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Posts by Chris77  

Joined: 30 Jun 2009 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 30 Jun 2009
Threads: Total: 2 / In This Archive: 1
Posts: Total: 22 / In This Archive: 15 		From: UK
Speaks Polish?: No
Interests: Rugby, Snowboarding, Poland :-))

Displayed posts: 16
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Chris77   
30 Jun 2009
Work / Mechanical design engineer, no Polish, will company like GE hire me? [59]

Hey peeps!!

This is my first post on here so take it easy and be nice please. I'm just after some info :-))

I met a Polish girl half a year ago (although she met me approx. 3 years ago but I was drunk and can't remember so it doesn't count :-) and we're getting on really well. She's a lawyer in Warsaw and I'm a mechanical design engineer in Wales. I've been in the same place for 13 years so have plenty of engineering experience and feel it's time for a change and there's nothing stopping me from looking at a possible move to Poland.

I don't speak Polish which I know is a major problem but I wonder if the foreign companies like GE employ native English speakers even if they don't speak Polish (obviously I would try to learn as quickly as possible) and are there any other foreign but English speaking companies that I could look at?

I'm also a qualified snowboarding instructor so I'm curious about the possibility of finding employment in Zakopane teaching the English speaking tourists? I know that Zakopane is about a 9 hour journey from Warsaw but it would be killing 2 birds with 1 stone as I always intended to move away and instruct.

So any serious comments and information would be appreciated.

Apologies for the large first post :-))

Chris

Note - When I say foreign companies I mean "international companies".

I've also read through this site and proof reading seems to be an option. Again, any info on this would be appreciated.

Cheers.

Chris.
Chris77   
21 Jul 2009
Work / Mechanical design engineer, no Polish, will company like GE hire me? [59]

Hmmm, you slate me for putting a space in "proof(pedant)reading" and imply that I am incapable of this but then suggest that I teach English.... That's a pretty average post to be honest bud.

The CELTA costs £995 so is hardly won. It is a plan b option though so thank you for the suggestion.
Chris77   
21 Jul 2009
Work / Mechanical design engineer, no Polish, will company like GE hire me? [59]

I hear you brother and I appreciate your concern. It's early days and there's no harm in testing the water, hence this thread. I am not about to move to Warsaw tomorrow :-))

You hit the nail on the head when you said "from anywhere really" - I don't think these problems you mentioned are unique to Poland and they can be applied in most instances. Especially where women are involved :-)) Life is going to knock you down, it's expected and so you shouldn't wrap yourself in cotton and live in fear of something bad happening.

Never regret the things you did, only the things you didn't have the courage to do :-))
Chris77   
22 Jul 2009
Work / Mechanical design engineer, no Polish, will company like GE hire me? [59]

Hi Jay,

Thanks for your help so far. It's really appreciated. I've got around to updating my details so I'll send them later this evening although there's not a great deal that's changed.

It's still early days so no new developments. Just taking it as it comes for the time being. Any news with you?
Chris77   
23 Jul 2009
Work / Mechanical design engineer, no Polish, will company like GE hire me? [59]

Getting into proofreading is a very long business

Complete rubbish!! You can complete a course called "basic proofreading" through distance learning, which takes 5-6 months and costs £395. It is then possible to complete a test to become accredited with the "society for editors and proofreaders" at a cost of £135 - £155. So lets say that it would take you 7 months at a cost of £550 to become fully accredited and prepared for a new career as a proofreader.

Basic proofreading course. train4publishing.co.uk/distance/basproof/

Accreditation. sfep.org.uk/pub/quals/arfees_info.asp

Proofreading (or at least doing it well) is a far harder job than teaching EFL.

That's a pretty vague and sweeping generalisation. Would you like to elaborate on the difficulties of using a dictionary and thesaurus?

a) It costs a lot less than that in Poland.

I live in Wales: I am not about to embark upon a leap of faith!!

b) It is very hard. It's like fitting a semester of university into 26 days. The degree of difficulty is not hard but the workload makes for a very intense course.

You really are a condescending tw4t!!
Chris77   
23 Jul 2009
Work / Mechanical design engineer, no Polish, will company like GE hire me? [59]

Where on earth did I say that I thought teaching English was easy and how on earth do you know what I would find difficult?? What do you know about me??

You will find that Harry seems to think teaching English is easy albeit compared to proofreading. I wouldn't say either are rocket science but I apologise if this offends you!

