Work / Salary expectations in Poland [373]


Completely and utterly irrelevant for a foreign professional who has been offered 11,500 PLN in Poland, which means a mid-career IT engineer with management experience. US median for the equivalent in the States would easily be well more than twice that, and possibly even three or four times as much, depending on skills set.

Study / Study in Lublin - what is the student life here? Any racism? Accommodation and part time job possibilities. [17]


It is certainly not so narrow that this lousy fake school in Lublin should be a viable option, or even on the table at all.


Baloney. You certainly don't see it often, even in Warsaw. Frankly, I don't remember ever seeing a foreign waiter or waitress in Wrocław who wasn't related to the owner. There may be an occasional rare job for an occasional rare foreign student in an ethnic restaurant, but by far most of those rare foreign waiters you see are family members or pre-existing friends of the owner's. Otherwise, there are exceedingly few job opportunities for foreign students in Poland, especially for those who come from places where a fake degree from a fake school somewhere in "Europe" might mean something. So few, that "none" comes far closer to the mark than "often". A lot closer.

Work / Salary expectations in Poland [373]

At current rates, that's a rather disappointing $37,000 US a year. Not at all decent on a global scale. Even with the (slightly) lower cost of living in Poland, your savings potential will be rather low in absolute dollars. Chances are that you can do much better with a job in a richer country, where it's quite possible that you would be able to save $37,000 US a year.

Study / Study in Lublin - what is the student life here? Any racism? Accommodation and part time job possibilities. [17]

Forget about that school. It's not a real university, and the "degree" from there is totally worthless.

And if you need a part-time job to finance your studies, forget about Poland altogether. There are no jobs for foreign students in Poland. Make your plans on the very safe assumption that you will never earn a signle penny during your stay in Poland.

Study / Poznan University of Economics or University of Warsaw ? [25]

Another factor is the cost of entertainment, which is generally lower in Poznan than in Warsaw.

Study / Poznan University of Economics or University of Warsaw ? [25]

That depends on a lot of things: how old you are, where you are from (citizenship and residency), what exactly you want to study, what you want to do after you finish your studies, how you plan to finance your studies, and why you want to study in Poland.

As a general answer, there is little reason for foreigners to study in Poland. There is little, if any, financial aid available to foreigners, extremely few, if any, employment opportunities for foreign students, and English language programs are generally of low quality and dubious reputation and utility outside of Poland.

Life / TV commercial breaks in Poland - are 10-12 minutes normal? [4]


When I would visit my students' house, they always had the TV on to watch sports. They knew when the shorter and longer commercial breaks would come, and they would call them "yellow" and "brown" breaks, for obvious reasons.

Study / Student from Nepal travelling to Poland with dependent for further studies. Any job? [87]


No. There are no jobs for foreign students in Poland. Make your plans on the very safe assumption that you will not be able to earn even a single penny during your stay in Poland. You have to pay the whole cost by yourself from your own money, and no one is going to help you.

Life / London vs Kraków - considering a move [8]

Unless you have some highly in demand and exotic IT or accounting skills and experience, there are no "better paid alternatives" for non-Polish speakers in Poland. There are only some less lousily paid jobs, especially in outsource centers, where the primary consideration is keeping wages as low as possible. There is a good reason why so many Poles leave Poland in search of better paying work in the West and not the other way around. Like I said above, the thing that will hurt you the most is your savings potential in absolute dollars. It will be MUCH lower in Poland than in the UK.

Life / Local business finder in Poland [2]

There is Yelp in Poland: yelp.com/c/warszawa/food

Most restaurants have only one review, though, and I'm sure that lots of businesses are not listed.

And tons of "business directories" that have listings of most or all local business, though usually without any useful information besides, perhaps, an address. Actually, one of the biggest problems in looking up local businesses in Poland is sorting out all the useless "business directory" sites.

Part of the problem is Poland's incredibly strict privacy laws. Another, no doubt, is the libel/slander law, which is completely and utterly different that that in the US. Nobody wants to provide information that can get them in trouble with the law.

Work / Salary expectations in Poland [373]


It's "quite ok" only by Polish standards. That translates to only $24,000 US, less than the minimum wage for shelf stockers, floor sweepers and burger flippers in some parts of the US.

