Katie,
Two years ago I did the same thing that you're planning to do-- moved down to Buenos Aires, got my TEFL certificate and started teaching English. I will give you my honest opinion- teaching English is not that great for a couple of reasons:
1. Classes are often cancelled due to poor attendance by your students and/or holidays. If the classes are cancelled, most times that means that you aren't making money that day. Only sometimes they let you reschedule, and that's annoying for you because you have a life outside of teaching English.
2. The breaks between classes mean longer days and no pay. You normally have breaks between your classes-- this time is off the clock. It is very uncommon to get 2 classes back to back in the same location.
3. That brings me to my next point. Location. It's quite possible that you will be running all over downtown throughout the day going to different companies to teach English. That's annoying because it's hard to get from place to place quickly downtown, especially during working hours or if there's a protest. It's also annoying because your extra commutes is also time off the clock and all of those bus rides start to add up.
4. The institutes aren't really looking out for you. Be careful with who you work for. I had two employers, yes 2, that did not pay me. This is not uncommon. Before you work for an institute, talk to someone that has already worked there....even better, talk to someone who has already worked there and already quit there.....then you can ask them if they ever received their final payments.
5. The pay doesn't account to much. Most foreign TEFL teachers live off of their previous savings and end up renting a non-tourist apartment. If you intend to live off of your salary teaching, seriously consider your monthly expenses, do some calculations and plan it well. 6/8 students in my TEFL course fled Argentina after a few months teaching because they were out of money and had no other options.
Feel free to send me a note (see to the left under your sign in name) and I will give you my top 5 list of institutions that you should NEVER work for.
Good luck. Hopefully you appreciate honesty.
