Job Discussion Forums

[Nkengaola]

I am looking into teaching English as a foreign language, and I am trying to narrow down my choices.

A little background - I'm 40, black, American born and reared, bachelors degree in English Literature, no recent experience teaching (it's at least 10 years old, not currently certified), willing to get my certification in the country I ultimately decide to go to. I have some student loans (paying about $212 a month) and although I'd LOVE to get them paid off by teaching, I know that probably won't happen, and that's cool.

I'm considering getting my CELTA in Colombia, through BridgeTEFL. They offer it in both Medellin and Bogota. Since I have absolutely NO experience in either city, I'm sort of going to flip a coin to decide which to go to.

My questions are:
1. If you have taken the CELTA course through BridgeTEFL, what was your experience like?
2. Which city do you prefer, Medellin or Bogota? Why?
3. Is it possible to make enough money to live off of, eat out once or twice a week, AND pay $212 in student loans, as a beginning teacher? Is it possible to do that and save a bit ($200 or so)?
4. If not, what route can I take to get to that point, or better?

I apologize if these questions have been answered elsewhere, I've been reading so much information about so many countries and schools and TEFL/TESOL/CELTA/DELTA that it's starting to run together. Thank you!

[windowlicker]

Medellin is notoriously tough to find work in (probably because it is a more pleasant city to live in). My opinion would be you're more likely to make contacts that will hook you up with a job by doing your CELTA in Bogota.

Is it possible to hit your financial goals as a beginning teacher in Bogota? Yes. Is it likely? Not necessarily. However, if you have a teaching license and formal teaching experience (even if your credentials aren't current) you might have a better shot than others.

I'm pretty conservative about my personal finances, so if you've got student loans to pay off and would need to find a job that let's you make your financial goals quickly, I can't say I'd recommend the route you're considering. The "come here, get a CELTA, and find a job" route is something I'd really only recommend to people with the flexibility to put in some time in Colombia working a job that let's them get by, before finding a better job after being here a little while. If that's flexibility you don't have, you'd be much better off renewing your American teaching license and finding a job through an international job fair. Do that, and you can hit those financial goals and more.

[Nkengaola]

Hi windowlicker,

Thanks for responding. I would probably have about a year before I would really need to find something that will cover my student loans as well as living expenses. I'd be dipping into my savings to keep up the payments, but it's not impossible. If a year is not realistic, then I may have to go another route.

I looked into getting a teaching license here in the US, and frankly it's more trouble than it's worth. For various reasons (including that my teaching experience was not traditional classroom - I did health education in a non-profit organization), I'd have to almost start all over again. I might as well do that in a country I want to be in, lol.

Thanks again.