Job Discussion Forums

[mels88]

I'm thinking of going to Quito to look for a job. I have a BA and a CELTA and some minor teaching experience.

I've heard salaries range from $5/hr to $10/hr in Quito, and I'm wondering what I can expect, and also what I can tell about a school from the wage it offers.

For example if a school makes $17/hr on a class and only pays a teacher $5, should I interpret it as a strong signal that the school doesn't value its teaching staff? or should I just accept this as the norm among English institute franchises?

Does a low wage reflect the quality of the school in any way?

thanks for your responses

[HLJHLJ]

I don't claim to be any sort of expert on this, but in my limited experience the rate of pay is about $5-$6 an hour, and what actually varies is how much non contact time you are expected to do and are therefore paid for indirectly.

In the schools at the lower end of the pay scale you will most likely be teaching pre-prepared lesson plans, either from books or from their own stock. At the higher end of the scale you'll be preparing your own lessons, and the apparently higher wage simply reflects the additional non-contact time that you are expected to put in to prepare the lessons, mark work, etc. If a school is paying $5 an hour and expecting you to put in an equal amount of unpaid non-contact time, I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole, but I can't say I've heard of it happening.

Is a school that pays a teacher $5 and charges the student $17 any better than one that pays $10 and charges $30? I really wouldn't know. The real question is, do you think you would be a better teacher and give better lessons if you were preparing your own material, or would you prefer to present work that someone else has prepared for you?