Job Discussion Forums

[lrich]

Hi
I was wondering if anyone had any experience with English First (EF) in Moscow. They seem to have an attractive employment package but I was wondering if anyone had any first hand experience to let me know what it is really like
thanks!

[Americanartistist]

to work for. Whether or not they are since I have not worked for them, I can not say. The problem with these MacSchool operations is management. Some branches are well managed and professionally ran, while other branches have managers on power trips and know nothing about business ethics or employee relations. Now just how well EF is managed overall, maybe good since so many teachers like working here.
JD

[Sashadroogie]

Most people who work in one Macker or the other tend to say, while slamming them all, that the one they worked at is marginally better. Language Linkers will claim the LL is more relaxed, BKCers will focus on the In-House training. English Firsters... forgotten what their claim is. But truly, there is little to separate them. Some of the Macs even have the same family 'managing' them as another of the Macs. Quite incestuous stuff.

As for the number of happy teachers working for any outfit, this can be deceptive. Macs specialise in enticing novice teachers who know no better. These schools' operations are about quantity, not quality, so the more teaching bodies the better. Hence there will always be a large body of staff at most times of the year, and statistically some of them will be happy. But the crucial point should be how many of them stay. That tells a whole different story. Huge turnover of academic staff, and office staff too. So how many of them are happy at the end of their contract is much more important that at the beginning. Time usually tells.

In the end though, there is not much to distinguish one from the other. Swings and roundabouts. (As in mood swings and revolving doors... : )

[Americanartistist]

only what others say and the good things said outnumber the bad from what I have seen. Maybe I am wrong, but I do not recall ever seeing anything bad about EF here either. I did work for Language Link for three months one summer and that was the worse mistake I ever made. When I resigned, my students all left, so that director had me called into the police. He told the police that I stole his students. I told the investigator that I took none of LL's students, but if my former students come to me, I will accept them. The police investigator told me that LL director is always doing this to his teachers. That was my first and last experience with a MacSchool.

I now only with work with smaller Russian owned schools, though these schools can be risky if you have not researched them fully. One school in the Strogino district I have been with for the last 7 years, they always pay me on time, if they are short of money, the office manager pays me herself. I have complete control over my classes, I choose the textbooks and course materials, in spring and summer I am allowed to have classes in Yantar park next to the lake. The trouble is most Russian owned schools can not officially hire foreigners unless they have residence and are registered PIEs. Russian owned schools are the only schools I feel are worth working for, but only a small number of the Russian owned schools are really good schools, most are just fly by night operations.
JD

[Sashadroogie]

I think your experience is quite similar to mine. Small schools tend to need you more and so are not as likely to mess you around. EF however, are no better than the rest, in my limited experience, both during job interviews (laughably poor technique on their part - and the usual jumped-up little secretary on a power-trip) and when doing any sort of examining. Expect all sorts of surprise deductions, supposedly for tax, and delays in collecting the already miserably low Cambridge payments.

Just curious - what is a PIE? You've used that abbreviation a few times before. Probably something really obvious, but it escapes me still.

[Americanartistist]

the interviewer was 90 minutes late, she said because of traffic, I just waited to tell her "Thank you, but no thank you" and walked out. I've been told that I am too discouraging on forums sometimes, so I tend to ease up some now about saying too many bad things.

PIE is private individual entrepreneur registration, in other words, you work for yourself legally. You can choose two tax options, 13% with rebates or 6% with no rebates. Since I am not renting an office and already have a good textbook collection and little expenses, I choose paying the 6% with no rebates. I have a tax number and my students pay directly into my business account. You can also buy a expensive cash receipt machine and accept cash, but I choose just let my students or clients pay monthly into my business account. This way, everything is legit and legal and I can work just about anywhere and with whoever wishes to hire me in the Moscow region. Its nice to be able to work with small Russian schools that can not legally hire other native speakers. Nice not to have to worry about competition from other native speaking teachers.

The catch to having a PIE is you have to have residence before you can register. Any native speaking teacher who has residence should be registered as a PIE, because it really is beneficial in so many ways, plus businesses like hiring a teacher legally because they can include the teacher's payment as an expense and everything is legit as far as the tax authorities go.
JD