Thread: Russian Salaries

I don't wish to be patronising but I would be very interested to know what typical salaries for people (Russians) working in Russia would be?

For example a teacher, a policeman, a doctor, an engineer, or any other job or profession, in Moscow which I presume would be the highest paid and then in one of the more provincial cities.

Can anybody help please?

Good question! All I know is that it is surprisingly little... I worked as an English teacher in St. Petersburg and I got paid 5 dollars an hour...

It all depends on the city and position. Some positions are very well paid! Here are some Russian job search websites that give salary figues:

http://www.zarplata.ru/workman/index.asp (make a search)

http://www.rosinvest.com/job/

http://www.rambler.ru/srch?set=www&word ... 9%F2%E8%21 (many more sites)

The sites you gave are all in Russian, which may cause some difficulty among Russian learners.

For example a teacher, a policeman, a doctor, an engineer, or any other job or profession, in Moscow which I presume would be the highest paid and then in one of the more provincial cities.

A teacher gets around 130 pounds.
A policemen officially gets around 100-150 pounds. Since a lot of Russian policemen prefer to take bribes they can get WAY more. It's Russia.
An engineer. Well, it's very hard to say how much an engineer may get. One can get 100 pounds whereas another can get 1500 pounds.
A banker can get quite a bit of money in Russia now.

I must say it's all approximate.

MasterAdmin,
In the job postings there is always some mention of age. Why do you think that is? Here in the US job qualifications are never (overtly) based on age, but on experience, skills, training, etc. I'm a network administrator and past the age when most Russian men are already dead. I sit on my butt too much of the day, not like I have to do a lot of physical activity to keep up with the servers. So why is age a major criterion in Russia? Maybe it's just "that's the way it's always been"?

FYI organizations that receive any funding from the US federal government are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of sex, religion, age, and maybe others, I don't recall.

I had a friend who is a police Lieutenant in a town just south of Moscow, who once told me that it takes ten days to save up enough money to pay for a cheap Chinese made shirt of the likes that you could buy here at Wal Mart.

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Good question! All I know is that it is surprisingly little... I worked as an English teacher in St. Petersburg and I got paid 5 dollars an hour...

I'd say you got paid pretty well! If you work 40 hours a week, that's $200 per week or $800 per month.

My friend in Kiev makes $200 per MONTH and she gets paid only one time per month.


Anyway, I know a doctor in LA who makes about $20,000 per month. That is probably the average for a doctor in his 50s in LA.
My brother-in-law is also a doctor and he can barely make his mortgage payment. He is 35.

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Good question! All I know is that it is surprisingly little... I worked as an English teacher in St. Petersburg and I got paid 5 dollars an hour...

Do you have any pertinent EFL certifications, by the way?

300$ per month is OK...and 1000$ is VERY good (for my region at least)

Russian prices of clothes, some foodstuffs, and other items always shock me. Their prices can easily be compared to those in the EU or North America. I wonder if producers ever take into account how much Russians normally earn? For example, a good T-shirt costs about $20 which is pretty steep for Russians. How much is the same T-shirt in the States? Its price is just the same or even less. But our salaries are a great deal less than those in the States! It sux!

300$ per month is OK...and 1000$ is VERY good (for my region at least)

That's so right! For you region the salary of $1000 is quite enough but here in Moscow our needs and wants are a lot greater, so we want to get more money.

heh, when why you living in such expencive place? Chukontka forever

Можно, конечно, и на рынок сходить, где цены на порядок ниже, но, к сожалению, это не всегда получается. Мне Москва нравится такая, какая она есть. На Чукотке не был, не знаю.

Originally Posted by kwatts59

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Good question! All I know is that it is surprisingly little... I worked as an English teacher in St. Petersburg and I got paid 5 dollars an hour...

I'd say you got paid pretty well! If you work 40 hours a week, that's $200 per week or $800 per month.

My friend in Kiev makes $200 per MONTH and she gets paid only one time per month.

I only worked one hour a week. And no, I am not a teacher by nature or profession. Just a school who wanted somebody to teach conversational English.

Originally Posted by kwatts59

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Good question! All I know is that it is surprisingly little... I worked as an English teacher in St. Petersburg and I got paid 5 dollars an hour...

I'd say you got paid pretty well! If you work 40 hours a week, that's $200 per week or $800 per month.

My friend in Kiev makes $200 per MONTH and she gets paid only one time per month.

I've been investigating moving to Petersburg to teach...and yes, everything I've heard has come from multiple reliable sources...other teachers, Peterburgians, etc.

I'm currently teaching in Madrid.

5 dollars/academic hour is not out-of-line for native English teachers, and in fact is now considered a little on the low side.

But realize...trying to pull 40 hours a week as a teacher??!! No way, not going to happen. Next to impossible. Remember, there's usually prep time that you DON'T get paid for, usually around 2 hours or so a day (for a full day of classes). Also, most teachers usually have to run around every day, perhaps all over the city, to various private students, or different class locations. This means several hours of travel time (unpaid) every day. This is normal and part of the business.

So, unless you're pulling 7-day work-weeks, and/or 12 hour workdays, it's not realistic to assume you will manage to teach 40 hours per week.

First of all it should be noted that wages in Russia are paid on monthly basis.
In my region $150-200 a month is a good wage.
$00-500 a month is VERY good: you can get married with a wage like this.
$700-1000 a month - you just a tycoon.

Bisquit, and what region do you live in?

Вы будете смеяться - Иваново.
Пожалуй самая бедная область в центральном регионе.

Originally Posted by Bisquit

Вы будете смеяться - Иваново.
Пожалуй самая бедная область в центральном регионе.

Почему смеяться? Я там жил некоторое время =)

Да чё-то повода смеяться нету.
Один мой друг жил там, кстати, некоторое время.

Хмм, вы еще не знаете, какие зарплаты получают некоторые бюджетники в Престольной... ;(