Susan, axeman and govikes are all right. The reality accomodates them all.

As for teaching, so many Belizeans with degrees have a hard time finding jobs in their fields so many go into teaching at the secondary level. 20 yrs ago, the peace corps and VSO use to send people to belize to be HS teachers. If there are any more they are few because Belizeans have taken over that role.

I know however that many primary school teachers are undertrained (as many have only a High School diploma) so I the market is wide open if you have the qualifications to come in and do that role - that is not the say that the Ministry of Education has a job going in that role.) The Min of Ed does its best to assist here but it is a long way from being enough.

ejbpesca, if you are going to be in Belize under the Qualified Retired Persons Incentive program, you will not be able to work for pay in Belize. I'm sure, though, you can find a school that will welcome you as a volunteer.

I tend to agree with Susan's perspective on this. As a practical matter, some U.S. citizens do come to Belize and find work, but work permits are difficult to get, and most of those who find work end up doing something like selling real estate (or, yechh, time shares) on commission. The jobs don't pay much or last very long, and before you know it the person heads back to the U.S. Legally to work in Belize you must have a work permit and a Belize social security card.

If you look at Belize in terms of economic output, the entire country has a GDP which is comparable to the economic output of a small town of 25,000 or 30,000 people in the U.S., Canada or some countries of Western Europe. Pay is low -- from one-tenth to one-third that of similar jobs in the U.S. -- and unemployment and underemployment is high,in the double digits.

If you are entrepreneurially minded and have some money to invest, you may be able to do okay in Belize. Though of all the people I talked to in writing a book about living/investing/retiring in Belize, the majority who opened hotels or restaurants or other businesses in Belize were not very successful and quite a few were planning to leave (and some have since left). But again the market in Belize is tiny, and the opportunities in Belize are many orders of magnitude smaller than in most parts of the U.S. A handful of people, Belizeans and non-Belizeans, make real money in business in Belize, but most just scrape by.

At least 100,000 Belizeans have moved to the U.S. to take advantage of the opportunities in America. Many would like to come back, but most cannot afford to.

--Lan Sluder

My advice: Get a job in the states,live with your parents for a few years, save money, create bidness plan, move to paradise, go broke.

Benefits: Have the time of your life for a few years, support the local economy, drink many Belis and experiences that grad school could never give you. Good luck!!

Daniel,
Don't let these responses get you down! There are lots of adventure jobs out there! However, these guys and gals are correct.
As a traveling student myself, I went down during winter break. This was my 4th time down and I was participating in one of these volunteer projects in the northern city of San Ignacio (mainland). That was through the Cornerstone Foundation. You can check it out on the web.(There is also one called ProBelize.)
While I was there I paid for(he carried my bags in exchange!) a young male friend of mine, 19 years old and partially educated, from a rural village in the south who was looking for work. I paid his way to the Cayes to look for work with his uncle. Again, its the issue that it is a developing country so there arent that many jobs available.
There are sometimes positions for teachers as long as it is in a field where they dont have anyone qualified. Areas like computer science I think. But even so there is no guarantee and you have to have lived in country for 6 months first. There is also an apparent shortage of nurses. And if you do get a position you should think about training a Belizean to take your place!
An imortant point to remember for any foreigner going there for work or projects is that the people should benefit too. I mean if you are going to take a job or start a project think if a Belizean is capable of doing that and are you taking that away from them. Or can you get them involved somehow.
A good link for travel work is: goabroad.com.
The other option would be something like peace corps but who knows where you would get placed.
Hope this helps!
There are many sites describing all this that are already out there.

Sarasmile - Was this the young man you spoke about in previous posts/emails? Was he able to find work in San Pedro?

There are a lot of gringos who work here illegally-so it is possible but you could get caught and thrown out of the country-this has only happened once, in the four years that I have been here(to my knowledge)and the person was warned and carried on working.She subsequently got married,to a Belizean, and was allowed to stay.Before anyone jumps at me I know of at least 20 GRINGOS who do not have the correct paperwork-I am not talking about people from Mexico/C.A.

I would not be where I am today, if I had only listened and believed the downside of every venture I have taken in life. I listened to the downsides, and then spent much of my time on the upsides. The true upside was what I wanted, and where I wanted to go. I knew I could do it, and did it. Having said that, I do not live in a dreamworld state of mind. It takes doing and long hard hours of dedication, and it will happen. Start young folks, not to miss the best opportunities.

Cheri holding cardboard sign......."WILL WORK AND HIRE BELIZEANS AND TRAIN FOR GOOD OPPORTUNITY THERE".........OK-WILL WORK FOR FOOD!!! C...LOL

Susangg,
I think you need to go out and have a few Maragaritas!!!! Relax girl, you are coming across like a >>>>>. Sorry but you need to lite'n up!! Take a trip to Belize...LOL...
Think about your Panama place, it will put your heart as ease!!!
Rick

Hey dude, e us and we'll help ya with info.
rickcheri@hotmail.com
we are in Ft. Worth....
Thanks, Rick

Tincup- I forget already who I have mentioned here...I think you might be refering to Teddy the Tour guide who is someone different..he is a few years older and actually has a tour guide job in San Ignacio area (employed by a Canadian!)-always looking for side tours though! THis one I mention here, well, he was out on AC from Jan until March when he returned home. My last email from him was asking for a sponsor so that he could get a job with an oil company. I had to refuse since ..well..I'm broke...and I dont agree with paying to get hired!