Job Discussion Forums

[elcabojota]

I am currently living and teaching in Poland but my normal contract expires in June and I might be looking for some sort of summer employment. I have heard some about working in Language camps, but I haven't been able to find where to look for information.

Does anyone know anything about this, or have any ideas on what to do this summer?

Also, does anyone know if there is a chance of finding working in Norway?

[poro]

There certainly are jobs there in summer, though I don't know of any language schools that do summer courses.

However, if you're willing to travel and do physical work, then you could try:

a) the fish-processing industry in Norway. Companies on the northern coast, eg, in Vard�, often look for people and I believe they pay very well too - easily several times more than an average wage in Poland, if what I've heard is correct. The downside is that it's hard work, and you'll smell like a fish, whether you like it or not.

b) berry-picking in Finnish Lapland. This might sound a crackpot idea, but it isn't if you know what you're doing. We actually get workers who fly in from Thailand to do this. You go into the marshes, pick the rare and very expensive cloudberries, and sell them to the organisers. This is also hard work, but a very good picker can earn up to �130 per day.

Of course, there are other opportunities outside the nordic countries. For example asparagus-picking in Germany - Germans are addicted to asparagus, but hate the hard work of picking. So every year, legions of Polish workers go over and do the job for them. They're not well-paid by German standards, but to Poles it's a very, very substantial wage (or at least that's what they told me).

The last one I can think of offhand is grape-picking in the Rhine-Mosel valleys. The good thing about this is the truly spectacular scenery you work in, and you'll surely never forget an experience like that. But it too has downsides - you aren't paid well, and the season is quite late (October, so far as I remember), so it might be more something for students with plenty of time. But I've heard you get free accommodation, and you might even get free food and wine, though it won't be luxury, of course.

Anyway, there's something for you to think about. If you want to know what I'd take, it would be a) because that's where you can earn the most, it's a very beautiful part of the world, and you can depend on Norwegians to be fair to you.