Job Discussion Forums

[leretif9]

Hi there,

I'd like to hear some impressions of Bogota from people who have lived and taught ESL there,

1. How hard is it to get work, as a native speaker of English with a BA in English from a US university? How long to expect to spend looking for an ESL gig.

2. Good neighborhoods to live in -- for example, opinions pro and con about Las Augas,

3. Small stuff like getting a bank account and a cell phone,

4. Anything else that comes to mind...

[LaLaDivina]

1. Couldn't tell you how hard it is to find work in Bogota since I don't plan on working there, but I don't think it's that hard.

2. Personally, I would stay away from Las Aguas, but I'm a woman. I did my CELTA in La Candelaria and lived in the same neighborhood. I did venture into Las Aguas on a few occasions with my classmates but I would never ever live there. You might want to wait until you find a job to consider which neighborhoods you want to live in. Bogota is a really large city and during rush hours the Transmilenio is terrible.

3. Getting a cell phone is easy. You just have to pick a carrier but some, like Virgin Mobile, offer better plans than others. You will probably have to wait until you get a working visa in order to open a bank account because you need a cedula de extranjeria.

4. During CELTA I received a list of schools in Bogota and Medellin that I should consider applying to. Want it?

[leretif9]

"During CELTA I received a list of schools in Bogota and Medellin that I should consider applying to. Want it?"

Please! And thanks as well. Do these schools require a CELTA or other certification?

[LaLaDivina]

Most schools in Colombia do not require CELTA. One of my classmates works at one of the schools on the list and he's been working with them for a few years before he decided to do his CELTA.

PM me your email address and I'll send it to you. Just bear in mind that since I am visiting my mom in Barranquilla I do not have a scanner here so I will have to take a pic of it with my phone.

[Zimmerman]

[G22]

1. Pretty easy, but the pay really varies from place to place. Generally January is when the most jobs become available.

2. Chapinero, Macarena, Salitre, or anything towards the north of the city. Las Aguas is interesting, lots of colonial architecture, close to the plaza bolivar, lots of foreigners and tourists, plenty of homeless people asking for money, fun in general, but it is notorious for petty crime.

3. Getting a cell phone and bank account is easy. They won't sell you a phone with a plan unless you have a long-term visa, so you'll have to buy a "prepago" one where you buy minutes from various places.

[leretif9]

Neighborhoods of Bogota:

"...Macarena, Salitre, or anything towards the north of the city."

Can anyone who has spent time in Bogota describe Macarena and Salitre, as places to live? Pluses and minuses.

Thanks.

[BakerStreetSaxSolo]

hi,

I've lived in Bogota as a TEFL teacher for over 2 years now

Firstly I don't know anyone who calls it Las Aguas. It's called La Candelaria. I live in La Candelaria and have done for, as I said, over 2 years. I've never been robbed or pick-pocketed here, neither have either of my flatmates, neither had any of my previous... 7 flatmates.
No, sorry, one guy was robbed here once at knife-point, but he was also robbed up at calle 85 in the north at knife-point.

Of course I've heard plenty of stories about crime around here and I've heard plenty of people who live in the north tell me how dangerous La Candelaria is. I also know several people who have been robbed in the northern, rich areas, particularly in La Macarena, which is not too north, but it is next door to a really bad barrio called La Perseverencia.

La Candelaria's reputation is a lot worse than the real situation. I think some people drive through it once, see some crack-heads, and then tell people for 10 years how dangerous it is. Yes there are a lot of crack-heads around here but they're not actually dangerous.

La Macarena is otherwise an OK area with an abundance of nice (if costly) restaurants and bars. But tbh it baffles me why people spend so much money to live there, the rent prices are so high.

I don't know much about Salitre to live, sorry.

If you want to live further north than La Candelaria - which is a good idea if you'll be travelling to your students - I'd recommend Chapinero, and if you have a bit more money to spend Chapinero Alto and Rosales are very nice areas.

You can get a job here teaching English just as a native-speaker, but obviously with more qualifications and experience you'd have more options and better pay.

When I first moved here I spent January applying EVERYWHERE and heard nothing back. In the first week of February I got about 20 job offers! So it's best to be here before February kicks in, but really, you'll be able to find something after that too (just don't wait until Nov/Dec).

[allencraig]

Of course you can buy a phone without a cedula/visa. Just use your passport number or home state driver's license number. A bank account on the other hand, does require a cedula—but any cedula. Student, work, tourist.

Unless you're between 19 and 23 years old, you're not going to like La Candelaria. Well you may, but most working foreigners do not. As mentioned, Chapinero is good to live in and very convenient to students, or most anywhere really. There's a bunch of different areas in Chapinero to look in depending what kind of environment you prefer.

[leretif9]

Yeah, I don't want to be in an 18-to-23 year old's scene, for sure.

At this point it look like I won't be able to scrape together the bucks to get to Bogota by the beginning of February to look for an ESL gig.

What times are good to be seeking work? In June? July?

[esl_prof]

[leretif9]

Thanks for that suggestion, but I don't think my currently abysmal Spanish language skills are going to be of much use.

[allencraig]

If you want to work in a high school (colegio) or university, January/February and July/August are best hiring times.

(Keep in mind that the best schools hire from abroad, so look them up, go to their sites, and find out when they are having job faires in your area. Or just send an email to HR or the rector and ask.

If you are ok working for language institutes, they hire all the time. There are A LOT of them here, with a wide range of integrity and salary offers. If you're willing to work for $12 an hour(20.000 pesos), there's plenty of work to be had. if you want to comfortably look yourself in the mirror at the end of your work day, then you'll need to network for a little while. Plus, you'll never have a full schedule, you'll work early mornings, evenings and maybe, maybe during lunch.

[leretif9]

If my qualifications are solely that I am a native speaker of English, with a BA in English from a US university, and that I can dress and act bourgeois, do you think it is realistic for me to try to get an ESL gig at a colegio or even a university?

[leretif9]

What are some ballpark estimates for how much you need for first, last and a deposit on a small one bedroom apartment in Chapinero?

How about for a shared housing situation?