Job Discussion Forums

spanglish · Joined: 21 May 2009 Posts: 742 Location: working on that

Coningl�s is another institute that claims to get teachers visas. I interviewed with them a few years ago and they didn't seem too bad. IH is a decent first, fresh-off-the-CELTA job. They get you a visa, pay you enough to live modestly (shared housing, eat out every week, travel around the country) and provide a non-abusive work environment. It's not ideal, but it's not bad for a newbie either. They were paying 1.5 million or more/month a year ago for 16 in-company contact hours/week; I don't know what the pay is now.

High end, full-time university pay in Colombia is around 4 million pesos/month give or take a few hundred thousand pesos. That would be at places like Los Andes, Externado and La Sabana. I'm not sure what Uninorte (Barranquilla) and ICESI (Cali) pay, but would guess they are in that range. EAFIT (Medellin) supposedly pays much less and I have a low opinion of their language department (I studied Spanish there). Keep in mind that you may not get paid 12 months a year at a university as vacation breaks may be unpaid. La Nacional in Bogota is another decent paying university, but it's complicated to get on there as a foreigner as they won't get you a work visa.

Keep in mind that these are the good numbers. You can make much, much less if you're willing to do that. The best ESL gig in the country for money is at the British Council with salaries from 4.5 to over 5.7/month (considerably more for senior teachers) and 14 salaries/year. They also provide a very organized, resource rich work environment. Generally, you would need a DELTA and several years of post-DELTA experience to get on with them full time. You'll also work more hours at the British Council than you would at a university.

Supposedly Los Andes and Uninorte require a relevant masters degree for teachers they hire (I'm not sure about La Sabana). The minimum that you would want to get on at a university would be a degree, a CELTA and a some relevant experience. An in-house recommendation, good organization skills, good inter-personal skills, a stable temperament and a proven ability to live and work in Colombia are also good attributes. Some high school experience is very helpful as you will probably be teaching quite young students at a university with a few discipline and maturity issues.

You don't need a visa first before you get any job in Colombia. That's because the visa is attached to whatever job you get and the employer has to do a bit of paperwork to make it happen. Many colegios hire foreigners and go through the process to get them visas. I know this because I worked at a colegio and have friends who do/have as well. Sometimes employers will (erroneously) tell you that you need a work visa before they will hire you. This probably just means that they don't know how to get a work visa for an employee and only want to hire foreigners who already have permission to work via marriage to a Colombian.

windowlicker · Joined: 05 Jun 2008 Posts: 183 Location: Bogot�, Colombia

MNguy · Joined: 01 Feb 2010 Posts: 129

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The Sand Cat · Joined: 24 Nov 2011 Posts: 3 Location: Dublin

Hi,

I have recently completed my CELTA. Apart for the T.P within the course I am a complete newbie to teaching. I have a Bsc in an unrelated field.

I was really interested in starting my teaching career in South America (specifically Chile or Columbia). However after reading a lot of negative posts' I am uncertain if this is the correct choice. I am not interested in saving or making loads of money. All I want to do is improve my level of Spanish and have a modest/comfortable lifestyle.

Is South America a good place to begin your career teaching, or should I rack some more experience teaching somewhere else like China or South Korea?