working in Russia

Is it true that a degree from an American university is valued highly by employers of other countries in the world, such as Russia? I've heard this before, but it doesn't really make sence to me. If it is true, why? Would it be realistic to get a job in Russia, right out of college, with a humanities degree (and of course Russian language study under your belt)? What type of professions are growing or have a good outlook in Russia right now, and are employers usually strict about what type of degree you have. For instance, in the U.S. I know that certain degrees such as those in Psychology are not as marketable as other degrees such as business. It is not as easy to get a good job right out of college with a psychology degree. Well that was my major, but I am switching to Communications. Does anybody know if employers in Russia place a huge emphasis on what your degree is in when looking to employ, or will it just look good that I have a degree from an American university, like I have heard? I guess it depends on what field you are specifically talking about. In this case, I would be talking about jobs related to business, media, public relations...just to be general. So what do you think?

best bet is to get a certificate and teach english and setup private lessons on the side to make enough money.

Good question. Do any Russian employers need a Space Engineer from America? I am cheap! Seriously, I am intersted in working in Russia in the space industry...

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Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Good question. Do any Russian employers need a Space Engineer from America? I am cheap! Seriously, I am intersted in working in Russia in the space industry...

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Ehhh... Where did you see the space industry in Russia? :cry:

What do you mean? You are part of the ISS, you got the Proton rockets and stuff like that

Beam me up Scottie............energise!!!!!!!! and dont forget to set the phasers to cook!

Is there much work in Russia for someone who does 3D animation, web design, graphic design, and music production...........and someone who makes a dam good cuppa tea?
I suppose I could always teach these nice Russian people REAL English, and not the crap you get in standard text books, my girlfriend attends one of these English classes and man, she has learned much more by talking with me than she has in ages with the classes...................I mean she has mastered the useage of words like bloody and sh*t, she is coming on a bundle with me!!

I tell you, she really makes me laugh a lot, more than any one in the UK, her timing with the words is like perfect! if her boss comes into her work area and interupts our conversation, she says sh*t in the right place. Great Stuff!!

I have been listening to some CD,s by a guy called Anthony Robbins, and there is one thing he says that is so true, about the pain and pleasure theory, the human brain has just two main functions, to avoid pain and to get pleasure, so maybe I could work on this theory for doing English classes...........to make them fun, and not stuffy llike some that I have heard about............I mean guys, if you have two English classes near each other..........one sends you to sleep, and the other you can have a laugh with, which one would you go to? Get what I am on about??? savvy?

Anyway, I want a job in Russia.............hey how about I could be her sex slave??? oh ok, maybe not lol!! seeya later dudes

No, an American degree won't cut any ice with a Russian employer unless it (the diploma) is held by a Russian national. Even if held by a Russian national, an American degree alone won't get you through the door - gone are the times when some employers would orgasm at the first sight of a foreign university degree - today most employers will have had some experience with employees educated at all the finest bastions of learning from Oxbridge to Harvard and, frankly, are fed up with their unprofessionalism and the hype it comes gift-wrapped in.

luvmonsta, St Pete and Moscow are virtually teeming with English language schools run by Brits. Unless you have a degree in linguistics, don't even dream of coming to Russia to teach English. And no, a CELTA certificate alone won't land you a job in a language school. (Of course I'm talking about the topmost schools, I don't mean some shitty evening classes for bloody housewives)

All I was asking was how to get a job, and if you read my bloody message correctly, you would have seen that I am a designer and not a teacher, also I wouldnt what a CELTA certificate was if it jumped up and smacked me in my nose! So stop talking like your hostile please, OK mate?

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Originally Posted by VendingMachine

luvmonsta, St Pete and Moscow are virtually teeming with English language schools run by Brits. Unless you have a degree in linguistics, don't even dream of coming to Russia to teach English. And no, a CELTA certificate alone won't land you a job in a language school. (Of course I'm talking about the topmost schools, I don't mean some @@@@ evening classes for bloody housewives)

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the type of classes dont really matter. its a good way to get your foot in the door, get good visa support, and start to meet some students who you can offer private lessons to. Sure this isnt what the schools want, but it can be done without them knowing. When you have enough private clients, screw the class when your contract is up.

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Is it true that a degree from an American university is valued highly by employers of other countries in the world, such as Russia?

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I am looking for an answer from somone who is not looking to burst my bubble, thanks :wink:

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Originally Posted by russkayalove

I am looking for an answer from somone who is not looking to burst my bubble, thanks :wink:

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Oh, I see. Then HELL YEAH!!!!
-Fantom the unknowing :D

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Originally Posted by drew881

the type of classes dont really matter. its a good way to get your foot in the door, get good visa support, and start to meet some students who you can offer private lessons to. Sure this isnt what the schools want, but it can be done without them knowing. When you have enough private clients, screw the class when your contract is up.

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This will work until a kind neighbour shops you to the proper authorities and the tax police turn up on your doorstep wearing balaclavas and armed with more than bad breath.

