[Dash Global]

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!

[rinestone]

can you clarify what this means:

'Also if you have a degree or other certs id get them apositilled in your home country.'

what does 'apositilled' mean? i'm torn between a celta course in bogota and getting tefl online while i'm here in the US. if i go tefl, i have to pull the trigger soon though- only about two weeks until i'm back. good news is i already have an apartment. bad news, no work visa. and i'm told that you can only do the tourist run a couple of times before they get wise and the government tells you to blast off out of there

[Dash Global]

Apostille's are certificates of notarization authenticity done my government departments/agencies (state & federal). Pretty much it makes sure your stuff is legit.

I would get the CELTA if I was you, it will almost pay for itself in a yr as you can command a higher pay with one. Not to mention the connections you will get from it.

I will prob look into taking mine in Ecuador after I finish my contract in Korea. Then head over to Colombia and get a job.

[redneckpunk]

pay should be around $7-10 per hour.

[Dash Global]

(06-22-2011 05:21 PM)redneckpunk Wrote:  

pay should be around $7-10 per hour.

There is alot of people making OVER 20K an hour in colombia. You cant possibly say what the average pay is and cap it at $10. Check DavesCafe, most everyone will tell you pay is between 15K - 28K an hour for Language Institutes.

[rinestone]

dash, thanks for the info. tefl is short money (under $300)......there's no advantage to getting tefl here first??? i don't mind some duplication in certificaiton, i just want to get the ball rolling.

my math is rustly, but $10/hour is just over 20k colombian, no? i'm really far more interested in a work visa as i still have some income from the US. teaching is a means to an end, not vice versa. if your priorities were:

work visa
work location (ideally reasonably close without too much time in a taxi or on the trans)
decent pay (just not wanting to get cornholed by going all over the city),

how would you proceed??? again, many thanks guys- good stuff

[Dash Global]

@rinestone

Like I said Id recommend getting the CELTA as it carries alot of weight in Colombia and all over the world. It will make finding a job alot easier and also getting a work visa id imagine. With that said you can get jobs without a CELTA and TEFL. Just depends on the route you wanna take.

1) Work Visa - As far as this is concerned your just gonna have to beat down the doors to try and find someone to give you one, prob alot of doors! The better jobs that do give out work visas like the IH Bogota require you to have a CELTA.

2) Work Location - Bogota will have the most opportunities for employment. Most likely you will have to be traveling around the city to the diff client locations if your working for a Language Institute.

3) Pay - The more qualifications & experience you have the more you will get payed.

How would I proceed? I would bite the bullet for the CELTA (highly reputable cert, prepares you well for teaching, better pay / opportunities, ect) After obtaining the CELTA I would send out my resume to EVERY school / institute in the city and accept the best offer.

[Sonsowey]

Funny how Dash has done his research so well that he knows the drill, even though he's never taught in Colombia.

Pay is a bit higher than $7-10 an hour. I get (after taxes) $27,000 COP an hour, about $16. That's at International House, with a CELTA.

Another institute I worked at (Verve Bogotá) paid 48,000 for a 1.5 hour class.

Thing is, you have to think in terms of ''classes'' not hours.

At International House, classes are 2 hours, so you get 62,000 COP per class after taxes.

At Verve, classes were 1.5 hours, and you'd get 48,000 for a class. There are no taxes, it's not a legal business. None of the other institutes take taxes out, they're all illegal.

Verve has the better hourly rate, but that doesn't really matter since each class with Verve is less money than International House.

These two institutes are the best I know of in Bogotá. A standard institute might pay $35,000 COP for a 1.5 hour class. Pretty shitty.

As for work visas, the ONLY institutes I know that sponsors work visas are International House and the British Council. EVERY other institute will feed you some BS about providing a work visa, but in the end I have not met a SINGLE person on a work visa who isn't with one of these two organizations.

Reputable Universities and Highschools that consistently hire foreigners to teach English do provide work visas. I have never worked for one, but know several people who are doing so on CELTAs. They work full school days and get paid around $2.5 million COP a month. I work about 20 hours a week (with maybe 10 hours of travel time) and get around 2 million a month. To me the extra free time is worth a bit less money.

