Job Discussion Forums

[Guy Courchesne]

Now we're getting back to the OP's question.

Pay hasn't moved much at all in the last 10 years. Language school chains still pay a paltry few pesos per hour.

[gregd75]

Its not easy to open your own school. It takes a lot of time and staying power to do so. There are always things to buy and invest in.

Teachers are of course a very important resource, but I think pay hasn't moved very much because supply (of teachers) is greater than demand.

The really good teachers will stand out. They will get promoted to coordinator, teacher trainer or the likes.

Its a shame but its reality. What is the solution?

[PlayadelSoul]

Who are we kidding? Teachers are a pain in the ass. LOL

If you have a good business plan and a market, running a school is not that difficult. Or course, it is a 24-hour-a-day job and you have no one to complain to if things aren't to your liking.

[TeresaLopez]

[Phil_K]

Kinda got me thinking this one.

It doesn't cost any more to take a class than when I started 9 years. If the student buys the book on top of his tuition, costs to the school are negligable. Therefore, there isn't more money to give to the teacher. We're (language teachers) living in a kind of zero inflation world. Good for the business, bad for the teachers - their costs ARE rising!

[gregd75]

Rent, water, electricity all cost the institution a lot more now than before.

On top of that, sly taxes, such as a percentage tax charged if you deposit over $15,000 pesos in a bank account each month.

IVA now costs more.

All of these are indirect costs that the language institution has to cover, all of the time trying NOT to raise prices for their students (on the whole)

Things are definitely NOT the same as when I started 6 years ago.

[Phil_K]

In which case - and I'd overlooked that as I was thinking more of the kind of school that gives classes in companies, and doesn't need premises - even less money for teachers!

[Enchilada Potosina]

I haven't opened a school because I see it as 80% selling, 20% teaching. Being a (monolingual) salesman is not my thing. I'd feel like a crook convincing people to work for peanuts the hour. And if you pay peanuts...

[geaaronson]

Like Guy, I have been in and out of self employment and business ventures over the years. Mine were not in the language field.

It`s a hard nut to crack. It takes so much more talent and effort than simply teaching. Some have the knack for selling in abundance and have good judgment as to where to put the financial expenditures first, others merely squander their hard earned money on non essentials.

What I have seen of failing English teaching businesses in DF corroborates what another poster wrote in-namely the non teacher entrepreneur should stay out of the business. These people do not have the commitment, the inside knowledge of what it takes, nor the savvy to make it in this business. The Canadian outfit that MO39 refers to is a well run business by a longtime teacher who has successfully built up his business and now employs others to fill his overload.

This is the best type of educational recruiter. I have on the other hand, seen businesses built up by socalled entrepreneurs who have their fingers in every pot. One in particular I worked for for 5 weeks was an importer from China of MP3`s who had an arrangement with EMI to put their songs on the devices and then sold them to music lovers. The language school was a sidekick operation. He was too busy to answer any calls from teachers. He treated his corporate clientele the same way. They would complain directly to me that he never returned their calls and wanted me to handle all the administrative liaison work. I refused. And quit.

Another had a janitorial service. He decided to get into the language business as well. Good money, he thought. Likewise he would not answer any emails or phone calls from his teachers. Likewise, I quit that job before I even began it.

Both businesses had websites when I was working for them. The websites are now absent from the internet. Do I need to explain any further?

[TeresaLopez]

[Isla Guapa]

[Phil_K]

I think I can answer that one for Teresa. Savvy clients are always willing to pay top dollar for a great product, so getting a good reputation is vital. Walmart sells an ATVIO (who?) mp3 player very cheap, but wouldn't you rather have an iPod?

[TeresaLopez]

[mejms]

Running any business well takes time, talent, and a lot of drive. As far as teachers being more in supply than in demand, few teachers at language schools, colegios, and universities have any background teaching. What's their degree in? How many years experience do they have? Let's face it: interviews for jobs are not so much interviews, as a summary of pay and schedules. I've worked for 4 language schools, 1 university, and been offered jobs at two well-known colegios in my 5 years here. I've never been interviewed. Does speaking the language and having a certificate from a one-month TEFL training course in your back pocket mean that you're ready to teach English in pretty much any forum? For most employers, it does.

As for costs, people pay for quality or perceived quality, just like Phil_K said in his ipod analogy. Even more, when it comes to services and not products, people will be more interested and pay more for something that comes through a reference. You see it time and time again. I'll go to a recommended doctor, even if he charges more, than a cheap doctor any day. I paid more for my accountant for years because he came from a trusted reference and I therefore trusted him. An EFL business that has a reputation for quality, prestige, and success doesn't need to invest in sales and marketing all that much. How often do you see a well-known, well-paid doctor set up shop in the street and hand out brochures? Companies known for their service have clients come to them.

[TeresaLopez]