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Originally Posted by luvmonsta

All I was asking was how to get a job, and if you read my bloody message correctly, you would have seen that I am a designer and not a teacher, also I wouldnt what a CELTA certificate was if it jumped up and smacked me in my nose!

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As a native English speaker you would have an advantage in the teaching profession, as a designer you will be up against hords of Russian jobseekers and most Russian employers will always prefer a Russian national.

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Originally Posted by luvmonsta

So stop talking like your hostile please, OK mate?

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Better hear a hostile comment here today than get your sorrowful @rse stranded in the middle of Russia with no money, no job and no roof over your head, don't you think? Can you take a bear in a square-go? I bet you can't. I've seen tougher men than you perish in Russia.

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Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Do any Russian employers need a Space Engineer from America? I am cheap! Seriously, I am intersted in working in Russia in the space industry...

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Please, wait for a while... The Chief Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff will contact you ;)

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Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Good question. Do any Russian employers need a Space Engineer from America? I am cheap! Seriously, I am intersted in working in Russia in the space industry...

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It's not like I'm a specialist or something, but it seems to me that ( :D !) this particular industry was and is the part of the national defence program. Therefore, they don't particularly care for foreigners as employees, if you understand what i'm talking about.... 8)

-you do not want to work as a space engineer in russia (even if you could the pay is crappy, that's why all the good russian space engineers left for the US)

-i do not think there is any shortage of graphics designers in russia either

-but since you surely do not want to settle in russia for any appreciably long period of time, you might be able to support yourself for a few months with teaching/odd jobs. you may even find something slightly better in the mean time if you network with other expatriates enough.

-if you were seriously interested in russia, i'd check vacancies in british/american periodicals, etc. and see what kind of experience you need to get to be able to fill one of those in 10 years or so :)

-same goes for pretty much any other ex-soviet country. i personally hate moscow, ukraine or the baltic countries are much more pleasant places imho.

Well I don't think many people on this forum are drawn to Russia because of the money to be made there...

I guess our best bet would be to find a foreign company that needs employees in Russia who are not Russian for some reason...

Ok, so I may not get a lot of work as a graphic designer, ok, but I have other qualities, but I will first say what I have already done, my girlfriend there has a photo of her grandmother from a long while ago and it was damaged through its age, its was torn, scratched, stained to a bad degree, anyway, she scanned it in a high resolution and emailed it to me.........just to let me see her family from that period........little did she know :lol: I imported it into photoshop and totally repaired it, it looked like a brand new photograph, I emailed it back and she said that she could not believe her eyes, anyway, she had it printed and took it for her mother, and her mother started to cry........so, maybe, I could earn a few roubles repairing photographs for people there..........
There is something else that I have thought about, and that is teaching music, as I used to teach people here in the UK how to play the electronic organ and piano, yes I know that there are many music teachers in Russia, but how many of them can teach REAL Jazz? I mean not the text book stuff, but I mean what I had learned through years of playing with some of the best guys in the industry, and this includes the awsome Courtney Pine (A black sax player) so what do you think guys, will I stand a little chance maybe...........And one more thing mr Vendingmachine, I really would appreciate it if you werent so unpleasant, you dont know me ok and what I do, so, just be a bit more pleasant on these forums ok and be a nice guy.

well I guess when it comes down to it as the old saying goes...where there is a will there is a way.
oh...and every good forum needs an a**hole

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Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Well I don't think many people on this forum are drawn to Russia because of the money to be made there...

I guess our best bet would be to find a foreign company that needs employees in Russia who are not Russian for some reason...

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good jobs in russia can be as good or better than similar jobs in US/UK/etc, and being a foreigner is often a benefit - but these are not for guys straight out of college. there are jobs for them too but they would typically pay like 1/10th of an identical job in the US. and you are right, one should avoid russian employers. russians do, when they can.

when i worked back home we had a nice girl who just graduated from Arizona State with an english degree doing proofreadings and such, and she did the same thing for other ppl as well. so there are opportunities. networking is the key here.

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Originally Posted by luvmonsta

And one more thing mr Vendingmachine, I really would appreciate it if you werent so unpleasant, you dont know me ok and what I do, so, just be a bit more pleasant on these forums ok and be a nice guy.

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luvmonsta,
Many of us understand your perception - but our VM ususally intends no direct personal attack towards anyone in this forum. Just regard his posts as constructive criticism and advice geared to those trying to gain further knowledge about the Russian language, traveling/living, and politics of Russia. Unless Mr. VM decides to correct me, I think many of the responses to his posts . . . are simply products of misunderstanding of the tongue-in-cheek humour that exists in many of his replies. :wink:

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Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

I guess our best bet would be to find a foreign company that needs employees in Russia who are not Russian for some reason...

