Job Discussion Forums

Lucy110 · Joined: 10 Aug 2009 Posts: 4 Location: California

Hi all,

I was wondering in your experiences where you TEFL teachers generally earn the most, relative to cost of living.

I know a lot of people go to Ecuador, but it seems like if you go outside of the big economies (Mexico, Argentina, Colombia) there is just a lot less demand for teachers. Of course, cost of living has to be higher in Buenos Aires for instance than in Ecuador.

I have heard that Colombia is one of the best places because the demand is high relative to the supply of teachers available.

By the way, I don't mean this to come off as sounding like I expect to make a lot of money - but realistically I have student loans to consider, and I also hope to have the time to do some volunteer part time while I am there.

Just wondering what yours and friends experiences have been...

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

Latin America is where you go for lifestyle, not money. Mexico probably pays about the best wages, in terms of dollars. When I taught there, I made what was considered a very good salary - about $1000 US per month after deductions.

I usually spent about $650 per month on various expense, meaning I saved about $350/month. By local standards that was was great, but you figure that a plane ticket back to the US/Canada to visit family will cost about $1000, and Europe even more...

Honestly, your best bet is to go somewhere that pays better, say South Korea, for a year or two and bank some cash to pay off your debts.

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

Higher pay, higher cost of living. I earn pretty well compared to other teachers here, but I work a lot of hours and teach privates, so I run all over the city. Typically for Peru, I'd say expect about 600 usd a month, maybe 1K if you work a lotl. I'm making nearly 1600, but I've been here a while and have contacts.

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

Don't expect to make enough money to pay off any debts back home while teaching in Latin America.

That kind of thing is possible here in Colombia if you have DELTA/masters level qualifications. $1500/month ++ is possible at that level.

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

You get more pay and better hours with time and connections. If you can work for Cambridge ESOL or IELTS in your spare time,t hat-s nice easy extra cash.