# Teaching English abroad



## Infinity_8 (Jun 27, 2008)

Do people make decent money teaching English in Mexico? I have seen mixed responses to this other places.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Don't know specifically about Mexico, but in general you'll probably find that there are lots of "informal" English teachers available - often anglophone expats with no particular qualification to teach or those on visas that don't allow them to work, so they're "teaching" under the table. This drives down the going rates even for the best qualified TEFL and TESOL folks. 
Cheers,
Bev


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

From everything have read over the years, they generally struggle to make it. Getting a work visa is too much trouble for most schools, so they hire teachers on tourist visas for a few hours per week, and teachers must cobble together a schedule from several sources. One person I remember wrote that he spent more time on buses than teaching. I've heard the pay isn't good, as little as $3 an hour. But that was long ago and things may have changed.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

It isn't easy to find and working without an FM3 with specific permission for a specific job at a certain address is illegal.


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## leegleze (Oct 1, 2007)

In my 50s, I taught for a resort near Puerto Vallarta for six years. The pay was very low (about $210 US per week for 20 hours). But I received all-inclusive perks (basically anything a hotel guest would receive except liquor), as well as a cute little apartment just off the grounds of the resort. I usually ate on the grounds, used the beach and pools, and yet enjoyed the "status and respect" of being a staff member. My meagre wages allowed me to do personal things like take in the occasional pub night or dinner out or buy personal items, but was not enough to run a car or save for occasional trips back to Canada to visit family. 

Since that time, living costs have almost doubled in the area. Certainly, if you have dependents, it would be impossible to live on current wages, and I understand that the resort is no longer offering accommodation for their English teacher. However, if you are retired and would simply like to be productive, this is definitely a job to consider, but you will need some sort of TESL qualification to get in the door, unless the employer is particularly desperate. 

As to other venues: There are many gringos who do this type of work as volunteers too, so setting up as a private tutor is not lucrative either. "Backpackers" (young native English speakers with no qualifications except high-school) are hired at even lower rates, and they're a dime a dozen. They work for two or three months, then move on, with many similar backpackers ready to take their places. Most do this under the table, just to get a few pesos to continue their explorations in Mexico.

Unless you have a degree, apply to a university, and are able to snaggle one of the few jobs available, it's a jungle out there.

Sorry to burst your bubble.


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