a lot of apartments available. Monthly cost is the same as the weekly cost at IH.