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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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 Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:13 am Post subject: |
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| Professor wrote: |
| TeresaLopez wrote: |
Mexico has made HUGE stride in the last 20 or 25 years, and continues to change, and develop. |
Really?? Where??? NOT in wages for EFL. Change yes, develop....??? |
In 6 years I have not seen wages increase at all. But the COL has gone up. Heck, prices for food go up every month or two. All of my expenses have increased but pay rates have stayed the same and the peso is now weaker against the US dollar as well. |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:15 am Post subject: |
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| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
In 6 years I have not seen wages increase at all. But the COL has gone up. Heck, prices for food go up every month or two. All of my expenses have increased but pay rates have stayed the same and the peso is now weaker against the US dollar as well. |
Perhaps you should try staying at a language school longer than 3 months. 
According to Teresa you MAY make more money by staying with a place longer than 3 months. |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:18 am Post subject: |
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| danny80 wrote: |
Thanks for all the information and then some, my question was answered in the first couple of posts. I recently closed my small business, so I have management/accounting/technical experience, but no teaching experience. Which is experience, but not teaching experience. I'm fairly fluent in spanish too, I couldn't have a philosophical debate or explain anything really technical though. So I'm not sure if that counts for anything if you're trying to teach english.
I guess more correctly I have quite a few months reserve cash, but even a low paying gig would extended it even further. I've got the financial to show proof for a FM3. That being said would I get caught if I was getting paid under the table and not paying taxes? |
Sounds like you'll do fine. Having some Spanish ability is a HUGE help as most folks can't/won't speak English. Even getting an interview for a job will take some Spanish skills.
If you know about business, you should look at teaching business classes. You could even go into business for yourself and pretty quick you will be able to hire other teachers to actually give classes. That is what a lot of folks do, and they even give their "schools" a grand name (funny when they don't have even a classroom let alone an actual school).
Stash your cash and spend like a pauper. Try to live on your EFL pay, no matter how low it might be. |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:19 am Post subject: |
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| Professor wrote: |
| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
In 6 years I have not seen wages increase at all. But the COL has gone up. Heck, prices for food go up every month or two. All of my expenses have increased but pay rates have stayed the same and the peso is now weaker against the US dollar as well. |
Perhaps you should try staying at a language school longer than 3 months.
According to Teresa you MAY make more money by staying with a place longer than 3 months. |
I worked in a colegio and made $18,000 pesos per month. Without a degree. |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:26 am Post subject: |
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| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
Try to live on your EFL pay |
Good one Prof. Gringo! |
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Professor
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 449
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:27 am Post subject: |
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| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
| Professor wrote: |
| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
In 6 years I have not seen wages increase at all. But the COL has gone up. Heck, prices for food go up every month or two. All of my expenses have increased but pay rates have stayed the same and the peso is now weaker against the US dollar as well. |
Perhaps you should try staying at a language school longer than 3 months.
According to Teresa you MAY make more money by staying with a place longer than 3 months. |
I worked in a colegio and made $18,000 pesos per month. Without a degree. |
You should have stayed there. IMAGINE what you would be making by now with professional development and hard work. |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:35 am Post subject: |
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| Professor wrote: |
| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
| Professor wrote: |
| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
In 6 years I have not seen wages increase at all. But the COL has gone up. Heck, prices for food go up every month or two. All of my expenses have increased but pay rates have stayed the same and the peso is now weaker against the US dollar as well. |
Perhaps you should try staying at a language school longer than 3 months.
According to Teresa you MAY make more money by staying with a place longer than 3 months. |
I worked in a colegio and made $18,000 pesos per month. Without a degree. |
You should have stayed there. IMAGINE what you would be making by now with professional development and hard work. |
The funniest part was that we had very high turnover in the EFL dept. Most of the so-called teachers actually couldn't speak English. Might have worked at the corner language school but not as a school with a bunch of fresitas, many of which were very fluent in English and often spoke better English in the 5th or 6th grade classes than the "teachers" could. |
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Phil_K
Joined: 25 Jan 2007
Posts: 2041
Location: A World of my Own
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| Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 4:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
If you know about business, you should look at teaching business classes. You could even go into business for yourself and pretty quick you will be able to hire other teachers to actually give classes. That is what a lot of folks do, and they even give their "schools" a grand name (funny when they don't have even a classroom let alone an actual school).
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To think like this is to totally misunderstand the market, and business in general. No doubt there are some unscrupulous school owners who see it as a quick buck, but there are others, like myself, who are learning from their past mistakes, and dedicating a great deal of their time to listening, researching and defining the product in order to be able to offer a sustainable service in a real market opportunity, without thinking of a short-term bottom line, and trying to be an agent for change in the process.
I've whinged myself in the past, and I've listened to other whingers, so my research takes into account not only the client, but the associates of the company too. A great product is never going to be delivered by unsatisfied staff.
Regarding the "grand name", it is no use offering a first-class product in an unprofessional way. The prospective client has to believe that this person is serious. It's one of the oldest tactics in the book, and in my view, correct if you want to build a serious business - that a one-man-and-his-dog business should act like a big business, with all systems in place and minute attention to detail.