I think you missed my point.
Chris77   
23 Jul 2009
Work / Mechanical design engineer, no Polish, will company like GE hire me? [59]

I wouldn't even bother with the courses, because without a long list of clients you have already worked for, it's a difficult market to break into.

The course teaches the individual "how" to proof read. Everyone has to start at some point!!

There's approximately 100 words in the quoted text above. 300 words wouldn't take very long at all.

Congratulations on becoming a restaurant manager by the way.

Calling Harry a condescending **** because of telling you bluntly that the CELTA is difficult for practically everyone was pretty offensive, I'd say.

I'm sure that he couldn't care less what my opinion of him is.

My point was that you can fully prepare yourself quite easily and in this day and age why does it have to be just the Polish market? Everything can be emailed or sent by post. A career change is never easy for anyone so I say again. Everyone has to start at some point!
Chris77   
23 Jul 2009
Work / Mechanical design engineer, no Polish, will company like GE hire me? [59]

300 page txt. PAGE.

School boy error!!

Thanks and I completely agree with having to walk before you run. I'd prefer to do something in my specific field but if needs must! Did you become fluent in Polish during those 5-6 years? I'm curious about your story as it sounds interesting. How about becoming a partner in a restaurant?? Updating product manuals is the way forwards by the looks of things :-))

Now that my friend is a damn decent offer and you are a gentleman.
Chris77   
10 Dec 2009
Study / Could I learn to speak welsh in these British schools in Poland? [18]

Are you mad,who would like to learn welsh??????????????????like,nobody!!it an ugly language and that is why nobody wants even hear it.Why welsh people feel a need for welsh language???~Most of your own people can even speak it.

You're in the minority with that opinion I think. Do you know that JRR Tolkien based the language of the Grey Elves based on Welsh. The language was called Sindarin or Sindari.

As for us not speaking Welsh...

The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey shows 21.7% of the population of Wales are Welsh speakers. This is an increase from 20.5% in the 2001 census, and from 18.5% in 1991. The 2001 census also shows that about 25% of Welsh residents were born outside Wales. The number of Welsh speakers in the rest of Britain has not yet been compiled for statistical purposes. In 1993, S4C, the Welsh-language TV channel, published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who speak or understand Welsh, and this estimated that there were some 133,000 Welsh-speakers living in England, about 50,000 of them in the Greater London area and border towns and villages in the Welsh Marches such as Oswestry.[8]

Fact.... i lived in Cardiff for 6 years! only on rugby when the welshys from the west come down you would hear any Welsh...

North Wales, West Wales and the valleys have the majority of Welsh speakers. Cardiff is host to the majority of non Welsh residents in Wales. You lived in Cardiff for 6 years not Wales...
Chris77   
11 Dec 2009
Study / Could I learn to speak welsh in these British schools in Poland? [18]

Definition of not giving a feck: me reading your post. If you want to wind me up, you'll have to do lot better than that.

I have no intention of winding you up, but I can be extremely annoying if you want me to be :-))

I see them, I don't watch them. I also see that you have no explanation to offer for them or the point I made about Welsh being apparently so unimportant for Welsh people so instead you make a post with little but ad homs.

You're correct. What I did instead was email my friend who works for S4C and pass on your concerns. I'm currently waiting for a reply, but I'm going on holidays later today and she's probably using other people's funding to sun herself...

So pay my bar bill tonight.

Oooo suits you sir, but unfortunately "I am not your Queen, you will not enjoy this" :-))
Chris77   
11 Dec 2009
Study / Could I learn to speak welsh in these British schools in Poland? [18]

It's not important to quite a few Welsh people (mostly those who can't speak Welsh) which I think is sad because it's important to me. I grew up in an English speaking area of South Wales and have taken it upon myself to learn the language. I'm taking it for granted that you know that the English tried to wipe out the Welsh language, hence it's currently weak state, but it's recovering - slowly. It is now compulsory for children to learn Welsh in school. English and Welsh have equal status.

There are approx. 3 million tax payers in Wales. I should imagine that the funding for S4C comes from them, but I don't know and that's why I emailed my friend. I didn't want to pass on false information.

I'm not English so I don't really give a stuff about Welsh language TV.

Why try to understand us then???

That's what I don't understand about the Welsh (or one of the things anyway):