Job Discussion Forums

[santi84]

Are there any locations in LA where you can support a family on your ESL salary? I'm interested but would be bringing along a spouse and two little ones (5 & 3). I have a TESL degree/certification and a few years experience in North America. My spouse does not have a degree.

[water rat]

I'm hardly an authority, but as far as I know, it's all practically minimum wage (US), part-time and for backpackers. I guess if you have an M.A., a US state teacher's certificate and possibly a CELTA you could try an international school for embassy children. Do you have any of that? Sorry, don't know if you're American.

[santi84]

Thanks! Afraid not, I have a TESL undergraduate (for adults), 250 hour post-grad cert but no MA. Canadian.

[esl_prof]

MotherF over on the Mexico subforum seems to be doing just that. You might send him/her a PM. If the degree/certification that you're referring to is the type that qualifies you to teach in the public school system in your own country, then, as Water Rat suggested, you'd have a lot of opportunities at elite private or international schools that would pay well. For the most part, though, entry-level TESL jobs are not going to be sufficient to support a family.

[esl_prof]

You might investigate some of the suggestions on this thread and, possibly, PM some of the contributers--most of whom have a great deal of teaching experience in Mexico.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=109629

It sounds like your certification isn't valid for public school teaching but, given your credentials (BA in TESL), I'd think you'd still have a good chance at finding something at an elite private school.

If you're interested in the Dominican Republic, here's a list of private schools that you might investigate further:

http://dr1.com/realestate/info/schools.html

In addition, you might try posting some inquiries on the forums at the same website.

Hopefully, others will chime in with additional options.

[BadBeagleBad]

[MotherF]

Full disclosure,
My husband has a PhD and now earns more than I do.
During his educational journey he received stipend from the Mexican government. There were periods when we lived entirely on my salary. And we survived, but couldn't afford to travel to visit my parents for a couple of years. In fact my daughters first went to the US when they were four years old. There was also a period in which we ate home grown chayotes, beans, and tortillas from corn we grew everyday for the second week of each two week pay period.
If you husband is a househusband that will cut out some of the expenses we had, and the hours I work at the university create additional expenses for example there is free day care but it wasn't available for all the hours I work.

I've always told applicants that we earn enough to support a Mexican family. But not a foreign one. I have a large extended family who has got my back. And by the time my twins were born I'd already earned enough INFONAVIT credits to buy a house. I had furniture and a car. Public transport is plentiful and extensive in Mexico but not particularly cheap.

Bottom line its not particularly easy but its not impossible either.


Oh and as to what BBB said. I've lived in Mexico for nearly 17 years. For the first time ever I've started thinking that we might need to leave. It's been pretty hard to love Mexico these last six months, and I think anyone who doesn't feel the same must be living in some sort of expat bubble.

[spanglish]

I can speak for Colombia.* You would struggle to break even there while supporting only yourself, much less dependents.

Colombia is one of the better paying (if not the best) countries in the region for TEFL. The best teaching jobs there will afford a single person a very comfortable life style, but definitely will not be sufficient to support a western family (think private schooling for your children plus plane tickets once a year to visit the family in North America/the UK). And to get one of those better jobs usually takes years of quality, in-country experience, local contacts, and minimum CELTA/BA (relevant MA is better).

In some cases, international schools would be an exception to the above, but requirements preclude the OP. Another route that would enable supporting a family would be management (not entry-level teaching) positions at the British Council, which of course demand particular qualifications (minimum - but usually more - 2 years post-DELTA teaching and/or management experience).

*Take my advice with a grain of salt as i've been out of the region a couple years. I do remain informed of on-the-ground conditions and if anything conditions for teachers have become more difficult since I left.

[HLJHLJ]

[BadBeagleBad]

[HLJHLJ]

[santi84]

Thanks for all the fantastic info. I don't think living on my wage is going to be enough. My spouse works in a federal position that sometimes has opportunities to work abroad, perhaps we will explore that option first and then I can consider teaching as an addition, rather than the primary income.

[santi84]

On a side note, can anyone tell me if Open English hires teachers who do not speak Spanish? It's a "desired" requirement, but is it mandatory? I've heard conflicting things. I do have experience teaching Spanish/Portuguese speakers.

[BadBeagleBad]

[santi84]

What is considered good qualifications there? I have an undergraduate in TESL with post-grad certificate. I think I could pick up Portuguese and Spanish fairly well, I hope, as I do speak French. I find that Spanish is somewhat intelligible with French.