Job Discussion Forums

[lozwich]

Hiyas,

I understand that a lot of work in Mexico City can be within businesses, but I'm beginning to wonder if a job I'm looking at asks a bit too much.

Basically, its about 25 hours a week, travelling all over the city, starting with the first class around 7am and the last one about 6pm. Although they say they try to get you work closer to your home, they also advise you can be expected to travel at least 30 minutes from said luxury abode.

All this for about 10,000 a month, and no insurance.

What do you think? Is this what all teachers in DF do, or can I do better?

Thanks,
Lozwich.

[Samantha]

To arrive at the 25 hours a week will you be working 5 one hour classes a day, 5 days a week in various locations or....? What sort of insurance are you referring to?

[MixtecaMike]

Is it the school formerly known as English First? If so i used to do some part time work for them, if you are a full timer it's not too bad, the pay is a bit less than you will make elsewhere, but it is steady. I nearly starved over Christmas in my usual jobs, with classes ending mid December and very slow to start, a fulltimer at EF gets a pay check every month.

Some of my classes were out in Iztapalapa, others were in whatever it's called near where INM used to be, so those 30 minutes might be very long minutes of 120 seconds or more. The management was very friendly when I was there, at least at the Zona Rosa office I worked out of. I think everyone I know has since moved on. Classes were always easy and fun, apart from the travelling I used to seem to get nice small groups of interesting and fairly motivated learners.

As for no insurance, IMSS was a total rip-off when we were in you-know-where, I can't imagine it being much better in the DF. And Bushie says the US seguro is screwed, compare it to the total farce that Mexico has. You don't need a doctor anyways, just buy the CD with all the Mexican drugs on it and write your own scripts, then buy them from Dr Simi.

[moonraven]

If you don't receive any insurance, then you are working illegally, as all employers are required--and employees, too--to pay into the IMSS every quincena. I would think twice about working illegally.

If your base pay is 10,000 and it's a legal job then they have to pay you benefits, too--which means after taxes you would net between 10 and 11,000 pesos.

Dr. Simi is a complete crock: I tried 3 of his supposed generic meds--one for amoebas that gave me heartburn to beat hell and did nothing else, and two for high blood pressure that nearly pushed me on to the next lifetime.

When he says they are SIMILAR I think maybe he means the names.....

[lozwich]

Wow! Speedy responses, thanks guys...

[Ben Round de Bloc]

One of my housemates has worked at Dr. Simi's pharmacies for years. Just how similar Dr. Simi's meds are to brand-name meds depends a lot on which ones. Some are okay, while others really aren't very similar.

As for medical insurance, I don't have IMSS. The university where I work opts to provide its own private medical insurance for employees and their families instead of IMSS. Although the private insurance program is a bit of a bureaucratic hassle to use due to an extreme amount of paperwork, it covers all visits to doctors including referrals to private specialists, therapy, hospital stays, prescription meds, etc. It's definitely a big step up from the kind of care provided locally by IMSS.

[moonraven]

Tim, as your employer is a state university, your health care would normally be covered under ISSSTE. Large government institutions can opt out of that bankrupt system on a case by case basis by having their own insurance plan approved.

No insurance at all means working illegally, as that is a mandated benefit for any legal worker in Mexico.

If I were you, Lozwich--I'd give it a pass.

[richtx1]

[some waygug-in]

I think it also depends on whether or not a person is hired on full time.

I seem to recall the tec de Monterrey in Q-city not wanting to hire teachers full time because that would require they become registered with
IMSS.

At 25 hours/week you would not be considered full time, so you would be responsible for your own medical coverage.

Personally, I didn't bother with medical coverage at all. Any kind of insurance that I could find was a total rip-off and most probably a beaurocratic nightmare to try and make a claim on. Any medical services I needed were not that expensive and I just paid cash. Compared to Canada and especially the States, medical services in Mexico are quite a bargain.

If I had gotten into a serious situation however, I probably would have been in big trouble. This is one of the scarier things about life in Mexico.

[lozwich]

hm...

Thanks for the advice and info guys, but I think I'll give this one a miss.. Funnily enough, not for the working conditions, but because I don't think I'm cut out to live in such a heaving metropolis AND not have the best job in the world. If there's one thing I've learned about doing TEFL it's where my boundaries lie!



And so the job search continues!

Have a great day,
Lozwich.

[moonraven]

Funny--I managed a language school for several years and all of our folks were employees. When I was director, we did not have more than 10% foreigners, but before then the percentage was more like 40%--and we were not associates. And we received all the benefits mandated by law.

[saraswati]

The law now stipulates that no more than 10% of employees can be foreigners and ALL of them have to have that FM3 before they begin teaching. AND...if they have an FM3, they're entitled to IMSS "benefits." AND...IMSS no longer cares if a person works 1 hour or 50, they all have to be paying into the system and thus receiving benefits.

[moonraven]

The law has always required that the person have an FM-3 before working.

[lozwich]

Definitely not taking it then!

This job gives me an FM3 and no IMSS?? No way!

That is very useful information, thanks so much for that!

[moonraven]

I suspect that there's no FM-3 in the picture, either....