Job Discussion Forums

[Def]

Hey all,

Been a while since I last posted in the forum - been off gettin' me one of them education things. Aaanywho, I was just looking over the job board, and there was an ad for a school in Russia, that begins along the lines of:

[maruss]

In Russia it probably is!Also remember that oil towns have their own economies and many products are imported and consequently expensive there so $1200 is nothing to write home about.There was also a language school in Surgut which had some very bad postings about it a couple of years ago from former teachers but I cannot remember which one it was.This one could be the same with different owners etc. so proceed with caution is the best advice I can give you....

[Def]

Grin.
Eh, it's not really an issue at the moment, I'm stuck where I am until next year at least. It was more of a ... 'this ad caught my eye, compared to other things seen'.

Just thought I'd see if anyone knew much about them, for future reference! Cheers.

[bob24]

Really, really, really be careful. Half of the things they say are lies. The director knows nothing, absolutely nothing about teaching English. Unless you are really desperate for money DON'T GO. Russian people are fantastic though!

[jonniboy]

One of my Russian friends is a native of Surgut and told me that costs there were on a par with Western cities so $1200 is definitely nothing special and therefore the package offered is likely to be accurate, if unimpressive.

[braita]

I'd say more than half of what they tell you is lies. The pay is not $1200 a month. The pay is 30,000 rubles a month, which at the moment comes out to about $1,060. There is no internet in the apartments. The "new British management" is one guy who happens to be a friend of the owner.

[coledavis]

Yes, I get nearly the same amount of money and, living in Tyumen, another oil city, I pay western prices. So, come and enjoy Russia by all means, but don't expect to live the high life every night. By the way, if you want to get a feel of the area, you could have a look at my blog 'Living in Tyumen': www.careersteer.org/blog

[bob24]

The whole thing is a joke. "under new British management" ah!ah!ah! He is a retarded man. The senior teacher/ coordinator is a "socially retarded, passive aggressive, who doesn't know anything about teaching, and couldn't put together a decent schedule to save her life. Internet in your flat? Ah! ah! ah! You can't even make international calls. To be creative when teaching? Ah! Ah! Ah! You HAVE to follow the coursebooks (only) and follow the local teachers instructions. Basically you know nothing. They know everything. $1200??? Not enough. Very expensive place. $2000 would be ok but not great. Very impressive building though. Students are nice. Some of the local teachers are fantastic people. The city is not bad. Unless they change the director and the senior teacher I'd say: DON'T GO THERE!

[maruss]

To earn less than $2000 per month anywhere in Russia,even outside Moscow, nowadays is a joke-it is a hardship place,not just because of the climate but for many other reasons!Better to go and do some kind of charity work there for a pittance and at least know you are directly helping some of the many deserving people,rather than be exploited by a bunch of deceiptful lying crooks like these and many other employers there, who probably wouldn't bat an eyelid if they saw you dead tomorrow!
Anyone with broadband should have a look on Google videos under Russia and watch the British documentary'Railway of Bones' about Komi and Vorkuta etc.You won't see any of the revolting Moscow elite and their glitzy shops and buildings etc. but you will see a devastating slice of reality about Putins Russia today!

[ibasiram]

$2000? Are you serious? Has Russia really become that expensive?

[kazachka]

YES! It's not enough. Shoot, my grocery bills are more than they were in Anchorage and groceries are expensive in Alaska esp. since most of the produce has to be shipped in! Rents are coming down but now I am beginning to see flats priced in dollars again so, actually, they are not coming down much when you consider the now near 40% tanking of the ruble to the dollar since Aug. There is no end in site either. Try cutting teacher salaries by 40% in the US and do you know what you would have, A BL@@DY STRIKE!
Instead of striking, I just phoned my former employer back in Wasilla (NO I AM NOT A PALIN FAN JUST BECAUSE I'M FROM WASILLA) the other day to feel things out for next school yr., and they would be happy to have me back. Everything I have done here I can easily write off as professional development since I'd be going back into a Russian/ bilingual ed position. Unless I get a contract pegged in hard currency, I'm going to get the process going on heading back to my old job. I'm sick of watching my salary fall further down into the gutter. Yes, and for me to have to have made that phone call, you know things have to be going to hell in a handbasket pretty quickly around here.

[maruss]

As I always say,take 'Kazachkas' advice........if she is thinking of packing up and leaving,then things are getting bad over there because she has been there a long time and has very good contacts and private students etc. so she is not just another dissillusioned adventurer who took a job in one of the 'Mac' schools!!'
You may be asking how do people in Russia live when outside Moscow many earn far less than $2000 per month??There are a number of possible answers, the first being that many of them have learned to earn extra money 'on the side' apart from their official jobs, as a means of getting by,otherwise they just survive, rather than live in a way which most of us would even call acceptable,let alone comfortable......You can see some examples in that Google video film I recommended in my last posting.
Most of all,remember that Moscow is completely different from most other Russian cities regarding living standards etc.

[jpvanderwerf2001]

My salary is in rubles When the school year started, my salary was over $2000/month here in Vladivostok (not counting privates/examining). Now, of course, it's considerably less than that. I'm not sure what'll happen (of course you could say that every day in Russia ), especially come new contract time (if they can even afford to hire me back). I'm considering asking to be paid in dollars or euro next contract, but I'm certainly not counting on that happening.
On the other hand, I'm not going anywhere in the near future (have a family here), so I'll grin and bear it like the locals.

[maruss]

I would try insisting on a hard-currency salary but as you have quite rightly said,you live there and have a Russian wife etc so you cannot easily move and I suppose they know that too!If you were in Moscow,at least until a few months ago when the economic crisis started,you could have laid down your terms and gone elsewhere for a job if they refused......Those days are over now of course,and it is an employers market for anyone who wants work there!
Take care and all the best.

[pandagrr]

This school is....crazy.

The Director makes promises off the top of his head or by email and won't keep them. When you ask them about this he becomes defensive. He has a poor reputation around the city.

The head teacher isn't even a native speaker, she constantly makes basic English errors. She doesn't even do the job of a head teacher. She doesn't call the teachers to let them know the schedule for rides, when meetings are happening, changes to the schedules or rides. Basically the foreign teachers are on their own due to the lack of support. She is rude to other people on a constant basis and when bringing up major issues of concern her answer is usually, "I don't care." She borrows money from the teachers and doesn't pay them back. If you just had to deal with her aside from the poor management it would be stressful enough on its own.

Scheduling is done very poorly and the foreign teachers are essentially substitute teachers without classes of their own.

The school doesn't pay enough given the falling dollar. $1200 USD isn't enough given the opportunities elsewhere and the costs of living in Siberia. There are other opportunities in Siberia. Look for them.

Given that, the Russians and the Russian teachers themselves are lovely people!!!