People I know doing this work without a CELTA have not, largely, done well for themselves. They always are getting help from their parents, and are always broke.

People with a CELTA can also go under, but it's a lower %.

For what it's worth, practically all work at IH is now hourly, ie do NOT expect to get a long term contract and health insurance. They don't wanna pay for that anymore, and in return are offering better hourly wages than can be found elsewhere.

[Dash Global]

Thanks for dropping some real first hand perspective on my sheet Sonsowey.

Appears like getting that work visa is alil harder than I initially imagined!

Im gonna get the CELTA and try to get a job at a Colegio imo. Hopefully with my BA, experience teaching in Korea, and a CELTA i will be able to get what im looking for.

Im gonna drop off my resume to EVERY University and Colegio in Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla, and Bogota lol

[Sonsowey]

Ha no doubt you will get a job. The people I know with those jobs just got hired right away because some other English teacher just bounced and they needed a replacement ASAP.

Your Spanish is up to par to navigate this site, right?
http://www.losmejorescolegiosdecolombia....lash=false

You really only need to fuck with rich-kid Bilingual colegios, cause regular ones won't be able to pay you much at all. Without an Education degree you're probably shooting for 2.5 million. With one you can expect up to 4 million.

[Dash Global]

I want to shoot myself for not getting an education degree in college. That is like the GOLD FUCKING TICKET to getting good paying jobs abroad as an American! Shit ill be happy to make 2mil a meses! Ill have my Korean money to fall back on if need be. My spanish should be near fluent in a year by the time I get down there, so that should help!

[rinestone]

sounds like celta is the way to go. if anything, i may do tefl online for a head start and then get celta when i'm back. i guess a visa is more difficult then i anticipated, hopefully i'll be able to track one down though- i can always go back and forth between the US and colombia (three months in colombia, one month stateside) until i get one.

i've also been told that you can actually stay longer then the 'maximum' three months by just going to the passport office, jumping through some hoops and paying another couple hundred pesos. i had to do this last time because when i asked for two months in customs, the bastard only stamped me for one. when i had it changed so i could go back to the US they said you could actually change it to six months. i really don't want to screw around with jumping over to panama or something for a weekend as i hear they wise up after a couple times and tell you to beat it.

[redneckpunk]

(06-22-2011 10:49 PM)Sonsowey Wrote:  

Funny how Dash has done his research so well that he knows the drill, even though he's never taught in Colombia.

Pay is a bit higher than $7-10 an hour. I get (after taxes) $27,000 COP an hour, about $16. That's at International House, with a CELTA.

Another institute I worked at (Verve Bogotá) paid 48,000 for a 1.5 hour class.

Thing is, you have to think in terms of ''classes'' not hours.

At International House, classes are 2 hours, so you get 62,000 COP per class after taxes.

At Verve, classes were 1.5 hours, and you'd get 48,000 for a class. There are no taxes, it's not a legal business. None of the other institutes take taxes out, they're all illegal.

Verve has the better hourly rate, but that doesn't really matter since each class with Verve is less money than International House.

These two institutes are the best I know of in Bogotá. A standard institute might pay $35,000 COP for a 1.5 hour class. Pretty shitty.

As for work visas, the ONLY institutes I know that sponsors work visas are International House and the British Council. EVERY other institute will feed you some BS about providing a work visa, but in the end I have not met a SINGLE person on a work visa who isn't with one of these two organizations.

Reputable Universities and Highschools that consistently hire foreigners to teach English do provide work visas. I have never worked for one, but know several people who are doing so on CELTAs. They work full school days and get paid around $2.5 million COP a month. I work about 20 hours a week (with maybe 10 hours of travel time) and get around 2 million a month. To me the extra free time is worth a bit less money.

People I know doing this work without a CELTA have not, largely, done well for themselves. They always are getting help from their parents, and are always broke.

People with a CELTA can also go under, but it's a lower %.

