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Going to Ukraine to Teach

 
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Griffin Smith



Joined: 13 Jan 2014
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 6:30 pm    Post subject: Going to Ukraine to Teach Reply with quote

Hello Everyone... I just joined the forum and I'm planning on teaching EFL in Ukraine in May.

I guess I'm looking for advice and any tidbits of in-country experience anyone would like to share.

I'm thinking Kiev, there seems to be plenty of work there.

What other cities should I consider?

Are there any other sites with specific EFL job postings in Ukraine?

How about housing, should I arrange an apartment beforehand? Hostels? Host families?

It seems like they've relaxed the work permit requirements a little, but again that same question... Should I set up everything before hand or just show up on a tourist visa and cross my fingers and knock on doors?

Thanks in advance for all your responses...
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LAR1SSA



Joined: 02 Nov 2013
Posts: 48
Location: Memphis

PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 7:37 pm    Post subject: Re: Going to Ukraine to Teach Reply with quote

Griffin Smith wrote:
Hello Everyone... I just joined the forum and I'm planning on teaching EFL in Ukraine in May.

I guess I'm looking for advice and any tidbits of in-country experience anyone would like to share.

I'm thinking Kiev, there seems to be plenty of work there.

What other cities should I consider?

Are there any other sites with specific EFL job postings in Ukraine?

How about housing, should I arrange an apartment beforehand? Hostels? Host families?

It seems like they've relaxed the work permit requirements a little, but again that same question... Should I set up everything before hand or just show up on a tourist visa and cross my fingers and knock on doors?

Thanks in advance for all your responses...


There is a ton of work in Ukraine. Simply finding a listing of all the schools and then emailing them your resume will do. I got a call back from almost every school I applied for once I moved back here.

Kiev has the highest cost of living and the most work. You can get paid very well here. Dnipropetrovsk also has a bunch of work. Housing can be expensive though so be careful and try to look before coming. I have had friends that had trouble finding apartments and had to get a real estate agent and that can be very pricey but worth it if you dont speak Russian. You could also try working for a school that offers an apartment (that is what I did.

Hostels are pretty expensive here.. however browse couchsurfing etc and forums you might be able to find shared housing with someone or with a family renting a room.

Careful about working in smaller cities, those small schools have been known to go under. Might want to start out at a McSchool like Speak UP and American English Center. They literally hire everyone..
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Griffin Smith



Joined: 13 Jan 2014
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 7:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Awesome... Thank you.
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damn_my_eyes



Joined: 13 Jul 2013
Posts: 225

PostPosted: Thu Jan 16, 2014 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi-jacking your thread Cool

I've been thinking about coming to the Ukraine too, possibly this March and just turning up on spec.

I've seen it looks fairly common to work on a tourist visa and do visa runs. The embassy website says you can have 90 days in any 180 day period (depending on nationality). Is that right or can you just keep doing visa runs for a whole year if your employer doesn't provide a work permit?

Would be grateful to get the lowdown on the visa situation.
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Griffin Smith



Joined: 13 Jan 2014
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Thu Jan 16, 2014 5:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yep. Great question

It looks like they've made the paperwork much easier for a visa now.

But a three month visa run to Romania, Bulgaria etc.. Or do most people just fly back to the states? That looks like it could be expensive..
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Chrstphr87340



Joined: 13 Mar 2012
Posts: 28

PostPosted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 9:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kyiv is obviously the best choice for work in Ukraine; although Odessa, Kharkiv, and Lviv also have some nice prospects. The visa run has become a little sketchier than it was in previous years; you'll typically go to Moldova or Poland and pay around 800 GRN (~100 USD) to a border guard- maybe more, maybe less, depending on his mood and your command of Russian/Ukrainian.

A work visa will be next to impossible to get unless you get a job with one of the major schools- i.e., London School of English, International House, British Council, Grade Education Center, etc. However, to get a job at one of these schools, you will need CELTA or equivalent.

