Job Discussion Forums

[speedjackson]

Almost every post on the board about a potential employer/school seems to solicit several warnings and horror stories about how terrible it was to work there...

I'm wondering, is anyone out there relatively happy with their employer in Russia? Anyone out there who can live (even if pretty basically) on their salary, feel reasonably supported by staff, trust their contracts are being fulfilled on both sides, etc? Even... approximately, in that shady "this is how we do things u nas" kind of way? Please feel free to be explicit and detailed about what you DO like and DON'T like about them, and suggest how I might apply myself if you like.

What it comes down to for me is this: I plan to start a CELTA cert program in a couple months and I'd very much like to focus my job search in Russia (or greater FSU region), so I can practice my own Russian language skills while there. I'm confident I can live on cabbage soup and kasha and cheap Arsenal'noe pivo, can chat up my doctor all I want and tell the nosy babushka to mind her own beeswax...but I am not confident I'll have thousands and thousands of dollars stashed away for a rainy day. (I'm just hoping I'll have the fine crooks at J.P. Morgan and Chase paid off by then!)

[rusmeister]

Ask evelopez. http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=75271&highlight=

You can choose, like she did initially, to reject the warnings.

[maruss]

In addition to all the points in Eves report,especially with all the latest confusion and problems about visas and work-permits, it seems it is becoming very difficult to go and teach in Russia,even more so as a new- comer.Of course the situation will be sorted out one way or another,just as it always is, but how and when is another question...
For those resident there permanently like Rusmeister and a few others on this forum,the situation is entirely different.
Better safe than sorry-forewarned is forearmed!

[GF]

[coledavis]

Or do some research and find a school in Siberia. I'm not saying it'll all be perfect - there will always be this is how we do it here - but you can often get paid better than the average local, and, if you're careful, can come back home a few thousand dollars better off. It is more of a struggle, if this is your first teaching job, but native speakers are rare in Siberia and if you look like you might be good, you might be able to sort something out.

[speedjackson]

So, ya'll's answer, in a word: no?

Thanks for the link, rusmeister, but I am aware of Eve Lopez's situation...I saw her posts here, and I read the whole blog: it's one of the first hits on a google search of BKC-IH Moscow, now. It was her story, and others I've seen on the board, that prompted my curiosity about people who might NOT have a horror story to tell.

Maruss, I've also heard rumblings about visa and permit rules, and I have no intention of showing up in Moscow and hoping to find employment without having a visa sponsor guaranteed before. But they changed the rules for student visas just before I left for Russia in 2008...like literally, two months before I was supposed to go. Yet it worked out.
I suspect many schools know exactly what they have to do to keep the wheels of the machine turning whichever ways they have to turn to keep them in business.

I simply worry that those schools which most actively recruit overseas (ie, BKC-IH, LanguageLink) are doing so because experienced teachers and people already in Russia know they are bad news bears (which of course isn't unique to the Russian ESL scene...). Hence my wondering if anyone happens to work there now and even just feels reasonably secure at their school...

Yes, GF, I was using a bit of literary liscense to convey that I kind of know what Russia's like. Now, I know perfectly well that humoring people--and in the case of Russian authority figures, outright begging and looking sad and helpless--is usually the most effective way to get what you want. (I'm not exactly 15 years old). But I am a vegan who lives on an unsteady 10/hr job as a substitute teacher: "Cabbage soup and kasha" is a pretty accurate description of my diet as it is.

Thanks for the suggestion Coledavis. I've actually been to Siberia before to study and I fully intend to search there!

[anubistaima]

[coledavis]

[anubistaima]

[/quote]I remember, but aren't you rather generalising? From what I gather, not all of them are quite as bad as that. Also as far as the middle of nowhere is concerned, this isn't the case if you're in a city like Novosibirsk, where there is quite a lot of competition and even townships outside the city (such as Akademgorodok) to consider in addition.[/quote]

Not all of them are bad, no. Maybe I should clarify. Akadem is right there, yes, and many consider it part of Novosibirsk (sort of an annex). What I meant was that you don't really have a lot of nearby cities you can move to if Novosibirsk doesn't work. The number of schools in Novosibirsk (and surroundings) is limited too. Last time, I check, under 20. I don't know the number of schools in Moscow, but I'm guessing hundreds. So while Novosibirsk is rather large, I always had the feeling I was living in a small town with a large population. Small town mentality, few options for pretty much everything. And if you suddenly realize it's not for you, you're far from everything. A flight to Moscow will set you back 500 USD or more, a monster of a number for an ESL teacher. In Novosibirsk salaries are lower than in other areas of the country and cost of living is not necessarily that much cheaper. So if you're going to Siberia to teach, go in with the idea that you might be stuck there if things don't work out. Have money saved up or bring a credit card, so if needed be you can skip town and not be tied up to the employer from hell.

[coledavis]

I saved a few thousand dollars in a few months (n.b. my accommodation was paid for), so it depends on how you spend. Re small town mentality: I think other people have been just as disparaging about the big town. Again, I think there is some generalising going on. Also, there are other cities within a day or two by train from Novosibirsk - you could have looked at Tomsk, for example (it's one of my regrets that I didn't visit Tomsk when I had the chance).

[Tripp523]

[stim]

I worked for three years in Moscow, and I can say the first year was genuinely wretched for two reasons: bad employer who broke the contract and threatened native speaker teachers for no good reason (Inlingua Moscow- steer clear of them!) and also unstable apartment situations.
The second and third year were better, because I found an excellent employer, IPT (iptrussia.ru), who paid well and on time. They try to offer a full-time contract, which pays badly, but if you are experienced you can get a freelance position and get paid better. It is very, very easy to get students who pay well. 80usd is the norm for a ninety minute class in a cafe.
At the end of my stay, I was regularly raking in 3400usd per month- except in the summer, when the city goes on vacation.
I never solved the apartment problems. Around 30 percent of the teachers I knew had them. They are a serious headache, and wear on the nerves.
The girls are nice.

[maruss]

....seem to affect just about everyone in Moscow,including Russians,unlesss they already own one or have a guaranteed place to stay.Despite all its negative points,Moscow remains the 'honey-pot' for the simple reason that mega-money,jobs and opportunities are all supposedly in abundance there,although of course they are far from fairly distributed!The place lives by its own rules and is virtually like a separate country compared to most other parts of Russia....love it or hate it,few people are indifferent once they have been there!

[betacygnus]