Five Thousand Teaching Jobs

Thanks BobH for that information. From my experience in Loja, I can verify that there is a shortage of teachers here, so there may be some opportunity for expats for fill the English teacher position, especially if they have a degree in Education. Both my education and life's work are in Instructional Design (Curriculum Development) and I have seen the English curriculum and coursework that is used. God knows some input from a native English speaker would would be a real boost to the standard courses taught here.

However, I am very skeptical of the quoted salaries in the article. A secondary teacher in Loja, with a degree earns about $600 per month, with some limited subsidies (mostly tax breaks). $2,226 in one month is about half what the average Ecuadorian makes in a year, and, well, $5,009 per month would put you among the top earners in the country. It just seems unlikely that a teacher or professor would be a top earner. That amount of money could bring me out of retirement, even in the U.S. where a 30 year veteran with a Doctorate In Education would barely make that much money, except perhaps at the most prestigious schools.

Starting teachers with a 4 year degree and no experience start at more than $2,226 a month and work 188 days/year in Pennsylvania public grade schools and secondary schools. Those with 25 years experience earn more than $6,000 a month and can retire after teaching 35 years on 87.5% of the average of their best three years. No doctorate required. I know a dozen college professors, and they all make more than $6000/month, some earning $8,000 to $9,000 per month at Lehigh, Kutztown and Muhlenburg.

If Ecuador wants to improve the education system, then I guess they will have to pay the market rate.  $2,226/month for a college professor is peanuts, perhaps people want to flee Spain badly enough to take such pay.  Good luck

Mugtech,

We are really talking two things here. One, salaries in the U.S. These salaries vary considerably from state to state so I am not questioning your figures. But, the U.S. rates are irrelevant to this discussion. Yes, I know I brought this up, but, I really was just joking. I would have loved to make $5,000 a month is the U.S. as a professor. Salaries in my state were among the lowest.

The point I was making is that $2,226 is NOT the market rate here. I am not questioning you, I am questioning the article. I doubt seriously if they will pay some teachers $2,226 and others $600. I think a lot of teachers will be quitting if they do that. Certainly, you can understand the gross discrepancy this would create.

Well, it did say college professors are in that $2226 range, not public school teachers.  It did not say how much the school teachers would be paid, only the college professors, so comparing $600 to $2,226 is apples and oranges.  How much are college professors paid in Ecuador?  That is the number you seek to compare.

Mugtech,

I apologize for being so unclear. Let me just explain why I responded to this thread in the first place. It seemed to me that the article (not your posting) might have lead some, who are very interested in getting a job here, to believe that there are teaching jobs available for a very handsome sum over $2,000 a month. Primary and secondary schools do not have jobs anywhere near that salary. I honestly don't know what a professor gets here, but I doubt he gets 6 times the average wage, and most definitely not 12 times. But, I simply don't know. I just don't want anyone to get a false impression, which I think the article paints. That's all I want to accomplish and never intended to create such confusion over this topic.

As far as getting a teaching job here. That is possible, especially since teachers are needed here. Last year, the schools changed the hours teachers had to stay on campus, and a number of teachers quit, creating more job openings. If you want (I am speaking to anyone reading this) to teach English here, or speak fluent Spanish and have a degree in in another topic you could teach, then a teaching job is possible and I encourage you to look into that. The salaries are liveable, and the students are amazingling respectful and fun to teach.

There are however, regardless what that article might imply, many fewer openings at the the college level. But, I don't ever want to discourage anyone if they have their mind set on something. So, if you wish a Professorship position, by all means pursue that. What Mugtech has shared with us does imply that if you have the right credentials and are fluent in Spanish, higher level teaching jobs are available Whatever that job's salary is, it will definitely be liveable.

i like you am trying to determine the appropriate contacts on this topic. My field is commonly called robotics or automation design & engineering. Unlike you I simply wish to volunteer my time in Cuenca.
My field in the states is extremely limited to roughly 5,000 or so truly skilled people in this automation arena and without automation most countries simply die. Thus my willingness to help out. If you by chance locate the go to folks on this I'd appreciate some feedback. A side note, 40 years ago when I visited malaysia the taxi that picked me up had a bumper sticker issued by that government that simply read "automate or die" The rest is now history.
Good Luck

