I saw a few posters that expressed interest in this recently and maybe some other cats can benefit from this. I made this around Oct when I was originally planning on coming to teach in Colombia starting around August.
Teaching ESL in Colombia Data Sheet
Requirements
Generally speaking you will need some sort of reputable qualifications and/or degree. TEFL, TRINITY, and CELTA certificates are the best. Id recommend getting a CELTA (4 week intensive course) in Bogota (they have connections to help land a job). CELTA's are expensive costing about 2k in Bogota. Cheaper course in Ecuador. Also if you have a degree or other certs id get them apositilled in your home country.
Places to find Work
International Schools - Pay the best. Alot of work though.
Universities - Probably the best in regards to time, stress, and pay.
Language Schools / Academies / Institutes - Pay the least. Easiest to obtain
High Schools / Colegios - Average pay
Private classes - Put up flyers around expensive bario's, schools, and gyms. I'd charge 30K - 50K pesos and hour.
Schools start in January, and August. So you need to start applying about 2 months prior. Language Institutes hire year round.
Once you decide where you wanna work the best way to go about getting a job is to beat down doors of every school / institute in the city asking to speak to the person in charge of the hiring of English teachers. Try to talk to them that day but if they are busy drop off your resume (CV). Another way is to email schools and to search the classifieds and shoot off emails of the various job listings. Also you can find jobs through word of mouth between other English teachers in the city.
The Work Visa
The hard part about getting a work visa is you need a written contract from an employer and other paperwork that has to be submitted to DAS. The bad part about this is many employers want you to ALREADY have a work visa before they will hire you. Generally once you get a work visa you will be able to find another and many times a better job alot easier with a work visa in hand. Many ppl work illegally on a tourist visa and have to make visa runs to renew it. [/align]
Pay
Expect to make between 1mil - 3mil pesos ($500 - $1500 USD) a month depending on where and how many hours you work. International Schools and Universities pay the best with High Schools / Colegios paying in the middle with Language Institutes paying the least (generally by the hour or classes taught expect to make around 15k - 28k per hour/class taught)
Lodging
Best bet it to find shared accommodations ie rent out a room. Cost of a room can be from 250K - 800K depending on how much your willing to shell out. Ask other teachers about empty rooms and look online for rooms.
Work Hours
Depends on the type of job you have. Most common is split shifts with Language Institutes that require you to teach in the morning and at night possibly lunch also. You normally have to travel around the city to the various locations of the clients. High School, Colegios, and Universities have a more normal working hours 7am - 3pm.
If you decide to come to Colombia bring enough money to last you 2 months. Its gonna take a some time to get a job and get that fist paycheck. Easiest city to find a job is Bogota.
Anyways hope this helps, and if anyone has anything else to add feel free!
Teaching ESL in Colombia Data Sheet
Requirements
Generally speaking you will need some sort of reputable qualifications and/or degree. TEFL, TRINITY, and CELTA certificates are the best. Id recommend getting a CELTA (4 week intensive course) in Bogota (they have connections to help land a job). CELTA's are expensive costing about 2k in Bogota. Cheaper course in Ecuador. Also if you have a degree or other certs id get them apositilled in your home country.
Places to find Work
International Schools - Pay the best. Alot of work though.
Universities - Probably the best in regards to time, stress, and pay.
Language Schools / Academies / Institutes - Pay the least. Easiest to obtain
High Schools / Colegios - Average pay
Private classes - Put up flyers around expensive bario's, schools, and gyms. I'd charge 30K - 50K pesos and hour.
Schools start in January, and August. So you need to start applying about 2 months prior. Language Institutes hire year round.
Once you decide where you wanna work the best way to go about getting a job is to beat down doors of every school / institute in the city asking to speak to the person in charge of the hiring of English teachers. Try to talk to them that day but if they are busy drop off your resume (CV). Another way is to email schools and to search the classifieds and shoot off emails of the various job listings. Also you can find jobs through word of mouth between other English teachers in the city.
The Work Visa
The hard part about getting a work visa is you need a written contract from an employer and other paperwork that has to be submitted to DAS. The bad part about this is many employers want you to ALREADY have a work visa before they will hire you. Generally once you get a work visa you will be able to find another and many times a better job alot easier with a work visa in hand. Many ppl work illegally on a tourist visa and have to make visa runs to renew it. [/align]
Pay
Expect to make between 1mil - 3mil pesos ($500 - $1500 USD) a month depending on where and how many hours you work. International Schools and Universities pay the best with High Schools / Colegios paying in the middle with Language Institutes paying the least (generally by the hour or classes taught expect to make around 15k - 28k per hour/class taught)
Lodging
Best bet it to find shared accommodations ie rent out a room. Cost of a room can be from 250K - 800K depending on how much your willing to shell out. Ask other teachers about empty rooms and look online for rooms.
Work Hours
Depends on the type of job you have. Most common is split shifts with Language Institutes that require you to teach in the morning and at night possibly lunch also. You normally have to travel around the city to the various locations of the clients. High School, Colegios, and Universities have a more normal working hours 7am - 3pm.
If you decide to come to Colombia bring enough money to last you 2 months. Its gonna take a some time to get a job and get that fist paycheck. Easiest city to find a job is Bogota.
Anyways hope this helps, and if anyone has anything else to add feel free!