Is anyone else a mistreated English teacher?

[laureltp]

Sorry to hear you are having this kind of trouble. I have meet a lot of people here who come to teach English and are very disappointed by the results. The other option for English speakers is call centers. I have never worked at one but I heard they are horrible and pay even less.

I think the best way to do it is on your own. Make some flyers, put posts on the internet, whatever and be your own boss. You can set your own rate, your own schedule and your own rules. In doing this, I have been able to find a lot of students, but the downfall is that they are always quitting so I constantly have to search for new students.

I think particularly here you have to stick to the rule that if a class is canceled the student must pay for it anyway or have them pay in advanced. They need to understand that you are relying on this job as a way to pay rent and that they need to take you seriously. Of course, that is all much easier said than done. Good luck!

 

[BKK to BA]

I suppose I should receive an income from the govt. of Thailand for drumming up the place but...

I have alot of friends working as English teachers in Thailand,none of which speak Thai.From what I've read here,the teachers there make more $,alot of schools provide apartments for you,the cost of living is much less than here,and life is much less taxing on the nerves.

I understand that many expats here are here for other reasons besides just work,but for those who are interested in living abroad and are free to travel I'd recommend looking into Thailand,S.Korea or other opportunities in Asia if things here arent working out for you in Argentina.

 

[YohoYoho]

Simple answer, "yes."

However, the longer you stick around. The more hours in a consistent location you will get. I even got a raise once. Also, even the crap institutes can save your ass come January, when the private students dry up. So, if you are planning to stay, don't burn your bridges. I love teaching. I do admit working for some institutes is crazy making. Advice, you can quickly identify the students that want to learn, teach them. The rest, just make them sign the papers.

 

[Scobryan]

Hey all, I'm planning on moving to BA at the end of August to join the flood of "Aimless Americans" glutting the teaching market. I have a couple questions.

I have a MA in English Literature and worked as a teaching assistant for two years. I have a TEFL certification and one year's TEFL experience. I'm hoping that this experience will make landing a decent job at an institute (or three, as I'm learning from these boards) a possibility. However, reading this board has me increasingly dismayed at my prospects. Is it all so bad? Why do so many people do it then?

I'm a single guy who doesn't spend money on clothes, electronics, or anything really that I don't eat or drink. I do like to go out occasionally. So my budget should be relatively small. I used this site http://exposebuenosaires.com/cost-of-living-in-buenos-aires/ to set up a tentative budget. Is this realistic? $730 US / 2850 AR per month?

Working 20 hrs a week, at 30 pesos an hour, for an Institute, would mean earning an average of 2400 pesos, or around $600 US a month. I'm only planning on living here for 5-6 months, and it would be fine if I had to dip into my savings $150 or so each month to make ends meet. What I am worried about, though, after having read so many dismal posts, is spending $800 on a plane ticket to BA only to find out that working for pesos is going to bankrupt me in a few months. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[JoeBlow]

I'm hoping that this experience will make landing a decent job at an institute (or three, as I'm learning from these boards) a possibility. However, reading this board has me increasingly dismayed at my prospects. Is it all so bad? Why do so many people do it then?

I'm a single guy who doesn't spend money on clothes, electronics, or anything really that I don't eat or drink. I do like to go out occasionally. So my budget should be relatively small. I used this site http://exposebuenosaires.com/cost-of-living-in-buenos-aires/ to set up a tentative budget. Is this realistic? $730 US / 2850 AR per month?

Working 20 hrs a week, at 30 pesos an hour, for an Institute, would mean earning an average of 2400 pesos, or around $600 US a month. I'm only planning on living here for 5-6 months, and it would be fine if I had to dip into my savings $150 or so each month to make ends meet. What I am worried about, though, after having read so many dismal posts, is spending $800 on a plane ticket to BA only to find out that working for pesos is going to bankrupt me in a few months. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Hello, I have been teaching English here for many years. I really enjoy my job (although I originally opposed teaching English on principle) and really like my students. That said, I would never recommend teaching English here because surviving on a 30 or 40 peso hourly wage is difficult. 2400 would be enough to eat and rent a nice room on, but keep in mind that if you are just starting out you may have to spend one hour travelling for each hour of class time, as well as an hour preparing for each class (unless you already know what you are doing).

If I came here to teach, I would come with the Las Vegas mentality: determine in advance how much money you are willing to lose and you can still have a nice time (in that masochistic sort of way ha!).

As for the other question of cancellation, I would not work at an institute or teach a student who didn't honor the 24 hour cancellation policy.

Good luck!

 

[mendozanow]

Yes, this is a global phenomenom that is exponentially increased here in AArgentina. Assume nothing, and expect less, and try to develop a good client base!

Suerte!

 

[michaelk]

Hi Scob - no it isn't necessarily all so bad. You sound like your qualified, you have your head sscrewed on and you have the right attitude. As long as you don't think you're owed a full schedule and your willing to invest an bit of energy at the start getting it together, I wouldn't be put off.

You need to factor in that you won't necessarily be earning 2400 at the start as part of the issue is finding work from different institutes or private students. So if you factor in dipping heavily into your savings for one/two months you'll be ok.

But I'm not sure it terms of timing whether august is a good bet for finding work - you need to check. I was looking for work in March when the institutes were recruiting a lot of new teachers. Also I've heard work drops off over the summer months January/February (the last two months of your stay). So the period where you're getting the regular income you predicted could be shorter than you think.

Cheers

Michael

 

[emilyr]

Scobryan, I think that is a really reasonable budget if you are living a very low key life, as you said, a hostel life versus a hotel life.

You won't be living the high life or drinking fine cocktails out, but you will have a blast. Your teaching creds will probably help you get work faster, which will also help your budget.

But consider dipping into your savings a little more, a thousand dollars or so...and maybe building up a little more before you come. Because if you only plan to visit here as a temp stay, you will probably want to make the rounds to Mendoza, Ushuia, etc, and even travel to surrounding countries on cheap bus tickets. Even if you tell yourself you will stick to your budget, expect that once you get here, you might spend a little more on some things like travel, justifying it because it's-a-once-in-lifetime deal.

 

[laureltp]

Scobryan, I agree with emily here. If you are living in a hostel and you are budgeting your money well you can live off of that amount. But I would suggest having a little more on hand if you want to go out a lot or travel.

It takes a little bit of time to get used to the prices here, so I would suggest doing some price comparing to get used to the economy so you can figure out how to get a good deal on things. We are on a bit of a budget but I find that I can always find a cheaper alternative but it takes a bit of experience to spend well here. Just my opinion.

I think it's great that you want to come here. I think that traveling is such a great experience. I hope you do well here. Although I will be honest the path of the English teacher here can be a rough one! But you sound well qualified, which I will admit, I don't think most of us here are...

 

[angelskywalker]

Hello everybody,

I have been reading your posts.... I am really sorry about your experiences. I know the way things are in Baires with the agencies....
Anyway, I have a small project teaching English, hiring native English speakers with experience and qualifications. I can give you references from previous teachers who worked with me, trust me, I am not too bad
If you want to give me a chance, would you please send me your CV to [email protected]?
Thank you

Regards,

Guadalupe