Job Discussion Forums

[foxrocks]

Hi all,

Brand new member here.
So wanting to go to B.A. in March and teach English.
I have a B.S. in Biology and a TESOL certificate, plus a little teaching experience.
I've learned much about B.A. from this site.

From what I gather:
Best time to go job-hunting: late-Feb.
Economic forecast: A bit shady
Weather conditions: Fantastic
Housing: Simple (and cheap look in the right places or stay in hostels)
Safety: Just like anywhere else.
Beaches: None
People: Extraordinary
Beer guzzlers: Many!

I would like to know the low-down on VISAS (work, tourist or none?),
since I called up one school that told me I must have a WORK VISA to work in Argentina even BEFORE I go. Now that's nearly impossible, am I right?

Also, some people seem to have trouble flying into B.A. without a return ticket. What's up with that? Can I expect to make it to B.A. with a one-way ticket and no visa (or a tourist visa)?

I appreciate anyone's help.


-Fox

[OzBurn]

You do not need a return ticket. You technically require documents showing you will travel onward, that is, to somewhere else besides Argentina. You can buy a one-way air ticket, then use the www.buquebus.com site to book a boat ride to Colonia or Montevideo, in Uruguay. They will send you an email confirmation of your ticket, should you so desire. The cheapest ticket will cost you c. $25 US, as near as I can make out. The site is Spanish-only.

I did this, but as it turned out, no one asked to see my onward ticket.

[matttheboy]

They won't ever check arriving in Buenos Aires but they do often ask for an onward ticket before you board in the States. It's the only country that seems to want to stop people arriving and leaving (i had problems with both when i went for a week last october..). The buquebus idea should be enough unless you get a real w*nker who says you need an air ticket out (these people do exist...)

BTW, weather conditions not always fantastic, can be very very hot and very very humid and very cold and very wet within 2 days in Autumn (march-april). Winter (mid-may to end of june) is cold and pretty wet (it gets down to around 0-1C overnight sometimes) but a lot shorter than in england thank god. It's about 17C and raining today.

It's pretty much impossible to get a work visa before arriving. The only school i know that does this is International House and they will have almost certainly filled their places by now. Great organisation to work for though. You probably won't get a visa working here either, schools just don't offer them. Unless you pay for it.

[zachariah64]

For your info, i just got to buenos aires a few days ago from the states with a one way ticket and nobody said anything, i jsut checked tourist on the customs papers. it should be fine, i came from LA on grupo taca.

[Marcethebest]

Hello and Welcome to Argentina!
I�m argentine, but I can�t help you getting info about working visas, etc, what I can say is that you can get some kind of ... maybe small jobs till you get a response about visa. I mean, this is what we in Argentina call "trabajar en negro" or as americans say "you are paid under the table". But if I were you I will consult embassies websites to try to find out about it, though it�s very useful what people posted here.
Good luck and welcome, keep us inform of how everything goes on for you!

[Rebekah]

I've been here for a year and I worked on a tourist visa the whole time. I was paid pretty shitty rates by the institutes (13-16 pesos/hour) as a result but when I had built up enough of a reputation I was able to ditch the schools and make 20-25 pesos an hour privately.

Eventually I was hired (as Marcela said) in the black at a bilingual school in the afternoons and an international school in the mornings. I was on salary which I liked a lot (they pay an obligatory 13th salary and all your holidays and sick days are paid unlike in the institutes!). And now I've signed a contract and they are paying for me to get all the paperwork done to get the Visa I need to work legally.

Actually, from what I last heard a few weeks ago, International House is till looking to fill a couple slots out in their Tigre Location, and Midtown as well...they require you have a visa, or CUIL, and usually only set this up for International House graduates, or those with a CELTA or DELTA...but you never know, they might be getting desparate...it's worth a look.

There is really no problem with working on a tourist visa...no it's not legal, but it's no big deal. Everybody does it. Besides it gives you a great excuse to go on vacation to Uruguay, Chile, and Bolivia every three months or so. How else are you gonne get to see the rest of the continent!?

[Marcethebest]

You are right, Reb. I�m glad you could get a better paid job in BA!! In Santa Fe (that�s my city) we are not paid that much. In a private institute I don�t think you can be paid more that 10 pesos an hour.
Good luck and don�t hesitate to contact me for whatever you need, Reb!

[Rebekah]

[quote="Marcethebest"][color=blue]You are right, Reb. I�m glad you could get a better paid job in BA!! In Santa Fe (that�s my city) we are not paid that much. In a private institute I don�t think you can be paid more that 10 pesos an hour.
Good luck and don�t hesitate to contact me for whatever you need, Reb! [/color][/quote]

TEN PESOS?! That's terrible. That just makes me mad for you. That's so terribly low, and do you have any idea what they are probably charging their customers?

I gave up institute work when I found out they were charging the clients 45 pesos an hour and told me they simply couldn't pay me more than 15 an hour. I know it costs money to run a business but considering the fact that they were also asking me to pay for my own photocopies, my own texts, my own GD tape recorder, AND my own transport to and from the locations that were often as far apart as New York City is to Philadelphia...no no no no...Just how much overhead did they have?

Institutes are a big scam. I say use them to get your foot in the door of ESL in Argentina, make a few charmed connections with your students and then steal their clients right out from underneath them and make the money you should be making in the first place. They thrive on the fact that Argentine teachers in this city are afraid of losing their jobs, and that foreigners don't have the documentation to do it alone. Once you get the documents, all you need to do is strap on a pair and get out there and hustle your own work.

Of course that's big talk coming from the girl who packed in all her private classes for a steady day-job contract with visas and housing. But seriously, if my fiancee can do it, so can your husband.