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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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 Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 3:21 pm Post subject: Forget Mexico |
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This is for any potential TEFL teacher looking to teach in Mexico right now.
Just my opinion.
Forget about Mexico.
This is just a few of my personal observations of life teaching English in Mexico.
There are too many problems to mention them all in a single post or even in a 100 posts. True many of those said problems are endemic to 3rd world countries in general. But Mexico is a place that is fast going from the proverbial frying pan and into the fire.
For newbies, a place like Mexico City (aka the DF, short for Distrito Federal) while offering jobs is also a daunting and even dangerous place to be. I've personally witnessed 3 armed robberies in the past year. I have students and friends that have been robbed and kidnapped at gunpoint. It's not something I really worried about before, but I do now.
Mexico is now ranked number 5 in the world for per capita murder rates.
No, I am not an alarmist. I have spent almost six years living and working in Mexico. I do (as do most of the posters here) have a vested interest in Mexico. I can not just pack up and leave. But for those of you who have no real connection to Mexico, please consider other options. I see no point in trying to defend a place simply because I live there. I accept it for what is now. Things will never change in Mexico. I am seeing it everyday in the news.
We have a president who promised jobs but has instead brought about a drug war on a massive scale in a country woefully unprepared at every level to conduct any such operations. The government is so naive (or incompetent or both) it even released the name of a Marine killed in a raid on a top drug lord whose grieving mother and sister were promptly murdered.
In the last week we've seen decapitated bodies hung from bridges, a mayor killed by his own police (who were on a drug cartel's payroll), 2 car bombs detonated, a massacre of 72 Latin American migrants, the murder of the investigator of said case and the cancellation of Bicentennial Independence Day celebrations in Cd. Juarez.
Sadly I've seen wages stagnate and inflation more than double the price I pay for something so basic as a liter of milk.
Long-term I see little future in being an English teacher in Mexico. Sure, some people do OK. But nepotism is still a way of life here. You can have reams of experience, qualifications etc and apply for a job just to see it given to someone who can barely speak English simply because the know somebody or they are a relative.
There are is no Mexican Social Security. Private pensions are all you can hope for. There's always fear the peso could devalue again and your savings could be wiped out. Mexican banks don't allow accounts in US dollars.
And even for somebody who becomes a Mexican citizen they will always be a 2nd class citizen. That's made very clear.
So at the end of the day I think that other countries in South America could provide a much better Latin TEFL experience for people. More and better opportunities. Safer and more stable. Skip Mexico and keep heading south. |
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mejms
Joined: 04 Jan 2010
Posts: 390
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| Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Mexico is now ranked number 5 in the world for per capita murder rates. |
I feel the need to offset this very bleak post that would be enough to confirm any foreigner's fears of the drug-haven and violence-ridden paradise broadcasted on CNN time and time again.
First off, there are pockets of Mexico that are dangerous. I've never lived in Mexico City, but many of the posters here have. They can tell you first hand if they've ever experienced any violence, muggings, etc. I've heard stories sure. My former neighbor's car was stolen and he told me that he was once kidnapped. I don't care to live in big cities whether in the states or Mexico, but I would never be afraid to go visit Mexico City. I'd be smart and wouldn't venture into bad areas. That's all.
I've lived 3 months in Guadalajara and going on 5 years in Queretaro, and I've never had anything close to a bad experience or a close call. I don't think Puebla, Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosi, and a lot of other smaller cities in central Mexico are dangerous, but posters who live there can tell you more. Queretaro for one is not dangerous (apart from the the drivers, most of whom come from D.F.  ).
Murders are also mostly in the drug front. If you're teaching English, I don't think you'll be in the middle. I have friends from Sinaloa, where some of the most serious drug violence goes on, and they say the same. If you're not involved, you tend not to see it (and that's an extreme example because Sinaloa has been in the news a lot).
| Quote: |
| Long-term I see little future in being an English teacher in Mexico... So at the end of the day I think that other countries in South America could provide a much better Latin TEFL experience for people. More and better opportunities. Safer and more stable. Skip Mexico and keep heading south. |
If you're an inexperienced teacher who wants to make money, I'd say not only forget about Mexico but forget about Latin America. But then again people I've never had the impression that people come here for the money.
| Quote: |
| Mexican banks don't allow accounts in US dollars. |
Mexican banks may not, but other financial organizations that operate as savings funds similar to banks do, such as Actinver Lloyd. And there are plenty of them. If you have dollars that you don't want to convert to pesos, there's nothing to it really. Plenty of people do.
| Quote: |
| But nepotism is still a way of life here. You can have reams of experience, qualifications etc and apply for a job just to see it given to someone who can barely speak English simply because the know somebody or they are a relative. |
It's not what you know. It's who you know. That's true all over the world. It's human nature. Yes, it's even more true in Mexico. Life is about relationships, not knowledge. If you really want to get ahead, make friends. It's much more important to be well-liked than to be right. And while competence may not receive all the recognition that it should, incompetence will burn you.
