Job Discussion Forums

[Peter_From_Sydney]

Hi,
I�m an Australian/Irish male looking to move to Bogot� in about the middle of July. Partly to improve my appalling Spanish and partly for the experience. I�m hoping that someone here can help me with the following questions.

1. I will be entering the country on a tourist visa. I intend staying in Colombia (at least at this stage) for just under six months, so I�d rather avoid the hassle of applying for a work visa if I can help it. Do I really need to get that visa? (I intend working as an ESL teacher or a high school mathematics/English teacher)

2. How do I go about getting my initial tourist visa (180 days, right?) extended to six months? I have read that I can get my visa extended for 30 days in Bogot� � but how do I get it extended beyond that?

3. What are my chances of landing a decent part-time job? I have a CELTA and have taught ESL for one year; moreover by the end of the year I should have an Australian graduate teaching diploma (high school mathematics). I prefer working with adults, but the final semester of my diploma requires that I work for one month full-time (or the part-time equivalent) teaching mathematics at a high school to years 7-10 (students aged about 12 to 15). Unless I can get a school principal here in Australia to sign the paperwork on the sly (and I may be able to) I�ll have to do this at a bilingual high school in Bogot� as my studies and the practicum need to be done concurrently. (Provided, of course, that the mathematics syllabus is reasonably close to one or other of the Australian state mathematics syllabi) What are my chances of organizing ESL teaching work and this high-school appointment? How much might I expect to earn per week?

4. I�m looking to move into a cheap long-stay hotel near the center of town. The sort of place an (under-financed) Colombian university student might choose � not a tourist hotel. I don�t want anything fancy, just a bedroom, and I don�t want to stay with a family (I�m quite a private person). How much rent might I expect to pay per month?

5. I will be studying part-time for a master�s degree (international relations) through my Australian university as an external student, probably sitting my exams at the British Council offices in Bogot�. Do you know where in the city I might be able to come across relevant books in English? My Spanish is terrible, so they�ll have to be in English. Are there any good libraries I could use? Any good English language bookshops?

My apologies for posting so many questions. Thanks to anyone who can help me with this.
-Peter from Sydney
p.s. Hi to Guy C.

[dodgerdave]

what's up,

my name is dave and i was just in bogota for 4 months. i got my celta with the british council. there are heaps of jobs to be had in bogota. you can make some connections fast. british council is a good place to start. its easy to find work with language institutes but they don't pay well. you should be able to find a job with a school there. i have some friends from my celta program who stayed and are teaching currently. living costs vary. the "nicer" neigborhoods are in the north but are a bit boring. more action is you live lower down but more shady. that's where i lived. if you got a job with a high school they will help with a work visa. otherwise you will only get 2 or 3 months and then you have to renew each month which is a bit of a hassle but doable. after 6 months you have to leave unless you land a job. i would love to help you out with more, kind of a lot to go over and i can be longwinded. let me know any other questions you have. bogota is a great place though, i had a blast there. you can definitely get a job a make things happen there.

[lozwich]

Hey Pete,

Can't help with visa questions unfortunately, but try this website for jobs: http://www.fundacionteachers.org/ I have no idea if this is any good, but I found it the other day in the newspaper, and they were hiring. There's usually a fair scattering of bilingual school jobs in the paper too. Its called El Tiempo and has a website, but with your Spanish you might have a couple of problems...

Books in English! English language bookshops!! You are a very funny man! Like hen's teeth they are. Apparently there is a new one, but I can't find it. I'll check my sources and get back to you. DON'T post anything too yourself here, it won't arrive. Courier services like DHL are the way to go, so you could order things via Amazon or whatever.

Oh, and www.metrocuadrado.com for real estate questions... Most of the schools are in the north of the city, which is a long way from the centre.

Good luck,
Loz from Oz.

[Peter_From_Sydney]

Cheers dodgerdave & lozwich - some useful advice.
I'm glad to hear the jobs are there. Sorting out high school work might pose a problem, I know...
Yes, I expected that the mail service would be completely unreliable. I'm sorry to hear that English books are so difficult to find. I spent last year in Mexico City and was pleasantly surprised by the range of second-hand English books in some of the bookshops. I was hoping Bogot� would be similar. (Of course I want to be able to read in Spanish one day)
Thanks again guys.
-Peter

ps. Anyone elso out there got any advice they could give me?