Employment opportunities in Colombia

[thedream2012]

 Hello, I am interested in moving to Colombia, but I will need to find employment of course.
Just a little background about myself.  I live in Los Angeles, California and work in the auto insurance industry.  I can speak Spanish pretty well.   I use it almost every day to interact with our customers here.   I also have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish.
I have already done some research about employment in Colombia.  The opportunities seem bleak.  I thought about teaching English, but it seems that schools don’t pay much and one will have to work very long hours.  That wouldn’t leave me enough time to get to know the country. 
I hear the IT and engineering fields are promising out there, but I don’t have any experience in those fields. 
However, I am willing to enter a training program to get into a promising field as well.  Are there any growing occupations there?
Based on my situation, what advice do you guys have for finding a job in Colombia? 
All recommendations are welcome, but I would love to hear from experienced posters such as Calipro, Researcher,  Alabamaboy, and AndyLee. 
Thanks in advance!
 
 
 

[maritime04]

You have some options, it takes some thinking outside the box, many people assume that they can find work in Colombia; I hate to say this but as you said that option is bleak, First set your living expense budget, and where you would like to live. Because WHERE you are moving to is an important factor in cost, and quality of life. IE Bogota is more expensive than Cali or Armenia but you may have more luck in finding work in the local market with larger cities.
Looking at it, you have 3 options, 1. Is the local market, which at best will be LOW pay, and LONG hours if you can even find something. 2. Is working from home over the internet
Internet connections are for the most part in the larger cities, high speed and reliable enough to work with. That is something you should look into, even working for 1800flowers as a sales rep would pay better than anything you will find in the local market.
Option 3 is working overseas, and living in Colombia. Many people and even Colombians will work oversea for months at a time, and then return to Colombia for vacation. I do not know your skills qualifications or education level, or how badly you really want to live there but it could be an option. Many jobs allow this type of travel and may even pay for it.
Flight attendant
Merchant seaman
Airline pilots
Consultants
Private Security
In my years of living there I ran across all types of people, retirees, airline consultants, finance consultants, sailors, business owners, criminals, entrepreneurs, airline pilots, backwater employees, and some just sold everything they owned and came down without a job or even a prospect of one. It will all depend on how you want to live, which estrato you choose and where. From there you can develop a plan and go about it.

[thedream2012]

Thank you for your detailed advice maritime04.  I'll do more research on my housing options.  I want out of my country badly, so I'm willing to take some big risks.

[Jeff S]

The best bet is an internet based business. That way you're not dependent on local governments and such. It'd not that tough to set up these days and making 1-2 grand a month is a relative slam dunk. If nothing else: http://elance.com.

[JimD]

Rounding out Maritime's post I have met numerous foriegners American and other who work for the International Center For Tropical Agriculture. This organization pays in dollars and supplies a new Nissan product for transportation. The hitch, you will need a doctorate in a science field. Another good gig is teaching in a private bi-lingual high school. A friend of mine does and also gets paid in dollars. Then like Bob says there are internet opportunities from a business to day trading to a webcam site. I've met Americans or other foreigners involved in each of those. I also met a gringo who is a salvage diver doing repairs to mostly Chinese ships in  the harbour in Buenaventura. Or if you want to live like the Colombians do I have a friend who just scrapes by raising coffee plants and selling game hen eggs in a mountain village.

[Calipro]

Hello, I am interested in moving to Colombia, but I will need to find employment of course.
Just a little background about myself.  I live in Los Angeles, California and work in the auto insurance industry.  I can speak Spanish pretty well.   I use it almost every day to interact with our customers here.   I also have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish.
I have already done some research about employment in Colombia.  The opportunities seem bleak.  I thought about teaching English, but it seems that schools don’t pay much and one will have to work very long hours.  That wouldn’t leave me enough time to get to know the country. 
I hear the IT and engineering fields are promising out there, but I don’t have any experience in those fields. 
However, I am willing to enter a training program to get into a promising field as well.  Are there any growing occupations there?
Based on my situation, what advice do you guys have for finding a job in Colombia? 
All recommendations are welcome, but I would love to hear from experienced posters such as Calipro, Researcher,  Alabamaboy, and AndyLee. 
Thanks in advance!
 
