Job Discussion Forums

[Eclecticpoet]

I got offered a job as a teacher intern with language link. Myself and a few others have looked over the website which seems reputable and organized. However, I'm a bit suspicious about everything they want me to pay for: airfare (reimbursed), HIV testing, first month accomodation, and sustenance for 6-8 weeks since I don't get paid for 6-8 weeks. I've checked into other programs ( in Asia, specifically) and ALL of the above was paid. Which one is a more typical scenario for teaching abroad?

Although, I will give LL credit and say they agree to pay for my housing for the rest of the time I'm there, (9 months) and give me a stipend of 20,000 Roubles every month which increases every 3 months after an evaluation. What do you think?

[BELS]

If they want you I think they should treat like any other expat. I think they should treat you with respect. I believe they should pay for your airfare and ensure you are most comfortable in Moscow. They should provide you with your own flat, and give to you for example full health care as part of the package. If you are coming with you as a family then they should provide you with family accommadation, educatin costs for your children, etc, etc. Unfortunately they will refuse. Therefore they don't respect you as an expat. When you say yo need nannies and drivers they will probably laugh at you. That's the way it is. Amongst expats the ESL teacher is like a Philopino cleaner, we lack respect. It should changed, but I don't know how it can be changed.

Except this! If you do know yourself around Russia, you will discover that you don't need to be used and abused by such schools. You will discover that their is a very high demand here for native speaking teachers, even when their is a current recession. One of the the reasons is that many Russians want out of here for something better, and yes they do believe that the recession will be shorter in other.

Strange as it might seem, I see they are interested in Australia of all places, when I believe their future will be better in Britain. Yes!! demand on immigration to Australia appears to be high. But I believe Russians are historical cultural people and would feel more comfortable in Britain.

[maruss]

My only contention is whether the U.K. will recover very fast from the recession because the way things are going,I very much doubt it.....
Ccg. L.L. as this guy has written,it all looks a bit dubious about the benefits etc.If you read between the lines,they are effectively asking him to pay up-front for all the expenses to get to Russia with a suggestion that they will refund them after he has worked for them for a period which they will specify?Of course they know that very few people stay with them long,especially for the peanuts they pay and as for the offer of accomodation,we all know what that means don't we!
If this guy is coming from outside Europe his airfare alone will cost him a packet.The trouble is that few people who search for jobs in Russia have actually been there before to understand what conditions are like and it is so easy to fall for these carefully composed recruiting ads by the Mac schools.At least until a couple of years ago you could at least get a one year multiple-entry business visa and use these firms as a stepping stone to get in and then stay for up to six months continually, working freeelance but now you cannot do that and are effectively tied to whoever arranges your work permit.On thing is sure,you will use your own funds in return for what will be at best a dubious experience and probably not get them refunded!On the kind of wages these firms pay,you will just about be able to buy food and probably not very good quality stuff either,which will ultimately do you no good at all and lead you to have the kind of health many Russians have!
But as we have said so many times before,it's the old law of supply and demand.....as Bels quite rightly says(and other people I know there agree)more and more Russians want to learn English because they see it as a ticket to work abroad,so there is demand for what we teach....and despite all its grimy and negative elements,Russia continues to have a strange and romantic lure for certain people so these schools will always find 'fodder for their cannons!'
There is no denying that it is challenging and unique and I have always admitted that.

[rusmeister]

Duplicate post.

[rusmeister]

Especially for the measly kopecks they pay, airfare, first month accommodation and pay promptly at the end of the first month are all standard minimums. If you're not a sucker, I'd look elsewhere.

Maruss is right that people are amazingly willing to be cannon fodder, though, and those contribute to the constant lowering of standards. It's important to not give the impression that you are that needy, even if you feel you are.

[maruss]

..It would be far better to go to Russia and teach voluntarily to the many people who would appreciate your contribution a lot more than they would,especially if you are going to fork-out your own expenses up front to get there!At least you won't end up realising you've been taken for a ride and exploited and I guarantee you will feel far more satisfied that your efforts have gone towards a very deserving cause!
I used to go and clear snow from the yard at an orphanage outside Moscow while I was there on Saturdays,because they had nobody else to do it regularly,and it made all the difference to whether the kids could get an outside play-break in the fresh air.....It was hard work and a long trudge there and back, but I never regretted it,even though the only material reward was hot tea and cakes afterwards from the ladies in the kitchen!But the best part was going up to play with the kids afterwards and they soon got to know me and look forward to my visits.The worst thing was the last time I went there,knowing that I would probably never see any of them again,even more so because I also knew that for the majority,the future would be very bleak once they grew-up!That was three years ago,so most of those who were around four or five then will have been sent to other 'internats' by now,where as the director told me conditions are likely to be far worse than they were at Fryazino where I used to go.

[canucktechie]

Note that this is an intern position. They are hiring someone without any qualifications or experience.

No school anywhere is going to pay all expenses up front from day 1 for such a position. They have no idea whether you are going to be any good.

If you want a real job, get real qualifications.

That said, 20,000R pay (I assume that is in addition to free accommodation) is crap. Even your standard McSchool McJob pays a lot more than that.

I will disagree with a previous poster and say that the economic downturn has resulted in a very pronounced decline in the demand for teachers, both from schools and from private students. In prior years employers at least had to treat their teachers decently because you could leave them and work elsewhere easily. Those times are over.

[maruss]

It seems that foreign teachers who are already established in Moscow and have a network of private students who want lessons because they are studying IELTS etc. with the aim of going to work abroad are doing well -in fact 'busier than ever before' as several have told me in recent weeks,but the number of actual new jobs for anyone thinking of going there is definitely getting less and less,as others have posted.This is obvious with the way the financial crisis has hit the Russian economy and people are being thrown out of work every day etc.The future is uncertain,although in Russia you can never take anything for granted and have to allow for this in many areas of life.From May until September there has always been the notorious 'dacha disease' when everybody tries to escape from Moscow at every opportunity so the number of students available has always been much less than at other times of the year.For anyone who relies on freelancing this is very bad news of course because your bills for rent and food etc still have to be paid so unless you have put money by to cover,you can end up in dire straits!It will be interesting to see how this situation develops this summer...