Job Discussion Forums

[Ethan Davey]

I think my situation might be somewhat unique. I'm a 22 yr old college student who's looking for a position teaching English in St Petersburg, Russia from late May to the end of August 2003. I have no teaching qualifications of any kind. However, I have a good command of Russian, good enough that I could certainly explain English grammatical and other concepts in Russian. I am already familiar with the city, and have a place to stay there for free (with a friend). I just need to earn enough money to pay my expenses, that is, $800 for airfare, and say $400 more to pay for food over three months. I'm thinking I should just send my resume to as many schools as I can find out about and see who gives me an offer. Anyone have any suggestions for me, particularly as to what schools there are, and which ones I should definitely write to?

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Privyet Ethan,

Ah yes, summer in St. Petersburg! Sounds like fun. Your biggest problem will likely be the old supply-demand thing. Public schools and universities will be closed, and most language schools are VERY slow during the hot summer months, and this will make your job hunting more difficult.

I'm assuming from your post that you won't have your college diploma in-hand by then either, and this will compound your difficulties of landing a job with the Big-3; BKC-IH, EF or Language Link, all of whom operate in St. Petersburg.

Perhaps your best chance would be to "volunteer" for a school summer camp. Some schools might be willing to reimburse your airfare and provide you a minimum stipend, although I'm afraid I can't help you with any specific contacts for St. Pete. If you do a google.com search, you'll find oodles of these volunteer programs. Maybe worth checking out a few, to see if any of them are paying anything?

There is one more thought that just crossed my mind. You mentioned that you have a place to stay, and that's good. In fact, if your visa invitation is being arranged for you, you might consider a little "free-lancing."

Let's hope some of the other posters will 'jump in' here and give you something more concrete. Good luck, Ethan!

Best wishes,
Kent