 

Investing a lot of time and money in training to try and gain employment with a Colombian company is a mistake IMHO.


Getting certified to teach english isn't a bad idea...you probably won't make a living at it but it will allow you to meet a lot of people and build your social circle fast.


I only know of two americans that work full time for companies here and they are both British I believe....one teaches english and makes $35,000 a year which is the most I have ever heard of anyone making and I'm not sure I really believe it until he shows me his pay check....the other guy lives in Bogota and sells off shore type investments....which are not legal to sell in the states from what I am told....but hey...he's living in Colombia so I guess it's alright....he makes about $50,000 a year and I believe him.


Anyway you can make money on the internet is a good option....plenty of day traders  here. 


There are business opportunities here that require some investment....I don't recommend anything with a store front unless you can find a trust worthy colombian partner...which is next to impossible.


I'm taking a friend of mine around Cali at the end of the month to rent and furnish apartments to sublet to foreigners....this is a pretty good business...I have made money doing this. 


If you want to come down to Cali and see if you like it here then PM me and we can meet up in Cali sometime and see if we have some common business interests.

[maritime04]

Yeah, i actually have rarely meet a gringo who opened a bussniess in Medellin that did not go belly up fast or not get ripped off, casino's, night clubs, hotels ect..., about the only people who i saw make a profit or a good living was in "sex tourism", maybe marriage agency guys who do it right instead of the fly by night operations you see poping up would work out.

[thedream2012]

Investing a lot of time and money in training to try and gain employment with a Colombian company is a mistake IMHO.


Getting certified to teach english isn't a bad idea...you probably won't make a living at it but it will allow you to meet a lot of people and build your social circle fast.


I only know of two americans that work full time for companies here and they are both British I believe....one teaches english and makes $35,000 a year which is the most I have ever heard of anyone making and I'm not sure I really believe it until he shows me his pay check....the other guy lives in Bogota and sells off shore type investments....which are not legal to sell in the states from what I am told....but hey...he's living in Colombia so I guess it's alright....he makes about $50,000 a year and I believe him.


Anyway you can make money on the internet is a good option....plenty of day traders  here. 


There are business opportunities here that require some investment....I don't recommend anything with a store front unless you can find a trust worthy colombian partner...which is next to impossible.


I'm taking a friend of mine around Cali at the end of the month to rent and furnish apartments to sublet to foreigners....this is a pretty good business...I have made money doing this. 


If you want to come down to Cali and see if you like it here then PM me and we can meet up in Cali sometime and see if we have some common business interests.

Thanks for the insight and warnings Calipro.  I'm planning on going there for about a week this year.  What time of year would you recommend?  I'll drop you a message if I do go. 

[thedream2012]

Yeah, i actually have rarely meet a gringo who opened a bussniess in Medellin that did not go belly up fast or not get ripped off, casino's, night clubs, hotels ect..., about the only people who i saw make a profit or a good living was in "sex tourism", maybe marriage agency guys who do it right instead of the fly by night operations you see poping up would work out.

I figured that type of thing happened.  That's why I'm not willing to make any kind of investments there or go into business with someone I don't know.  I appreciate your advice though.  Thanks. 

[benjio]

Easiest and most fool proof option IMO...learn an in demand programming language, preferably JavaScript, C/C++ or C#, get certified, then get a remote developer position. There are thousands of jobs out there. I have a new head hunter calling me at least once a week. For a newbie, you're looking at a $55K+ salary to start...more than enough to live comfortably in Colombia. When you get some experience salaries can range anywhere from $75K - $120K annually. All you need is a trustworthy internet connection. I have probably met a dozen gringos in Colombia doing this and they all lived very comfortably.

[Zon]

Easiest and most fool proof option IMO...learn an in demand programming language, preferably JavaScript, C/C++ or C#, get certified, then get a remote developer position. There are thousands of jobs out there. I have a new head hunter calling me at least once a week. For a newbie, you're looking at a $55K+ salary to start...more than enough to live comfortably in Colombia. When you get some experience salaries can range anywhere from $75K - $120K annually. All you need is a trustworthy internet connection. I have probably met a dozen gringos in Colombia doing this and they all lived very comfortably.

