Job Discussion Forums

[aisha]

what is the average one should charge for teaching a private class?

[Guy Courchesne]

Depends on where. Mexico City, you can get between 100 and 250 pesos per hour. Guadalajara - around 80-150. Small towns, probably not more than 100.

[Ben Round de Bloc]

I agree with Guy. It depends on the location. In the city where I am, most people I know who do private classes get between 50 and 100 pesos per hour. It also depends on whether you travel to the students or they travel to you, whether you're doing asesor�as (tutoring to prepare them to pass an exam) or actually preparing and giving lessons, number of hours per week, number of students in the group, and other factors.

[richtx1]

If you're teaching private classes, be sure to collect your pay up front, especially if you are working with individuals. People tend to cancel classes, or realize they have other priorities, and you're SOL. If you've committed the time and effort into the class, which presumably is your income, you want to be paid... and a private agreement isn't enforceable.

[MixtecaMike]

If you are a newbie you might find people aren't that keen to pay up front. Likewise, if you are an experienced and well-known teacher then you should be sufficiently respected so that your students wouldn't dare skip out without paying.

No shows can be a pain, but as long as the student advises you I think you have to just accept them. It's probably easier for you to find students than it is for them to find a decent English teacher, so if they are more than half-interested in learning English they won't do it too often.

[some waygug-in]

You'd be surprised at how often they do skip out, without notice, a simple phone call or even a sorry at the next class when they do show up.

Many of the privates I tried to teach simply didn't think there was anything wrong with skipping class without notice.
They were quite surprised that I would even complain about it.
I can't say this is a common trait of Mexican students, as I am only one person and I only taught a few privates, but this was my experience of it.

All I can say is......... good luck.

[moonraven]

I don't recommend giving private classes--for all the reasons other posters have mentioned.

If you need to supplement your income, it's less hassle to do translations or editing jobs--for which you can charge 100 pesos and up per page--if your language skills are good and you're a decent writer.

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[aisha]

thanks a lot for the replies. i guess i will do what moonraven has suggested and look for translating opportunities.

[MixtecaMike]

Translating and editing jobs usually come from word-of-mouth rather than job postings, so keep that in mind when talking to anyone already doing that kind of work.

[moonraven]

Mike's right about word-of-mouth. The good thing about that is once you are known to be really good at what you do, you will receive the lion's share of translating/editing work in the area where you live--and when you are out of the area folks will send you work by e-mail.

I prefer to do mostly academic work--primarily for professors who want to present an article they have written in a "congreso" where English is the language of presentation, or who want to publish it in a journal.

[aisha]

thanks for the info. i was also wondering if i would be able to find some work translating from english to spanish?

[MixtecaMike]

For English to Spanish there is much more demand, however in my case because my written Spanish is not particularly great (Moonraven will be happy to confirm this, LOL) I preferred to do oral translations, or basically sitting down with the person and just reading aloud what the document said. Then the person can put it into Spanish themself, if they need it, or just understand it, which was usually the case.

Of course I couldn't charge $120 pesos the cuartilla for that, usually I did it for free or for a couple of bucks.

I would not advise doing English to Spanish written translations unless you are almost as good a writer in Spanish as you are in English, because while the odd error in English might slip by unseen, errors in Spanish are going to be glaringly obvious to you employer.

Check out the ONGs (NGOs) as they are always doing grant applications and reports for their foreign sponsors.

[Guy Courchesne]

I knew a girl in Mexico City that started volunteering with Amnesty International doing translation work. She was eventually put on the payroll for perserverance. Not sure about the pay but opportunities exist.

I picked a little document translation work for the Secretary of Tourism in Guererro, but through a school. You could also check with the Herald, a Mexican national daily published by El Universal and the Miami Herald. I see that some local expats write regularly there...maybe there's some work in it for you.

[Ben Round de Bloc]