Job Discussion Forums

[gynot]

I was talking to a friend in Colombia, and she told me that she thought english teaching in Colombia, was not a good idea, that there wasn't much demand for english and that it's not a popular language in Colombia.

I'm curious about the impression of people who live and teach in Colombia? Is the market large? Is it hard to find a teaching gig?

I have a BS in computer science, and was thinking about getting the CELTA certificate. Do you think that would be sufficient to earn enough to live with basic comfort?


Tony

[MNguy]

There is plenty of demand for English teachers here. A university degree and some sort of teaching certificate should be fine. You probably won't get rich, but you can make enough to keep a roof over your head a travel a bit.

[gynot]

I'm a 50 year old man, who's looking for a bit of a career change for six months to a year. I have a gf in Colombia, and I'd like to spend some time down there getting to know her better, and understanding the culture.

Are the opprotunities mainly in Bogota? I'm thinking about taking me CELTA cert in Bogota, is that a good way to network?


Tony

[MNguy]

There are truly opportunities all over the country, but Bogota is not a bad place to start. I have no personal experience with the CELTA program there, but I'm not aware of very many complaints either. You probably want to make sure to get placed in a school, however, many of the institutes offer odd hours and lots of travel about the city.

[spanglish]

Your friend is full of it and/or has no idea what she is talking about. English is incredibly popular in Colombia, literally everybody wants to learn (and many desperately need to learn, and fast) and very few speak it truly well (most Colombian English teachers I've met have an intermediate to lower advanced level of English).

Now, is teaching English a good idea? Well...in Bogota, as I've written before, you'll make pretty appaling wages and while living in an extremely expensive and fairly challenging city. As a foreigner, you'll be very lucky to break even while living very modestly.

CELTA - please people, we have enough pretend teachers here who just want to make enough to buy a couple extra cervezas, drive down wages, and give the rest of us a bad name (not a problem to be a backpacker 'teacher,' just advertise yourself as such if you are and charge a fair price - 20.000-25.000 pesos/hour maximum for privates; a CELTA teacher should get at least 35.000/hour, the top of the market is around 100.000/hour, perhaps a bit more). Just bite the bullet and get a CELTA or equivalent. I'm glad I took mine and learned a ton. Having said that the CELTA tends to be just enough of a qualification to get an exhausting, bad job (CELTA = a nice moneymaker for which the financial rewards are majorly overhayped). Remember - palanca, palanca, palanca - not likely as a foreigner.

[MNguy]

100,000 an hour? Clarify spanglish, because I don't think that figure is anywhere near accurate. Good pay to start is maybe 2 miliones a month in Bogota, other cities have different rates depending on the local economy.

[spanglish]

It certainly is accurate and you need to read the post again, i.e. the part about 100.000/hour being the 'ceiling.'

[MNguy]

[spanglish]

Yeah, well Colombia isn't a poor country, just a very unequal one (tops in Latin America, which is an unequal region to begin with).

A lot of people here pay impressive sums for English classes and education. The British Council, for example charges 30.000 or 35.000/hour per student for group classes (usually 16 to a class). So they're raking in well over 300.000/hour. The BC teachers then charge 100.000/hour to those who want to supplement their regular classes with private tutoring. Spanish classes at the private universities cost almost as much, though quality tends to be very poor (by the way).

La Universidad de Los Andes at 10 million/semester (around $5500) is the most expensive university in the country.

[MNguy]

The more I think about it, you're correct spanglish. But the 100k per hour seems closer to the stratosphere than the ceiling. A newbie to Colombia should be pretty ok with 2miliones in Bogota. And they will have to work for it.

Personal connections are key here, and the only way to establish those is to hang around a while, and be a good teacher.

[spanglish]

Yep, 2 million is fine for a newbie. Most don't get that much and need privates plus day job to get to that number.

Not only are connections important, but so are brands. For example, a DELTA might be able to charge 60.000/hour for privates, but a CELTA who happens to teach with the BC might be able charge more. 35.000/hour is about right for a newly qualified native speaker CELTA. I charge 40.000, of course would like more.

[MNguy]

I am TEFL certified and have a steady day job. Doesn't pay much but the work visa is nice. I can charge privates 15,000-30,000 depending on whether it's a group or individual classes.

Also, I'll be in Bogota next week for a few days, I'll buy you a beer if you're around spanglish.

[spanglish]

I should be here. Just let me know.