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That would be the best plan of action in my opinion. I personally knew someone fairly young and fresh out of college who was working for an American company in Moscow, making some sweet monies (as a compensation for having to live in a savage country I guess) and being therefore very popular among girls. Or maybe he was just a great guy and everyone loved him, I can't make an objective assessment. But I diverge... Needless to say he did not want go back.

On the other hand, coming to a foreign country with no plan and no good command of the language is not going to be a picnic. With all the painful directness, VM's got a point, it is not the same as moving from UK to France. Far from every Russian is nice and friendly, and many people are extremely poor not because they are lazy or stupid or uneducated or have no skills but because there are very few good jobs available.

Luvmonsta, you could become one of them, unemployed and miserable. And this is not going to make a very good impression on your girl, with all due respect. You just have to be ready, perhaps think about it a little more.

Privet guys
I was talking with my boss earlier about my trip to Russia, and he says that if it is ok, how would I still like to work for the company here from in Moscow? how it would work is, the guy I work for here would either email or phone the job through, I do the job, email it back then he would send me the money, but how can he do this, could it be done through a bank or a money transfer? So my friends I have actually thought this out and have done for quite sometime

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Originally Posted by luvmonsta

Privet guys
I was talking with my boss earlier about my trip to Russia, and he says that if it is ok, how would I still like to work for the company here from in Moscow? how it would work is, the guy I work for here would either email or phone the job through, I do the job, email it back then he would send me the money, but how can he do this, could it be done through a bank or a money transfer? So my friends I have actually thought this out and have done for quite sometime

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Good thinking LM. Banking is not a problem, just take your debit and credit cards with you, and you can always make withdrawals. It's not like they have not seen an ATM before. :D

For an expat to work for a Russian company is possible but the pay is a joke compared to what you get paid in your home country. Better idea is to work for a foreign company (American and British pay well)in a professional position. After investigating the job market for nurses in Moscow I realized that I can make more $ in 2 days in America than I can in a whole year in a Russian medical center or one month in a private foreign medical center. But there is a big demand for English language taught by a native speaker so I have private students (the police and tax collector have no interest in chasing down private teachers, they're only interested in big fish). I also work as a nurse for a few days every time I visit California and make enough cash to pad the old bank account.
luvmonsta, your plan with your home company is ideal. All you need to do is make sure you get a flat in a Russian neighborhood that has good phone and computer cable service. You can keep your money in your Britsh bank (never use a Russian bank) and do all of your banking on-line. Use your ATM for cash. You will live quite well in Russia as an expat and have plenty of time to stand in line for all those citizenship documents. :wink:

find out what american companies are working in russia, write to them, find out info and how your skills may apply to them. lots of americans i met over there were working for american companies earning $$$ doing stuff like installing security cameras (they didnt know much/ if any russian).
if you get to moscow try to meet as many people as ya can. i met lots of people connected of thier ass. knowing people wont land you a job on a plate, but it helps :)
you never know, maybe VM will let you have a slice of his водкамат empire :idea:

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Originally Posted by JB

But there is a big demand for English language taught by a native speaker so I have private students (the police and tax collector have no interest in chasing down private teachers, they're only interested in big fish).

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That's until some c..t grasses on you. Many university instructors giving privet lessons on the side have had that happen to them. I personally know of three most common scenarios:
a. Your student fails his exams and this pisses him off so he shops you to the police;
b. Mr Nosy Parker, your ugly neighbour, the measly old f..ker who popped your car tyres last week, has been singing to the authorities;
c. Mrs Wilkins, an old dear next door, has squealed on you;

It's true that the tax police are mostly chasing big fish, but you shouldn't allow it to lull you into a sense of false security - they won't chase small fry themselves, but - and here comes the important bit, so listen carefully - they will gladly knock seven shades of sh.te out of small fry if someone tips them off as to the small fry's whereabouts. To abide by the law you must apply for a license and pay your taxes.

:lol: :lol: :lol: VM, I think it just drives you crazy that an expat does well in Russia in spite of all your doom and gloom forcasts! You think I'd be stupid enough to let just any old busybody know my business. Or maybe I'd open my door to the cops. :lol:
My students are sent to me by their teachers for conversation instruction after they've already attained a high level in grammer. So no exam failures to deal with. And my neighbors don't speak English so when I have my "friends" over for tea the big ears next door haven't a clue what is going on. (yes, I actually do serve tea)

Fun link to jobs in Russia www.mcdonalds.ru :wink:

That's OK, JB, I have no problem with your doing great. I'm glad that you are. (You could be doing a lot better working for me though). And as for your not telling your neighbours about your illegal activities, well, that's your own business. Though if I were you I wouldn't be taking pride in breaking the law. You know, they say walls have ears. I suppose forums have ears too. :wink:

P.S.

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Or maybe I'd open my door to the cops.

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When tax police come, they don't ask you to please open the door, they tell you to open the door or else. If you choose or else, your door, cardboard or armour-plated alike, flies off the hinges three seconds later.

Illegal activities! Tax police looking for me! I feel so, so :lol: Russian!