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[praguecity]

Before I start, I would like to note that InterTeach agency in Pavlodar Kazakhstan is a language school. InterTeach in Almaty, Kazakhstan on the other hand is an insurance company, they have nothing to do with each other, except sharing the same name.

I was debating for a long time whether to post this. But it looks like this company will be looking to hire teachers soon and I wanted to warn them. If after reading my post you still decide to work for this company, I would urge you to take the following precautions:

1. Have enough money with you (either on a credit card or bank account) to buy you a ticket out of the country in case you decide to bail.

2. The company MUST give you an allowance of $500 once you land in Pavlodar. If they try to short you on this amount, just pack up your bags and leave.

3. Request the contact information of at least TWO former teachers who worked there before. How will you know that those teachers are for real? Simple, ask them if they EVER were paid on time and/or in full. If they say no, then they are real.

4. Make it clear to them that you will want to find your own apartment and you need the help of a translator to do so. If not, they will stick you in some friend�s apartment and ask an exuberant amount of money for it. You can find good cheap apartments in Pavlodar for $400 or less.

5. This might sound like a no brainer, but I wish I would have done this sooner. If you do not get paid on payday, then STOP working. Do not continue working until you get paid.

6. I hate to say this since I liked the city, but this is somewhat of a hardship position. The winters are cold (-40C) and it�s a small city with very little attractions. So you will need a high paycheck to compensate for it.

So here is my story in short:

When I landed a job with InterTeach, my salary was $3000. It would be $2500 salary + $500 living allowance. I was promised the $500 upfront as it is a living allowance, it did not happen. I got about $200 when I landed. Throughout my short stay there I had absolutely no support from the local staff, but I do not blame them, nobody told them they need to assist the new teacher who does not speak any Russian. If it wasn�t for all the other Americans there, I would have been truly lost. After being there for a while I realized that both the local staff and American teachers have not been paid in over 2 months. When I arrived, the school was waiting on a contract from the government to start teaching again (I found out later that they never got the contracts and were penalized by the department of education for shady paperwork). Every day we were told that next week we will get the contracts or that we will get paid but nothing happened. When I finally realized that there isn�t going to be any work, I bailed.

Again, I would hope you stay clear of this company altogether, but if you decide to work for them, please take the precautions I listed above.

Good Luck!