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TeresaLopez
Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City
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 Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 4:45 pm Post subject: Re: Need advice for working in DF please!! |
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[quote="Prof.Gringo"]
You might get your first job working in a chain language school, but you will have to take (unpaid) in-house training which could last up to a month. You also might not have enough hours/classes for the first 3 months.
Business classes can be an option. But they are often not to be relied upon as "steady" income but as extra income.
/quote]
Not all training at language institutes is unpaid. Interlengua offers a three week training course that pays a stipend after the first week. And, well, you are getting free training, which is a plus. Pay is on the higher end for language institutes, and you can advance fairly quickly if you are good, they promote entirely from within. You will need to pass a written, listening and spoken test, and have an interview, then you will be accepted for training. They do have a rigid teaching method, which is hard for people who would like to be more creative in their teaching. But on the plus side, they provide everything you need, books, lesson plans, audio visual, etc. And you could take a TEFL course part time while teaching and move on to something better later.
If you have a place to live that makes things a lot easier in terms of transition, so the $1000 US might be OK. You might be able to pick up a conversation class or two right away, so you have at least a little income.
Also, there is nothing wrong with doing some studying on your own, there are lots of books out there that you can at least get some ideas from. |
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Rodrigo
Joined: 05 Sep 2010
Posts: 5
Location: DF
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| Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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The dragonlady is right about no needing a degree to get good teaching jobs here in Mexico. So many foreigners can come and pretend to teach just with blue eyes and light hair because image is more important for schools getting the students to come. Well not all schools, but many maybe most. You can get paid very good, maybe 6000 pesos a month just for being foreign.
I don't know about the fm3 though. You don't need that to teach just the visa you get on the plane. |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 5:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Rodrigo wrote: |
I don't know about the fm3 though. You don't need that to teach just the visa you get on the plane. |
If you want to work in Mexico legally, you need to get an FM3. Any decent school will want you to be legal and should help you get one. The visa you get on the plane is a tourist visa that allows you to stay in the country for 180 days - it does not give you permission to work. |
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Germanicus
Joined: 03 Sep 2010
Posts: 19
Location: Ireland
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| Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 6:34 pm Post subject: FM3 |
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| Can I apply for the FM3 once I arrive in Mexico? |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 6:37 pm Post subject: Re: FM3 |
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| Germanicus wrote: |
| Can I apply for the FM3 once I arrive in Mexico? |
Of course, that's the usual way to do it. But you'll need to have a firm job offer before you can start the process. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| So many foreigners can come and pretend to teach just with blue eyes and light hair because image is more important for schools getting the students to come. |
That's true in a lot of places around the world and here in Mexico.
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| You can get paid very good, maybe 6000 pesos a month just for being foreign. |
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| In Mexico, and elsewhere, your question is redundant. A degree in basket weaving, or better yet, a degree in Spanish will (often) get you a top notch job teaching English. |
Getting a job that pays 6000 pesos a month using a degree in 'basketweaving' (joking, I know) is nowhere near top notch. Bottom rung is more like it. Several posters here that I know in person work at Tec de Monterrey, the ASF, and Greengates and make a LOT more than 6000 a month and they do not have degrees in basketweaving.
| Quote: |
| Can I apply for the FM3 once I arrive in Mexico? |
Yes, that is quite common. Keep the tourist visa you get and you'll have up to 180 days to switch it to an FM3 either through your employer or independently. There is more paperwork than that though...browse the forum for topics about the apostille for degrees and certificates, and FM3s in general. |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 6:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
| Quote: |
| So many foreigners can come and pretend to teach just with blue eyes and light hair because image is more important for schools getting the students to come. |
That's true in a lot of places around the world and here in Mexico.
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Before my hair turned silver, it was dark brown. And my eyes are hazel, not blue. Yet I've never had trouble finding work in Mexico or other countries where I've taught. It must be my fabulous personality that did the trick  ! |
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TeresaLopez
Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 9:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Rodrigo wrote: |
You can get paid very good, maybe 6000 pesos a month just for being foreign.
I don't know about the fm3 though. You don't need that to teach just the visa you get on the plane. |
You might get paid well for a while, but if you can't teach you won't last in a decent job, and you won't advance, not in pay and not in responsibility. And, hopefully, if you are giving lousy classes hopefully you will eventually start feeling guilty about robbing your students.
