Job Discussion Forums

[Qaaolchoura]

So honestly, Latin America as a place to live does appeal to me. If pay wasn't a factor, countries like Mexico and Colombia and Peru would be up there on my list with Turkey. (And if visas weren't an issue, Brazil and Chile would probably be up there too.) Not to mention the fact that people keep encouraging me to go there. I know a Mexican businessman who tells me there's still quite a demand for English that goes largely unmet outside the resorts and DF, my TESOL teacher-trainer insists that there's a huge unmet demand in Colombia, (and a Colombian acquaintance who confirms that) and I've had several other friends and acquaintances (both immigrants and gringos) tell me similar things.

Nonetheless, the pay seems to be dismal. The highest I've ever seen was a no-frills 800 a month (for someone with 2 years of experience) and a 600 a month that had medical. Am I missing something? I know that most of Latin America is poor, however even countries like Bolivia and Nicaragua have a Human Development Index on par with Indonesia or Vietnam, both of which generally seems to pay at least 1.2 k + housing, medical and often airfare even for entry level applications.

Suppose I were to catch a plane to some place in Latin America and look for a job. Is there any country or city where I could expect to get at least the equivalent of 1k + accommodations and medical? And get a working visa?

Thanks,
~Q

[Guy Courchesne]

In Mexico, pretty much only the top international and private schools will be paying 1k and up and (maybe) offer a housing stipend. Competition for those jobs is high and you'd need both good timing and high qualifications.

[TeresaLopez]

[brian1972]

I make just over 1000 in Mexico at an international school. Housing, airfare, medical paid. End of contract bonus.

However, everyone at my school (making about the same) are certified teachers in the States or Canada.

[Guy Courchesne]

[TeresaLopez]

[brian1972]

[quote="Guy Courchesne"]

[Guy Courchesne]

The American School Foundation (not related to where I think Brian mentioned you work now) and Greengates are two of the top schools here. They'll both do their recruiting in late January or early February.

[spanglish]

Ya, there's a lot of demand here in Colombia. Check out the old poorbuthappy site and vanilla forums for more Colombia information. Also, the Colombia thread here. It's definitely not easy to get started, but it's doable. With a CELTA and contacts you can land yourself a decent gig.

I had no idea salaries were so low in Mexico. Making 1k USD a month here is considered a pretty low language institute salary. Perhaps cost of living in Mexico is proportionally lower.

[windowlicker]

I didn't realize salaries in Mexico were so bad either...I was thinking of heading there i after finishing my contract in colombia next year, but this makes me wonder if that's such a good idea.

yeah, here in Colombia i'm making about $1,500 working at a high school in one of the provincial capitals with just a CELTA and a little less than two years experience (most of which was working in language institutes). it's a bilingual school, but not technically an "international school." I think a similar school in a bigger city would probably pay closer to $2,000 and international schools in bogota pay more like $2,500. do you agree, spanglish?

as a word of caution to people really attracted by the numbers i just gave, i should probably add that these jobs aren't extremely easy to get, and you usually need a pretty good level of spanish to get through the application process.

[Guy Courchesne]

The salaries here for private primary or secondary schools are about the same as Colombia it looks like, and same with international schools. Looks like the language mills are the ones paying less than there. You can find better paying ones around but I'd say the norm is in 400-700 usd range per month.

[TeresaLopez]

[Guy Courchesne]

50 hours a week would suck.

I agree you can earn that much, but it's so hard to get full time hours. You can squeeze out more doing business English classes instead but you still have to work for it.

Edit: just found this from Prof at the Mexico forum.

[naturegirl321]

I would say that anywhere in LA has decent pay, you just have to find the right employer. There are places in Peru that pay 500 dollars a month and there are places that pay 5000. Obviously you need the quals, experience, and possibly connections and luck to get the good jobs. And the competition is hard core as well. I tried Peru for 6 years and moved back to Asia, despite the fact that my husbnad moved back to Peru for a year, I'm still here. High paying jobs in Peru are very rare and there's lots of stress that goes with them

[MotherF]

Mexico is a good bet for those with MAs in related fields wanting to teach English at universities around the country.