I don't think the situation in Mexico is as bleak as this poster makes it out to be. I hope other people post. |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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| mejms wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Mexico is now ranked number 5 in the world for per capita murder rates. |
I feel the need to offset this very bleak post that would be enough to confirm any foreigner's fears of the drug-haven and violence-ridden paradise broadcasted on CNN time and time again.
First off, there are pockets of Mexico that are dangerous. I've never lived in Mexico City, but many of the posters here have. They can tell you first hand if they've ever experienced any violence, muggings, etc. I've heard stories sure. My former neighbor's car was stolen and he told me that he was once kidnapped. I don't care to live in big cities whether in the states or Mexico, but I would never be afraid to go visit Mexico City. I'd be smart and wouldn't venture into bad areas. That's all.
I've lived 3 months in Guadalajara and going on 5 years in Queretaro, and I've never had anything close to a bad experience or a close call. I don't think Puebla, Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosi, and a lot of other smaller cities in central Mexico are dangerous, but posters who live there can tell you more. Queretaro for one is not dangerous (apart from the the drivers, most of whom come from D.F. ).
Murders are also mostly in the drug front. If you're teaching English, I don't think you'll be in the middle. I have friends from Sinaloa, where some of the most serious drug violence goes on, and they say the same. If you're not involved, you tend not to see it (and that's an extreme example because Sinaloa has been in the news a lot).
| Quote: |
| Long-term I see little future in being an English teacher in Mexico... So at the end of the day I think that other countries in South America could provide a much better Latin TEFL experience for people. More and better opportunities. Safer and more stable. Skip Mexico and keep heading south. |
If you're an inexperienced teacher who wants to make money, I'd say not only forget about Mexico but forget about Latin America. But then again people I've never had the impression that people come here for the money.
| Quote: |
| Mexican banks don't allow accounts in US dollars. |
Mexican banks may not, but other financial organizations that operate as savings funds similar to banks do, such as Actinver Lloyd. And there are plenty of them. If you have dollars that you don't want to convert to pesos, there's nothing to it really. Plenty of people do.
| Quote: |
| But nepotism is still a way of life here. You can have reams of experience, qualifications etc and apply for a job just to see it given to someone who can barely speak English simply because the know somebody or they are a relative. |
It's not what you know. It's who you know. That's true all over the world. It's human nature. Yes, it's even more true in Mexico. Life is about relationships, not knowledge. If you really want to get ahead, make friends. It's much more important to be well-liked than to be right. And while competence may not receive all the recognition that it should, incompetence will burn you.
I don't think the situation in Mexico is as bleak as this poster makes it out to be. I hope other people post. |
Actually I think it's even bleaker 
The entire north of Mexico is a "no-go" zone. A third of the country is in what amounts to the begginings of a civil war. I would not call that a "few" pockets.
I have been in Mexico for six years and things are not getting better, it's getting worse.
And I don't want to own a language school. I wanted to be a teacher and possibly move up in a school. Where's the career path? Fast-food in the US has a real career path, shouldn't teaching English in Mexico at least offer as much?
And I feel that newbies have the right to see views from both sides of the coin.
Those mid-size cities all lack one thing: Real opportunity and jobs. Mexico only has a few real centers and DF is the center of it all. I saw everything there is to see in Queretaro in a week. And after that's it's boring. Now that's my take on it. Maybe it works for you.
And Mexico is great if you are collecting a social security check, pension or have a $100,000 in the bank. What about those of us who have to work for a living and have a career?
It's OK. I am one of the lucky few who can live wherever I choose and still practice my choosen profesion. I can work in the US and live in Mexico. |
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amaranto
Joined: 02 Jun 2009
Posts: 133
Location: M�xico, D.F.
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| Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 4:57 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with mejms in that this post is indeed very bleak. Newcomers to Mexico should do their research and come with realistic expectations. This is not a first world country in many ways, but that is common knowledge. Nor is it a third world country according to most definitions of the term.
I know many people who have lived and taught in other parts of Latin America, and they seem to find Mexico quite pleasant in many respects. Everyone is different and entitled to his or her opinion, of course.
There are still many reasons to come to Mexico: to experience a different culture, to develop one's career (which seems to still be very possible based on the posts of several of the forum members, myself included), and to eat some really good food ( my favorite part).
If I had the same feelings about Mexico as the OP, I would not be here. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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