Job Discussion Forums

[jgz]

Hi Everyone,

So, after perusing this website for years and, I'm finally getting my act together, quitting my lovely, stable NYC job, and doing what I've been thinking about doing for a long time: moving to South America to teach.

As a total newbie, I'd love to run my plan and questions by anyone (and everyone!) who has South America experience.

the plan: I'm planning to rent what I'm sure is an overpriced studio in January and February to do the CELTA certification at IHouse in Buenos Aires in January of 2012. I hope to spend February looking for jobs and (theoretically!) getting myself settled and employed some time in March.

My father is from BsAs so I'd love nothing more than to live and work there, but from what everyone says it seems the market is... competitive? I'm not looking to live an extravagant BsAs lifestyle, so saving and spending money isn't necessary for me.

Being able to pay rent in an area I like, enjoy the city + having some funds to travel around is. That being said, I'm totally willing to live anywhere in South America, not restricted to BsAs or Argentina, as long as I like the school/location etc.

So, I guess my questions are these:

Am I heading down at the right time of year?

Is my plan to shell out for a couple months in BsAs to take the CELTA course and have a home base to job hunt from for some time after worthwhile?

Should/can I contact schools this fall (2011) while they are still in session and before going down or do I have to wait until after I'm certified?

Do any employers offer to cover flights within South America (say, if I were to take a job in Colombia while already in BsAs)?

For those working in BsAs, how many schools do you work at/classes do you teach/hours do you spend teaching + travelling to make enough to get by? Is it worth it? What does it take to land something like a full time, single location job?

Ok, for now I guess that's all I can think of.

Thanks in advance for any help you all can give!!

[spanglish]

I think it's gonna be tough for you, probably impossible. I've never heard of any newbie who's survived in Buenos Aires teaching. But if you have a good amount of money to tide you over (like $10,000) you'll probably be fine with the lifestyle it sounds like you want to live.

Despite all, I think you should go for it! I kind of wish I'd started my ESL career in Buenos Aires instead of Bogota. Bogota has a decent ESL market, but Buenos Aires sounds like a much more pleasant city. At your level you won't be finding jobs that pay flights, you probably won't even be finding jobs unless you're already in that particular city and on the ground looking.

If Argentina is anything like Colombia, speaking Spanish, going to lots of parties with middle aged people and telling everybody you know that you're looking for a job should get you something fairly quick.

Oh, and maybe forget about the studio get a decent furnished room initially.

[naturegirl321]

YOu can survive, but it's just a question of how long you want to live in BsAs as an English teacher. I spent six years in Peru and that was more than enough. You can get by and live pretty decently, but you're certainly not going to save heaps unless you open your own school or get out of teaching.

Flights won't be covered unless you're working at an intl school.

Am I heading down at the right time of year?

CELTA is a good idea

You can contact schools, keep in mind about 95% won't get back to you as they would rather meet you in person.

IN LIma I worked about 30 hours a week, six days a week and spent 3 to 4 hours on day on crappy public transport. To land a single location job, try unis or school schools.

See the PM I sent you.