Job Discussion Forums

[intoanotherintensity]

Hi. I got sent over here from the newbie board, so this is my second post. I was little overwhelmed by the responses to my first post, so please be gentle with me!

I'm a 23 year-old female American and I've dreamed of going to Russia for over 10 years. I have a friend living in Belarus and after 3 years I'm finally going to be able to visit her this July when I take the CELTA in Minsk at IH. Yay for that! Now that I've come this far, I really need some solid advice.

I keep reading that if you have substantial college loans ($40,000), it's better to go to Korea or some other Asian country than to try to make it in Eastern Europe. Well, perhaps that's true, but Russia's been my dream, and I can't see myself giving up on that just yet. So is it at all possible to find a job there which will allow me to make payments on my loans and still live? Right now my job only pays $1400 a month, and I put about $500-$600 of that towards my loans, but I could probably get the payment lowered or defer it and only pay interest on my unsub'd loans (about $23,000 of that). I live simply and don't eat out much.

Is it possible? Where would be the best place to go? I might be able to live with a friend of a friend if I could find something in St. Petersburg. Any advice is appreciated! =)

[smithrn1983]

You can make decent money teaching ESL in Russia, though in your first year you may not earn quite as much as you would like. It's likely to be similar to what you're earning now with a shared apartment provided by your school. Keep in mind, though, that pretty much everything is more expensive in Russia than in the States, and it's doubly true for Moscow.

After you've been here for a while, and have made contacts and got private students, you will start earning more, but that's likely to start in your second year for the most part. Jpvanderwerf gave you some excellent advice on the newbie forum as regards finances if I remember correctly.

[coledavis]

Well, first I think you need to separate Belarus and Russia in your mind, as they offer rather different prospects. IH in Minsk is probably the best you're going to get in Belarus. Employers there are generally awful. Opportunities vary widely in Russia; think Siberia and other places as well as just the usual Moscow and St Petersburg. The pay may not be great, but assuming accommodation is included in the contract, then there is a reasonable chance to save money. If you really want to sacrifice your free time in order to amass money to pay off the loans, Russia is also good for private work on top.

[BenE]

IH Minsk might offer you a job if they are looking for someone though this varies I think. What they offer is generally the best you can get there but there are occasionally other schools that offer good pay too though they are few and far between.

Remember also that the currency there is quite unstable at the moment and you could find that any savings you have disappear. I'm not sure how easy it is to change money now but the situation varies. When I was there last year it became impossible to change money at the official rate.

[maruss]

The situation there unfortunately seems to be getting worse and were it not for the Russian economic bailout last summer it would have been chaos!As you probably saw in the news,the regime there is becoming even more repressive and last weekend caused an international outcry by executing two young men who it accused of causing the Minsk metro bombings,despite evidence of their guilt being very suspect!The E.U. has also started implimenting sanctions against Belarus diplomats and even though Putins regime still supports Lukashenka for strategic reasons,rather than anything else for the time being,the overall economic and political conditions will continue to get worse with further repressive measures against any dissent.Citizens of Belarus are now also being selectively and arbitrarily refused the right to travel abroad without being given prior warning!
Overall,I would watch developments carefully before making a decision to go there as the authorities also have a nasty habit of picking on foreigners for alleged violations of visa and currency rules,rather like the old East German system used to.

[coledavis]

Re Maruss's comment on bureaucratic hassle. Newcomers to Russia will be amazed by the amount of bureaucracy, but Belarus is much worse (essentially, they like to follow traditional Soviet methods), so if they are becoming more wary of foreigners - which is usual when such a system is under stress - then I think Maruss's warning is well worth considering.

[maruss]

He has worked there and knows what a nightmare it can be,while I just visited several times,mainly back in the 1990's when things were comparitively 'easy'.It is still so much like the old S.U.,especially if you go outside Minsk to smaller cities and towns and even more so in villages.Not to say that it wasn't interesting because it was,especially for those who like history in what was a very volatile area of Eastern Europe.Once you get to know them people can be very hospitable too and it is a pity what they are being subjected to by what is probably Europes last remaining-hopefully-and nastiest dictatorship!Their ruler even openly said some years ago that he admired one of the worst people in world history-not Stalin-but the other guy with the moustache who he also resembles in some ways!

[BenE]

Being one of the people who lived there recently I can say I still sometimes miss the place as there are some very nice things about the country.
Minsk is very clean and the forests in the spring and the summer are great to walk around. It's also the cheapest and easiest place to get around with public transport I've been to (Ok but not the fastest). It's just a shame the currency is so unstable which makes prices unpredictable and of course the problems other people mention.

[coledavis]

Yes, Minsk is a lovely city and I am very fond of Belorussians. The country is just a pain to get a half decent job in.