Job Discussion Forums

canadashirleyblue · Joined: 06 May 2007 Posts: 162

I have just read about Mexico on another thread and it sounded interesting.
Can any of you tell me about how difficult it is/isn't to get a job in Mexico and what kind of pay and conditions are usual?
Thanks
CSB

MO39 · Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 6:04 pm Post subject:

To give you advice about teaching English in Mexico, it would be helpful to know something about you, especially your education (degrees and such), your teaching experience (or lack of it), and any other work experience you've had.

Have you ever been to Mexico? Why do you think you'd enjoy living and working there? Keep in mind that a vacation is nothing like living in a new country, in both good and bad ways.

Just some thoughts to get the discussion going...

MELEE · Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:42 pm Post subject: Re: Mexico for the clueless

canadashirleyblue · Joined: 06 May 2007 Posts: 162

I graduated in 1969 (really!). I have an Ontario Teacher's Certificate and a BA. I have a gazillion years experience. I worked in Canada, the UK, the Sudan, Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. I teach grade 3. I also have a TESOL certificate (Trinity, London) and I wouldn't mind working with an older age group.
I have never set foot in Mexico and I don't do beaches. I would like a dry climate. I don't fancy anything too remote.
I am thinking about where to go for my next post. Europe is too expensive. I need to save money because I am coming up to retirement. I've done the middle east. Africa is hard work (power and water outages etc.). I'd like a lifestyle a little easier than that. I've seen on another thread that Mexico is a good place to save money and it's a part of the world I would like to see before I die.
I'm already quite mad. Laughing

geaaronson · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 948 Location: Mexico City

The central part of the country has the most jobs, ie. Guadalajara, Guanajato and especially Mexico City. There is actually a small shortage of Business English teachers in the city as most classes are held from 7-9 a.m. in the morning but the most you will be able to earn is about 10-12,000 pesos per month. That translates into about 1,000 usd a month and will take you 2-4 months before earning that kind of dough. Most extranjeros find that comfortable to live on, but that I should only be talking about myself. If you plan on going out to dinner at reasonable restaurants every day, you will not make it on that amount or if you plan on going out to the beach once a month, likewise that`s not a good income for that kind of lifestyle. Otherwise you should be saving at least 10 percent of your income.

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

Geaaronson: Not sure where you got your info, but I'm pretty sure there isn't plenty of jobs in the city of Guanajuato. The city of Leon, GTO is much larger and growing rapidly and would be worth checking. Morelia, Queretaro, Monterrey, San Luis Potosi, Aguascalientes, Hermosillo, and even Culiacan, Sinaloa would be on the list of cities to check for university jobs for someone as qualified as the OP.

MO39 · Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 10:11 pm Post subject:

leslie · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Posts: 235

MELEE · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:57 pm Post subject:

CSB,

I also wouldn't classify Mexico as a good place to save money, but it can be a good place to build a career. Full time completely legal jobs offer some great benefits. Medical care, a housing loan plan, retirement fund, and a good local living wage (I even get free child care, but I imagine that's not a draw for you). Unfortunately pesos are not very versitile if you are thinking of retiring in some other country.
With your qualificiations you could get a pretty good job at a private bilingual elementary school in one of the large cities. (or the English medium schools like Leslie mentioned) I've seen some of those jobs advertised at as much 20,000 a month, though I think that is rare.

geaaronson · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 948 Location: Mexico City

Thanks for correcting me Samantha. I was going by the advertisements on the net and it looked like Guanajuato was well represented.

ramblin' robert · Joined: 11 Jul 2007 Posts: 3 Location: Toluca, Mexico

I've been in Toluca for almost 5 years. Not many native speakers here, so work is really easy to find. It gets better every year, but there are always ups and downs. 20,000 per month is not unreasonable in this town. I teach business English, mostly at international businesses. GM, Chrysler, Nestle, Bosch all have factories here just to name a few. Cost of living is very low here as well. The weather is another story though. Cold at night, and very rainy six months out of the year. Culture? Not a lot of that here. I have to escape to DF occasionally to conserve my sanity.

MO39 · Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 5:07 pm Post subject: Re: toluca

canadashirleyblue · Joined: 06 May 2007 Posts: 162

Thank you all so much. You have given me some valuable information and something to think about.
I just worked out the pesos and right now I am getting a little over 30,000 a month (plus the usual freebies). So it would be a cut I gather. Still, I work very long hours here and I'm fed up with it. I'm not interested in building a career. I do need to get some money together for my retirement though.
MO39 you're even older than me!!!!! I will send you a pm when I have had the time to think about what exactly I want to know!

Dragonlady · Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 3:36 am Post subject:

deleted

unrelated to TESOL

MO39 · Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 7:09 pm Post subject:

What in the world is that supposed to mean? It's certainly not a clever retort to canadashirleyblue's innocuous comment about our respective ages.