Jobs in Buenos Aires other than teaching english?

I have lived here for 4 1/2 years and have yet to meet anyone who could earn a living teaching English.  There is not much work and the wages suck. 

A work visa is required to get any kind of a job paying decent wages, but even then, minimum wage is sitting slightly higher than USD 400 a month, so not much to write home about.   Yes, a lot of both immigrants and locals work in the negra (illegally) but the wages tend to be lower and benefits nonexistent.  The people who seem to do the very best here either work for a multinational company (have the job before arriving usually) or own their own company. 

Here is some other general information I have used before when this question arises:

Acquiring a job here in Buenos Aires can be quite challenging, regardless of profession or experience. For example, unemployment in Europe is typically ranked at around 7% this year, but in Argentina the latest figures I could find rank it at about 7.4%. However, I think that figure is a bit misleading. For instance the greater metropolitan area of Buenos Aires is around 14 million people constituting around 36% of the total population of the country. In my opinion, unemployment is significantly higher here in the metro area than it is nation wide. I suspect unemployment is well into double digits here (meaning at least 10%, but I suspect much higher than that).

Due in part to unemployment, people here tend to live with their parents until they reach their 30s. At the same time, Argentina offers a free university education for undergraduate level and very cheap graduate degree programs. So what happens is since there are not enough jobs here, a lot of people attend university as there is nothing else to do when you are younger. So there seems to be one of the highest unemployment rates in the world for a country developed to the level of Argentina and there is a much higher rate of unemployment amongst college graduates here than anywhere else in the world that I am aware of. I did not take the time to look up actual statistics on that, but am confident making those statements.

I can tell you this: I have more Argentine friends than I can count on both hands and feet with advanced university degrees who are either unemployed or not working in their chosen field and the number are much more pitiful amongst my expat friends. I have friends who are doctors who are teaching English. I have a friend who is a psychiatrist who works teaching economics. I have friends who are architects working as tour guides. I have friends from all kinds of professional backgrounds renting apartments, etc….

Argentina presents a very challenging and difficult employment market. There are jobs here and you can most certainly find something. However, there does not appear to be enough decent jobs for locals and there are obvious handicaps to seeking employement as an immigrant.

With this in mind, I would strongly encourage you to research the job market here in earnest and find a job with a company that will provide effective assistance in obtaining a work visa before you consider a permanent move here. The number one issue I have seen with immigrants is a lack of meaningful and effective preparation before arriving here particularly when it comes to finding work.

There are plenty of websites out there offering general job listings such as www.craigslist.org and www.zonajobs.com.ar. However, in your instance I would strongly encourage you to look deeper at how to find a job. If it were me, I would begin with checking with the employment assistance offices at the major universities here; look for guidance from job placement agencies; look for applicable groups and/or professionals on sites such as LinkedIn.com to connect and network with…..

Hmm thanks for the advice,  i found it hard to comprehend the whole university scheme when i was there. My friend was studying like mad but was unemployed and likewise were a lot of her friends some had finished uni and where i come from when you finish Uni thats the biggest hurdle in getting a job out of the way but it seems in Argentina having a degree is not really worth the paper its written on! (at times)

I want to be as realistic as possible and thats why im not bothering to think of teaching english as an option, It to me is the job for the "it'll do" traveller like "oh my job sucks and im making no money..but i can buy a beer so 'it'll do' i suppose" I dont see the sense in making such a massive change in your life just to struggle and barely get by.

In the end i suppose it will ultimately come down to weighing up my options and being realistic about my chances. I can always dream...

HELLO. I LIVE IN ARGENTINE.. I CAN LITTLE SPEAK ENGLISH, BUT I CAN TEACH SPANISH IF YOU ARE INTERESTED SEND ME A PRIVATE MESSAGE AND BEGIN TO KNOW..

KISS

@nicolayvc - Can you please lower caps lock when writing so as to ease the reading?

PS: This post is dated 2011 and is a bit old.

Thank you,
Aurélie