Way to Russia Community and Forum

If you have a question or want to help someone, please, go to
Way to Russia Forum on our Facebook page.
 
We also invite you to join our Facebook community, where you can meet other travelers and read interesting news on topics ranging from visa regulations to culture and music.
 

 

We are currently moving the old forum to Facebook, so what you see below functions as an archive.

If you have a question, please, post it on
Way to Russia Facebook Discussions Page

FAQ   Search   Memberlist   Usergroups   Profile   Log in to check your private messages   Chat   Log in

Any Ideas?

Way to Russia Talk Lounge Forum Index -> St. Petersburg

Author	Message
John060675 Just Starting Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Posts: 6	Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 5:57 am    Post subject: Any Ideas? What is the best way to find work in St. Petersburg for an English speaker? I know English teaching is always an option, but from what I researched and read they do not pay enough to live off. If you deem that this is the best profession for the beginning, then I would appreciate your ideas of the best way to obtain a job. Would just going to the schools and introducing myself be a good option? I am currently a manager for a large retail office supply store. I am not sure if this helps me, but I think it cannot hurt to find a position outside of teaching. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you!
Back to top
saint_chrisburg Frequent Guest Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 46	Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 2:20 pm    Post subject: How much Russian do you speak? Because if you don't speak any, then your retail experience counts for nothing, as obviously when your customers are Russian speakers, and you don't speak Russian, then what's the point? And it's easier for retailers just to hire a Russian who speaks English, if they really need someone to speak English for whatever reason. If you do speak a fairly high level of Russian, then you can try going into some of the larger retail stores and see if they have any positions open (go to some of the new western style malls that have been built in the past 4 years - they have a lot of western retailers there). The absolute best way of finding work is by using the classifieds of the St. Petersburg Time, an English language publication printed twice weekly. You'll usually find a good assortment of jobs in it - many of them require fluent Russian, but some do not. Just keep an eye open. My ex-wife and I once even got hired to work as a maid & waiter (respectively) on a Finnish ferry line going between St. Petersburg and Germany - this was something I found in the SPb Times. Wherever you heard that you can't make enough money to support yourself working as an English teacher...that's a load of crap. It's all about the school. If you're not super hard up for cash when you first arrive, then don't take the first offer you get if you don't feel it'll pay enough. Yes, many of the schools pay absolutely crap for salary, but there are a few schools out there that pay extremely well. You will find the occassional posting for teacher positions in the SPb Times. What you can also do is find a yellow-pages, get all the phone numbers/websites of schools, and just starting calling/emailing asking if there are any openings.
Back to top
StephenB. VIP Joined: 18 Aug 2007 Posts: 807	Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 5:30 pm    Post subject: Saint is right...it's about the school..I've had friends who taught English and lived very comfortable in Moscow and St. Petersburg...they wouldn't invite people if they couldn't pay them a reasonable wage. Learn as much Russian as you can if you want another job than teaching.
Back to top
surfguy Lounge Wizard Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 6979	Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:32 pm    Post subject: I say forget about working in Russia...unless your current job sends you to there. Just save your money and go there for a few months...then you'll be ready to leave and get back to reality LOL
Back to top
Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First

	Way to Russia Talk Lounge Forum Index -> St. Petersburg	All times are GMT + 3 Hours
Page 1 of 1