19 Year Old Bilingual, What Kind Of Job/salary Can I Expect?

[Girino]

This.

If you don't have parental support seriously do not come. I came with $20,000 ars and it was gone right away. Even with USD it isn't cheap. Also, I have a temp DNI and no bank will give me a credit card or a contract, etc.

I didn't listen to others advise about the issues here and I am now making less than half of minimum wage in every state and my rent is only low as I have an Argentine roommate who's mom put her house of up for security.

If you make say 7,000 ars a month just look at the cost of renting room a room. Likely more than half of your pay is going to go to rent.

By all means move abroad, I encourage it, just pick a safe, stable and non messed up country.

Vacation is one thing, living here is another. There is a reason why Argentines will always ask why you moved here.

I second ARbound. I have been here for 2 weeks and I am already noticing how hard things are here Vs. the States or Europe (where I come from).
I am lucky I am here with my boyfriend who is a citizen (so he already has a DNI) and (mostly) that he has family here.

RENT: to rent a flat we have to provide a garantía, namely one relative had to put up his apartment for security. We had to bring papers of his house purchase, plus other papers to prove he is reliable as well (employment contract or other paper to prove he has a steady income).
Furthermore, we had to name four (FOUR) other people with a reputable jobs as references (a lawyer, an accountant, another family member who is an employee, another family member who is retired)
We were *not* able to put the rental contract under my name because I am a foreigner, and it takes longer to verify my credentials (EU passport), whereas if you have a DNI they simply put its number in a database to verify it.
If I was here alone, I wouldn't have been able to rent a normal place and I should have picked a monoambiente for tourists.

Second, to keep up with inflation the rent goes up and up very quickly. We had to agree to a 6-month 15% increase of the rent. If you earn in ARS, your salary won't be likely increase so fast. On the newspapers you can ready about utilities costs who double, triple, or more in a year.

Third, some most areas of the city are not safe, so be ready to lose everything anytime. Or to be hurt, which is worse.

Fourth, even simpler things here are either impossible or too complicate. E.g. I can't have a SUBE card because the one for tourists expire in 30 days. You can't buy a train ticket one day in advance (WTF?!), you have to buy it right before boarding.
There is no privacy in public queues, information available online are limited.
Prices are often not shown because they rise so fast (I mean even book prices), so you have always to inquire/guess the price.
The choice of things is limited, especially compared to US stores. Forget buying online, comparing prices on the Internet, or browse across 20 models of even the simpler appliances.
Forget customer care assistance.

I think you should be looking for a volunteering experience where you are provided with food and accommodation and a small pay.

Why did you pick Argentina specifically?

 

[syngirl]

Fourth, even simpler things here are either impossible or too complicate.

And can we clarify that Isadora is from Italy, where an awful lot of people complain about the ridiculous levels of bureaucracy one can go through to accomplish things, and even she -- who theoretically should have a higher tolerance for BS than say, North Americans -- can't believe some of the runaround here, so imagine how difficult it can be for a North American to grasp! Just think of absolutely everything you do being like spending the entire day at the DMV only to be told you have to come back tomorrow... I've been here almost 9 years now and there are so many tasks that I just put off and put off because I loathe the thought of losing my entire day to do a fairly simple thing.

 

[Ceviche]

I can't have a SUBE card because the one for tourists expire in 30 days.

Not true. Its fairly easy to get a ever lasting SUBE card without a DNI or passport, which will last forever.

 

[Redpossum]

Not true. Its fairly easy to get a ever lasting SUBE card without a DNI or passport, which will last forever.

Please tell us how

 

[DontMindMe]

Fourth, even simpler things here are either impossible or too complicate. E.g. I can't have a SUBE card because the one for tourists expire in 30 days.

I've been in and out of Buenos Aires since 2008, have never had DNI and don't plan to get one (I could through my husband now, but it's not worth it). You can still wander around to random kioscos to buy a SUBE card. I've bought two that way in the past year and this is the first time I've heard about any expiration date. Last winter all my grad school classmates got theirs the same way, and they didn't expire in 30 days. I've never registered mine online or anything like that either.

Guys, remember that the OP is 19 and being so young is actually a plus in a lot of ways, namely fierce determination, energy, adaptability and a willingness to put up with a very low standard of living. I came here for the first time at 20. Everything felt like an adventure and a fun challenge. I came back at 22 and supported myself teaching English, and later worked for an expat business for a couple years. I made AR$2500/month in 2011 and survived. That's what the McDonald's employees were making at the time, I was told by an Argentine friend. I won't pretend it didn't suck in many ways, and at the end it wasn't sustainable because I received no salary increase that entire time. But I do not regret having that experience. I viewed having to leave as a failure for a time, but I grew so much as a person that I can look back now and smile (sometimes through gritted teeth, but I do smile). I very much like who I have become as a result of living through those difficult experiences.

Nineteen is not a bad age to come down, try your damndest for a year or so and have to go home anyway. Always keep enough money in your U.S. account for a flight home, don't assume you're moving here permanently and knock yourself out. Also, accept the fact that residency won't guarantee you much of anything. The most successful and happy people I know down here either work remotely and earn dollars/euros or run their own businesses, often without a DNI.

