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Buenos Aires is an exciting destination for ESL teachers, and it is also my favorite destination. I have been to Argentina twice and I have spent close to a year and a half in the country. I’m going to explain to you how to get hired and some of the most important bureaucratic hurdles to get through. You don’t need to have mastered the art of the Jedi mind trick to be successful there; however, there are a few things that you need to know about!
Prior to arriving in Buenos Aires, I already had already sent my resume and cover letter to several different English Institutes. I did not have the benefit of a job placement service at this time; therefore, I had to do all of the job research on my own. I tackled this task with enthusiasm. Utilizing craigslist, I was able to find several open positions for ESL teachers and secure some job interviews prior to even stepping foot in Argentina. Craigslist is also highly useful for finding a place to stay. If you have job assistance provided for you then I would take advantage of that service as well.
I’d like to take a moment now to describe the types of jobs that are available in Buenos Aires for English teachers. Buenos Aires is a huge cosmopolitan center. That being the case, there are many businesses that hire English teachers to teach their staff. Most of these businesses will not hire an individual teacher, but rather go through English institutes. There are dozens of English institutes all throughout Buenos Aires. Most of these institutes cater to businesses, so I highly recommend that you take a course in teaching business English prior to going to Argentina, as it will be of great service to you. There are other institutes, such as Wall Street Institute that work with individual students. However, you can earn more money working as an independent contractor with an institute that deals primarily with corporate clients. The typical pay with these institutes is approximately 30 pesos an hour. Wall Street Institute pays about half of that amount.
In order to get a job with most of the institutes in Buenos Aires, all you need as a native speaker is some type of TEFL certificate. I had a B.A. in History and a 60 hour TEFL certificate when I worked in Buenos Aires, which was more than sufficient to secure employment. That being said, the more education that you have the more qualified you will be to get the best paying positions. Obtaining a TESOL certificate before going to Argentina would be ideal. In addition to the necessary education, In order to work for most institutes you will need to get a CUIT number. This should not be confused with a CUIL number. A CUIT number is basically a tax ID number that the government gives to independent contractors. The CUIL number is specifically for people who work for a company that provides them with benefits, etc. The institutes use this number for accounting purposes.
You might be wondering why the Argentine government would give you a tax ID number if you don’t have a work visa. Well, I found out that there is a provision in their law code that allows foreigners with US or EU passports to obtain a CUIT number. You have to get a certificado de domicilio. Then you go to your local AFIP office and fill out two forms and present your passport. You don’t need a contract to get this number. Once you have your CUIT number you register it online at AFIP’s website and you are set. You will have to pay a monthly tax though, which is not significant (especially if you are used to dealing with the IRS). In order to get a certificado de domicilio, all you have to do is go to the local police station and ask for one. They will charge you around 10 pesos and within the next couple of days they will deliver it to your residence.
Once you have your CUIT number you’ll have to get a book of invoice forms, which are called facturas. When the institutes pay you they have you fill out a factura from your book. They are all numbered and they contain your personal information on them. In order to get one of these books you’ll just have to go to a print shop. They are very easy to get; however, you must have your CUIT number before ordering the facturas. The only part of this entire process that takes a while to complete is actually getting the CUIT number.
Now that you have your CUIT number and your book of facturas you are ready to start working. You can expect to receive about 25 hours a week of work from the hiring institute. Some teachers work for two or more institutes in order to have a full work week. I was fortunate in that the institute where I worked gave me a lot of hours. It is much more convenient to work a lot of hours with one institute. The reason why is that there is a lot less paperwork to do and you only have to worry about cashing in one check (typically at Santander Bank). Each institute has its own procedures and forms that you must fill out for each class. So, you’ll just create more work for yourself if you spread yourself thin over several different institutes.
-See Part Two of this article, here. |
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