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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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 Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 6:02 am Post subject: |
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| the peanut gallery wrote: |
The salaries for the ESL jobs that I interviewed for were 6K, 8K and 8K per month. Based on the salaries i was quoted i have decided to dedicate myself to a different field. I will not downgrade the value of my time/life by accepting a substandard wage.
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Good for you peanut gallery.  |
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Dragonlady
Joined: 10 May 2004
Posts: 720
Location: Chillinfernow, Canada
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| Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 6:51 am Post subject: |
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| ... 4,800 pesos,or 6,000 pesos... |
And then there's the age old expression you get what you pay for.
Dragonlady |
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gregd75
Joined: 14 Mar 2007
Posts: 360
Location: Tlaquepaque, Jalisco
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| Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 8:23 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
The peanut gallery wrote:
The salaries for the ESL jobs that I interviewed for were 6K, 8K and 8K per month. Based on the salaries i was quoted i have decided to dedicate myself to a different field. I will not downgrade the value of my time/life by accepting a substandard wage. |
Surely we have only got one part of this story...
In order for readers to decide if this truly IS a substandard wage we need more information, primarily how many hours a week are being taught? Other questions to ask include WHERE are these jobs (in the city- an expensive lifestyle, or in a small town- cheaper cost of living)
Is there holiday pay included? Or is the work for honorarios?
The list goes on.
Let's look at this in perspective. Whether you agree with it or not, the governments minimum wage is $50 a day- all of these jobs pay well over that amount.
Lets stop judging work in Mexico by western standards. Nobody is holding a gun to peoples heads forcing them to work, if one doesn't like this career, then there is always an exit.
I think it's great that the poster has decided to change careers- the best decision possible. Better to be doing something that brings in money than something that makes you unhappy with the feeling of being underpaid.
Of course, the lifestyle, the rich culture, the weather, the amazing scenery in every part of the country,the people and the many puentes that we have here in Mexico make me stick to my guns and wholeheartedly encourage people to come and experience Mexico.
Work hard, focus on your career and the world is your oyster! |
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TeresaLopez
Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 5:13 pm Post subject: |
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| PlayadelSoul wrote: |
In my seven years at the helm, I have had five teachers leave due to promotion. In fact, one of my ex-teachers (when I was an AC in Merida) is now my boss. Took some getting used to.  |
As much as people like to malign the chain schools, my first hand experience has been similar to this, good teachers who can stick out the admittedly less than stellar beginning pay can advance fairly quickly, into jobs with more pay and more responsibilitites. I think a lot of people are put off by the low starting pay, but my understanding is that that is to weed out the teachers who only plan on teaching for 6 months anyway, and once you get past that period you start getting more pay. Interlingua and Harmon Hall, the two schools I am most familiar with, invest a decent amount of time and money into training teachers. I recently talked to some people I know of who are long time teachers/trainers at Interlingua, and while it is true they are currently having some problems it is not true that it is across the board. I have a friend who has now worked for HH for 8 years and makes a quite nice salary. Myself, when I worked for Interlingua, I got two raises in a year and a half, as well as training that I still use today. So I have to disagree with those who say there is no career path. There is, but you have to stick it out for a while, and pay your dues. |
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TeresaLopez
Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 5:21 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="gregd75"]
| Quote: |
The peanut gallery wrote:
The salaries for the ESL jobs that I interviewed for were 6K, 8K and 8K per month. Based on the salaries i was quoted i have decided to dedicate myself to a different field. I will not downgrade the value of my time/life by accepting a substandard wage. |
But is what teachers earn in Mexico. You might not like it, you might consider it substandard, but that is the reality. As someone else pointed out, people keep comparing it to what people earn in the US. If you adjust for the far lower cost of living I think salaries are about the same as what entry level teachers earn in the US, in public schools. In private schools pay is far less, and can hover just above the minimum wages in Catholic and other schools. Public schools in Milwaukee, WI pay $23,500 a year to start, substitutes makes $120 a day. Catholic schools pay $13,500 - $15,000, substitutes make $45 a day. Taxes are far higher, cost of living is far higher, so it�s not just here in Mexico that teachers are not well paid. |
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Enchilada Potosina
Joined: 03 Aug 2010
Posts: 344
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 8:46 pm Post subject: |
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You can be as poor or rich as you like in Mexico as an ESL teacher.
