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Germanicus
Joined: 03 Sep 2010
Posts: 19
Location: Ireland
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 Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:18 pm Post subject: Enough work in DF? |
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| So, can you make a decent living teaching English in DF.I'm not talking huge amounts of cash but enough to have a decent standard of living - by Mexican standards - and maybe have a nice holiday on the Pacific coast every year? Maybe go home to Europe every couple of years? |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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Yes you can earn enough, though the amount of work it takes depends on the job you do.
Here are some rough numbers as to what you can earn:
Language institute - 4000-7000 pesos per month, working full time (don't assume you will get full time hours)
Language institute teaching at companies - 6000-12000 per month, with wide variances on travel time, hours, pay per hour, etc.
Mid-level private primary or secondary school - 6000-12000 per month, regular full time hours, varying benefits. Double those numbers for top schools, but more qualifications are needed.
There is a lot of variance in what you can do and many factors to contribute to what you can make. Where you live (travel time), the schedule you get, any tutoring you might do, etc all have an impact. |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 4:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
There is a lot of variance in what you can do and many factors to contribute to what you can make. Where you live (travel time), the schedule you get, any tutoring you might do, etc all have an impact. |
Might I add that, assuming you are a competent teacher with an engaging personality, the longer you're here, the easier it will be to find work with decent schools and to find private students who will stick around for awhile and also recommend you to their friends, family and colleagues. |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
Language institute - 4000-7000 pesos per month, working full time (don't assume you will get full time hours)
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If you don't get full time at a language institute, you could always work in the language institute in the mornings and find some private students for the afternoon. With enough privates you could possibly earn around 4,000 to 5,000 a month.
Of course that will vary depending on how many private students you get. Plus you have to remember prep time for both groups. |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
Language institute teaching at companies - 6000-12000 per month, with wide variances on travel time, hours, pay per hour, etc.
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Do you have to have rank in order to go to the companies?? I remember two years ago that a lot of the teachers at HH really wanted to have the companies and the new teachers normally didn't get them.
They had to wait in line I guess you could say. Apparently whoever got to go to the companies received more money hence the competition for those jobs.
You could always discuss that option with the language institute and see what they say. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:16 pm Post subject: |
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I'm not familiar myself with how HH does the company class stuff, but what you describe sounds like some of the other chains, especially Berlitz.
There are a lot of smaller language institutes that do only company-type classes, paying between 120 and 180 per hour. IH is the only one I can think of that pays a salary to do company-only classes (11k I think). |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
I'm not familiar myself with how HH does the company class stuff, but what you describe sounds like some of the other chains, especially Berlitz.
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The HH I was at would have one or two teachers go to the companies in the mornings and then come back and teach at the institute in the evenings. Most of the company classes seemed to always be in the mornings.
All of the teachers were always trying to get those assignments due to the extra cash. Company in the morning and the classroom at the institute in the evenings. Worked out good for those who got the assignment. |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
There are a lot of smaller language institutes that do only company-type classes, paying between 120 and 180 per hour. |
I went to a small company that did that a lot. They would try to get as many resumes as they could and send out as many teachers as they could. Good money for the most part. |
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Enchilada Potosina
Joined: 03 Aug 2010
Posts: 344
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Professor wrote: |
| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
There are a lot of smaller language institutes that do only company-type classes, paying between 120 and 180 per hour. |
I went to a small company that did that a lot. They would try to get as many resumes as they could and send out as many teachers as they could. Good money for the most part. |
I won't, and don't do company classes for a school for less than $200 an hour, and that's in SLP. You should easily be able to get that or more in Mexico City. I don't think it's worth it otherwise. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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It's possible to do between 200 and 250 an hour in DF, but not a reasonable expectation for someone new to the city. I have one class that I teach at a company and I charge 250 (at this point, I wouldn't work for less) but I don't think it's all that common.
Seems you can do well in SLP! I didn't think you could charge that much there.
| Quote: |
| Most of the company classes seemed to always be in the mornings. |
That 7-9 AM slot is always solid and creates problems in scheduling as companies pick that slot first and are often loathe to schedule outside it. |
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Enchilada Potosina
Joined: 03 Aug 2010
Posts: 344
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
| Seems you can do well in SLP! I didn't think you could charge that much there. |
Yes, moreso now than a few years ago though I have worked myself into a position where I can say to a school, take it or leave it, this is what I charge. And besides, to do an hour in the industrial zone here takes two hours of your time. I don't want to be working for less than $100 an hour. I may as well stay in my house and teach two hours. If there's one thing I learnt from crooked language school owners it's that everything is negociable. |
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geaaronson
Joined: 19 Apr 2005
Posts: 948
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 7:47 pm Post subject: |
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George Idiomal is another language school that does considerable amount of corporate classes and you can get on board full time.
Add Interlingua to the list, but their hours are horrendous. I believe they want you at the school even during down time.
The 4000-7000 figure for language schools is lowballing. The upper end is around 10,000, which IH paid in the past an experienced teacher. Both GI and IH have boosted their salaries a bit since I spoke to them in 2006. |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Enchilada Potosina wrote: |
I won't, and don't do company classes for a school for less than $200 an hour, and that's in SLP. You should easily be able to get that or more in Mexico City. I don't think it's worth it otherwise. |
What if you're teaching private classes on your own? I have one student who has been with me for a year and seven months now so I give her a discount. 200 for an hour and a half and I see her three times a week. She needs more practice time for conversation now that she's a subdirector and her new boss has only been in Mexico for a little over six months and speaks very little Spanish.
I also have two executives who are new so I charge them 300 for a class that's one hour and thirty minutes. There's two of them and they make more money plus I have to consider the time it takes for me to get there on the Metrobus and coming back.
I wouldn't help anyone for less than 300 pesos if they are new clients. So far it doesn't seem to be to high of a price. |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Isla Guapa wrote: |
Might I add that, assuming you are a competent teacher with an engaging personality, the longer you're here, the easier it will be to find work with decent schools and to find private students who will stick around for awhile and also recommend you to their friends, family and colleagues. |
True. I have gotten new clients through word of mouth. There have been other times when a client needs only natural conversation classes and they prefer a native speaker for pronunciation reasons.
That's what they have told me anyway. |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:07 pm Post subject: |
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When it comes to my own private clients, I get the payment upfront for the entire month and if I or the client have to cancel a class then we try to reschedule it.
I think it's a good idea to get the payment upfront. Seems like a common business practice. |
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