Job Discussion Forums

[Gosta]

Could anyone provide me with some information about the above school? Their website looks pretty impressive, has anyone out there had any experience working for them?

Would $9000 a month be a reasonable salary for living in Mexico City?

Many thanks

[geaaronson]

There have been many discussions about IH, so if you do a site check, you will be able to access what others have said about IH.
I taught one class there with them, myself, last summer. I went out to Santa FE twice a week to teach a single student, a Banamex bank employee who never showed up in three months time. I was paid, nevertheless.

I enjoyed working with my educational assistant director, but did not care at all to work with her boss. It was a gut feeling and the general tone of the work situation involving that woman that made me hesitant to accept a full time offer from the owner. Actually, he was so eager to hire me that my suspicions were aroused and when he was not telling me enough information to go on to make a decision as to whether to take the position or not, I decided only to work for them part time and see if I liked it.

Generally, I found the staff somewhat disgruntled about working there. There was not a strong dislike but comments were made to me by other staff members concerning the same two administrators afore mentioned. The money is passably good, but don�t expect to save more than a thousand dollars a year on that salary unless you are extremely frugal. They do offer Spanish lessons, free I believe and the benefits are good.
Other than that, it�s a good introduction to the English learning industry here in Mexico but don�t make a lifetime out of it. Come here, take the job and then move on when the contract is up.

[Gosta]

Thanks for the advice, my thoughts were along the same lines in terms of it being a good starting point for Mexico. Most of the posts I've read on here say that you have to be in Mexico to get the good jobs, but I'd rather have something arranged in advance than just fly over and try my luck. I guess this would be the best option.

[geaaronson]

You`re not going to get a contract with a school sight unseen, pre interview. The market is not like Southeast Asia where they are desperate for people to teach and you can get a contract without going to Vietnam or China.
Mexico is close enough and cheap enough to travel to that there are hundreds if not thousands of casual young tourists wandering around the country, playing job musical chairs as the opportunities come about. Recent college graduates are floating around from Mexican city to city, sometimes catching a job opening as it comes about in the city they are staying at, and they grab it, stay there for 6 months or a year and then move on. The schools know this and would prefer to hire someone who comes off the street as soon as an opening occurs. It`s sad but true.