Job Discussion Forums

[Tiger Beer]

I have a MA TESOL and have taught at universities in both Japan & Korea. 6 years university teaching experience.

What are the chances of someone like me finding a job teaching at a college or university in Mexico?

My passport is an American one..

[TheLongWayHome]

No problem but bring some money.

It's nowhere near as cushy as it is in Japan/Korea.

Uni jobs tend to pay only during the semester leaving you up to 3 months without pay (June, July, December).

Full-time jobs are hard to come by and heavily guarded by Mexicans.

[Isla Guapa]

If you're thinking of looking for a university job in Mexico, don't let the word "university" in the name of an institution of higher learning fool you. At least in Mexico City, in recent years, there's been a proliferation of so-called universities, often for-profit entities, which are nothing more than glorified trade schools, the trade being taught usually related to business administration, IT and the like.

[Tiger Beer]

[TheLongWayHome]

[Isla Guapa]

[MotherF]

You might want to look into the Oaxacan University system, or the ITESM system.

In the case of Oaxaca the (SUNEO) universities only hire full time professors, you have to be at work 40 hours a week, but teach 10 to 15 hours a week. The down side for someone with a family is the hours are a split shift and the locations are somewhat to rather remote.

[wildchild]

[Isla Guapa]

[wildchild]

shoulda trusted your intuition: no wife, no kids.

i was commenting about the idea of it...

[wildchild]

[Tretyakovskii]

LWH made the point that full time, university professorships are coveted by Mexicans, and not often doled out to foreigners; but, I was just offered one, so it can happen.

Pay has been discussed on this forum, and the range of 15-20,000 pesos/month mentioned, as I recall, with the higher numbers reserved for those with graduate degrees.

For some universities, like the one I work at, the hiring cycle is already over, with the full time positions filled for the fall.

Profesor-Investigadores are required to teach two hours per day, four days per week, for a total of eight contact hours. They are expected to devote full time to their jobs, just as other posters have pointed out, making up the extra hours assisting students, attending meetings, doing research, and such other projects as may be assigned by the department head.

Native speakers fill the ranks of the part-timers, and are typically given just one course to teach, for which they are paid 120 pesos per contact hour: with jobs scarce, here in Cancun, those who have these positions tend to hang on to them.

[Solar Strength]

Cancun, sweet! Must be nice to be set up in that area.

Go to the beach much?
How do you find your salary in a tourist destination like that? I would have thought it would be too expensive.

[Tretyakovskii]

I'll be honest with you, Cancun is boring to live in. We like the beach, but when it's there all the time the charm wears off. There is little cultural life here, no symphony orchestra, no museums of note, no foreign films, no decent libraries, etc. If it weren't for work, I'd be bored to death.

We spent five days in Oaxaca at Christmas time and the contrast was stark and, yes, Cancun is expensive. Only Cabos is more expensive, according to the official data. IMSS has a hard time recruiting docs to come here, for that reason, and full time English teaching positions are few and far between, now. The flu outbreak seemed to crush the economy, here, and lots of teachers have simply left....

Don't get me started about Bangkok, because I love Bangkok, but it can get boring, too- unless you're single.

[Isla Guapa]

Tretyakovskii, your description of Cancun mirrors what I imagine it would be like to live there. I hope that someday you'll find a decent job in a more interesting part of Mexico!