Job Discussion Forums

[rocketchild]

Okay, I know its off the beaten track. But have you worked there?
What does it take financially to survive there?

Do you know teachers with BP there? Do they get paid much more?

Is the contaminated water pose a threat to your health when you shower?

I read it is unfit for human consuption, therefore, like India, it must be dangerous to shower in that same water....thoughts?????


And any general input of the quality of the flats schools provide?

Best places to look for managment jobs?

[redsoxfan]

Impure water would be the least of your concerns living in Baku. (Not having running water for most of the day is a greater possibility, but anyway). The best place to work is English Language Solutions but they are not hiring at the moment--they pay $2550/month. There is a branch of IH which is looking for a DOS, they are offering an unbelievably low salary (half of what ELS teachers make). Most younger people (ie. not oil workers) who come to Az don't like the country very much. It's a tense place, very conservative, nosy locals, people trying to rip you off all the time, the night life means ex-pat pubs and prostitutes, huge inflation, polluted kleptocratic police state. There are some cool ex-pats here, the Caucasus mountains in the north are great, the food is good, Georgia is a night train away (great country, my friends and I love Georgia and wish we were living there instead!). I cannot really recommend coming here, especially for a year. A one semester contract (you're probably not going to get this) would be cool--it has been a good experience. Leaving in five days

[zeke0606]

redsoxfan -

You are very correct about Baku! The only difference with our shared experience in this country is this - I never felt that anyone was ever trying to 'rip me off'. I was there in 2006 with ELS. I might add that in Bail between 'Stalin's prison and the Navy offices' we never lost our water supply - gas yes! - but we always had water. Somewhat grungy sometimes.

Paul had an advert last week, I believe, for a teacher at ELS. However, it may be filled already.

Zeke

[redsoxfan]

True, if you live in the center (like I do) you won't have serious problems with utilities. Outside the center means water for two hours in the AM and a bit more in the evening.

Zeke, you'd be amazed at the prices in the shops now. For ex, a year ago, juice was about one manat, now it's 2-3. A bottle of beer was 70 kopek, now it's one manat. A pub meal at Shark was 3.40, now it's 6. With the dollar tanking, $2550 ain't what it was a year ago.

ELS is a good place to work, no complaints there. Baku is not sooooo bad, I just cannot come up with a good reason to come here. It would be cooler if we could travel to Dagestan, Armenia and Iran but these are basically off limits (well, maybe Brits can go to Iran). Go earn money somewhere else and then go travel in Georgia. Az is a pretty sorry little piece of real estate. Nice looking girls, but they're off limits too.

Zeke, where did you see an ad for an opening at ELS? Are you sure it was for Baku? The last hire they did was not advertised on tefl.com...dunno where.

[zeke0606]

"...a pretty sorry little piece of real estate..." ----- I couldn't have said it better! I found that Baku is as the Soviet's left it! Russian friends tell me that the behavior of the people there resemble Soviet times and all the fountains all over the city with only, what, 3 or 4 that have water and only 1 or 2 that work - real Soviet style! Did they ever 'fix' Venice Park/cafe? It was drained and stinky when I was there.

The prices ARE up, way up! I remember buying DVD's for 3 manat and that was far cheaper than I could buy them anywhere else in the world.

You are very right about earning the money somewhere else and traveling - and I really think you are correct about the Brits being able to go to Iran.

And the girls there - second to none!!!

I think I saw the advert for ELS on teachersboard or Dave's. I never found tefl. to be very helpful. Unless you are a Brit or have an EU passport, you may never get an answer when responding to one of the schools that have adverts there.

BTW do you know if Paul has replaced the blonde woman he had as a DoS?

Do you know if the Sunset Cafe is still there? Or that Thai restaurant on top of the hotel behind Mickey Dees on Fountain Square? I liked going to the Mexican restaurant, but forgot the name....?

[zeke0606]

rocketchild

I am sorry to have taken over your post. Can you forgive us?

Zeke

[redsoxfan]

Sunset cafe is still there, I've never bothered. Maybe it was cheaper a couple years ago. Dunno about the Thai restaurant. Is Venice Park the one with the little turtle pond? Still scummy but with turtles. That would be the same park where I saw some Azeri teenager pick up a little kitten and heave it fifteen feet in the air to land on the pavement. Nice people.

Who is Paul? I spoke with Barry in the UK, Ian is the DOS now. Dunno about any blonde woman.

Bottom line: when I took this gig (before the $ tanked) I was planning on saving about $1500 a month. That's $18,000 in savings for the year--when the dollar was pretty strong. That's pretty darn good, and normally to save that kind of money you'd have to go to places far worse than Baku. Needless to say, saving that much...didn't...happen...

Zeke, can you imagine that IH is offering only $1200-$1500/month for the DOS position?!!! Without housing! (Oh, but they help you find a flat!) That is bare subsistence living.

