Job Discussion Forums

[cheesupleezu]

Hi,

I just moved to Ecuador. My husband works here and I am currently a stay at home mom. I want to start working part-time at an institute later on this year but ultimately I would like to work at an international school. First off, which international or private schools hire native teachers with just a B.A. and no K-12 teaching certification and how much do they pay on average? I am considering going back to the U.S. to get a Masters in Teaching so I can get better paying jobs here but I want to explore my options here now and see if that is necessary or not in the long run.

Thank you very much.

[john_n_carolina]

..how will you go back to the US for a MAT while your husband stays in Ecuador? i mean, a MAT is not like you're leaving the country to go get an exit stamp. in addition, having a child will probably lengthen the time it takes you to get your MAT? assuming most kids are P/T jobs to begin with...unless you have incredible family and housework support?

anyways, seems to me to you should try P/T at an institute....i can direct you to a few exceptional ones in Quito that are not "run-of-the-mill" institutes...in fact, many of the students in these institutes are very serious...they don't have to be there, they could be working to augment their $100 / mo salary. just try to get into an institute that has less than 17 students per class...you'll need a lot of Tylenol over that level as a first-time teacher.

[naturegirl321]

i think you'll be hard pressed to find internationnal schools taht hire people with little experience and no License. BUt you could try bilingual schools, or less well known international schools. You usually need a license and two years of experience, for a list of schools, try here
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=4556
And it never hurts to apply.

For institutes, you'll probably make 500 to 1000 USd, you could teach private classes as well .

Schools can pay similar to the US. So pay varies. Keep in mind that international schools are a LOT of work. Seriously, if you want to have timme to spend with your children, reconsider internationnal schools. I'm speaking from experience.

If you have questions, feel free to PM me.

[john_n_carolina]

...yes, NG makes a very good point. a lot of times us ESL'ers feel pretty good because we're making $600, $700 / mo. that's upper class income in L.A. however, many teachers don't realize how much "extra" time you put in at home to try and be the best teacher. at one point, i figured at least 3-4 hours a day at home X 6 days = another 20 hours per week. so, with 30 hours instruction + 20 hours "at home" you're working 50 hours a week or 200 / mo. now take $600 / mo salary and divide it by 200 hours a month = ? $3 / hr....

so, like NG said, maybe you should reconsider an "international" school if you have children. if you teach at an institute, after about 3-4 years you'll have such a good system that you'll have very little "at home" work.

one thing that would help is if you had materials already. but, since you are in Ecuador you won't find much. you could try buying some stuff online from the site on Dave's Main Page....www.altabooks.com

get materials and fun things to do and creative speaking exercises...to supplement your institute book. the rest will be easy from there...

the best part of institutes? generally, you'll never see the parents..

[cheesupleezu]

Thanks for the replies. I realize going to get a masters degree will be a huge sacrifice but it is also a largely personal issue. When you realize that you are in a third world country for good and that you may spend the rest of your life making 600 dollars a month with students loans to pay off, you get worried.

I have a TEFL certification and 2 years or so of experience teaching English in Japan, Chile, and here at my husband's office. I realize that the bigger international schools are out of the question but some Ecuadorian friends have been telling me that they know people who aren't certified teachers who teach at private schools and make around $1000 a month. I just wonder if it is a myth.

I will check out that list and if you could pass along the names of those good institutes, I would appreciate it. Also how do people go about finding private students? Thank you.

[cheesupleezu]

oh and by the way i found a store here called books and bits that has a lot of tefl books. a bit pricy though.

[naturegirl321]

[cheesupleezu]

well my husband works at a small company here. he makes more money than most but nothing like the salary of someone at a big international company. it is not just about money either though. i want to have a career too!!! i dont want my college debts to be for nothing.

thank you for the tips. i actually found out i can do the m.a. in teaching online but very very expensive.

you are in peru now. were you here before?

[naturegirl321]

NOpe, have just border hopped for visa reasons.

[Justin Trullinger]

Get in touch- I have quite a lot of info bout work in Quito, but not a lot of time to post right now...


Slds.

Justin

[john_n_carolina]

....the only way to make decent / serious cash in Ecuador is with a K-12 cert. maybe do the program through NJ like Naturegirl said. otherwise, seems like a MA would cost what, $30,000? still don't think it's worth it, if you have kids. unless you have a nanny, then maybe. maybe you can do online tutoring through EnglishTown or something?

www.englishtown.com

[Justin Trullinger]

[naturegirl321]

Same here. Teachers don't make much money anywhere. Look at teaching because you like it. TO make money, open a business, sell stuff online, etc. But don't become a teacher to get rich.

[john_n_carolina]

NG, a few weeks ago you mentioned it's possible to make upwards of $30K in Peru at private schools? that's not decent cash? $30K in a country where a pineapple costs 25 cents, rent is $125, dozen eggs for $1?

$30K in Peru would be like $150,000 in the US ...or maybe more.

above when i mentioned cash as "decent/serious",...i kind of meant having more than $0 at the end of the month, year after year....that's not decent cash. especially, if you have kids.

so, in Quito it is very possible to make $1200 / mo without K-12 certs. the secret in Quito is to do an analysis of your expenses. live in a shared house, share meals, don't have a telephone, no cell phone, and only use internet cafes.

food in Quito is the wildcard. it's getting very expensive and the secret is to plan your week of food very carefully to try and keep it to $30-40 / week.

[john_n_carolina]

...Also, CheeseU...you didn't mention what city you are living in? if it's Quito, try Colegio Menor
http://www.colegiomenor.edu.ec/