Job Discussion Forums

kirby42 · Joined: 14 Nov 2014 Posts: 55

So very soon I'll have completed my first year in Russia. I survived, hold your applause, please.

Work has gotten very quiet through the school now that it's summer time. I need to find some private students to keep myself afloat. How do you more experienced teachers recommend doing so? Specifically for Russia, although I don't imagine that it would be in any way different.

Foma87 · Joined: 13 Sep 2011 Posts: 116 Location: Moscow

Finding privates in the summer can be very difficult. Generally, the best way to find privates is through existing students and referrals. Then there are the agencies that link teachers and students, in which case they negotiate the fee and take a percent of the market rate (usually 1/3) upon signing of the contract. This can still earn you more, and in some cases far more, than working for the schools can. That said, expect summers in Russia to be slow, very slow.

Congratulations on your first year in Russia! Whereabouts are you?

stuckinusa · Joined: 23 Dec 2015 Posts: 21

How are you liking Russia?

AlyssaNicole · Joined: 25 Jun 2016 Posts: 1 Location: USA

Congrats on your first year. In Moscow you don't have to look far for students. Are you in an urban or rural area? If you have basic Russian, you can try Ваш Репититор (repetitors.info) . Just create a teaching profile and students can find you. As a native-speaker (I assume), you'll stand out. У дача! (Good Luck!)

kirby42 · Joined: 14 Nov 2014 Posts: 55

I love living in Russia and could envisage staying here but sometimes the job and wages leave me feeling a bit down. Especially during the summer when the money is a lot lower and it's leaving me a bit worried about rent etc.

Spasibo · Joined: 02 Dec 2015 Posts: 31

What city are you in and are you working at a school?

maruss · Joined: 18 Mar 2003 Posts: 1145 Location: Cyprus

' but sometimes the job and wages leave me feeling a bit down. Especially during the summer when the money is a lot lower and it's leaving me a bit worried about rent etc.'
Many decent Russian people experience this and far worse,believe you me!
The days of high salaries for expat teachers are over for the forseeable future too and the summer 'dacha' season' was always a problem which caught many people unaware,even when times were good!

stuckinusa · Joined: 23 Dec 2015 Posts: 21

maruss · Joined: 18 Mar 2003 Posts: 1145 Location: Cyprus

The economic and political situation has been worsening during the last few years in Russia due partly to the oil price slump which the country earns much of its revenue from and also the embargo due to Putins actions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, which has earned a lot of international condemnation.I'm not from the USA and would not say people from there are likely to be singled out as targets any more than foreigners from other countries.It seems that with most of the media, which is state controlled, reverting to the kind of anti-western propaganda which was common in the Soviet era-although some people are influenced by it,especially those who are less educated and live outside Moscow and other large cities,it doesn't mean of course that everyone goes around blaming foreigners for everything that is wrong there,and there are many things!More educated and intellectual Russians are very concerned by the increasing repression used by the regime to stifle any effective political opposition so overall,especially with the economic situation,the atmosphere there is not so congenial right now for anyone,including locals.Knowing what I do about the place from my own experience,which was ten years ago and when things were considerably better there from many aspects-personally I would not choose to go there at the moment but of course it's a decision everyone makes according to their own desires and needs etc?