I'm visiting Cuba in September and will have a bit of a budget for travelling around. However, I'd like to do some work along the way. As a native English speaker I was thinking about teaching English. Has anyone out there had any experiences they can share, or advice they'd be willing to offer?

I'm flexible with regards to whereabouts I go.

Hope someone can help!

TT

i could be wrong on this but I don't think you'll be able to work at all in Cuba. As a communist country, it is not set up to allow outsiders to work. People don't even get paid for work in Cuba, directly. Everyone is required to work, and in return is guaranteed some sort of housing, minimal food rations, and some healthcare plus a small stipend of only $10 to $20 monthly! so good luck

You may want to do a little more research on Cuba- especially the last 45 years or so.

As far as money, take what you will need. Don't count on earning anything there.

As stated above, Cubans earn $7-10 per month, unless you are a doctor, which might get you up to $40/mo.

The doctors salary is roughly equal to a couple cases of softdrinks on a monthly basis. So where do you think all this money would come from that they would spend on English lessons?

Many Cubans pay for language lessons at rates far higher than Sonney would think - he forgets or ignores that a lot of Cubans have sources of income other than the state salaries. (For example from giving language lessons !)

That said, there are also a lot of Cubans willing to offer such services. A foreigner would not find it easy to get the contacts etc.

It is illegal to work here if you are on a tourist visa. You'd have to know Cuba before you have much hope of working unofficially.

how much these "wealthy" Cubans are making, and what are some lines of work that one can get into to earn a decent living. Don't worry if the activites are illegal/immoral, I'm just looking for some tips for those I support in Cuba. I'm just trying to lighten my load a little.

And lastly, are the "good jobs" only available to "good communists" or are they available to everybody?

a director of one of the cigar factories in Havana, that I know, gets paid $1,000/month.

Lawyers that deal directly with foreigners, setting up a business, introductions etc. also do well. Better than factory directors, anyway.

many working for foreign companies get a monthly envelope to supplement their official salaries; anyone involved with tourists from waiters to jiniteras; taxi drivers (dollar taxis), and many others. How much they make is usually kept secret but I know many that are quite rich by most standards. Many I know pay for visits to Varadero for weeks ata time in dollars (same rates as foreigners); eat at paladars frequently, shop at dollar supermarkets (where the prices are ridiculous), buy clothes etc without indulging in illegal trade. The trick is to work for a foreign company in an industry that is conducted in dollars. And yes, these jobs are frequently who you know as much as what you know. Foreign languages are a huge asset.

Varadero vacations. One month with his family. Of course he is not allowed but gets the reservation through a friend that works for one of the resorts.

There is a lot more money floating around in private hands, in Cuba, than one would think.