Job Discussion Forums

[Jolly Green]

Hey, everyone. I live in the frozen North, up in Minnesota and I have sworn and vowed to move AWAY from this God-forsaken ice factory as soon as I can possibly afford to after I finish school. Naturally, I have a few questions I'd like to ask, so here goes.

About teaching English there. I've read about how that's nearly impossible to live on, but here's the thing; I think have a bit of an advantage, here. I get veterans disability benefits every month. It won't be enough to live on by itself, but I'm pretty sure it means I won't have to work AS MUCH to get by down there, but I need to figure out just how much I WILL have to work. What's the average pay for just one teaching gig down there? Just one. Or maybe I should say "EACH teaching gig". I'm trying to figure out how many jobs I'll hafta hold down to live comfortably, hopefully without going insane. I have experience teaching Engish. I did it in South Korea for four years and I still do it online today. My plan is to go to one of those schools where they get you certified with a CELTA or something similar and then they help you find your first job. Sound good?

I'm currently going to school to study computer graphics; illustration and animation. Two things about that. First, could I possibly get a job related to that field down there instead of teaching English? Second, if I CAN'T get a job in that field down there, I'd like to do my own freelance work on the side. I plan to do a lot of business online. What's the internet service like down there? Is it fast enough? Is it reliable? I might actually wanna continue teaching English online, since it probably pays better than most of the jobs I'll get there. To do that, though, I need a reliable internet connection. Am I gonna be able to get one there?

Also, what kinds of job do most of the expats there do for a living? I understand a lot of them are retirees, but for those who DO have jobs, what do they do there? I'd like to keep my options open as far as what kind of job I would have there.

I don't actually speak much Spanish yet, but it's going to be a while before I'm ready to move down there, so I plan to study it and I plan to move some place where there's a large community of gringos to help me get by until I've got a handle on the language. Of course, I'll do my best to make friends with the locals, too.

That's about all I can think of, for now. I know you're gonna shoot a few holes in my plans. That's fine. That's why I'm asking all this. Fire away.

Thanks everyone. Hope to see some of you there in the next couple of years. ^_^

[BadBeagleBad]

You didn't mention if you have a 4 year degree or not. That is the real key to getting a good, steady job with living wages. If you already have some kind of income and don't need a full time job then either your online teaching pay might be enough or just picking up a few part time private classes. I live in a small town in Mexico and have been working for an online school for three years now, no internet problems at all. I lived in Mexico City for many years and had no internet problems there either. In terms of what you can expect for pay, it really varies a lot depending on your education and experience. Small, private neighborhood schools generally pay anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 pesos a month, but usually include full benefits. Larger international style schools pay between $15,000 to $30,000 - but if you work in one of the high end schools you will be dealing with spoiled brats, and loads of stress. Private classes pay anywhere from $120 to $250. They are often the best option as you will have (mostly) adult students who are motivated to learn. Another option is working in a language school. Starting pay is not great, but if you have other income it might be OK. Also, language schools are a better long term option than short term, as you can often move into other positions. It is not too likely that you could do any other work for a Mexican company without speaking much Spanish, but you might eventually be able to do freelance work. In terms of living in a gringo enclave - if you are looking to save money I would recommend against it as you will pay more for pretty much everything in an area with lots of foreigners and if you want to learn Spanish, it will make that harder too.

[Jolly Green]

Hi, Bad Beagle.

Thank you for your reply. I DO have a four-year degree already. (You need one to teach in a Korea, too). I am working on another one. I currently receive $822 a month in veterans benefits, which, I believe, is not enough to live on by itself, right? The online school I teach for doesn't give me very many hours, actually. If you know of another online school I can teach for, by all means, let me know. I feel like I pretty much have to live in a gringo enclave at first. I'm going to need at least a few gringos around to help me get by until I get the language down.

I DO need to work for a Mexican school or a Mexican company of some kind in order to live there, don't I? If I'm not employed buy a Mexican business, why would they let me stay? I'd just be a tourist, wouldn't I?

Again, thanks for your help.

[notamiss]

I suggest you change your thinking about needing a gringo enclave to get started off. 1) If you are in a place with lots of expats, you will be competing with the other English speakers, and all the potential jobs where English is an advantage – like teaching – will be wrapped up already. 2) Others here have plunged into a Spanish-language, expat-free environment cold turkey and survived, learning on the fly. It can be done. 2a) The more you associate with other English speakers, the slower your Spanish learning will be. If you do as you plan, namely study some Spanish basics before coming down, you will be able to get started with minimal language help. Most importantly, your Spanish progress will be exponentially faster if you don’t depend on others to help you communicate.

As for computer graphics, illustration and animation, if you can get freelance clients anywhere in the world, it’s doable, but if you’re thinking of getting hired in Mexico to do that kind of work, it’s very unlikely because you’d be competing against a big pool of similarly educated, talented and job-hungry locals.

[BadBeagleBad]

$822 dollars is a little over $10,000 pesos. In a lot of places it is enough to live on. I live in a small town and that amount would be amble as the cost of living is very low (rent for a 3 bedroom house is 80 dollars, for example). In a larger city like Mexico City, it is doable, but would be tight. In an area with lots of expats, such as Cuernavaca or San Miguel de Allende, it would be even tighter. But pretty much anywhere you should be fine with another $500 dollars or so, so working part time should be enough to get by one. I guess where you end up living will depend on what your goals/reasons are for living in Mexico. If you want to learn Spanish, a small town with few foreigners would be ideal. If you want the comfort of other English speakers, for the most part, you will pay for that privilege. Though not so much in Mexico City, where you could live in a variety of places yet have other English speakers easily available. You also want to think about safety. Some parts of Mexico are much safer that others, with the safest being in the south, though many small towns all over Mexico are largely untouched by drug related violence and crime in general. The town I live in, for example, just had it's first murder in over ten years yesterday, and you would have thought it was the second coming the way the place was crawling with police. It ended up being a case of self defense - someone was trying to steal someone's truck and the truck owner had a rifle and defended himself, so not sure if it will end up being ruled a murder or not, but I digress. So there are lots of things to consider, the kind of lifestyle you want to have will depend on how far you can stretch your money to a large extent.

[BadBeagleBad]

[Guy Courchesne]