 

[johnl]

Buy a Subte card from a kiosko and it lasts forever, whenever you need to put more credit on it go to a kiosko or the window in the Subte, I have never had any problems. As far as apartments go, I have stayed in two different apartments using Craigslist and they asked for a copy of my passport and my monthly rent, that was it. Both times my rent was fixed, my latest apartment I have been in for 4 months and the rent has not changed once.

As far as some places being dangerous, that is the case in every big city and as long as you have a good head on your shoulders you should be alright. Know which areas are more dangerous, take cabs after you have been drinking, don´t carry a lot of cash on you, always keep a credit card or extra cash at home in case something does happen, do not be a blantant foreigner, etc. All that being said I am a guy over 6 feet but to be honest I have had more strange shit happen to me than my american girlfriends.

 

[sleslie23]

Nineteen is not a bad age to come down, try your damndest for a year or so and have to go home anyway. Always keep enough money in your U.S. account for a flight home, don't assume you're moving here permanently and knock yourself out. Also, accept the fact that residency won't guarantee you much of anything. The most successful and happy people I know down here either work remotely and earn dollars/euros or run their own businesses, often without a DNI.

I agree with everything in your post, but the OP's goal is to move to Buenos Aires specifically to study. That changes the dynamics quite a bit, primarily because you have to deal with the "system." People who only come as a perma-tourist don't really get the full grasp of what that means. Bureaucracy in Argentina is bone-crushing - especially in public universities - and even for Argentines who have dealt with it all their lives.

My advice would be to work in the US to save as much money as possible, come to Argentina with assumption that it will take 6 months to 1 year to get settled, find employment, etc, then in that time begin dealing with the bureaucracy of studying in Argentina.

Youthful energy is, indeed, a powerful thing but studying in Argentina is different than in the US. Almost all Argentines who study at public universities take 6-7 years or more to finish. Many live with their parents for most of that time and work full time in the process.

 

[Ceviche]

If you are 19 year old, I would say, simply take the plunge.

Remember, fate LOVES the fearless

 

[DontMindMe]

I agree with everything in your post, but the OP's goal is to move to Buenos Aires specifically to study. That changes the dynamics quite a bit, primarily because you have to deal with the "system." People who only come as a perma-tourist don't really get the full grasp of what that means. Bureaucracy in Argentina is bone-crushing - especially in public universities - and even for Argentines who have dealt with it all their lives.

My advice would be to work in the US to save as much money as possible, come to Argentina with assumption that it will take 6 months to 1 year to get settled, find employment, etc, then in that time begin dealing with the bureaucracy of studying in Argentina.

Youthful energy is, indeed, a powerful thing but studying in Argentina is different than in the US. Almost all Argentines who study at public universities take 6-7 years or more to finish. Many live with their parents for most of that time and work full time in the process.

I know the main goal is to study, and you're right. It takes freaking forever to finish UBA due to the challenges you mention. I don't envy the people I know who've had to put up with that, and it will definitely be even harder for a newcomer to navigate. And I'm sure we all know Argentines who started making decent enough money that they decided never to graduate, because it simply wasn't worth the trouble. But I still think that if the girl decides to bail after a year or two, it won't be the end of the world for someone that young. Still, it's better she learns now that studying here, even if it's free, will involve much more than going to class, writing papers and passing exams. Some might prefer nightmare bureaucracy and sticking around an unstable country for seven years over hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt.

 

[syngirl]

Some might prefer nightmare bureaucracy and sticking around an unstable country for seven years over hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt.

You know, those aren't the only two options. There's a lot of places in the world where the OP could study where it might cost more money than here but not ludicrous American amounts (Spain, Canada (depends on university), Mexico).

In Canada she'd be able to get a job on campus where she'd actually make some cash towards paying tuition and living. And be in an educational system similar to USA -- ie course loads / exam styles. Here a lot of North Americans are just not used to the exam style (which by the way to the OP, in a lot of courses are going to be oral exams taken over various days).

Then there's Argentina. Different language, different system, and yet, cost of living not dirt cheap. In fact a lot of things surprisingly expensive. But any job you get you're going to be earning in pesos. So you'll have the broke student experience but even shittier -- especially because unlike your classmates, you won't be living at home getting free meals from mum and dad, who are probably also kicking in some pesos to allow the kids to go to the boliche, or they have a job as well. The only advantage to Argentina is the "free" tuition -- which I can't even remember now, but since the OP doesn't have a DNI doesn't it mean that it's actually not going to be free at all? Not sure how it works with UBA. Oh and remember that whole pesky thing of having to redo the last year or so of Argentine HS before you can get in -- which I'm still blown away by, and which my husband is convinced is not true, but seems to come up on this forum a lot.

I don't know, being 100k + in debt sucks, but there are better options that Argentina. Who the hell knows what will happen in 2015 as well. I would not want to be a broke student with no family in Buenos Aires that's for sure -- there's got to be a lot of better options out there. Guadelajara? Ecuador?

Whaddya know -- I just googled "countries reasonable tuition rates international students" and guess what, there are better options:

http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings-articles/qs-best-student-cities/most-affordable-cities-students-2014

http://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/student-finance/best-value-international-study-destinations