One of the things I find fascinating about living in Buenos Aires is how expats choose to make a living. Of course, plenty of English-speaking expats do the English teacher thing, but the truth is that just because you speak English doesn’t mean you’ll be a good teacher. For many, that option lasts just a few weeks or months. (Others, like my daughter, truly love it, have a great background in linguistics and can make decent money teaching private students. She has several doctors, business owners, a military guy doing a report on GPS systems, and even a mafia-type guy with a gold necklace, minions and a toy shop which is just a front for other activities that make him millions–or so he says. Interesting stuff.)
One of the common jobs for new expats here in Buenos Aires is working in the burgeoning outsourcing market. Americans don’t always lose jobs to outsourcing. Sometimes, they are the recipients of those outsourced jobs. And though it’s not likely that they’ll make a ton of money, they can make enough to fund their lifestyle abroad.
There are a few call centers here handling everything from tech support to health insurance claims for American companies, and they hire both locals and expats who speak English. Another company here hires native English speakers as quality assurance people for their medical transcription company. U.S. doctors record their patients’ symptoms and treatment details, send these recordings each evening down here, and Indian workers transcribe these. Then, the expats here in BA check for accuracy between the recordings and the written version and send these back to the doctors in the States by morning.
One of the most interesting outsourcing jobs I’ve heard about lately is one for virtual dating assistants. An American-owned company hires Americans here to assist their clients in the U.S. who want help handling their online dating process, from screening and matching to setting up actual dates.
There are plenty of freelance writers here finding all kinds of ways to bring in a little money on the side. Some use American websites that outsource writing projects. One site pays writers $15 per 250-word article and allows them to select from a wide range of topics for online clients. That wouldn’t pay the bills in the States, but here, a part-time writer (especially a quick one) can make several hundred dollars each month–enough to cover rent.
Of course, there are “real” rather than virtual jobs here as well, but most expats have come here to escape their old way of life. They’re seeking more flexibility and looking for ways to learn new skills that can allow them to live comfortably wherever they may choose to go. If you’re creative, willing to try new things, and okay with living a not-at-all-lavish lifestyle, Buenos Aires can be a great place to ride out the recession while gaining language skills and learning about a different culture.
Who knows? You might even get inspired to start an outsourcing company of your own.
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I called a few companies’ customer service centers in the past few months, and I have been shocked at the number of people who are speaking to me in clear English. I was wondering if some of them were moving their operations back to the states, and they may have, but I never thought that expats working abroad might be the reason!
This is interesting, many Americans are complaining about job loss because of outsourcing but some expats are taking advantage of its benefits. Outsourcing has been adapted by many, even as far as countries from Asia like the Philippines or Buenos Aires for that matter.
Good thing about outsourcing is that, an individual can make a living as a freelance writer,copy editor, secretary and other services that can be done over the world wide web. The idea of outsourcing has spread all over the world and it has helped the big time and small time service providers. It has been a great help for those who wants to earn extra income.