Job Discussion Forums

[melissalloyd]

Hello all,

Let me get the newbie introduction stuff out of the way first. My name is Melissa. I'm 23 and getting ready to graduate from university here in the States. I have a background in Eurasian Studies and speak a smattering of beginning Russian. My plans to go on and study Russia in grad school fell through so I've decided to go and get some real world experience on the ground instead.

I've read through the last 3 or 4 months of posts here as well as lurking over at expat.ru and have a rough idea of what to expect. Russia is Russia and not really like anywhere else in the world. I know this experience will be nothing like Prague or backpacking western Europe. I've read up not only on the McSchools but other common first timer mistakes (I'll be sure to get a copy of my contract in Russian before I sign anything) and am ironing out the kinks for getting my CELTA. At the same time, I know the only thing I can really anticipate is needing a lot of patience and resilience. The mantra is "We're not in Kansas anymore".

So my quest brings me to you, oh seasoned professionals. From my research I've figured out that the right fit for me will be to get out of Moscow and St. Pete and work in one of the regional centers. EF has schools in Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, and Vladivostok. IH doesn't really have a presence outside of Moscow. And as far as Language Link goes they are currently only listing a handful of openings outside of the dreaded suburban Moscow schools. I've heard all of the BKC-IH and EF Moscow horror stories. My question is not about those schools.

What I am looking for is any information/first had experience you have about life outside of the capitals. I've already read the whole Vladivostok thread and @jpvanderwerf2001 you have already been extremely helpful just through your posts here. If anyone has any leads on and schools other than McSchools with visa sponsoring abilities that would also be much appreciated.

Спaсибo!

[ancient_dweller]

wow, you have done a lot of research.

But brighten up, you list all those things as if they are negative! Smaller schools will be the same if not worse than Mcschools, only they're a little bit smaller, thus more personal. Most have the same problems. It's tough to get a completely legitimate job from a smaller school, because they can risk the cost of the visa process for someone who might not show up.

I'm personally not a big fan of Mcschools, and chose not to go down that route myself. Also, how can you make judgements about Moscow regions having never been there? They're not as bad as you think. I am sure there are some real sh**holes in the US that would be worse.

If you do decide, like I did, to just show up then I recommend you have a basic grasp of Russian. Another thing is, search in Russian for language schools on yandex.ru and the cities where you want to go. I am in Moscow, but I'm sure it will work for the cities you mention.

Also, it is much more fun to just show up. There is a big outlay upfront. Getting a flat is 3 months rent upfront because, 1 month deposit, 1 month agents commission and 1 month for the first month. Flats cost 20,000r a month+ for a studio. (don't know about shared pads; i wasn't interested in sharing with a European while in Moscow). On top of that, food is very expensive. It took me 3 months before the real money started to role in. I have spoken to people from BKC and so on, on the odd night out. The people I have spoken to have a different attitude to me. They are contented with their 20,000r a month or whatever and free accommodation. They go to cheap bars and live like students. I didn't want that. Depends what you want I guess. There are lot of sales people on here from LL, EH and BKC outlining all the benifits. And whilst I never went down that route, I've only ever heard something bad from this website.

The negatives eg, apparently, being paid late, having to travel around to different clients etc... they are not guaranteed and in any event they can happen to anyone at any school big or small.

At the big schools though, you'll always be just a cog in the works. That's the problem. At the little schools, (in my experience), if you're good, (not saying I am), then they might try to keep you. (i say might...)

i realise, it's all about Moscow what i have written but, think the main points hold true for other parts of the country.

[ancient_dweller]

Good Luck!

[Jazziz23]

Good info ancient! thanks!

[coledavis]

My blog covers time in Siberia (as well as one or two other places):
http://www.careersteer.org/blog/

You need to go to the archives for the Siberian material. I was in Tyumen near the Urals and then near Novosibirsk.

Another site, relating to Tyumen, is
http://lifeintyumen.weebly.com/index.html

I think you might find a site or two dedicated to life in Novosibirsk. If you go to Google, for example, and put 'Novosibirsk life', you'll find some entries in English.