The whole center of the city is being renovated, Fountain Sq to follow no doubt. It's looking quite nice actually. Too bad I won't ever come back here to see the final product.

[rocketchild]

wow great info.

ya, i hear the price of accomodation is about 1000 dollars plus ! for a one bedroom place.

the WATER what i read from www.nato.int

n Azerbaijan, both ground and surface water supplies have been seriously polluted by urbanisation, agricultural fertilizers and pesticides, and by chemicals associated with the oil industry. In many cities, including the capital Baku, water resources are no longer considered sustainable.

Without urgent intervention, dwindling water supplies could promote social decay and threaten national security by undermining economic stability, impacting human health and degrading the urban environment. The prime cause of mortality in children is diarrhoea and related diseases caused by contaminated water.

There has also been an increase in the incidence of malaria connected with the stagnant wastewater that collects in pools and low-lying areas. Urgent action is required to improve the existing water supply system, to secure additional resources, and to provide effective management of wastewater.

[Lady Penelope]

My memories of Baku were:

Fat cats due to all the rats that were around
Gas pressure dropping to virtually zero on a regular basis so it was often difficult to cook
Spiralling costs due to high inflation - clothes cost a fortune
Regular power cuts - especially in winter
No water in January 2008 for several days due to snow which stuffed up the infrastructure
Disgusting levels of dirt and dust - the roads outside the very small city centre are never cleaned
A post-soviet infrastructure that is seriously crumbling

Meanwhile: The skinny blonde at LSD left to be replaced by a man (in June 2008) who had a grand total of 4 months teaching experince at the time! None of the other far more experienced teachers would take the job. The job at LSD involved mainly teaching BP students plus the odd strays from the Azeri Govt in a variety of locations. We did have the use of taxis to get arounf - paid by LSD, but sometimes the staff (young girls with attitude) at the Bayil office got a bit arsy with teaching staff and told the teachers to walk or cancelled taxis without notice (not funny when its raining hard / you are carrying lots of books etc).

To be fair to LSD we were always paid on time when I was there. The centre manager was scrupulously fair and honest. The staff at the main office (Mammedaliyev St) were very helpful & friendly.

[zeke0606]

Lady P ---

Nice to know that things are still crumbling in the wonderful city of Baku!

Yes! To the prompt pay schedule. No to any of the other benefits - I left at the end of October 2007 and had none of the insurance documents or Residence cards or any other benefits that were in my contract --- I waited about two months and that 'skinny blond' simply didn't care about most of the teachers at the time. There was an Irishman that arrived just before me and he interested her! He was invited to her house for all the parties and I saw them together on 'guided tours' of the city..................... However, he was fired after about three weeks and then the blond bimbo did actually say hello a couple of times!
I only had to walk to the BP offices at the end of the one way street or to the LSD Office on the same street but the other way - I lived just between the two sites. So I never saw a taxi - we had company drivers. But they weren't always available.

Zeke

[slaqdog]

Two decent places to work for-Language Services direct pay around 2000us$ and language solutions a little more
LSD is a small but professional outfit mostly classes in the school mix of company/ open general /business classes. Nice offices nice director-brit--
language solutions has a bit of a management problem it appears from the very high staff turnover.pay but the local staff exist to make your life that little bit worse lol

Baku has become expensive but is not a bad place to live-never heard of people having skin problems from water but gas pressure is an issue. I lived there had a good time and did some travelling. Not an easy option but its fun you neeed to be a bit get up and go to get sth out of it===and the cavier tastes a little fishy....

[Red and white]

[zeke0606]

Red and white -

You worked down town? I never really met anyone that worked there. Nice to meet you. Are you still there or have you moved on?

And I think this is the reason for our different views of this school. Your staff was much different than my lone DOS and secretary.

I was not interested in the DOS as my wife was with me. I was concerned that the insurance forms were not given to me until six weeks after I arrived and other documents just did not materialize either. I had to use the school's business card and my California Driver License to get access to the classrooms inside the two different BP office buildings.

I thought the school was a good one and all things considered, it was much better than most - anywhere in the world!

I was there only two months, September and October in 2007. And as far as meeting any of the other foreign teachers, I met one woman only once that taught at the main office, however she only wanted to work hourly. There was a herd of older British men as I was leaving, starting at the Bail office.

Zeke

[Red and white]

Moved on back in March, with few regrets. Was only teasing about the DOS, obviously We may have met briefly at some point, but I don't know if I had classes in Bayil at that time or if they started a bit later.

I didn't have much contact with the Bayil office, though by the time I left there was quite a big staff down there - probably bigger than downtown. Getting that BP contract transformed the entire organisation, and probably quicker than they could really handle.

From what I gather from a couple of other long-term down-towners they still have problems with staff: both in terms of recruiting and retaining reliable teachers. Baku isn't the kind of city that draws in the punters, I guess.

Would agree that the school was OK to work for. If it was in a different city I might still be there ...