Job Discussion Forums

[wanderingxelmundo]

Do universities ever hire during the academic year between semesters? How common is that, and when would that be for the typical calendar (Sep-June) in the sierra?

Are holidays paid, including the longer end-of-year break?
** Edit: Sorry, I missed your answer previously to that question. Forget it

Do you know anything about availability of work in unis in coastal cities other than Guayaquil? (e.g., Manta, though that's not necessarily an ideal destination for me)

Thanks so much!

[HLJHLJ]

It's not typical, but it does happen. It just depends on what staff they need. In most cases, people don't get taken on full time initially, and they will just be offered a couple of classes. Once they get to know you, full time positions usually get offered to existing part timers first. So in those cases you might pick up some mid year work, as long as you aren't fussy.

The mid year break varies as universities set their own schedules. My uni breaks over February, my husband's breaks in mid December.

If you are working full time, you will be paid throughout all the holidays, but you will usually be expected to be in work. You will normally be expected to teach summer school classes as well, so it's not such a long break in the end.

If you work part-time, you will only be paid for your teaching time. Work contracts are strictly regulated here, so there are only a few possibilities. You can work full time (40 hours). You can work half time (20 hours), or you can freelance (not all professions are allowed to freelance, but teachers can).

If you freelance you can't work at the same place for more than 40 hours a month, which in most cases is 2 classes (two 4 or 5 x 1 hour classes per week). Because of this, teachers are generally only paid for contact hours, and all prep and marking is unpaid, but the hourly rate is increased to compensate for that.

I've never heard of anyone getting steady university work on the coast other than Guayaquil, but I guess it could happen. One of the reasons there is work available in Quito is that there is a lot of demand, so people chop and change jobs frequently, meaning there are always positions becoming available. In smaller places like say Manta, there will be far fewer opportunities, so people will tend to stay in a position once they get a job.

[LaLaDivina]

I visited Quito last week and honestly, I would not live in the Historic District. I stayed at a B&B there but I didn't think it was very safe. I should note I'm a single woman. I would recommend the new center of town. Seems hip and lively and much safer.

[wanderingxelmundo]

Ok, thanks HLJHLJ. I would only be interested in P/T or contract work I think, since I'll be studying in the short-term and then trying to make money with other ventures: online, etc. Also, I like the flexibility of teaching -- doing a lot of prep this week and less next, preparing classes at home or in a cafe (it sounds like a 40-hour week means 40 hours on campus?), etc. and the F/T seems like it's taking away that flexibility without getting many paid breaks in return.

How do these new work regulations affect teaching at colegios? When I was there (15 years ago now), working at colegios (not only top tier like Colegio Americano but also second tier) paid really well and had lots of breaks (especially at that time between strikes and Guaga Pichincha) and ESL teachers weren't necessarily expected to go to a lot of meetings. Has that changed?

[HLJHLJ]

It varies depending on the school. Many schools are moving towards employing EAL/ESL teachers as support staff rather than teachers. That means lower pay, but less admin and more flexibility on hours. There have been many regulatory changes in schools as well. For example, all school staff are supposed to be finger printed in and out of school and have their hours monitored now.

However, the extent to which individual schools have to obey them varies (probably according to how well they negotiate with the ministry). The true international schools (ie those that are embassy backed, American, German, and French I think) tend to have the most leeway.

Yes, a 40 hour week usually means being on-site for 40 hours a week, and that will often be monitored. I choose to work PT because I would rather have the flexibility than the money, plus I have other work that makes the difference up, but I need room in my schedule to be able to do it. I also choose not to do summer schools (they usually go to full timers anyway). The downside is that I only get that steady pay coming in for about 32 weeks a year.

[wanderingxelmundo]