Whether or not you should arrange a hostel or live with a family all depends on your situation and what your plan for Ukraine is. I did my CELTA in Kyiv, so I lived in an apartment they found for me for a month, then stayed in a hostel for a week while I went on the job/apartment hunt.

A good website for finding jobs in Ukraine is work.ua
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damn_my_eyes



Joined: 13 Jul 2013
Posts: 225

PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 10:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the reply. Useful information.

Can anyone in Kiev say what life's like at the moment, has any of the unrest caused any problems?
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Chrstphr87340



Joined: 13 Mar 2012
Posts: 28

PostPosted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 6:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Everything is fine. All of the protests occur in one small section of the city (Maidan Nezalezhnosti), and all of the violence is occurring on just one street (Hrushevsky).
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Cardinal Synn



Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 586

PostPosted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Chrstphr87340 wrote:
Everything is fine. All of the protests occur in one small section of the city (Maidan Nezalezhnosti), and all of the violence is occurring on just one street (Hrushevsky).


Sadly, everything is not "fine". Yes, the main protests are in the centre of the city - not just Maidan - but there is a very fluid situation here. There is a high likelihood of further violence, not only in Kyiv, but across the country.
Many, many Ukrainians see this as a war. Consider that before you decide to come here to teach English.

I would suggest that anyone considering coming here to teach in the near future gets up to speed with the situation here by following news reports.

There a number of pages in English on the usual social networks, which can give you an idea of the true situation. You can try searching for "Maidan in English"...that should get you some results and give you the opportunity to see things from an "internal" perspective.

Things are likely to get worse before they get better. However, I am optimistic.
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ecocks



Joined: 06 Nov 2007
Posts: 899
Location: Gdansk, Poland

PostPosted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 11:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cardinal Synn wrote:
Chrstphr87340 wrote:
Everything is fine. All of the protests occur in one small section of the city (Maidan Nezalezhnosti), and all of the violence is occurring on just one street (Hrushevsky).


Sadly, everything is not "fine". Yes, the main protests are in the centre of the city - not just Maidan - but there is a very fluid situation here. There is a high likelihood of further violence, not only in Kyiv, but across the country.
Many, many Ukrainians see this as a war. Consider that before you decide to come here to teach English.

I would suggest that anyone considering coming here to teach in the near future gets up to speed with the situation here by following news reports.

There a number of pages in English on the usual social networks, which can give you an idea of the true situation. You can try searching for "Maidan in English"...that should get you some results and give you the opportunity to see things from an "internal" perspective.

Things are likely to get worse before they get better. However, I am optimistic.


Prophetic.
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Prof.Gringo



Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!

PostPosted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 5:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ecocks wrote:
Cardinal Synn wrote:
Chrstphr87340 wrote:
Everything is fine. All of the protests occur in one small section of the city (Maidan Nezalezhnosti), and all of the violence is occurring on just one street (Hrushevsky).


Sadly, everything is not "fine". Yes, the main protests are in the centre of the city - not just Maidan - but there is a very fluid situation here. There is a high likelihood of further violence, not only in Kyiv, but across the country.
Many, many Ukrainians see this as a war. Consider that before you decide to come here to teach English.

I would suggest that anyone considering coming here to teach in the near future gets up to speed with the situation here by following news reports.

There a number of pages in English on the usual social networks, which can give you an idea of the true situation. You can try searching for "Maidan in English"...that should get you some results and give you the opportunity to see things from an "internal" perspective.

Things are likely to get worse before they get better. However, I am optimistic.


Prophetic.


Seems so now Razz
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ebsarver



Joined: 14 Jan 2012
Posts: 10

PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2014 9:25 am    Post subject: not a good choice these days Reply with quote

Cardinal Synn wrote:


Sadly, everything is not "fine". Yes, the main protests are in the centre of the city - not just Maidan - but there is a very fluid situation here. There is a high likelihood of further violence, not only in Kyiv, but across the country.
Many, many Ukrainians see this as a war. Consider that before you decide to come here to teach English.

