Expert: Ken Rapoza Cruz - 4/14/2009

Question
I am a British National currently living in a small town called Leopoldina in Minas Gerais. I am working as an English Teacher but am interested in using my English skills in other areas, possibly writing magazine/newspaper articles or proofreading textbooks etc. I have been unable to find such work in the area that I live and wondered whether I would be able to contribute anything in the bigger cities via the internet.Do you have any knowledge of this type of opportunity? My degree is in Education and I have a Higher in English. Thank you for your time.

Answer
It wont be easy for you to do this as a reporter cuz of your location. Freelance writers in Brazil tend to make a living writing for trade magazines: think IT Mag, or Telecom Today, or Wine & Beverage Latin America. Im making some of those up, but thats where they make money, definitely not in The Boston Globe or New York Times. FORGET those unless you ahve a really unique travel story, and even then, I doubt they will pay you.

The other route is business intelligence services looking for info on certain sectors of the economy, whether its sugarcane farming or ethanol production.

The problem is...how do you go about getting to know these people and know what they want? Thats the trick.

Im a reporter, and I know some, but now Im staff, so Ive lost touch with many of them. Some dont exist anymore. Others already have more than enough people.

You can become a proofreader or translator at least. There should be some schools in your area that offer this service.

You really need to know people and ask around. Do you know hedge fund managers, for example, looking for report writers? Stuff like that. I personally dont know any, tho I know people who do. Only, they work for these guys and so that means those guys are not looking for anyone else.

k