Job Discussion Forums

[Joventud3]

I am planning on moving to Mexico in August to teach English. I don't have a teaching job yet but am actively looking. What should I start preparing here in the US for my FM3 visa? Also any recomendations on a god bank or debit card to use in Mexico to avoid extra fees? Thanks a bunch.
Luke

[Samantha]

You will need to have your degree/certificate apostilled for that purpose.

Which bank do you currently deal with in the USA?

[Joventud3]

I need to get my College degree Apostilled? I do not have any certificate to teach English yet.
I have a small credit union. I was reading that bank of america has a partnership with Santander and there are no fees I you use those ATMs. What has worked best for you?
Thanks.
L

[Guy Courchesne]

[geaaronson]

To get your university degree apostilled, you need to make a xerox copy of your university degree and have a notary public notarize it. Some banks have notary publics on their staffs, so it should be easy. Mine cost about 3 dollars. They stamp the copy with a seal and write their name inside the seal.
You then bring the original and notarized copy to the secretary of state�s office in your state and pay a small sum to have them apostill the notarized copy. Be sure to bring the original.
Next your bring both with you to Mexico. When you go to immigration, you will present both copies to immigration, and there they will tell you you have to get the degree translated. It has to be a translator that is specifically authorized to do this. Immigration will tell you who can do this for you and their addresses.
This will be your greatest expense. I paid 200 pesos, for a state certified translator to translate the degree document. That was getting off cheap. Now you must go back to immigration and present the certified translation to them. They will keep the translation but I believe they will make a copy for your records.
Once you have gone through the process you will not have to go through these steps again. Handing in your apostilled diploma is a one shot deal. But you will have to renew your work visa every year, and there will be several other steps you will have to repeat annually. If you are as much as one month late in renewing your visa you will have to pay penalties so it is best to start the process 30 days before expiration. It will take you a complete month of waiting and processing before you get the visa.
You can pay an immigration attorney to deal with these issues and save you some trips to immigration but it is expensive. (Who ever said lawyers were cheap were millionaires to begin with). It cost me over 5,000 pesos for legal services in 2007 for my FM3.

Good luck!

[Samantha]

Please read the "Sticky" at the top of this forum for accuarate information on Apostille process.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=54800

[propiavoz]

I apologize in advance if this has been asked many a time before.

I am a recent university graduate (B.A. in International Studies, Spanish and Latin American Studies). I am leaving for Mexico in 5 days (AH!) and am taking the ITTO TEFL course in Guadalajara in July. Since I will be taking the course in Mexico, I understand that I do not need to get my TEFL certifcation apostilled.

Will it be important to language schools in Mexico that I have my university degree apostilled, given that its not in education? My problem is that I still have not actually received my diploma (the university is processing all final grades) and will not receive it before I leave, considering I leave in less than a week.

Thanks!

[Guy Courchesne]

[propiavoz]

Thank you so much for your help.

I'm sure my parents can apostille my degree for me and get that sent in time. Should I get my birth certificate apostilled as well (I believe I read that somewhere)?

I'm assuming I'll find work in a language school due to the fact that I don't have a degree in education and I have no formal teaching experience. But hopefully my TEFL certification isn't a total waste, considering I had to drop the big bucks (well, at least big bucks for me considering I'm a broke college graduate) to get it.

Thanks again!

[geaaronson]

The cost of apostillation is so small it would not hurt to have your birth certificate apostilled. You might however check to see if you can have your parents do it for you. I might question that.

[TeresaLopez]

Yeah, I would get the birth certificate done. You don't strictly need it for immigration, but some schools ask for it, and they can ask for it at immigration even if it isn't a requirement. And, if you decide you want to get married, you will need it then. I don't agree that you don't need a TEFL certificate. Yes, there are a lot of jobs you can get without one, but I think that is slowly starting to change. I am currently doing private classes, but al looking for a job in a school in the fall, and everyone is asking for it, even though I do have a degree in education. After you get some experience under your belt in a language school you can probably apply to some private schools as well, the schedule is generally better, you work a set schedule without a split shift, and no Saturdays, or at least not all Saturdays. Just bring anything you think you might need. Also, any letters of recommendation from teachers, former employers, etc. Letters of recommendation are used a lot more here than phone references. The more paperwork you have to shuffle around the better. I have actually made up a portfolio of different things - my resume, then college diploma, an outline of the classes for my major and the grades, certifications for states I was certified to teach in, test score for the Praxis test (I only put this in because I got high scores, but I think anything like this is good because it shows you are a serious person), then my TEFL certificate, an outline of the course, and the final project I wrote, which was a paper. Then I put in some letters of reference, I think about 5 or 6 of them, then evaluations of when I did my student teaching. Last, but not least, I put a couple of sample lesson plans, and at the very end a couple of articles I wrote for the college newspaper, of which I was editor one semester. I think all of this is relevant, but I put it in the order of importance in case they are only interested in part of it. People either are very interested in it, or don't care at all. I recently had an interview where the interviewer was really only interested in hearing me speak and learning about which textbooks I preferred. He said that gave him a good idea of whether I was a good teacher or not. Guess not, hehe, since I never heard back. Another think that no one has mentioned but you need to be ready for, is personal questions. You need to be ready for them, and answer them in a natural way. They are not illegal and if you act offended, most of them time it is a strike against you. There is a fair amount of ageism, so be ready for that. I guess I expect it from Mexicans, but when it is a European it pi**es me off. There was a school with an Irish/Scottish gent who was recently advertising for teachers between the ages of 25 - 35. I wrote him a little note asking why he thought it was OK, since it wouldn't be in his home country, but never heard back. Anyway, the more "stuff" you have the better, though as some have pointed out, you can get hired with NOTHING, but my experience has been the more thoughtful the hiring process, the better the work environment.

[Guy Courchesne]

[propiavoz]

Thank you all again for all your advice.

My portfolio will surely not be anything like yours, Teresa. You are quite qualified. I'm just a recent college graduate with a passion for Latin American/Mexican culture, English and Spanish fluency, study abroad experience, motivation and enthusiasm.

And yes, I know the TEFL certification is important, even if some schools don't care as much. However, I'm nearly positive that if a school didn't care about certification, then I probably would not want to work there anyway. But I'm really not qualified to be picky when it comes to jobs, at least right at the beginning.

When you say personal questions, what exactly do you mean? Questions about family? Relationships?

I think discrimination based on age is just a sad, but expected, reality. I just hope that I'm taken seriously, despite the fact that I'm only 22 (almost). I guess only time will tell.

[ls650]

[wildchild]

i bank with BofA back home and withdraw from Santander: you were right, no fees.