Work / What is deducted from a salary in Poland apart from Income tax? [155]


Yes, you are right. My bad. $500 at the most, and possibly nothing at all.


Or he can decline the transfer without quitting, which is what I suggest he does, and work actively on finding a better job in a richer country. There is absolutely no point in dragging himself and his wife halfway across the planet for a job that allows him to save a paltry $500 at best, and easily nothing at all.

Work / What is deducted from a salary in Poland apart from Income tax? [155]


No. It $ucks big time as long as there are plenty of much, much better opportunities elsewhere. And there are. I advise the OP to explore these opportunities rather than waste his time coming to Poland.

Work / First English teaching job in Poland (Katowice) [75]


You're delusional if you consider working for a private business for mere peanuts a "charity project". "Getting ripped off in a major way" is much closer to the mark. If you don't care about the money, you should care about your self-respect.

Sorry, but who in their right mind would work for a private enterprise that pays such a rotten salary? Like I said, if it were truly a charity project (and this is as far from a charity project as you can possibly get), I would say go for it. But this is a truly lousy deal.

Also, if this is, as I suspect, a Callan method, Direct Method, Avalon or Berlitz school, working there is not going to do anything much to enhance your resume. Many real schools do not consider working for these inferior "schools" as relevant experience.

Work / What is deducted from a salary in Poland apart from Income tax? [155]


Savings are going to be pretty slim. If you are frugal, you MIGHT be able to save $1000 USD a month, at best, but it could be much less than that depending on how much you spend on euro trips and trips back to your home country.

If savings are a priority for you, then look for a job in one of the richer countries of the EU or one of the English speaking countries, where the amount you can SAVE can easily be more than you would EARN in Poland.

The main disadvantage of living in Poland is very low savings potential because wages are quite low and the cost of living relative to wages is high. This is especially true if you are going to be taking trips to Western Europe, which will be very expensive on your Polish wages, and/or to your home country.

Work / First English teaching job in Poland (Katowice) [75]


Well, that's because it is quite low. If this were a volunteer or charity project, I'd say go for it. But why in God's name would you want to line the pockets of the owners of a private school at your own expense? Doesn't make much sense, does it?

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]


She doesn't want to teach. Do you even know which post this is about? Hint: Post number 60. And she's definitely in it for the money.


And many would rather be caught dead than coming in contact with fellow wives of the wrong sort. For Korean's, that means the wife of a subordinate of the husband. For Indians, it means just about any other woman.


What would EVER make you think that anyone should drag their sorry butox halfway across the globe to find happiness in ....... wait for it ...... Poland????????????? That is purely insane. Poles are not a happy people, which is why so many of them leave the country to find happiness abroad.

Name a single quality of life indicator where Poland is a leader. Name something that Poland offers to a foreigner that the richer countries of the West lack.


You do realize that by far the bulk of these posters have never even looked for a job, but are simply responding to a randomly sent recruiting letter? And that this is almost certainly the case with the OP.

If you are advising the OP to, as I said, "move halfway across the planet to work for a measly $21,000 a year without the ability to save more than a token amount in a grimy, depressing industrial hell-hole", then you are insanely cruel.


Again, this isn't an EFL discussion.

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]


Let's put that into perspective. Well less than 1% of the R&D dollars floating around Cupertino or Mountain View. In fact, all of the R&D dollars flowing in all sectors of the whole economy of Poland are well less than 1% of the R&D dollars floating around in Cupertino or Mountain View. There are dozens of universities in the US that have more R&D dollars floating around than in all of Poland.


Of course they'll get such jobs, if only they try. What makes you think that they wouldn't? Problem is that few of those posting here have actually actively explored opportunities in Western countries. Few, if any, of them found these jobs as part of their own job search. They just received a randomly sent recruitment email promising good jobs in Poland and mistakenly believe this is their best opportunity. As I've said time and time again, if someone thinks that Poland is the best or only opportunity for work or study, then they have failed miserably at exploring the abundant, much better opportunities in richer countries.


Agree. Most of them were not happy with the move, and a lot of them leave within a few months. or linger on in loneliness and depression. Few have the ambition, knowledge, experience and wherewithal to establish, per your example, businesses like restaurants.

[quote=delphiandomine]More to the point, there is certainly potential for advancement in Poland - 2/3 years working for one of the big names in Poland can easily land you a better job in Western Europe. But if you try and get in the door straight away without language skills - forget it. /quote]

Strongly disagree here. The time would be better spent in their home country beefing up their qualifications or working for one of the big names there. I haven't seen much evidence of Poland being a particularly useful "stepping stone". As a matter of fact, a complaint I heard daily from engineers in Poland is that opportunities for advancement were lousy.

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]


That bugs me a lot, too. Even from a financial perspective, earnings are much less important than savings potential in absolute dollars. Quality of life is important, too. Why anyone would even contemplate moving halfway across the planet to work for a measly $21,000 a year without the ability to save more than a token amount in a grimy, depressing industrial hell-hole is beyond me.

