Job Discussion Forums

tammy · Joined: 07 Jan 2004 Posts: 45

hi there..
i've been thinking about coming to mexico to teach and was wondering what to expect in terms of salary? also, i've heard that its very rare to find a school that pays for flights.. is this true?
any info would be a great help..
thanx.. tammy

chula

hi
i�m in guanajuato and the pay is around $4,000 mex pesos a month for teachers who teach english 20 hours a week. i have an MA in TESOL, work 40 hours a week and make around $8,000 mex pesos (which is more than enough to live on). the 20 hour a week teachers typically have a BA. they aren�t paid for prep time, just the time in class. the pay scale around here is more or less like that. usually between $30 and $55 mex pesos an hour. housing is usually between $500 and $2,000 a month. if you�re really thinking that a you�ll find a school that will pay for a flight, i�m sorry, but that�s never going to happen. some will pay for half of your visa expenses (my visa was about $4,000 total). of course, they reimburse you after you�ve paid for it and waited for 3 months because they can�t pay you till you have it. so, basically, mexico is a fun place to work and get great experience, but if you�re looking for money in any form, sorry, but it�s not the place.

M@tt · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 473 Location: here and there

i think if you're here to make money it's possible doing business-related courses in mexico or working at almost any branch of itesm. otherwise it might be difficult.
my point, though, is that with an MA it is quite possible.

MELEE · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 4:07 pm Post subject:

Tammy,

The salary range across the country and in different types of teaching is very broad. It partially depends on your qualifications and experience and partially on the luck of the draw. What Matt says is true, it is quiet possible to make enough to live well and fly home once a year. However, there are also people who loose money on their Mexico experience--see the archives for dduck's experience. I know this all sounds wishy washy and people looking to come here want concrete answers to their questions, facts and figures. It is rather difficult to pin things down in Mexico--heck in all of Latin America.

Some language schools pay as little as 30 pesos and hour, and don't offer many hours from month to month. Some universities pay as much as 16,000 pesos a month. (but require higher degrees, experience, publications).

The bottom line, you should be able to make enough to live in Mexico. IF YOU HAVE LOAN PAYMENTS OR ARE WORRIED ABOUT PUTTING MONEY AWAY--think twice before coming here.

Ben Round de Bloc · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1946

andy s · Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 5

thelmadatter

Hey Andy! Im in Toluca too, although I already have a job. Nice to see Im not the only extranjero here!

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Ben Round de Bloc · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1946

Regarding earnings vs. cost of living as an EFL teacher in many parts of Mexico, I agree that it is possible to live on what you earn, especially if your employer provides you with medical insurance, either private or seguro social. However, in the vast majority of situations, you can't maintain a very high standard of living on what you earn teaching EFL.

Think of it like this. Could you move to a city in the USA all on your own, work as a burger flipper in a fast food restaurant or a shelf stocker in a supermarket and live only on your earnings? Yes, you probably could . . . and your standard of living would probably be about the same as if you moved to a city in Mexico, worked as an EFL teacher, and lived only on your earnings. This analogy may be stretching it a bit, but not a whole lot, regarding the majority of EFL teaching jobs available in Mexico.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

BRdB,

For you and I, I think it's a different story...we're here to stay, so we have to consider the long term costs...buying a house for example.

Most people that I'm familiar with that come into Mexico to teach generally do it with the idea of staying 6 months to 1 year, then out again. I think they may have an easier time on costs vc what they can earn.

Most people that I'm familair with in this example are just out of university, or almost done. Important for them is paying off debt, which of course in dollars, would be hard to do earning pesos. But there are options...in some cases, one can defer debt payments if it's known that one will be working in a developing country.

I've also noticed that most people don't have medical insurance...US people anyway. This is scary but reflects the reality very well doesn't it? Good thing that we're still indestructible when we're young! Twisted Evil