Regarding not having classrooms, this isn't necessary if you are offering classes to businesses. It may be your aim to offer this service later, but lack of capital has never been an excuse not to follow your dreams. I could give an example: If you wanted to start a sandwich business, you could make your sandwiches with the facilities and tools you already have at home (there may be Health and Safety issues about that, but you know what I mean!). If you were offering great sandwiches with outstanding service and your business took off, then maybe you could later open a state-of-the-art kitchen and a chain of shops.
I think many English school owners try to address these issues in a ham-fisted way, without the necessary research, knowledge and attention to detail, but at least their intentions are good. They will live and die by the work they are prepared to do, and by their actions.
If the market is as bad as many here say it is, doesn't that shout out loud to the entrepreneurial person - THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY? |
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the peanut gallery
Joined: 26 May 2006
Posts: 264
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| Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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Cudos Phil, but i think you are an exception.
And you are right in that it should be seen as an opportunity for a professional business person / teacher to fill the void. Problem i see is that the general paying public are not savvy buyers, they fall for the latest gimmick on offer and bounce around from one place to the next hoping to find the miracle pill that makes them bilingual without actually dedicating the time, effort, and showing the personal responsibility required to do so.
Of course there are people who are not like this....but those are an exception as well. |
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mejms
Joined: 04 Jan 2010
Posts: 390
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| Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 9:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Regarding not having classrooms, this isn't necessary if you are offering classes to businesses. It may be your aim to offer this service later, but lack of capital has never been an excuse not to follow your dreams. I could give an example: If you wanted to start a sandwich business, you could make your sandwiches with the facilities and tools you already have at home (there may be Health and Safety issues about that, but you know what I mean!). If you were offering great sandwiches with outstanding service and your business took off, then maybe you could later open a state-of-the-art kitchen and a chain of shops |
A really savvy businessman might realize that classrooms for a company that primarily offers on-site business classes might not be a very wise investment. You'll find yourself working hard to fill seats in your location. Offices are a good idea because it shows more stability and substance, but classrooms? First define your market and clientele. Think about it. |
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Phil_K
Joined: 25 Jan 2007
Posts: 2041
Location: A World of my Own
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| Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 9:38 pm Post subject: |
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| mejms wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Regarding not having classrooms, this isn't necessary if you are offering classes to businesses. It may be your aim to offer this service later, but lack of capital has never been an excuse not to follow your dreams. I could give an example: If you wanted to start a sandwich business, you could make your sandwiches with the facilities and tools you already have at home (there may be Health and Safety issues about that, but you know what I mean!). If you were offering great sandwiches with outstanding service and your business took off, then maybe you could later open a state-of-the-art kitchen and a chain of shops |
A really savvy businessman might realize that classrooms for a company that primarily offers on-site business classes might not be a very wise investment. You'll find yourself working hard to fill seats in your location. Offices are a good idea because it shows more stability and substance, but classrooms? First define your market and clientele. Think about it. |
Or even if you do intend to offer in-house classes! The start-up I used to work for rented a house in a good part of D.F. for $35,000 per month, with that intention. I didn't work! |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 4:30 am Post subject: Re: Newbie question about degree |
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| danny80 wrote: |
I've been reading the other posts and have found some good info. I don't have a bachelors degree, and getting one is not going to happen anytime soon. I'm planning on getting a TEFL/TESOL certificate probably in February, and would like to move down to Mexico sometime late March early April. I'll have enough money to get by for a couple of months while I look for employment.
My questions is can you get a job in Mexico with only a TEFL certificate?
I would guess a job at a university is out of the question, which is fine with me. Is a private language school a possibility? |
Yes, generally fine without a degree at a language school. I didn't see if it was mentioned in any of the replies, but make sure to get the apostille on your TEFL or TESOL cert as immigration here needs the document to support your work visa application, as you won't have a degree to show them. |
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flossie
Joined: 16 Jul 2009
Posts: 6
Location: Michoacan, Mexico
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| Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 5:14 pm Post subject: Newbie question about degree |
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| In 2009 I worked my 1st 5 months in Mexico for a private language school that had hired 2 other teachers with an ESL certificate but no degree. This was in a small city in Michoacan where it's hard to get teachers, but the pay was decent, (5000 Mx), housing was supplied and you had weekends off. It was a good starter job. One of the teachers actually moved on to a better school in a larger city and had no problem with the lack of a degree....in fact he got a bit more money!! |
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Enchilada Potosina
Joined: 03 Aug 2010
Posts: 344
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 6:28 pm Post subject: |
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| If you run some kind of language insititute in Mexico and you need a teacher and the choice is between a native speaker with no degree and an tefl cert and no one, it's a no-brainer. Thanks to malinchismo in some places the choice between a Mexican English teacher with all the qualification you could wish for and a native speaker with a tefl cert, ink still wet, is also a no-brainer. |
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TeresaLopez
Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 11:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Enchilada Potosina wrote: |
English teacher with all the qualification you could wish for and a native speaker with a tefl cert, ink still wet, is also a no-brainer. |
I know and I hate that. Something I constantly butt heads with my boss about. I have gotten resumes from some non-native speakers who would have been great teachers, but he refuses to hire them, though, ironically HE is a non�native speaker himself. I think he might be coming around, though, |
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