Tim,

These things happen in interesting ways. When I first got to Ecuador and was visiting Cuenca, I was invited by some friendly Americans tourists to join them in a trip to the Inca ruins. They had hired a driver for the day. He is a goat farmer who does the Driver thing on the side. Really nice guy. We had quite a bit of time driving, and so we talked about goat farming (a topic that really interests me) and about farming in general. My career has been education, but I have a dual degree in Biology. We were talking about animal husbandry and he got really excited about my background. To make a long story short, he was saying how much Ecuadorians need help in some of the technical areas of farming, husbandry being one of those areas. He really wanted me to move to Cuenca and work with him educating the farmers on some of the techniques not being used there. It was tempting, but not what I wanted at that time.

I can imagine that your background could offer a similar boost to efforts some of people here. There are more than a few who are trying to get Ecuadorians to embrace modern technology. You might be surprised how many people you might meet that have very progressive ideas. It could be a cab driver with a Ph.D, because jobs can be hard to find. But, talk to enough people and you are are very likely to find the exact place to put some of your skills into action.

BTW, the trip to the ruins was really fun and very informative. Our driver was not allowed to go with us for the docent's presentation, but he filled in many details after the tour was complete.

Joseph: I agree that the salaries seem very high by Ecuadorian standards, but:

a) The article is from Spain's top news agency, EFE, and is quoting Ecuador's deputy secretary for educational and professional development -- that doesn't mean there couldn't be a mistake, but it seems like reliable sources;
b) As noted, the salaries quoted are for the university jobs, not primary/secondary; and
c) They would be unlikely to attract the number of teachers they want if they offered only $600/mo.

I think this may create some ill-feeling among the existing teachers -- I'd probably resent a bunch of foreigners coming in and being paid maybe double what I'm getting. I hope they have a plan to deal with that.

But in any case, the point of the posting is that this may represent an opportunity for teachers.

BobH wrote:

But in any case, the point of the posting is that this may represent an opportunity for teachers.

Totally Agree

Joe, as usual great insight. I'll post something at the University to determine the level of interest.
As an example of application, your farmer guy if he knew could use our mobile hydraulics to dramatically improve his harvest time and crop yields.
If you simply look around your home, I can honestly say after 40 years in this field that every item in your home has been a part of my career either with direct involvement during development or as as a mentor to others who've tackled projects requiring the next level of expertise.
Great industry and it's global fit allows most anyone to live extremely well wherever they wish. Ecuador like most of SA knows that automation at every level must be there next step in order to rise to the world status and recognition they seek.

Always a pleasure, Tim

We are looking for teaching jobs.  My significant other has 15+ years teaching Mathematics of all disciplines.  His experience has been mostly high school and middle school.  He is currently employed as a math teacher, and he also coaches speech, debate & dram, and is a tennis coach as well.  He is well love and respected by his students both present and past.

We would love t hear of any openings in the English Schools. 

Thank You

This is anecdotal:  I met a man here from Holland (retired professor from some university) who was here to aid in the formation of some kind of board in the national university.  He did mention that the professors spent all their time teaching and did little in the way of research. 

I was also told that many teach in outside classes (places that offer courses in html, for example) to make ends meet.  Since my only contact with higher education is riding by the universities, the people who told me this might have thought "Mike will believe anything..."

It did sound too good to be true to me as well.

MarkandBeck wrote:

We are looking for teaching jobs.  My significant other...is currently employed as a math teacher, and he also coaches speech, debate & dram, and is a tennis coach as well.

No wonder there's so much unemployment in Montana.  One man has all the jobs

You can ask about teacher openings at the Einstein School in Quito at:                            www.einsteink.12.ec/home-e.html

....Or the British School of Quito at:
www.britishschoolquito.edu.ec/

cccmedia in Quito

Thank you so much.... Yes, he is toooooo busy and toooooo stressed out.  Loves what he does, and he is very good at it, he is  just a leeeeetle tooooo stressed after all of these years  

He needs to go back to the job he loves..... teaching kids

MarkandBeck wrote:

He needs to go back to the job he loves..... teaching kids

Sounds like a plan.