I always advise the engineers who post here to go where the R&D dollars flow in broad swift rivers. Believe me, for a technical person, R&D dollars are veritable milk and honey that make the sun shine brighter, the grass grow greener and the birds sing sweeter. It's the best predictor of quality of life for engineers and scientists that I know of.

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]


They are very, very safe assumptions. So safe that they are practically a certainty.


My situation was fundamentally different. There is absolutely no "same" about it. For someone in the same position that I was, I would wholeheartedly recommend a stint in Poland.

Sorry, but except for a very select few, Poland is not the best place to work or study by a long shot. It's nowhere near the top of the list. Better opportunities exist in abundance elsewhere. Even for those seeking romance and adventure or whatever you seem to think they will find in Poland.


Even in attractive Wrocław, the wives of foreign workers I have known were supremely unhappy, socially isolated and bored to death. And yes, there were a few that turned to alcohol, especially among the Koreans.

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]


Pretty much irrelevant, as the rules for native Poles are a lot different than the rules for foreigners relocating to Poland. 6500 PLN may be good for the former, but lousy for the latter, as in this case.


Not really. Most people who come to Poland to work in serious jobs are primarily concerned about earnings and savings. The OP is not a backpacker/slacker who is looking for "adventure". She is looking for good earnings and savings potential and opportunities for advancement, both of which are poor in Poland.

You also forget that I lived for twelve years in Poland, and just returned to the US last year.

There is no good reason to booster Poland to foreigners seeking earnings, savings and advancement. As I've said many, many times before, if someone thinks Poland is their best or only chance for work or study, then they have failed miserably in exploring the many much better opportunities that exist in richer countries. Chances are that the OP has not explored at all, but is just responding to a random recruitment email.

Law / Thinking of opening up a Greek restaurant in Poland, bad idea or good? Jenkei [45]


Definitely not. The market was way over-saturated ten years ago, and since then, a lot more kebab shops have closed than have opened. A lot of pizza joints have added kebab to their menus, which greatly increases competition and reduces demand for dedicated kebab stands. There are precious few, if any, virgin markets that are not already served by existing players in the market.

Of all the businesses to get into, gastronomy is hellish even in the best of circumstances. Expect the worst to happen, and you will not be disappointed.

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]


Such dialects do not exist in Poland. Immigrant communities are much too recent, much too small and much too scattered. Actually, except for Vietnamese, there are no immigrant "communities" in Poland at all, at least nothing approaching anything you would see in the West. Just a bunch of rather disjointed and very loosely connected individual short-term migrants. Most "immigrants" to Poland leave within a few years, at most.

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]


Well, we would need to know where you are from (citizenship and residency), how old you are, what your qualifications and experience are, whether your husband will be working, too, and generally why you want to come to Poland, and to Katowice in particular.

Generally, if your husband does not find a job BEFORE he comes to Poland, it will be difficult to find one once he arrives. So unless your husband is proficient in some exotic, in-demand IT skills, don't count on him finding a decent paying job. Generally, wages he will receive for a job that he finds once he is in Poland will be significantly less attractive than for a job that he finds ahead of time in your home country before he arrives in Poland.

Also generally, 6500 gross is OK for a single male at the start of their career, not attractive for a couple, and out of the question if there are children involved. Cost of living is significantly higher for females, who generally do not want to continue a student-like existence after they enter the work force. Single males simply deal with privation and fiscal discipline a lot better than females.

Katowice is (rightly) considered one of the ugliest cities in Poland, if not the ugliest. On the upside, the cost of living is a bit lower than in the attractive cities like Wrocław and Kraków.

If your husband will not be working, he is going to hate Katowice unless he is able to keep himself occupied. That is going to cost.

Really, 6500 gross for a couple is not attractive for a foreign couple unless they are fresh out of school. That is only 21,000 USD per year, which is below the minimum wage for burger flippers in some places in the US. You are not going to be able to save more than a token amount on that pay: a couple of thousand USD at the most, if anything at all. Hardly worth relocating to Poland for, even if you are fresh out of school. Forget about building up a nest egg for your future home and family.

Explore better paying opportunities in the richer countries of Western Europe or the English-speaking countries, where you will be able to SAVE as much as you EARN in Poland, or more.

Law / Advice needed on why my Poland National Visa D has been refused? [49]


That would also be a big waste of time and money. They do check their records to see if you have been rejected before, you know, and they do share that information with other Schengen countries, so applying in a different country is probably going to be a big waste of time and money, too. They have already determined that your marriage is fake, and it is beyond your capabilities and resources to prove otherwise.

Because entering into a sham marriage is a crime, your "wife" will have little incentive, if any, in perpetuating the crime by giving you access to her financial statements, and she certainly isn't going to use her own resources to hire a lawyer for you. As far as they are concerned, you are now a criminal, and will be treated as such in the future. Your "wife" doesn't want to be investigated, so she is going to stay very low and not draw any attention to herself.

Forget about coming to the EU and concentrate on building a life for yourself in your own country. Forget about Poland, and forget about your "wife". Neither is ever going to be a part of your life, and neither is going to help you gain access to the richer countries of the EU.

