Job Discussion Forums

[Traveller84]

Hi guys, haven't seen any of this mentioned else where on the board.

I'm coming down to Colombia pretty soon and have been researching a few potential schools. Has anyone worked or know anything (other than what you can find on the internet) about any of these schools/organisations?

� International House
� Interlingua
� Ingles Bogota
� VerVe Bogota
� ABC English Institute
� First Class English
� Instituto Meyer

Mainly looking for information not easily found on the internet e.g. pay, qualifications you or someone you know had who worked for them, the way they conduct classes and maybe just overall feeling/vibe of the school.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[spanglish]

Get a CELTA and work for International House. They'll get you a work visa. I don't think any of the others will.

[JonnyBravo]

Ingles Bogota offered my 15,000 pesos an hour, mostly for work in or around parque 93. They also said they would do the work visa after a month if I started working for them 40 hours or something.

The reason I did not take the job was because they have a policy where teachers do not teach the same classes and you have a new schedule every single day. You don't find out your schedule until 7pm the night before. Makes it pretty impossible to plan much of anything. They also dont guarantee you any hours, so you start slow and if you do well you get more hours. In the meantime you are unable to work for anybody else or teach privates because your schedule changes daily without notice.

This was a deal breaker for me, but there were many happy gringos working there.

[JonnyBravo]

I also knew a guy from Ireland who worked for Verve Bogota for a while before moving to Armenia (the city in Colombia, not the country.) He had no qualifications and had never taught English before. He told me he felt the guy was shady who ran it and was worried about getting paid frequently, but I never dug into this too far so I cannot verify it. Not sure how much he made, but I could find out if you'd like.

[spanglish]

If you have a CELTA 25.000 is the rock bottom you should be getting for in-company classes.

[JonnyBravo]

I agree with that statement. I don't know bout rock-bottom though, I think thats about average for everybody I met. The job offer I was referring to was for a combination of in-house classes (at the institute) and walking distance.

For me, traveling around Bogota is the worst part of this city and I think most others would agree. I accepted a good chunk less than 25 an hour to teach in one building. I get more sleep and am generally happier than if I had to sit on busses half the day which does not count toward your hourly (although institutes will throw in an extra 0-5,000 pesos for travel per class.

If I have to spend 45 minutes traveling to a class and another 45 minutes traveling back, then it isn't really 25 an hour. I took 15,000 an hour and I walk to my classes, so I spend almost 0 time on any busses during the week. I think this averages out to about the same rate per hour and affords me the opportunity to take on private classes nearby for whatever rate I can get - in cash.

Also, some places count an hour as 90 minutes and they may you something like 30-40 for the 90 minutes plus travel.

Definitely take this into consideration: pay rate versus travel time. It makes all the difference. If you have to travel a lot, you should look for something closer to 30 an hour.

[Traveller84]

Thanks for the info guys. I have the CELTA + Degree + 2 yrs experience so looks like I'll hit up International House first.

Anyone worked at International House and know if they're always hiring? I arrive late-March/early April.

[spanglish]

IH is a good place to start. They tend to hire throughout the year, so you should be fine. You could also try to get on with a high school (can be very good money, but also lots more work and potentially lots more stress). You should also check out some of the private universities - cushy job.

[MNguy]

[spanglish]

That was uncalled for MNguy. If you disagreed with what I said, go ahead and disagree and tell me why. Otherwise, no need to go on the attack.

[JonnyBravo]

I do agree with MNguy that 25,000 is nowhere near rock bottom and that most gringos are not earning that. Some schools that have few or no foreign teachers pay only about 8-12 an hour to teach in their building (again, no travel.) I know Passport English, for example, will only pay you 10, native or not.

There are major differences between language schools, Colegios and travelling to teach business English all over town. This is important to understand, because I had no clue when I got here.

If you teach at International house, there may be some in-house teaching to be done, but most is travelling. I took on some part-time work for ISSO traveling around and was paid 20,000 before I had a TEFL. I have been offered part time work for 26,000 an hour and a couple other offers for 20. A friend keeps offering to set me up with something for 30-40 an hour a couple times a week, but that has not come to fruition.

If, for example, you work at IH full time, I believe they pay 1.8 million for full time new teachers. If you are traveling around town, you will be working at least 40 hours a week (even though your scheduled hours are less.) 1.8 million / 40 hours a week is a little over 11,000 pesos. But, they do the visa.

There are lots of options to weigh.

[MNguy]

[spanglish]

Okay MNguy, no hard feelings.

IH pays 1.8 million/month, 4 weeks vacation and pays for your work visa. That's for 16 contact hours per week and a staff meeting once ever 2 weeks. It works out to about 30.000/contact hour. Even with traveling around, (and I did this job), it's pretty unlikely you'll actually be committing 40 hours/week. Now you may have big blocks of time between classes and if you count that time then you may be looking at more than 40 hours/week.

Anyway, given the work conditions at IH, I don't see why a native speaker CELTA grad should accept any less than 25.000/hour from an institute that won't give you health insurance, visa, guaranteed hours or anything else.

[windowlicker]

[MNguy]