Obviously you're not going to get rich working in a language school - you're just making someone else rich. Language school wages are an insult. A teacher with decades of experience is paid the same as a beer-swilling newbie, fresh off a tefl course. I find that deeply disturbing. And of course you'll hear language school owners falling over themselves to justify all this. If you came to Mexico with the idea of romantic zeitgeist frugalism then this is the place for you my friend. |
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PlayadelSoul
Joined: 29 Jun 2005
Posts: 346
Location: Playa del Carmen
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| Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 11:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Enchilada Potosina wrote: |
You can be as poor or rich as you like in Mexico as an ESL teacher.
Obviously you're not going to get rich working in a language school - you're just making someone else rich. Language school wages are an insult. A teacher with decades of experience is paid the same as a beer-swilling newbie, fresh off a tefl course. I find that deeply disturbing. And of course you'll hear language school owners falling over themselves to justify all this. If you came to Mexico with the idea of romantic zeitgeist frugalism then this is the place for you my friend. |
Amazing how one can generalize so freely with such conviction. My teachers are paid on a scale, based on lots of criteria.
I also find it amusing that one would single out language schools as interested in making money. You don't think universities and colegios are out to make a profit? As a teacher, aren't you interested in getting paid as much as you can? The market determines how much teachers get paid. It is a pretty simple concept. Language schools provide jobs that include a curriculum, material, chairs, desks, air conditioning, etc., etc.
I have hired teachers with paper up the wazoo. Some were great. Others couldn't teach their way out of a paper bag. Heads full of theory and "knowledge" and not an ounce of personality. They all start at the same rate because they haven't proven a thing other than they were able to graduate from college, which is hardly an indicator of much these days. Once one proves himself, his salary is adjusted accordingly. You don't get paid more just because you think you should be. If that were the case, I would have retired a long time ago. |
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MotherF
Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1450
Location: 17�48'N 97�46'W
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| Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 12:12 am Post subject: |
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| PlayadelSoul wrote: |
Amazing how one can generalize so freely with such conviction. My teachers are paid on a scale, based on lots of criteria.
I also find it amusing that one would single out language schools as interested in making money. You don't think universities and colegios are out to make a profit? As a teacher, aren't you interested in getting paid as much as you can? The market determines how much teachers get paid. It is a pretty simple concept. Language schools provide jobs that include a curriculum, material, chairs, desks, air conditioning, etc., etc.
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This is the second time you have mentioned universities looking to make a profit so I can't let it slide. Please do not assume that all of us working at universities in Mexico are working at private universities. I work in the public sector. My school does not function for profit. And I personally have decided to never work for a for-profit organization again in my life. |
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PlayadelSoul
Joined: 29 Jun 2005
Posts: 346
Location: Playa del Carmen
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| Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 12:50 am Post subject: |
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| MotherF wrote: |
| PlayadelSoul wrote: |
Amazing how one can generalize so freely with such conviction. My teachers are paid on a scale, based on lots of criteria.
I also find it amusing that one would single out language schools as interested in making money. You don't think universities and colegios are out to make a profit? As a teacher, aren't you interested in getting paid as much as you can? The market determines how much teachers get paid. It is a pretty simple concept. Language schools provide jobs that include a curriculum, material, chairs, desks, air conditioning, etc., etc.
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This is the second time you have mentioned universities looking to make a profit so I can't let it slide. Please do not assume that all of us working at universities in Mexico are working at private universities. I work in the public sector. My school does not function for profit. And I personally have decided to never work for a for-profit organization again in my life. |
That is a very admirable stance to take. I did not mean to imply that all universities are money making entities. Many are, however. It certainly is not in their interest to lose money or spend beyond their budgets, in any event. | | |
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