Poll: English teaching careers in BA

[starlucia]

Just for fun... those of you who are or were English teachers in BA, how long did it take until you burnt out? What were the reasons? Or if you're a seasoned veteran still going strong, what do you love about your job?

 

[allcraz]

In March it will be 5 years. Still going strong because I love languages, teaching grammar, managing my own schedule, laughing a lot in class, and getting to know another culture through its people (from the errand boy to the CEO) at a very real level. That being said, I only teach 18 hours a week now and have another part-time trabajo de dependencia as an "English Advisor."

 

[Smcali23]

Yeah. 1-3 months I think. I didn't enjoy it.
I think it was the constant travel from one place to the next more than anything else.
I guess I'm lazy!

 

[allcraz]

Yes, I'm strange. I loved traveling all over the place. Figuring out the bus system, exploring my way around the city. Nevertheless, I never accepted ridiculous schedules. New teachers: never feel pressured to teach a total of 3 hours per day and travel 4. There are plenty of institutes out there that can offer you blocks of classes.

 

[El Duderino]

How have some of you survived off the wages here? It doesn't seem feasible unless you have some kind of savings.

 

[HowardinBA]

that would depend on the quality of your teaching,and of course the amount of students you have,they go hand in hand.I teach in the Zona Norte, which is easier travel wise than the Capital,because I drive and can access the areas of Tigre,Nordelta etc in a short space of time....

 

[allcraz]

How have some of you survived off the wages here? It doesn't seem feasible unless you have some kind of savings.

This is a question that is asked again and again. The key is blocks of classes either with an institute/institutes that pays/pay you decently (at least $40 per hour currently) or private classes (obviously the rate goes up). Cancellation policies must be enforced. Having your own invoices definitely helps. You have to enjoy it. And you can't be trying to rent your own apartment in Palermo. (I rented rooms in shared apartments for 3 years before I got married.) No, you can't go out and spend 100 pesos every night, but no one needs to do that to survive.

 

[DontMindMe]

After six months of teaching I was sick of it, but managed to finish out the year. Not because I didn't enjoy teaching, but because I was overworked, underpaid, and generally mistreated by several institutes. I got fired from one institute when I got the flu, for example. You are en negro, which means you pretty much have no rights other than calling AFIP. Never, ever forget that.

I started in February 2010, when many institutes were still trying to pay 25 pesos per hour, 35 if you were very very lucky. Teaching is how I learned that honesty and loyalty are qualities that will only do you financial harm as an employee. Also, many institutes are in the red and so will often pay you weeks late. That or they'll claim your money is ready, then you go, only to wait 45 minutes to told that in fact it is not ready; come back next week. Then the next. I worked for five different institutes that were all on my TEFL program's "approved" list, god knows why. If I had to do it again, I would try to poach students from the institutes immediately and teach them privately--they save money, I make more, everybody wins. But I have a friend who has tried to go all private, and it's hard because of frequent cancellations, disappearing students, etc. She works six full days a week and I don't get to see her much, but I say good for her. She is determined to stay here in BA and is doing what she can.

What I do miss is being exposed to every type of Argentine, from the entry level guy at Accenture who has a two-hour commute from the south every morning, to the president of the board of the advertising company who owns a huge house in Olivos and vacations in Europe and Patagonia every year.

 

[RichardP]

I taught for about 3 years in BA in the early 90's. I went back to the US to do a Master's in TESOL with the idea of returning and opening an English institute. I finished the degree, but became a High School Spanish teacher in the US instead.
I also enjoyed meeting people from all walks of life while teaching in Argentina. It was during a time that native speakers were a rare commodity and work was easy to find and paid relatively well. I didn't mind all the traveling at the time, but couldn't imagine doing it today.

 

[bellakoerfer]

been teachung here 3 years, I teach art classes in english in my home love it ;]
www.bellasartencasa.blogspot.com