Job Discussion Forums

[Swing59]

I've read a lot of negative reviews about the work environment at IH Bogot� on these forums and a few other places on the web. I think most of the posts were from Septemberish of last year.

Can anyone provide an updated assessment of the school from the teacher perspective? Are they better about fulfilling their promises to teachers? Do they now have a DOS?

Thanks

[spanglish]

Decent place to get your first year of experience if you want to live in Colombia, but definitely possible to do better if you have connections (always the key here).

They do have a DOS now who is great. They also (finally) have regular mandatory teacher training sessions. You'll have to be prepared to do 10-20 hours of travel per week, plus lots of split shifts and/or 2-4 hour holes in your schedule. Most classes are in companies. That means taking lots of buses, darting across busy streets and breathing in heavily polluted air as you're walking around a lot in busy areas (lots of walking).

There's still lots of bureaucracy (can take hours to turn in your time sheets to get paid, printers and photocopiers usually have problems). Also, the last I heard 2nd year teachers weren't getting paid what their contract promised (I expect they have corrected this by now) and getting reimbursed for health care still hasn't happened for 1 teacher 2 weeks after paying out of pocket for emergency room expenses.

A full time contract is 16 contact hours per week, which isn't bad and leaves some time for privates. It's extremely difficult to live on the salary that's given though ($800-$900/month after deductions). Bogota is the 2nd most expensive city in Latin America after Caracas. They do get you a work visa, which is quite rare for new teachers in Colombia and they'll give you $500 if you complete a 1 year contract, which partially subsidizes a flight out of there (keep in mind that you paid to get there in the first place).

All in all things have improved to bearable/okay from last year when conditions were quite bad.

[Swing59]

Thanks for the response. The split shifts and lots of travel isn't ideal but I would like to spend some time in Bogota.

Can anyone comment on the cost of living in Bogota? Rent, food, transportation, etc... What would you need to earn to get by there?

[travelNick]

...earn to get by....

Transport and eating enough not to die = 50.000 pesos per week.

I think I've done that a few times

[JacobTM]

I'm currently enrolled in a CELTA course at IH Bogot� and the organization is awful. The grown people with decades of experience act like highschoolers in regards to their commitments.

Before I came here I was in contact with the school about housing, and I was assured that I could get a room with a host family, including breakfast and dinner, within walking distance of the school. But they never gave me their information, I was reprtold not to worry, everything was fine, and then when I arrived I was given a family 30 minutes away by bus.

Then to make it up to me, they said they'd give me an appt (alone) near there, and some vouchers for free breakfast at a nearby restaurant, so my time could be put to studying instead of shopping and cooking. I was never given them, and when I asked they told me they were too expensive, so they weren't bought.

Bassically, poorly run and commitments mean nothing.

[windowlicker]

First, can we get this thread moved to the Colombia board?

Can you be more specific about what you mean when you say grown people are acting like high schoolers? Is this the school administration or the CELTA trainers? What situations specifically have you encountered?

While what you say about housing is terrible and unacceptable, I have to be honest...after 2 years in Colombia this is not only not surprising, but really doesn't seem all that bad compared to other organizational nightmares and things I've seen with people being taken advantage of. As a CELTA center though, and a place with what is supposedly an international commitment to quality, it certainly does seem like IH is dropping the ball big time.

I worked at IH from Jan-Dec 2009. I thought it was fine, but it does take a certain resilience that not everyone has. Your experience doesn't surprise me much, but unfortunately you won't find much better from Colombian language institutes. In a lot of ways it seems like what IH teachers experience on a regular basis. I've defended IH (possibly on this board...can't really remember) a lot in the past, but the truth is that there are many flaws which should be worked out by now but aren't, and this usually results in problems for IH teachers and students.

If you find this sort of thing unacceptable, things seem to generally be better in private high schools and universities, though this may vary depending on the specific school, and these jobs aren't easy to get, especially coming straight out of a CELTA course. Unfortunately, if this doesn't sound like a situation you can live with, you might not be cut out for life in Colombia.

[spanglish]

As always windowlicker said it right.

I'd just say this: very soon after getting the CELTA (and before I was even finished), I had 2 opportunities to work for very good employers. I turned one down (didn't know what a good opportunity it was) and didn't get the other job because I told them I was only staying in Colombia for another 6 months (that was almost 2 years ago...). So...moral of the story is, it is very possible to get a very decent job right after finishing the CELTA, IF you're good at networking, speak Spanish and get plain lucky. Otherwise you're stuck at a language institute and that's what I did to get my first year of experience.

Best of luck in Colombia.

[Daddyo]