And what is the work day / work culture like? positive. negative.  crazy demanding.  I wonder ...

[thedream2012]

Easiest and most fool proof option IMO...learn an in demand programming language, preferably JavaScript, C/C++ or C#, get certified, then get a remote developer position. There are thousands of jobs out there. I have a new head hunter calling me at least once a week. For a newbie, you're looking at a $55K+ salary to start...more than enough to live comfortably in Colombia. When you get some experience salaries can range anywhere from $75K - $120K annually. All you need is a trustworthy internet connection. I have probably met a dozen gringos in Colombia doing this and they all lived very comfortably.

Thanks bro.  I'll do some research on this. 

[Calipro]

And what is the work day / work culture like? positive. negative.  crazy demanding.  I wonder ...

I new a guy that worked as a programmer while in Cali years ago....all the work he did was over the internet for US companies.....he would literally lock himself in his bedroom for 12 hours at a clip and just work. I don't think I could work like that in Cali knowing that hot chicks are waiting for my phone call. jajaja

[JimD]

I new a guy that worked as a programmer while in Cali years ago....all the work he did was over the internet for US companies.....he would literally lock himself in his bedroom for 12 hours at a clip and just work. I don't think I could work like that in Cali knowing that hot chicks are waiting for my phone call. jajaja

I don'think he made that much while he was in Cali but he did corral a wife and went stateside with her.

[brian57]

"learn an in demand programming language, preferably JavaScript, C/C++ or C#, get certified"
 
Yeah right, that job would drive 99% of the gringos crazy, EVEN if they could do it.
And to be really honest,  about .0000001% of gringos could learn it.

[whitey]

"learn an in demand programming language, preferably JavaScript, C/C++ or C#, get certified"
 
Yeah right, that job would drive 99% of the gringos crazy, EVEN if they could do it.
And to be really honest,  about .0000001% of gringos could learn it.

Why do you say that?  I think it's great advice, if you have the aptitude.  We have a large department of programmers using these languages where I work.  If I was a programmer, I could probably live 4-6 months of the year working from Colombia for my current company.

[benjio]

"learn an in demand programming language, preferably JavaScript, C/C++ or C#, get certified"
 
Yeah right, that job would drive 99% of the gringos crazy, EVEN if they could do it.
And to be really honest,  about .0000001% of gringos could learn it.

I will admit that remote programing and development aren't for everyone. It definitely requires a level of discipline because you wouldn't have a boss looking over your shoulder all day. And as Cali said there would be plenty of "distractions" in a place like Colombia. But it's a viable option for anyone willing to study, practice and become proficient at it. Programming is not nearly as difficult as most people think it is. The challenge (the fun part for me) is transforming real world logic into code a computer can understand. This is probably what took the guy CaliPro is talking about 12 hours a day, because writing the code itself is 95% cutting and pasting stuff that has already been written (if you're smart). Some people get it, some don't.
 
But just think, I know a guy in Barranquilla dating an absolutely beautiful Morena that makes $80K a year remote developing. He works 40 hours a week online, stays in Colombia full time on a student visa and takes Spanish Immersion Classes at the Universidad del Norte, is renting a gorgeous 3 Bedroom apartment near Buena Vista Mall, and spends his free time fishing with his girlfriend's father. He's having a ball...very happy and doesn't plan on returning to the states anytime soon.

[Alabamaboy!]

Where would you get the training for becoming a programmer like this? What time frame would you think it would take to do it on a part time basis? Do you just need certification or University degree?

I have investigated a bunch of different ideas, but like someone said, if you are dealing with Colombians to actually do the work, you will have more headaches than it is worth. For example I started a "micro loan" company with my suegro. He loans out like 100K COP for example and then collects 4K per day for a month. So we make 20K or 20% on the money per month. So with an investment of 10 million COP or roughly $5K USD, it would generate about 2 million per month, 1 for me and 1 for him and the family. It started out pretty good. But they were not sending me the reports and info as I asked, so I told them to just keep the cash, keep doing the business on their own, and it would be my contribution to the family. We were at the 5 million COP level so not a huge deal. Also I had been helping the family with a couple hundred USD anyway, so this was a good way for them to actually earn the money rather than just receiving it. It may have been a success for me if I would have stuck in there, but I don't like the disorganized way they do things. And the lack of clear communication on simple issues is just a huge headache. And to do the daily route for collections you would need a local that you could trust to do that. And even with all the headache, 1 million COP would just be giving you an estrato 2-3 lifestyle anyway unless you had some other income from the States.

