Job Discussion Forums

Bmackx · Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Posts: 7

I'm due to complete my MA in advertising (in Australia) in the next couple of months. The world economic status means I'll have to postpone my career in advertising and head off to fulfill a long held dream of learning Spanish and living in South America (every cloud....) With three years teaching in Taiwan and a TEFL certificate behind me plus my impending MA I have plenty of experience for teaching english but feel my future prospects would be best served by teaching in my field of communications and advertising, hopefully at a university. This seems to me as something that would be a step forward rather than backwards. So my question is which countries would offer the best prospects for starting my adventure off in and gaining a decent job quickest? Any help would be much appreciated, I'm not really in the mood for 6 months living out of my backpack, any help would be much appreciated. Cheers

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

I'd say Mexico. VIsas are pretty easy to get, compared to other countries and pay is decent. Try posting on the Mexico forum. GOod luck

Mexicobound · Posted: Sat May 02, 2009 7:54 pm Post subject:

Atlan Training · Joined: 02 Apr 2009 Posts: 76 Location: Spain

It's true that Mexico is the easiest option and has lots to offer, but if you want to be a bit more adventurous, I'd recommend Ecuador, where I work, or Uruguay, which is definitely on the upswing these days. The visa in Ecuador is easy. You apply for a "12 IX" online, which allows you to work for six months legally, etc. Then once in Ecuador, you find an employer to sponsor you for the regular work visa, which is a two year renewable. Ecuador is a great place, not so travelled.

Mojoski · Joined: 03 May 2009 Posts: 170

I haven't seen any jobs in L.A. that pay anything to speak of. I'd love to go to a Spanish country, since I speak the language, but the best job I've seen in Mexico paid $750 a month! Shocked

Now I know you can live on five or six hundred dollars there, but I have some financial obligations.

I saw one job at a uni in Loja, Ecuador that looked good - $1000 a month, but it turned out an MA was required, which wasn't specified in the original ad. I never quite finished mine. Embarassed

My objective now is to go to UAE or Oman for two years, fatten my bank account, then go to Spain or L.A. and polish my Spanish and enjoy life.

Let me know, if anybody has the skinny on a job that pays in L.A. Thanks! Very Happy

motown · Joined: 07 Jun 2008 Posts: 68

motown · Joined: 07 Jun 2008 Posts: 68

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 6:16 pm Post subject:

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 6:17 pm Post subject:

evolving81 · Joined: 04 May 2009 Posts: 135 Location: Tampa

I am also interested in university jobs as I think I will need the extra pay for my dreaded student loans! Although I will have my MA in TESOL before I venture down to South America to work. Ideally I'd like to go to Brazil but not sure if that would be plausible. In your experience, with an MA in TESOL will it be possible to live & pay on student loans? I'm not a very materialistic person and I don't drink/party at all really, so just food and housing will be needed (and any entertainment money).

Any advice is appreciated. Smile

spanglish · Joined: 21 May 2009 Posts: 742 Location: working on that

Only possible if you get one of the best jobs (in Colombia, the British Council or a top international school or university) and live well below your means.

gungediana · Joined: 06 Apr 2009 Posts: 82

I think there's a price to pay for living the good life in South America, and that is that you need to have decent assets or savings built up before you go there.

Local salaries are very low compared to western standards. Unless you are a qualified school teacher in which case you can get a decent salary at an international school teaching spoiled brats, you can't really earn anything.

Best to work in the Middle East for a few years and save. Then move to Latin America and enjoy yourself. That's what I want to do.

Hadit · Joined: 17 Sep 2009 Posts: 109

spanglish · Joined: 21 May 2009 Posts: 742 Location: working on that

Okay Hadit, I'll do my best to answer your questions for the Bogota context (from what I've heard, Ecuador tends to both have lower cost of living and lower pay, but I've also heard of much better paying jobs there, which would be great).

Cost of living: supporting only yourself, I'd say $750/month is the bare minimum (= aprox. 1.5 million pesos, from now on I'll use pesos) - rent a room, eat, go out to eat occasionally and reasonably priced restaurants (dinner for 2 at a mid-level sit down place will cost you $20.00, without alcohol or dessert included, a typical lunch meal - large and delicious will cost you around $3.00; grocery stores are more expensive than the US), not really drink alcohol and save a bit every month to pay for a flight home at the end of the year.

Colegios: there is a range of pay here. What would be considered a very good deal for a fresh CELTA grad would be 2 million/month with housing included. 'Real' certified teachers can make 3 - 4.5 million/month with nicer housing included. This is one of the best deals you'll find down here.

There are tier 1, 2 and 3 colegios down here. You'll have a hard time breaking into the tier 1's as a CELTA, but you really never know. Best to shoot for a tier 2, making 2.5 million/month (no housing).

Language institutes: at the best ones (IH), a CELTA or equivalent is officially required (not always in practice). Pay is 22.000 pesos/hour-25.000 pesos/hour which works out to around 1.3 million pesos/month net and that would leave you with some time to pick up some privates. You can charge a bit more to privates and end up making around 2 million/month. But you'll work for that money, and there's no sweet benefits like flights or housing included. You're on your own. You'll also probably spend lots of time traveling to in-company classes and have 1-5 hour breaks between classes.

That hourly rate is the best you'll find at an institute. The other (mildly) recommended institute would be Wall Street. They supposedly don't require travel to companies or prep time, so that cuts down on time commitment. Pay would be 1.5 million pesos/month for 40 hours teaching a week.

I can't recommend any other institutes. Most have illegal, shady practices and you don't really want to be involved with them. A fresh CELTA grad should easily be able to get on with either IH or Wall Street. These are both respectable jobs to get your first year or 6 months of experience, but are subsistence pay and don't necessarily count on professional development.

Universities: these are considered the 'good' jobs. The main problem is universities will tend to start you off at low hours to see if they like you. So unless you come in with great quals (DELTA honestly would probably serve you better than a masters) to land you a real full time position off the bat, you'll have to commit to a couple years in the country to build up your hours. A good bottom tier 1 private university will pay around 30.000/hour ($15.00). Best pay is a little over 40.000 pesos/hour. A DELTA qualified teacher can make 4.5 million pesos/month on a full teaching load (I don't think it's very many hours). That's about where you'll hit the ceiling.

There's also the British Council. You can make 4-? milion/month working there. It's a very professional, serious work environment. Appears to be excellent for professional development (IELTS training, become a CELTA trainer). Really it's the cream English teaching job in Colombia. I've heard that now, because of demand, (word got around) they are only accepting DELTA qualified applicants. You would make more at the B.C. than at the top university in the country and have much much better professional development opportunities. You'd also probably work harder, but within reason.

So, in short - colegios - you're best off by far being a 'real' certified teacher. It's a short cut to a great paying job with great benefits that almost no other jobs include (flights, housing, lots of vacation time). Or you can get a respectable job at a tier 2 colegio with a CELTA. OR, network, network, network and get a coveted tier 1 job with just the CELTA.

Institutes: interesting students, can be a good time (hanging out with other native speaker teachers), an easy job to get so a good way to get experience, but not make much money.

Universities: not really all they're cracked up to be. You can make more money doing private, but...the university environment can be very appealing, it looks good on the resume, and you can work yourself into a plum position.

Okay, time to stop.