Correcting the Einstein School web address (a dot was off by one space):

  www.einstein.k12.ec/home-e.html

Gosh, this was a couple years ago. At the time, It was my understanding that Correa was planing a "silicon valley" outside of Quito so says my adopted family in Loja. It is been so long that I have forgotten the exact location. This will be a long-term commitment and the teaching jobs are necessary for building the supporting infrastructure for this effort. I heard that quite a few people from Spain were hired. Of course, speaking Spanish would be a great asset for a teacher because most people seeking these jobs will not yet l speak English. However, that is also being changed. Now English classes are required in all schools. I worked with a few students helping with their English and, unfortunately, the school's classes are horrendous and the materials are riddled with errors. A lot of schools need a curriculum developer to update and correct the materials. But, I don't know if the schools have money for that. In any case, it is good to see Ecuador getting so progressive these days. The silicon valley idea is genius. In regard to jobs: this may be an opportunity if you are residing in Quito. Otherwise, not so much.

Joseph K wrote:

a "silicon valley" outside of Quito so says my adopted family in Loja. It's been so long that I have forgotten the exact location. This will be a long-term commitment and the teaching jobs are necessary for building the supporting infrastructure for this effort. I heard that quite a few people from Spain were hired....The silicon valley idea is genius.

Joseph, it's high time that this project started getting some exposure on this blog.

We're talking about Yachay: City of Knowledge.

IMO, it's a project of great potential significance, and thus deserves its own thread apart from this teaching-jobs thread.  And so, I've created one here on the Ecuador Forum, titled:
             "The Vision For Ecuador's Silicon Valley."

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 04#2512465

cccmedia in Quito

Hello,  I am from India with good English knowledge and well experienced in the present requirement, i am presently living in Guayaquil and looking for a opportunity like this to extent my experience and ready to teach from bottom of my books.. I am ready to work in this opportunity in places like Guayaquil, Cuenca and also Quito. please send me the details if this job opportunity in still open for me on this email [email protected]

thank you so much
shanker

shanker999 wrote:

i am presently living in Guayaquil and looking for a opportunity like this to extent my experience and ready to teach from bottom of my books..

If you're looking to teach English, or teach while speaking in the English language, the above sentence is problematic.

For the thousands of teachers Ecuador was seeking (in 2013) as stated in the OP's post, the search was focused on Spain, so evidently native español-speakers were sought.

What kind of visa are you on?

cccmedia in Quito

CCCM,
As we would say in the Navy "Bravo Zulu", good attention to detail. I had to read it twice myself..... Having a 15 year old son attending the Einstein School here in Quito, I have to admit the curriculum is terrible!! As a matter of routine I translate my son's homework and put it with the original. I did not think twice about this until he came home one day and told me the translated page was turned in with his homework. The teacher looked at it, shook his head and made some kind of comment about "Gringos being know it all's. I openly admit to my being a bit of a smartass, but in my defense one could not survive 22 years of active duty without having thick skin.  That's cool, no harm no foul.

Would like to discuss teaching with you privately.  Would you contact me
Thank you
Sally

Hi, Bob,
I've been an ESL/EFL instructor at the tertiary level for over 25 years and know from reliable sources and experience that it is almost always impossible to apply for a job in Latin America online. You have to be on the ground, unlike other countries (e.g., China, Middle East, etc.).  Their websites don't have an employment link. Also, from what I've read about Cuenca, it seems difficult to land a university position, even with Master's degrees and ample experience, compared to say, Quito because there are fewer institutions. Even at the ESL job websites I often peruse, one never sees teaching opportunities advertised for Latin America, except for volunteer positions or some private school at the elementary level. A little advice for those backpacker "English" teachers with no related degree/TEFL certificate, the pay rate is generally between $5-10/hour at best at those language school mills. Competition is stiff because there are so many highly qualified ESL/EFL teachers with overseas experience. Thanks for the info!
Regards,
ESL JM