For those of you who don’t feel like reading the long version, here’s a brief version:
1. Many foreigners work on tourist visa(90days) if they are staying for less than a year and usually don’t run into trouble. ( I don’t recommend or condone this though)
2. Anything above 4,000 pesos per hour is considered good, averaging 5,000-5,500 pesos per hour. I however was offered 7,000 and up per hour at the main institute I work at and another for 6,000 for another. see number 3 for why. *make sure this is per HOUR not per CLASS* (also ask their paying method, including whether they take out %10 for fees)
3. Ask your hostel/hotel/school about possible teaching positions before you go to institutes to drop off a resume! you’ll probably end up with a lower wage if you do the latter before they come looking.
4. It’s relatively easy to find English-teaching job in Santiago and therefore it’s not necessary to arrange a job prior to your entry to the country-you will have to sign a contract that binds you exclusively to one institute and will get lower wage.
5. Many classes take place during office hours(especially lunch hours-1to 4 pm) at downtown office: dress well and be prompt, well just like any job. For guys, a dress shirt/pants and a tie ensemble is recommended.
Longer version of my experience
::I’ll reveal the names of the institutes and the hostel when I leave here in 5-6 months. If you want to know what they are to acquire similar positions, leave a comment and your email::
so it’s been 5 weeks since I got to Santiago and for the first 3-4 weeks,
I had a Spanish class from 9-1, making it more difficult to work “full-time”(being 25 hrs a week)
English is my second language(depends on who you ask haha) and I attended “ESOL”(-English for Students of Other Languages(seriously), not ESL) upon returning to the U.S.A. at the age of 12.
Since then, while studying in University/travelling and studying abroad,
I’ve taught students of various backgrounds and age but mainly the students were intermediate to advanced level.
I would say I have roughly about a year experience in teaching,
but I don’t have any formal training or a certificate such as TEFL.
Before coming into Santiago, I knew I wanted to get a job but wanted something more exotic(Cafe con piernas anyone? haha) than the typical teaching job just to experience different options before I fully get into one specific field.but alas, money is money and I gave in. (I still find it very interesting as my students tell me about Chilean culture from the native perspective)
I read some information about getting a job before I came here,
but I didn’t find them to be that helpful (since then I found better forums)
so I basically turned to craig’s list which isn’t as popular down here as you can imagine.
Within a week after my arrival,
the co-worker at the hostel I live in told me about one institute(Institute A) that sent her an email asking about potential teachers along with the wage. The hostel had previous “tenants” who worked at the institute along with another co-worker who was working there at the moment. I sent them an email with a brief description of my information, then another email with a coverletter and a resume.
I’ve read online that anything above 4,000 pesos (roughly equivalent of US $8 ) per hour is good but I read on another information website that charging US $10-20 is usual.The aforementioned co-worker had been working here for more than 6 months and what he did on his second week was that he mapped out all the institutes(most located in Providencia neighborhood) and went door to door dressed in his best formal clothes and dropped off a resume. He secured interviews in a couple of places and worked about 20 hours at most per week since, including 4 hours at the institute A. As far as I know he had no formal training/certificate or experience in teaching. His wage ranged from 4,500 to 5,500 10% of which went to pay “taxes.” -He worked on a tourist visa.
I too am working on a tourist visa(90 days) and the institute A offered me more classes and a contract when I decided to extend my stay here but I don’t think I’ll take the contract as it will bind me exclusively to the institute A(which won’t be a problem if they offer me more than 25 hours per week) and it takes 3 months to get work visa and I would have to pay tax(10%)-which will be returned at the end of the fiscal year(I won’t be here) and I have to pay to get the visa. I opt to go over to Argentina one weekend(probably to Mendoza) because I can use some great bife every 3 months.
Here’s something important: the Institute A offered 7,000 pesos per hour,
as said in the email sent to the staff at the hostel,
even when I thought I was going to stay for 3 months and therefore had less classes to teach.
My co-worker was getting paid 5,000 pesos per hour(even after six months).
Although we only worked at one same institute my guess for his overall lower wage is that it’s because he went in before they were looking. (he lied on his resume about certificate btw so it didn’t have anything to do with his qualification)-Basically he took whatever they offered him, hence agreeing on lower wage.
As my dad said, don’t lower your value out of desperation because then you will get nowhere. (I use to demand my raise when I had more steady job at a studio and they were more than willing to give me raise every 3 weeks because I did my job very well haha)
I also had an interview with another Institute (Institute B) on Monday and had a demonstration class today for an elementary student. It all went successfully and they are offering me classes in 2-3 weeks, 6,000 pesos per hour (10 % of which will go to processing fees and others). I had to prepare the material myself from their library (Review of Subject/Object pronouns and Possessive adjectives) and I thought it was going to be very hard since I usually dealt with more advanced students.
Also, it’s been such a long time since I studied another language from start with the instructions given in the very language. All my Spanish classes in Spanish-speaking countries(Spain, Argentina and Chile) were given instructions in Spanish which helped me improve Spanish greatly because I was thinking in Spanish instead of translating back and forth but I took Spanish since I was 13 and through out Highschool and the instructions were given in English. Same with Japanese which I started when I was 15(briefly) then again when i entered University-beginner classes were in Korean or English. so it’s kind of mind-numbing for me to put myself into beginner’s shoes and go into a class without knowing a word!
Obviously, I’d rather work more hours at Institute A but currently I only have 13 and a half hours a week starting next week and possibly 4 hours in a few weeks. If I can get more than 25 hours in 2-3 weeks, I’ll probably work exclusively for them.
All the institutes pay monthly, Institute A paying me cash without any fees taken out and Institute B paying with a check.
Many classes are at downtown offices which is within 15-30 minute walking distance from where I live so I just wear sneaks there and change into heels before I enter the building. You have to be formally dressed to work in Chilean business environments.
I have 2 classes today in Puente Alto which is an hour away (total of 6 hours/twice a week). Normally I wouldn’t take them since it’s 2 hours round trip but it was a package deal with other classes downtown. (I get 8,000 pesos per hour for those classes)
As for living situation, I live in a hostel without paying(not exactly “Free” though) in exchange for 18-20 hrs of work per week. Right now I share the staff room with only one other person who will be leaving in a week or so.
It includes free breakfast(bread, pancakes, eggs, fruits, juice, jams/margarines, tea & coffee-until recently they also had cereal and yogurt) until 1pm(yessss, but being a staff, I just get it whenever I wake up meaning 4 am or pm) at least 4 computers with webcam and everything, wifi(although I get my own line in my room), movie room with 61inch screen TV and Xbox full of movies and hundreds of DVDs, a game room with a pool table and a fuzball table and a PS2(none of which I play). Until 2 weeks ago, the owner used to offer free pasta night on Tuesdays (and enough left over for Wednesday too) making really good pasta sauce from scratch but then someone stole his mp3 player one Tuesday while he was cooking so he’s not going to do that for awhile. Still, he often makes cookies or peanut-butter cups at least once a week for everyone.
oh and the hostel comes with a spoiled but cute and nice dog and ridiculously cute cat that acts like a baby, meowing softly to get what it wants. I haven’t had a pet for 10 years so it’s a nice change. Obviously living in a hostel has its ups and downs like any other place.