We also bought clothes from the States and then sold them in Colombia. But now most airlines only let you bring one bag. And you need to pay $70 for the second one. Plus the cost of flights in general are much higher now than when I was traveling 5-6 years ago.  And if you send by freight company in the States, the prices are getting higher, and they seem to be getting much more strict about what you can send. Or at least enforcing what is already on the books. Then when you get the product there, the people will pay cash down payment for 1/2 the price, then make payments on the rest, but they have a million and one excuses why they cannot pay or are late, etc. It is a hassle.

Also tried the laptop thing. But you cannot send by freight or mail or they will hit you with stiff taxes/duties. If you bring in your bag, you have to travel frequently and the prices on tickets is too high. Then you have to get them to actually pay for the item. And a few years ago, it seemed like the prices for an equally equipped computer were about double the price you could get them for in the States. But now it seems more like 25% higher at most. So people are not so eager to buy.

So other ideas I had for: taxi, small corner tiendita, etc. kind of went out the window also because you would never be able to know what is going on unless you were there 24/7 hovering over it.

There was one guy on another forum who bought a van and was selling doughnuts from it in front of the Universities there. he told me he was making a ton of cash, but then sold the company because it was much easier to make cash with an online business and avoid all the headaches and hassles. Oh, and supposedly his van got robbed a couple times. So that would go for any kind of brick and mortar store....risk of robbery.

I think a good idea would be to open a property management place on the Coast with a good website and in English. There are none that I know of. And even making reservations at some of the hotels is difficult because they do not have a website, or that you have to do crazy things like wire the money to their bank account or have someone there make a deposit into their account for the reservations. If a guy had a few pimped out apartments to rent out for short periods of time to gringos who could pay with credit cards, do the deposits with cards as well, then I think you would have a decent business. Especially during the holidays and Carnaval time. i would be willing to rent like that for a few weeks or a month. There are guys doing this in Medellin and Cali who seem to be doing pretty well.

If you had a pretty big chunk of cash to start with you could do CDT investments with the banks. They are Colombian CD's. For 2 year ones you could get more than 6.5% at some of the banks I was researching. So you could get a couple of those going with different maturation dates if you had the cash and wanted to play it safe. Plus they will pay in COP which may be a plus if the dollar ever crashes.

[Jeff S]

You are thinking too much in terms of hard products (investments in inventory, storage, security, import duties, dealing with locals - all a headache) renting assets (heavy investments) and such


I do think your "travel agent" idea is a good one. If you have a website with hotels, apartments, etc. (nice hi rez pics, videos, etc.) and can take money online (Paypal, etc) for gringos wanting to go there, you could make a percentage by being the middleman.


As for programming:

http://www.computer-schools.info/computer-programming-schools/Arizona.htm


Or if you're self motivated:  http://education-portal.com/articles/10_Sources_for_Free_Computer_Programming_Courses_Online.html



No, you don't need a degree or certification. All you need to be able to do is the work.


https://www.elance.com/

[Alabamaboy!]

Jeff S: How long do you figure it would take a reasonably intelligent, motivated guy who already has a degree which required a lot of science/math/chemistry, but no computers per se, devoting 3 hours a day for studies to obtain the necessary background and credentials to pull off getting a $50K position which could be done remotely while traveling to SA or wherever?

Some of the programing schools appear to be not so serious and may be more of a money making deal for the schools than actually concerned about putting out career-ready graduates.

Are there any schools you could recommend?

[Jeff S]

I really don't know. That's kinda up to you. I've always been a person who could teach myself, so if I need a skill, I do it myself. I can't imagine that if you have a science & math background and can think logically, plus work at it diligently, you couldn't pick up java or c# it in three months or so.


