Job Discussion Forums

ollieacappella · Joined: 25 Apr 2011 Posts: 2 Location: Riga, Latvia

Hello, ESL Cafe forums!

I've been living in Riga, Latvia since January. My main aims for this year were to learn Russian and to teach English. The former is going pretty well, but the economic situation in Latvia (coupled with the time of year I decided to look for work here) has made the latter pretty difficult.

Anyway, to continue pursuing these goals I plan to move to Piter in August. I've sent emails to about 8 language schools. I told them all that I am a native speaker and CELTA qualified. However, I sent these about a month ago, and since then have had just two replies which both said that there won't be any full-time work available from September. Is this to be expected? I know August is still three months away, but I do like to be sure about such things as this. Are schools in Russia struggling as they are (or seem to be) in Latvia? Should I be more patient and wait until this academic year is pretty much over? Do any of you work in or know any reputable schools with such work available?

ancient_dweller · Joined: 12 Aug 2010 Posts: 415 Location: Woodland Bench

schools in Moscow are not struggling. Celta qualified with experience = job.

kazpat · Joined: 04 Jul 2010 Posts: 140 Location: Kazakhstan

The lingua franca in KZ is Russian. There are schools here that are desperate for native speakers. I know of a franchise that has been posting for a CELTA qualified teacher for months. I know one franchise that guarantees their CELTA grads jobs, or so the website says. Most job offers I see offer free Russian lessons and unless your in an oil and gas city the lack of expats gets you pretty functional in one of the local languages (Russian / Kazakh) quick.

Just a thought..........

Velocipedaler · Joined: 23 Jun 2009 Posts: 45 Location: Earth

In this week's SPb Times there are three advertisements from ESL schools seeking qualified native speakers. I've also had a many offers for classes at ESL schools. So, considering these two items, I'd say, yes, there is demand.

The question is: Is there enough demand to justify bringing a foreigner on, with all the expense and hassle that entails? I'm not plugged into the ESL scene well enough to answer that.

If you really want to come here, get more aggressive. Follow up with phone calls, schedule some meetings, and hop on a bus...tickets aren't that expensive.

ollieacappella · Joined: 25 Apr 2011 Posts: 2 Location: Riga, Latvia

Thanks for the replies.

Regarding Moscow and Kazakhstan, I'm pretty fixed on St Petersburg. It just seems like my kind of place, and it's very close to mainland Europe.

Velocipedaler - I've sent a couple more emails today. I'm organising a visit to St Petersburg for late June so I'll definitely visit a few when I'm there and see whether asking them for a job face to face will change their minds! Thanks for the advice.