For what it's worth, practically all work at IH is now hourly, ie do NOT expect to get a long term contract and health insurance. They don't wanna pay for that anymore, and in return are offering better hourly wages than can be found elsewhere.

so the best institutes in Bogota pay about $15/hour and the rest are around $10/hr. Of course i'm going to think of it in terms of hours bc all classes aren't the same length. If there are only a few "good institutes" in Bogota I would imagine competition might be difficult. Not trying to be a pain in the ass, but for people who just show up in colombia looking for a job is it realistic that they will land one of these coveted jobs or do those jobs go to people with more experience and time in Colombia.

[Jalouse]

Hey Dash good stuff. I've decided I'm going to take the CELTA too, it's just a question of where and when. It seems like a great thing to have if you want to stick around in a place and become more of a local. I also have the advantage of an online income so how much I'm paid is not an issue.

[redneckpunk]

(06-22-2011 05:45 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  

(06-22-2011 05:21 PM)redneckpunk Wrote:  

pay should be around $7-10 per hour.

There is alot of people making OVER 20K an hour in colombia. You cant possibly say what the average pay is and cap it at $10. Check DavesCafe, most everyone will tell you pay is between 15K - 28K an hour for Language Institutes.

i'm sure people do make that much, but how long have they been in Colombia? After a year or so teaching somewhere you make more bc u get private gigs and have connections to land the best jobs. Not sure if it's realistic for a newbie. Outside of Bogota it might be hard to get those salaries also.

[Dash Global]

(06-23-2011 09:37 AM)redneckpunk Wrote:  

(06-22-2011 05:45 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  

(06-22-2011 05:21 PM)redneckpunk Wrote:  

pay should be around $7-10 per hour.

There is alot of people making OVER 20K an hour in colombia. You cant possibly say what the average pay is and cap it at $10. Check DavesCafe, most everyone will tell you pay is between 15K - 28K an hour for Language Institutes.

i'm sure people do make that much, but how long have they been in Colombia? After a year or so teaching somewhere you make more bc u get private gigs and have connections to land the best jobs. Not sure if it's realistic for a newbie. Outside of Bogota it might be hard to get those salaries also.

People with alot of experience most likely dont work at Language Institutes as it is viewed as the lowest on the totem pole. Most ppl hate the split shifts and constant traveling that go along with them also. There isnt much variation in pay imo, similar to Hagwons in Korea. Pretty much everyone is making around 2.2 a month regardless of experience at a korean hagwon. Yea you get a slight bump for experience think an extra 100 a month but at a certain point (2.5) they just wont hire someone that expects to make much more than they can hire a NET for. I would expect a similar practice in Colombia also.

[redneckpunk]

(06-23-2011 09:47 AM)Dash Global Wrote:  

(06-23-2011 09:37 AM)redneckpunk Wrote:  

(06-22-2011 05:45 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  

(06-22-2011 05:21 PM)redneckpunk Wrote:  

pay should be around $7-10 per hour.

There is alot of people making OVER 20K an hour in colombia. You cant possibly say what the average pay is and cap it at $10. Check DavesCafe, most everyone will tell you pay is between 15K - 28K an hour for Language Institutes.

i'm sure people do make that much, but how long have they been in Colombia? After a year or so teaching somewhere you make more bc u get private gigs and have connections to land the best jobs. Not sure if it's realistic for a newbie. Outside of Bogota it might be hard to get those salaries also.

People with alot of experience most likely dont work at Language Institutes as it the lowest on the totem pole. Most ppl hate the split shifts and constant traveling that go along with them also. There isnt much variation in pay imo, similar to Hagwons in Korea. Pretty much everyone is making around 2.2 a month regardless of experience at a korean hagwon. Yea you get a slight bump for experience think an extra 100 a month but at a certain point (2.5) they just wont hire someone that expects to make much more than they can hire a NET for. Same for Colombia i presume.

true dat, but after a year or so you can dump the middle man and teach business english at companies or private classes or rent a room and have ur own mini school and almost double ur salary.

[Ajiaco]

Nicely done, Dash and Sonsowey. Dash, you'll have no problem getting a job here after some time in Korea.

