Job Discussion Forums

dasher · Joined: 09 Jun 2015 Posts: 1

I've recently been offered a job at Simply English in Moscow but know nothing about living in Moscow or all that much about the school. I've read their website and tried to do some research but can't seem to find all that much about them outside of their website. Does anyone have any experience with them, good or bad? Or with living in Moscow, good or bad?

Also, the pay is 70,000 rubles with subsidized housing available for 12,000, can anyone here give me a sense of whether or not this is enough to live on in Moscow? Again, I've done research but it's a little difficult to get a grasp on how far my money will go when I've got no Russian travel/living experience. Would really appreciate any and all insight/advice!!

Gamajorba · Joined: 03 May 2015 Posts: 357

58k a month is one of the better salaries there it seems if it includes everything.

Buy 60 ride metro tickets as lost tickets are not replaceable, so you won't lose as much as if you lost a year ticket!

Learning how to read even just a little bit of Russian will help a lot too, especially for the metro. Took me 4 visits to Moscow to actually get used to it. Usually the younger people will be able to understand a bit of English and help you.

Moscow is pretty damn busy and HUGE but it's a cool place to live in my opinion. I think I had an interview with SE...need to check when I get back to my computer!

Deats · Joined: 02 Jan 2015 Posts: 503

Is the housing shared or private? Do you have to pay the commute to work each day? How many hours a week is it? Are your utilities etc paid/included in the 12k?

$1000 a month seems pitiful to me, but each to their own. Most jobs are pretty poorly paid in Russia at the minute.

Sashadroogie · Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 1:32 pm Post subject:

Could be OK if you are happy teaching kiddies. But don't know anything about the school.

However, from their website it looks like Simply English will be sending you to various schools around the city. It is important to know beforehand how much travelling will be involved per day. Moscow is huge, and travelling can take up four or five unpaid hours of your day if you don't check.

The money will keep you afloat. But this very much depends on your lifestyle. Nightclubs, booze and babes will easily eat into nearly all of that, depending on how profligate you are : )

As others have written, find out how many academic hours they want from you. Note academic hours = 45 mins. Make sure that they state that explicitly. Otherwise they might diddle you on the first salary.

And check where the housing is located, the travel times involved, and most importantly, who you'll be sharing with.

As a first time to Moscow, this looks like it could be OK for getting yourself set up. I say pursue the application, and good luck!

ohdeerbambi · Joined: 09 May 2015 Posts: 3 Location: Cape Town

I was also offered a job with Simply English:) I had to defer until possibly January because I have to be in my home country for a few months after my thesis is submitted, but I'm hoping to join them after that! Please PM me if you want to talk about the job, or if you decide to take it Smile

Greg444201 · Joined: 17 May 2014 Posts: 11

Hey Dasher...

You will be able to save money, I worked for them last year only for 3 months ( I left only because when I arrived the ruble was around 35 and by December it was at 70 to 1 USD so I was working for half the money I went in on, but the company treats you very well Jack and Sergey are great people and very down to earth. Beware as I am sure you were told in the interview be prepared to travel A LOT by metro, hence the unlimited metro card...that will be the majority of your day most days. Food prices are reasonable and accommodation varies depending where you are situated. It seems the Ruble has stabilized a bit so I wouldn't worry too much as I said you can save money depending on how you live your life ( partying etc of course you will be broke) and the company treats you good. The classroom hours I had last year were around 20-25 per week with Saturday and Sunday off which was great after working 6 days per week everywhere I've been! You will be encouraged to play a lot of games as you will be going around to a mix of classes from public schools to one on one classes. Best of luck!!