Job Discussion Forums

[dannypoet]

I'm thinking of doing my CELTA and then either working in Poland or Russia (I'm 24 and English by the way). I've had a look on the BKC website and their terms of $800 a month + free accomodation seem really good by eastern european standards. I know Moscow can be quite an expensive city though so I just wondered how good this really is and if anyone has any experience of doing their CELTA with them and/or working with them?

Also is there any oppurtunities in other Russian cities then Moscow? Not just St.Petersburg but elsewhere too?

Thanks for all your help.

[maruss]

If you enjoy working split-shifts in grotty suburbs, sharing a grungy flat with someone you don't know and being crushed in the metro and on the buses etc. and seeing other people around you doing a similar job for at least double what B.K.C pay then go ahead and apply by all means!Their site is very alluring and tempts you to try the Moscow experience,but like any sales and recruiting drive they don't tell you about the cons!If you look through the postings on this site and on moscowteachers.com you can find-out plenty about living and working in Moscow before you decide whether to go there or not!If you read the article in yesterdays Obsever about Russia on the guardian.co.uk website you will probably change your mind anyway and stick to Poland,the Baltics or maybe Prague,all of which are definitely better than working for someone like B.K.C.in Moscow!
As for working outside Moscow and St.Petes,it can be done and if you are adventurous is probably more enjoyable than suffering the stress and crush of Moscow BUT DO BE VERY CAREFUL with who and where you go to work etc.( There are several notorious schools which advertise regularly in places such as in Togliatti-Samara in the Volga region and in Voskresensk near Moscow, for example!)At least a basic knowledge of the language is almost essential and don't forget that Russia is still very much a third-world country, despite the deceptive impressions of elite living which the centre of Moscow gives to a first-time visitor!Anything that might go wrong has to be considered as probable, especially regarding working conditions and getting paid on time etc. so always have some back-up funds to tie you over.
Sorry if all this sounds a bit negative,but people like myself and other regulars on this site have heard of many victims of firms like B.K.C. over the years!

[dannypoet]

Hi Maruss,

Not at all, thats why I asked! Thankyou very much for your information, I think I'll follow your advice and look through these posts and possibly look elsewhere.

Thanks again.

[quietguy]

I'm at BKC right now, and I've got no problems. I won't argue with Maruss...I would hate working in Moscow. I'm outside the city. Do read all you can on this site and others, and if you've still got some questions send me a message. Good luck!

[rusmeister]

BKC used to pay better than the sweat-shop minimum in the 90's, until they were (undoubtedly) 'run over' by the authorities and dropped to the dismal pay levels of this decade. Judging from what most people here post, things have gotten worse in Moscow/St Pete, in part due to the large number of unemployed desperate native speakers willing to come and work at the sweat-shops for the minimum.
On the other hand, they're making the visa system a little more draconian now, so maybe a fair percentage of that class of people will leave.

[maruss]

The last posting hits the nail squarely on the head......while there is demand, the 'goods' will continue to sell!I suppose we can't blaim the Russians for adopting this capitalist business principle which applies all over the world!

[canucktechie]

For what it's worth, I know a couple of people who used to work for BKC and now work for IH schools in Poland and Slovakia, and they said they had more disposable income when they were in Moscow.

The real issue here is how much you have to sweat for that income, and as the other posters have said you have to sweat a lot in Moscow.

If you want some exposure to Russian culture without the hassles, may I suggest you take a look at working in Tallinn or Riga, both of which have large Russian populations. A lot of non-EU people work in Moscow because those options are not open to them.

[jonniboy]

With a TEFL cert you'd get at least 500 quid (ie almost 1000 USD) a month plus flat working here in Riga. I don't have a cert and currently get a fair bit more than that a month but that includes privates who currently make up a rather uncomfortable 40% of my income.

[maruss]

It wins hands down,not just because it is an E.U. country now with more civilised rules etc. but also it is environmentally in a different world and much less over-crowded!However,$500 per month is probably just enough to get by on,even if you have a free appartment etc. as prices have risen considerably and like you already said'private lessons make up an uncomfortable 40%' of that!
Sorry to keep knocking Moscow,but all I hear, even from my Russian friends there is that the place is getting nastier, more over- crowded,more polluted and more expensive and most people there would do anything to escape if they could!It's a place to visit more than live in,just like London,unless of course, you have a six figure income!And of course, the climate change is driving everyone crazy!

[adavidwatson]

[adavidwatson]

Danny,

Russia is dirty and dangerous and at times it will make no sense. So if you're looking a for a cushy position you won't find it in Russia no matter who you work for. However, if you're trying to decide between Russia and Poland you probably weren't looking to be coddled.

BKC, EF, Language Link will hire from abroad. Right now I am trying to get back into Russia and am considering going back to work for BKC for a while. Would I make a career there? No, the pay is too low. But they'll take care of me well enough to be worth the split shifts for a little while.

I actually did have an apartment to myself while I was working in the southern suburbs. Really I preferred having a flatmate. You still have your own room even if it might double as the common space. (Russians hang out in the kitchen) That's a lot more than I had as a college freshman and way more than I had working at sea.

I had about a 10 minute walk to the metro and was told I had one of the longer walks. It never bothered me. Lots of Russians walk further.

BKC's great appeal is that they are a known quantity, pay you on time and aren't going to suddenly go out of business.

Don't let Maruss scare you off. Moscow is a challenge but so are New York, London, Tokyo and probably most of the world's megapolis.

[maruss]

Apart from the dirt and grime, injustice and inequality,poor quality of life etc. perhaps the worst thing about Russia is the corruption and the overall cynicism of the ruling elite which is turning the place into a corporate, fascist dictatorship run effectively by former K.G.B. members that is as nasty as the Soviet Union used to be!There was an excellent extensive 8 page article in the British Observer on Sunday the 25th of February which I have downloaded and have on file,although it's a lot of bites to e-mail it!Visiting the place for a few weeks or maybe a month or two is of course a different matter-even Auschwitz is worth the effort,or in my mind a must for every intelligent person at least once in a lifetime.By the way, how many people even read about the Gulag museum in central Moscow in last Mondays Moscow Times,let alone have ever been inside it?
Mind you,that's not to say I support Bush and his visions of an ideal world either,just that I'm concerned, very concerned about where Russia is heading especially as most of the people there are seemingly not worried at all as long as they have money!But could the demonstrations in St Petes last weekend signal that they are beginning to wake up to reality?Let's hope so!

[adavidwatson]

Most of the Russians I talk to outside of the field of journalism rather like Putin. You want to have a look at the other post soviet states, beside the Baltics, and tell me one of them that's in better shape?

I would love to see a free and just society in Russia, but they have never had one. And to say "as bad as the soviet system" is ridiculous and you know it.
Don't undercut a legitimate point with ridiculous (and tired) hyperbole.

For those of us not lucky enough to be EU members most of the countries we can work in are corrupt dictatorships, Where do you want to start? Turkey? Brazil? Egypt?

[thrifty]

Lucky enough to exist on a pittance in Europe?

[adavidwatson]

Well if you're going to live on a pittance anywhere you could do a hell of a lot worse than southern Italy.