Job Discussion Forums

Start123 · Joined: 03 Dec 2010 Posts: 9

What to expect from an average English school in Moscow and province?

I'll share. Right now I'm in Chelyabinsk ( don't ask..). The average salary is about 15k for a Russian trained teacher. You need about 30k to survive in this place. What should I be expecting to get?..I hear numbers like 60k-80k in Siberia...but here no one offers anything over 20k but they never had a native english speaker in their school either!..

What do you charge privates?...How does that work?..

Eamonn · Joined: 18 Jun 2008 Posts: 15 Location: Ireland

Start123 · Joined: 03 Dec 2010 Posts: 9

Yes near Ekaterinburg..but not nearly as culturally developed. Very industrial, yet safe enough. Have not seen ONE foreigner here the whole time I've been here!

maruss · Joined: 18 Mar 2003 Posts: 1145 Location: Cyprus

There used to be a summer charter flight from there to Cyprus a few years ago and I met some nice people from there who came over on holiday.However,I also remember them saying that salaries there are low and they found it expensive here for their budget-they also mentioned that the area has bad ecological problems resulting from industries and previous nuclear activities which caused major damage in the south of the region?
I'd be interested to read more about your experiences there.

manbitesdog · Joined: 14 Dec 2010 Posts: 8 Location: Moscow, Russia

I'm working in Moscow at the moment and I make 75000 rubles a month, and my accommodation is covered. I get meals at the school as well. I feel pretty fortunate! I'm going home for the holidays, but when I return I am going to be tutoringm starting at 800 rubles/hour.

Start123 · Joined: 03 Dec 2010 Posts: 9

maruss · Joined: 18 Mar 2003 Posts: 1145 Location: Cyprus

Moscow sets the trend and the provincial cities try to follow it,as with sushi etc!It is a sad truth that there are many decent people in Russia,including the stunning women you mentioned-but despite the enormous revenue pouring in to the hands of the corrupt elite from the sale of oil and other resources,the majority of the population cannot earn a decent living,as you have discovered for yourself by going to a place away from Moscow or the few other cities which have an artificial economy such as those in the Siberian oil fields etc!Many people do all kinds of work privately to survive on the meagre incomes they earn and it is difficult for a foreigner to understand this unless they experience it for themselves.
It is also very traditionally Russian for men to pay the bill when dating women,regardless of how much either of them earns,at least until the relationship becomes serious.
Earning money should never be a primary motive for a foreigner to go to Russia,especially as a teacher which does not normally come under the ex-pat salary and conditions category so you are essentially there for the experience,which only you can decide how long it should last for?

Start123 · Joined: 03 Dec 2010 Posts: 9

You've said it maruss! You got a pretty clear picture of what's going on here!

expatella_girl · Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 9:31 am Post subject:

Dyadya Misha · Joined: 28 Jun 2010 Posts: 17

Maruss, by artificial economy you mean simply 'local economy', right? Yes, it's higher than the average because of what it produces, but the same can be said about every region and sub-region on the planet. Local salaries reflect a balance of value and ability to pay.

What that means in TEFL terms is that if you want to go to the a Siberian town to teach you'll be looking at a situation in which you're probably less of an important commodity and there's less cash sloshing around to pay for such luxuries. Sure, you don't get the sushi bars and expat lifestyle in Chelyabinsk, for example, but you're off the beaten track and your Russian will improve much quicker there than in Moscow.

As for not coming here to earn money, if you live away from the centre with another person or people it's not exactly difficult to save a small portion of your salary and then whatever you can earn privately. I live with my girlfriend and don't touch my salary - everything comes out of what I make privately. No, you're not going to earn what you could in the Middle East, but balancing lifestyle and income, having worked in both regions, I can't say that there are many advantages to the Arab world.

You grit your teeth and bear it for a long as you can; I'll enjoy most things about it and not make myself miserable by sweating negativity, thanks.

jdsolo · Joined: 10 Feb 2011 Posts: 5

How easy is it to get privates? How does one go about finding interested people?

kazachka · Joined: 19 Nov 2004 Posts: 220 Location: Moscow and Alaska

If you are a good teacher, your students and or friends will refer you to friends,colleagues by word of mouth and soon you will have a waiting list! You might advertise on expat.ru or redtape.ru to get an initial base but I can tell you personally that 99% of mine came via word of mouth referrals.