To work legally you MUST have an FM3. The majority of schools will help you arrange it, and if the school wants you to work without it, keep on looking. What will you do if a school you are working for illegally refuses to pay you? There is nothing you can do. It is not complicated to get an FM3, and there is no excuse for working illegally, especially if you think you might remain long term in Mexico. |
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TeresaLopez
Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Isla Guapa wrote: |
Before my hair turned silver, it was dark brown. And my eyes are hazel, not blue. Yet I've never had trouble finding work in Mexico or other countries where I've taught. It must be my fabulous personality that did the trick ! |
Either that, or could it be :::gasp;;;; that you are a good teacher?? I also have dark hair, and my last name is Lopez, if you want to talk about "handicaps", and I have never had trouble getting work. In fact, for the last year I have been turning away work. And, I have never, ever earning as little as 6000 pesos, not even 20 years ago. |
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TeresaLopez
Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Isla Guapa wrote: |
Before my hair turned silver, it was dark brown. And my eyes are hazel, not blue. Yet I've never had trouble finding work in Mexico or other countries where I've taught. It must be my fabulous personality that did the trick ! |
Either that, or could it be :::gasp;;;; that you are a good teacher?? I also have dark hair, and my last name is Lopez, if you want to talk about "handicaps", and I have never had trouble getting work. In fact, for the last year I have been turning away work. And, I have never, ever earned as little as 6000 pesos, not even 20 years ago.
Last edited by TeresaLopez on Sun Sep 05, 2010 10:05 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 10:01 pm Post subject: |
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| TeresaLopez wrote: |
| Isla Guapa wrote: |
Before my hair turned silver, it was dark brown. And my eyes are hazel, not blue. Yet I've never had trouble finding work in Mexico or other countries where I've taught. It must be my fabulous personality that did the trick ! |
Either that, or could it be :::gasp;;;; that you are a good teacher?? |
Well, there is that to consider . . .  |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 10:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| To work legally you MUST have an FM3. The majority of schools will help you arrange it, and if the school wants you to work without it, keep on looking. What will you do if a school you are working for illegally refuses to pay you? There is nothing you can do. It is not complicated to get an FM3, and there is no excuse for working illegally, especially if you think you might remain long term in Mexico. |
Here's a question for anyone with experience in this...as far as I know, if you're getting the FM3 either through your employer or independently, your degree or certificate or diploma has to be relevant to teaching or teaching English. Basketweaving aside, a degree in Spanish, or Latin American studies shouldn't qualify for an FM3 unless you are teaching Spanish or Latin American history. Does someone have experience that says otherwise?
| Quote: |
| I also have dark hair, and my last name is Lopez, if you want to talk about "handicaps" |
Que barbara, senora Lopez...no wait, that's Perez.  But I see what you mean. |
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mejms
Joined: 04 Jan 2010
Posts: 390
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| Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 11:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Basketweaving aside, a degree in Spanish, or Latin American studies shouldn't qualify for an FM3 unless you are teaching Spanish or Latin American history. Does someone have experience that says otherwise? |
Barring any changes through the "overhaul" of immigration procedures  , I've had friends who've gotten both independent and employer sponsered FM-3s (later converted to FM-2s after getting married to a Mexican) without having a degree in English, Education, or ESL/EFL. One had a degree in Theology, another in Communications, another an MBA. So if the standards for a degree have not been all-inclusive for any type of BA, they're are at least very flexible to make them apply to the beginnings of an EFL career in Mexico. If I remember correctly, you are supposed to have the minimum of a TEFL certificate if you don't have a degree that's in TEFL studies. And like so many things in Mexico, local immigration offices (and the time of day) rule more than any printed rules. |
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Dragonlady
Joined: 10 May 2004
Posts: 720
Location: Chillinfernow, Canada
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| Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 1:02 am Post subject: |
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deleted
OP's request was for information about DF, my response was not
Last edited by Dragonlady on Sun Sep 26, 2010 9:32 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 1:35 am Post subject: |
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That's very interesting!
I went to migra two weeks ago for my own renewal and like you state, no proof of qualification was needed, neither in this new format nor in the old one on previous renewals. It's been my experience through a lot of other people in DF that the initial application required proof of qualification. I've seen a few people rejected on the first try for not having the right degree or cert and I've also seen school lawyers squeeze through paperwork that probably shouldn't have gone through. Maybe you're right about the idea of 'viable income' for INM.
Guy, BJ (most definitely not what you think that means!)
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| BTW The new INM cards are really bare bones compared to the green booklets. It has my name, nationality, country of birth, date of birth, sex, my CURP, Calidad listed as 'no inmigrante', Modalidad listed as 'Tecnico o Cientifico', Caractersitica listed as 'Visitante', date of issue/expiry, my NUE number, and (I think) my NUT number. Accordingly I seem to be one of the first of 17,000 NUTS to apply as of May 1, 2010! |
Still waiting on mine...my cousin got his and described it as a cheap piece of plastic - they also gave him 6 months instead of year so he's waiting for the correction to come.
Last edited by Guy Courchesne on Mon Sep 06, 2010 1:48 am; edited 1 time in total |
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