A Guide to Teaching in Peru
Peru is a spectacular country to teach, there are beautiful beaches, mountains and lush jungles. One of the benefits of working in Peru is you will get to integrate into the society and see amazing places like Machu Picchu in your spare time.
Most teaching jobs are found in large larger population areas like Cusco, Lima, Arequipa and Trujillo. Lima is where most language school are based and it is usually easier to find work here than in the other areas of the country. Lots of private language schools have been opened in Peru in the last decade and this is where most teachers find work. International schools can be the hardest to get a job, some will require you to be fully qualified but if you do secure a job, they will usually pay you very well.
Some international language schools offer 1+ year contracts and will handle all your visa issues. Teaching at an international school can be a fantastic experience and will look great on your CV/resume and will also boost your bank balance. Universities in Peru also hire foreign teachers, you will usually need a bachelor’s degree and a TEFL certificate. There is also the option to give private lessons, although the hourly rate can be quite low.
TEFL Courses in Peru
One of the best ways to get a teaching job is to take a TEFL certification in Peru. There are classroom TEFL courses available to book throughout the country where you will be trained by experienced staff and get to hands on tuition which is great if you have no previous experience.
These courses are an internationally recognized and accredited certification boosting your chances of getting a job teaching English in Peru and worldwide. Most TEFL schools offer packages which include accommodation, training, a certification and they also organise excursions and activities.
TEFL companies usually have excellent links with recruiters and some offer guaranteed paid jobs on completion of a course.
Peak Hiring Time
You can find work all year round but the best times when most vacancies are advertised are February-March and July-August.
Visa & Requirements
Some people enter Peru on a tourist visa and then work illegally but we recommend finding a job and then asking the school to sponsor your business visa. Getting a work visa is complicated and can take months, only your employer can arrange this for you but you will usually need to cover the cost (around £300 US$500).
Working Week
You could be working Monday to Friday and weekends either early in the morning, evenings or full days. At language schools you will usually work for around 20-30 hours of classroom lessons per week.
Salary for Teaching in Peru
Peru is a developing country and wages are not that high. If you have previous experience, a TEFL, TESOL or CELTA certification and a degree you will stand a better chance of getting a well paid teaching job. A lot of postions are unpaid. Generally when working as a teacher in Peru you can make around £400 - £750 per month (US$700 - $1000 / 2000 - 2800 PEN). You will usually need to pay for flights and accommodation.
Cost of Living
Per month we estimate you will have around £300 - £500 (US$500 - $800 / 1,500 - 2,000 PEN) of out goings per month.
Peru TEFL Reviews & Experiences
"Looking through many teaching possibilities I am very happy to have chosen Tinkuy Peru. It is a peruvian family organisation that took it as their quest to help the poorest of children to have a more healthy life, to allow the children to play in an educational way, and have the unworried childs life they deserve. The alternative is just playing in the sand for the smallest children, not learning how to speak for a far too long time and working on a far too young age.
We taught the children maths, spelling, colouring (for the youngest (2-5) and of course did a lot of fun activities, including sports and a lot of singing. The children were very grateful for the attention given by me and very eager to learn new things. I really had the strong feeling of making a contribution and that's of course why i wanted to do voluntary work.
Tinkuy Peru allows the volunteers to come up with new ideas to optimise the time spend with the children. But since I was relatively unexperienced with children I was very relieved (especially in the beginning) that the members of Tinkuy Peru (in my case Elisabeth, the sociologist daughter of Tino) are very professional in creating a program that is most beneficial to the children.
Being able to give warmth to the children and managing to put smiles on the faces of children who hardly ever smiled gave me a feeling i hardly ever had. Maybe the children gave me even more warmth then I have given them. Also the children helped me improve my spanish big time. I was welcomed enthusiastically and when i left, the children wrote me goodbye cards. I wished i could have stayed longer, but that is life.
In the evening i helped with the english school for adults: a program that helps financing the children care. Also this was a lot of fun and helped me to improve my spanish.
Tino and his family (including also a few former children sort of adopted away from a bad situation) were also a 100% involved in giving the volunteers a pleasant experience while being in Huancayo. In one weekend we went for example to the largest cave of south america, which was absolutely amazing, and to the jungle nearby (great to party there as well ;). All under the perfect guidance of Jesus, a member of the family you can say. As if talking with the lovely members of the family or playing with Angelita (3 yrs old) and Pilar (8 years old) was not enough to make the spare time a wonderful time.
Finally it was great to have perfect and cheap internet facilities and calling facilities just around the corner. The time flew by, and for me it was the perfect beginning of a very long trip. Tino and family, thanks once more."
- Honoré, France