The only quibble I have is with Sonsowey's assertion that other institutes in Colombia don't help obtain visas for their foreign teachers. My first institute, which shall remain nameless because I wouldn't recommend working there, did get me a working visa. I have also heard good things about Con Ingles, which definitely gets work visas for teachers. From what I have seen, the British Council or University teaching are the choicest gigs, with the best hours/salary combo. Split shifts in the morning and at night get old fast. So does the constant travelling all over the city if you get that kind of gig where the teacher comes to the students, rather than the students coming to the institute's building.

The advice about knocking on doors is sound. Check the local newspapers (El Tiempo, El Espectador) for their job listings, as bilingual schools are constantly advertising there for teachers. Both institutes and bilingual schools are revolving doors, you never know when someone might be hiring as there is a lot of turnover. Send your resume everywhere, e-mail it wherever you can and make a nice English cover letter for the body of your e-mail.

Your first gig is likely to be your lamest one, but like Sonsowey and Redneckpunk point out, it is pretty easy to use that as a springboard to something better once you are down here.

[Dash Global]

Thanks for the props Ajiaco! I was waiting for you to chime in as I knew you had some experience teaching in Colombia.

[Gringo]

For those already teaching abroad (anywhere) or have done it in the past, do you enjoy it?

I'm signed up to a basic TEFL course next month, can do it for free so thought I may as well but the idea of actually teaching English doesn't appeal to me, I just like the idea of an easy life abroad with minimum working week and a lot of fun thrown in. Don't think I'd be too good at the job or actually have any interest in it. You think I'll find what I'm looking for with teaching English abroad (i.e. an easy life and some fun ). Would like to make enough money to live off too and not have a load of savings just to survive.

[Tony Snow25]

@Gringo it sounds like you might not enjoy teaching English. If you don't enjoy doing it there is a very good chance your students won't enjoy your classes and when they don't enjoy the class they won't show up and you could lose your job. I think you are getting into it for the wrong reasons.

Your best bet is to find some other type of work that could allow you to live abroad but this is the real world there isn't to many jobs that pay a sufficient amount of money to survive that are easy and fun. Especially in the countries that are the most fun to visit or live in such as brasil or Thailand(haven't been to Thailand but heard good things). I hear in South Korea you work basically a 40 hour work week and I'm sure in Japan you work quite a bit of hours too.

[Dash Global]

I think the most important thing is having an open mind when teaching ESL abroad.

I have never had a job I "enjoyed". Doesnt mean I wasnt good at what I did, I just didnt wake up every morning say I cant wait to get to work today! I made the most of every job I had. Flirted my ass off! haha

Most of the time you can make your work "fun" someway or another. I didnt like serving ppl in restaurants but I joked around with my coworkers and generally had a good time. Waiting hand in foot for ignorant ass ppl everyday gets old and not enjoyable.

Its all about being able to adapt, coming with an open mind, and having thick skin! Make friends, go out and enjoy your time abroad. Try to make work fun and do your job do to the best of your ability. If you follow those rules than you wont have much problems and will enjoy ur time much more most ppl.

Life is what you make of it!

[Gringo]

Quote:

I think you are getting into it for the wrong reasons.

If the 'right' reasons are because I enjoy teaching, want my students to learn, want to work hard etc then yes I am getting into it for all the wrong reasons but I currently do a job I don't care about / like and I reckon so do the majority of people out there are the same, doesn't mean we shouldn't do it though. If teaching English abroad can give me a more enjoyable lifestlye than I have here then I don't see why I shouldn't do it even if it is for selfish reasons.

[Dash Global]

The problem with the basic ESL field is there isnt much longevity and security in the profession / field. You need contingency plans and exits strategies in place. You dont wanna wake up one morning in Colombia at age 48 with no savings, pension, retirement ect.

You can make ESL a career but you gotta get highly qualified. masters degree, CELTA/DELTA. MA TEFL, ect.

Have a plan....

[Tony Snow25]

@Gringo I totally agree. You may actually like doing it though you won't know until you start. Just keep an open mind and see how it goes.