In other words, "Game over".

Law / Advice needed on why my Poland National Visa D has been refused? [49]


Apparently, the consul was not convinced that your marriage was genuine and that you have no intention of leaving the EU before your visa expires. The burden was on you to convince him otherwise, and you failed on several accounts. It's all your fault. As a mere student, it will be impossible for you to convince them that you have strong ties to your home country and it would be in your best interest to return. Quite the opposite. An appeal would be a waste of time and money. This attempt at entering the EU has failed. Don't waste your money on lawyers and appeals.

News / Heil-Hitlering Korwin-Mikke in European Parliament [29]


I've met and talked to him many times at bridge tournaments (he's one of the best bridge players in Poland). He absolutely is not being ironic, and never has been. He doesn't have a gram of irony in his whole body. He's totally serious about everything he says.

Work / Studies In Poland, is it easy to survive on part-time jobs? [259]

Unlikely. There are very few Indian restaurants in Poland, and those precious few jobs don't go to students. They go to relatives and friends of the owners.


You will not find a job in Poland, so find someplace else to study if you need to earn money to pay for your studies. Poland is not the place for you.

There's no point for you to study in Poland, so the rest of your questions are irrelevant.

Work / Salary expectations in Poland [373]


No, it wouldn't. As an unemployed person in Eisenhuttenstadt, he would have abundant opportunities for further education, something that he will not have in Poland.

Sorry, but no way, no how would it ever be a smart move for this person to move to Poland for a lousy dead-end proof-reading job for a lousy 3000 PLN a month. That would be career suicide.


What did you study?

Study / Looking for a private Dorm in Warsaw! [4]


Mountains, no. But there is a series of hilly parks with good trails from Częstochowa to Kraków, and also the Świętokrzyski hills east of Kielce, also with nice trails. Real mountains are only along the southern border of Poland.

Law / Opening English and Business College in Poland [19]

What kind of guidance do you expect from a bunch of random anonymous clowns on some obscure internet forum? If you want quality advice, shell out the cash for a qualified and experienced consultant, and build up your network in all three countries. Remember: free advice is worth every penny you pay for it.

Work / Information about jobs for Indian students in Poland [286]


There are no jobs for foreign students in Poland, and you can't earn anything. If you need a job to finance your studies, then don't come to Poland.

Work / Job offer from IT Giant in Katowice, Poland (UNIX specialist). Information on tax and rental costs needed. [65]


No, you won't manage to live in Poland on 4000 PLN gross. That is terrible money. Not worth even thinking about.

Life / Racism & study with part time jobs in Warsaw ? [53]

Even Polish students have difficulty finding jobs in Poland. You're a foreigner that doesn't speak Polish, so your chances of finding a job are zero. If you need a job to study in Poland, forget about Poland and find a richer country or study in your own country. Make your plans on the very safe assumption that you will never be able a single penny during your stay in Poland.

Study / Is the University of Warsaw good? [26]

Chill, buddy. I agree. But my opinion doesn't matter. It's up to the consul.

Study / Is the University of Warsaw good? [26]


There is no fixed amount. It depends on the individual consul's individual interpretation of each individual case, and can vary a lot.

Study / Is the University of Warsaw good? [26]


It's on the checklist for student visa, but it seems that the amount they consider to be adequate is quite low, hence all the foreign students in Poland who are desperate for any work at all.

Work / What is deducted from a salary in Poland apart from Income tax? [155]


That would be satisfactory, but not fantastic, if you were single, not so good if you were married, and not good at all if you have a child. The chances of your spouse finding work in Poland are essentially zero, so you will almost certainly be the only source of income.

Study / Is the University of Warsaw good? [26]


Job prospects are not very good. And if you need a part-time job during your studies, forget about Poland.

I just wrote a very detailed answer for a similar prospective student two posts above.

It will answer most of your questions.

Work / Have a job in America ($100K a year) - should I move back to Poland? [9]


It's highly unlikely that you will find a job making anything near as much in Poland, and certainly will not find a job that enables you to save so many dollars a year. Unless you get a job at an American company and get transferred to Poland at American wages, but that is usually for high-level technical and financial specialists, managers, administrators and consultants. Otherwise, you are going to take a painful cut in total earnings and an even bigger cut in savings potential.

You might consider early retirement to Poland once you have enough savings to comfortably live off. The one thing you have to consider is that the cost of living relative to wages is much higher in Poland than in the US. That puts a major dent in your ability to save. Right now, you are probably able to save as much as you would be able to earn in Poland.

Of course, a lot depends on your age, your job, your education, your experience, your skill set, where you live in the US, where you will be living in Poland, why you want to leave the US, and why you want to return to Poland. The more generous the information you provide, the more accurate the responses you will receive.

Work / Authenticity of offer in Poland (admin / cashier vacancies in shopping malls) [10]


Absolutely positive, especially if you don't speak fluent Polish. There are more than enough Poles to do these jobs and unemployment is high. Anyone who tells you that, as an Indian, you can find unskilled work in Poland is a scam artist. Steer clear of them or they will rob you.