I would suggest that anyone considering coming here to teach in the near future gets up to speed with the situation here by following news reports.

There a number of pages in English on the usual social networks, which can give you an idea of the true situation. You can try searching for "Maidan in English"...that should get you some results and give you the opportunity to see things from an "internal" perspective.

Things are likely to get worse before they get better. However, I am optimistic.


I have been in Ukraine since December 2011, and working in Kharkiv since February 2012. I love this country, my school, my colleagues, and my students. I have no real desire to leave, but I'm planning to anyway.

This country has become increasingly unstable. News of violence was at first rare, then a monthly thing, then a weekly thing, and is now a daily occurrence. I would not consider either civil war or invasion by Russia and/or NATO an unthinkable result at this point, and if things continue in the current direction, it seems at least one of these possibilities is inevitable.

Add to this the increasing economic problems. In the last six months the value of the hrivna (local currency) vs. the dollar has risen from 8.13 to 11.59 street value. The cost of my bus trip has gone up by 50%. The cost of a metro ride has gone up by 50%. The cost of groceries has risen by 20-50%, depending on the specific product. The prices at restaurants lagged behind these changes, but are now rising substantially. My salary has stayed exactly the same.

Unless your salary is guaranteed in US$ or euros, there is every possibility that your hiring salary (which is likely to make life comfortable) will fall in value to the point where life is not only uncomfortable, but poor.

If you want to be in a slavic country, I think you'd be much wiser to choose another country. Ukraine is dangerously unstable at the moment.
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delphian-domine



Joined: 11 Mar 2011
Posts: 674

PostPosted: Sat May 10, 2014 5:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Why would anyone work in Ukraine for anything other than a hard currency salary? I have several friends in L'viv, and their salaries are always set in USD as opposed to UAH.
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Cardinal Synn



Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 586

PostPosted: Thu May 29, 2014 5:30 pm    Post subject: Re: not a good choice these days Reply with quote

ebsarver wrote:
Cardinal Synn wrote:


Sadly, everything is not "fine". Yes, the main protests are in the centre of the city - not just Maidan - but there is a very fluid situation here. There is a high likelihood of further violence, not only in Kyiv, but across the country.
Many, many Ukrainians see this as a war. Consider that before you decide to come here to teach English.

I would suggest that anyone considering coming here to teach in the near future gets up to speed with the situation here by following news reports.

There a number of pages in English on the usual social networks, which can give you an idea of the true situation. You can try searching for "Maidan in English"...that should get you some results and give you the opportunity to see things from an "internal" perspective.

Things are likely to get worse before they get better. However, I am optimistic.


I have been in Ukraine since December 2011, and working in Kharkiv since February 2012. I love this country, my school, my colleagues, and my students. I have no real desire to leave, but I'm planning to anyway.

This country has become increasingly unstable. News of violence was at first rare, then a monthly thing, then a weekly thing, and is now a daily occurrence. I would not consider either civil war or invasion by Russia and/or NATO an unthinkable result at this point, and if things continue in the current direction, it seems at least one of these possibilities is inevitable.

Add to this the increasing economic problems. In the last six months the value of the hrivna (local currency) vs. the dollar has risen from 8.13 to 11.59 street value. The cost of my bus trip has gone up by 50%. The cost of a metro ride has gone up by 50%. The cost of groceries has risen by 20-50%, depending on the specific product. The prices at restaurants lagged behind these changes, but are now rising substantially. My salary has stayed exactly the same.

Unless your salary is guaranteed in US$ or euros, there is every possibility that your hiring salary (which is likely to make life comfortable) will fall in value to the point where life is not only uncomfortable, but poor.

If you want to be in a slavic country, I think you'd be much wiser to choose another country. Ukraine is dangerously unstable at the moment.


The value of the grivna has fallen, not risen. I know that's what you meant, but you wrote it that way and it could be confusing for some.Smile
In Kyiv, at least, the metro price hasn't gone up for a few years.
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