If you're planning on looking for a "job" that may be a different issue. If you pick up contract gigs for a while (Volt, Dice, etc.) and work onsite for a few companies, you'll have enough of a resume to land things on elance.com, guru.com, project4hire.com and all the rest. You have to be able to sell yourself a bit, but you should be able to easily exceed that $ amount in not that much time.

[euforia51]

Jeff S: How long do you figure it would take a reasonably intelligent, motivated guy who already has a degree which required a lot of science/math/chemistry, but no computers per se, devoting 3 hours a day for studies to obtain the necessary background and credentials to pull off getting a $50K position which could be done remotely while traveling to SA or wherever?

Some of the programing schools appear to be not so serious and may be more of a money making deal for the schools than actually concerned about putting out career-ready graduates.

I think if you have a mind for the sciences in general and the capacity to focus on a task for more than an hour (for example), a community college would be a good place to start.
 
Programming is as much an art as it is a career choice. It requires high levels of concentration, patience, and diligence. One of the posters before said he know of a gentleman who would lock himself up for 12 hours to complete a task. This is the kind of concentration I am referring to that is necessary at times. And for a good programmer who is focused, that 12 hours will fly by like it is an hour. If you think you want to get into something like this with the sole purpose to casually make a living abroad, think again. There are lots of good programmers out there who are doing it for the love and sheer joy.
 
I am going to go out on a limb here and say it would take a good 5 years of study, practice, coding, marketing your skills to companies, and proving your worth before you could be on your way to living the dream remotely; from A to B. And this is if you're really motivated.
 
Try a simple experiment ... try to do a web page or two via HTML. There are tons of free tutorials on the web with examples that will teach you how to write code. And you don't need any compilers or special software. You can write HTML using Notepad. But be honest with yourself and see how much you enjoy putting together a fairly simple but involved webpage. If you dig it, try a few more to see if you can get hooked on something like this. If you can, then I'd seriously consider moving up to the C -based levels and taking some classes.

[brian57]

"you couldn't pick up java or c# it in three months or so".
 
Understatemant of the Month Award -  January winner.
 
Like I said before .0000001% gringos could ever do C++.
Of course I had to retake Assembler code twice, then finally gave up..

[Jeff S]

I think if you have a mind for the sciences in general and the capacity to focus on a task for more than an hour (for example), a community college would be a good place to start.
 
Programming is as much an art as it is a career choice. It requires high levels of concentration, patience, and diligence. One of the posters before said he know of a gentleman who would lock himself up for 12 hours to complete a task. This is the kind of concentration I am referring to that is necessary at times. And for a good programmer who is focused, that 12 hours will fly by like it is an hour. If you think you want to get into something like this with the sole purpose to casually make a living abroad, think again. There are lots of good programmers out there who are doing it for the love and sheer joy.
 
I am going to go out on a limb here and say it would take a good 5 years of study, practice, coding, marketing your skills to companies, and proving your worth before you could be on your way to living the dream remotely; from A to B. And this is if you're really motivated.
 
Try a simple experiment ... try to do a web page or two via HTML. There are tons of free tutorials on the web with examples that will teach you how to write code. And you don't need any compilers or special software. You can write HTML using Notepad. But be honest with yourself and see how much you enjoy putting together a fairly simple but involved webpage. If you dig it, try a few more to see if you can get hooked on something like this. If you can, then I'd seriously consider moving up to the C -based levels and taking some classes.

Good point. You have to figure out if you have the temperament and focus to be a programmer. To some people it comes more naturally than to others - like learning foreign languages. Most engineers, have the brain power and persistence to program - it takes that to get through engineering school - but not all have the desire or temperament to pull it off.

[Jeff S]

"you couldn't pick up java or c# it in three months or so".
 
Understatemant of the Month Award -  January winner.
 
Like I said before .0000001% gringos could ever do C++.
Of course I had to retake Assembler code twice, then finally gave up..

Lessee 300,000,000 gringos x .0000001% = 0.3 C++ programmers. I think there a couple more around than that. I know half a dozen or more personally.


Your point is well made, though. I don't believe it's because it is that difficult, but it just takes a certain personality to pull it off day after day.