First post!

[ecs11]

Hi everybody,

Sorry for the essay, just thought I'd give some background for a question.

I'm Eric, a California resident and recent graduate with a B.S. in Business Administration emphasizing in International Business. I have experience in entertainment production, retail sales and experience as a market research intern at a "brand name" international company.

After searching through the forum it seems it is a difficult situation to find sustainable employment in BA, because I am seeking entry-level jobs and have limited knowledge of Argentine Spanish (3 semesters). I'd be willing to bea bartender, work in hotels, or whatever you all think!

Regardless, are there any trends that lean towards employment for my situation? Any options?

Best,
Eric

 

[pompeygazza]

It's not an essay, but it's inconclusive. It doesn't even say whether you're here or not yet. Personally I don't think you stand a snowball's chance in hell of getting a bar or hotel job. If you have independent means, come here and enjoy yourself, but if you need to find work soon as, best not to come, or if you're here, get home asap.

 

[arlean]

But isn't teaching English a viable possibility? I know a U. S. citizen who easily got a job teaching English at one of the institutes here in B.A. just lately.

 

[pompeygazza]

But isn't teaching English a viable possibility? I know a U. S. citizen who easily got a job teaching English at one of the institutes here in B.A. just lately.

English teachers need to be qualified. It's possible to get a job without qualifications, but the institute will pay you about the same as they pay their cleaner. Living solo in this situation will be nigh on impossible.

 

[arlean]

Just curious, what do they pay for someone who is qualified? Do you know? (I assume you mean one with the ESL credential?)

 

[pompeygazza]

Just curious, what do they pay for someone who is qualified? Do you know? (I assume you mean one with the ESL credential?)

Hard to say. They might still pay peanuts, but a decent school will pay around 40-50 pesos per hour.

 

[James12345t]

It is possible to survive teaching English. A newly qualified teacher earns 45-55.

Bar jobs pay less - I know people who work for 8 pesos an hour.

 

[ecs11]

Thanks for the insight! I'm in California right now and trying to see where I might fit, pompeygazza. Plans to expatriate is a goal and currently determining where to make a semi-comfortable living while in my 20's is the plan...all options are open, however the Argentinian culture is something I'd enjoy learning about first hand. Perhaps when I have a little additional savings I can spend some time down there and try to network.

 

[braytrain]

Hey Eric from California. I like people from California. When I lived in Seattle, all the cool people were from California.

Listen, there´s a lot of people who drink dat hatorate and like to piss it all over Argentina. This is a cool place, you can have fun and you can live down here. Your best bet is to teach English and in order to get hours and the best pay, you need to show your dedication and ¨entrepreneuralize.¨ I made that up. I came down here with nothing but a degree and native spanish (okay I guess there is the catch) but you can get ¨entry level¨jobs if you try. If you decide to come down here send me a message and ill help you however I can. BTW, in my honest opinion it is easier to get a comfortable job when you have native English not native Spanish.

edit: you dont need to be qualified to teach English. You just need to be a native speaker and a badass and you will make more money than the qualified people.

Nick

 

[trennod]

Look there are bar and restaurant jobs out there, the only thing is you may find it difficult with limited Spanish. I assume you are young, and if so Argentina has a heap of things to keep you interested. Why don´t you come down here for a holiday? (with enough $ to survive for a while and / or to get home or somewhere else if need be), improve your Spanish for a bit and see how you go. Like bray said, you could always try teaching english (albeit I wouldnt rely on this as satisfying your living expenses entirely), or you may even land an entry level job.

The difficulty with trying to land professional jobs are that you require a work visa, however many companies (not all) are reluctant to hire you without one. There are some which wont mind and will help with the process (more so larger companies).

For eg, I know a friend of mine that I met here that landed an entry level job with an international company and he barely speaks any Spanish. It was through a contact, but he had been to other interviews as well where only english wasnt a problem. However for some, the work visa was.

Wish you good luck!!