When foreigners come here asking about wages, they don't care about average wages for Poles, nor for average cost of living for Poles. Those numbers are totally irrelevant to foreigners. The number that counts, or should count, is how much they will be able to save up at the end of the month in absolute dollars.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

I stand by what I said. If you disagree, fine by me.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


Your basic mistake is that you assume that you will communicating only with the students. You also have to communicate with their employers or their parents, who don't speak English. Not being able to speak Polish is a major handicap as far as marketing to high-quality students is concerned.

Work / Information on teaching English in Poland - Bielsko-Biała, Slaskie region. What are the possibilities here? [6]

@FredMart: As an American, you will require a real full-time work contract to be able to get permission to stay in Poland, and those are very difficult to come by these days. Few employers are willing to go through the hassle of getting work permission for non-EU citizens these days. They prefer independent contractors, which is not an option for you.

Without a CELTA, chances of getting a well-paying job in a good school are greatly reduced. You might snag a good job in someplace off the beaten track like Bielsko-Biała, but don't count on it. Avoid Callan, Avalon, Berlitz and Direct Method schools like the plague. Conditions are horrible, and the pay is peanuts, if you get paid at all. There are a lot of shady operators in these types of schools, and it's not worth taking the risk.

As Smurf said, the ship has long sailed for American English teachers in Poland. It probably isn't worth your time and money to take the CELTA course, especially if you are casting your net so close. MAYBE if you already had a job in a reputable school lined up already, but not on the hope that you might just possibly find a job.

Frankly, with your educational background, there are much more productive ways to spend a year than teaching in Poland for peanuts. Explore opportunities at home to build up your qualifications so that you are more competitive on the job market. Teaching ESL is going to do little to enhance your CV.

Food / What is the typical expat diet while living in Poland? [42]

All of those words have connotations that you won't find in any dictionary. You have to learn them by living in the culture. They involve widely shared mental images and emotional responses, and not silly definitions like number of years.

Law / Setting up small business in Poland? [191]

If you are asking for this kind of business advice from random clowns like me on some anonymous internet forum, it means that you don't have the slightest clue what you are doing and are many years away from being capable of even thinking about opening a business in Poland. If you were serious, you would be asking professionals who are actually qualified to give you realistic advice, and you would already know who those people are or how to find them. Clue: they don't hang out on anonymous internet forums.

Remember: free advice is worth every penny you pay.

Study / Biotechnology in Poland. Is it tough to get admission into Polish university? Which to choose? [8]

Not very good. Read my response further up in this thread.

Real Estate / Best residential areas in Wroclaw to live in? [27]

I lived in Szczepin-Mikołajów and loved it. Anywhere near the Zachodnia or Plac Strzegomska tramstops on Legnicka is ideal. The best place to live in the whole city as far as public transportation is concerned. You even have a train station very conveniently located in the neighborhood. And good shopping. Very quiet, and pet and kid friendly. The buildings may not be the most attractive, but the neighborhood is very convenient, nice and safe. And you can easily walk to the city center.

Work / Typical rate for 1-on-1 English lessons in Poland (Krakow)? [37]


On the other hand, an unqualified and inexperienced person might have trouble getting half as much, if they are able to find students at all. Some ads for private lessons by native speakers on Gumtree are for as little as 20 PLN an hour, at the students residence or place of business.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


You'll work about 8 1/2 months, and get paid for 30 weeks. The school year starts in the first or second week of October, and ends sometime in June. You will not be paid for the Christmas and two-week winter break, nor for holidays. Summer work is very difficult to get, and often paid at half the normal rate.


That is the best you can expect.


For the amount of time you will be staying, building up a clientele of private students would probably be more trouble than it's worth, especially if you do not speak Polish.


The Celta will reduce your monthly cash in hand by 600 PLN. That might mean that you will be in the red at the end of the school year.

You will need a CELTA to teach in a good school in the attractive cities for sure, like Warsaw, Kraków and Wrocław. Competition is fierce in Kraków and Wrocław, so avoid these cities.

Without a CELTA, it is unlikely that you will get hired by a good school in a desirable city. You might land a job in a Callan, Avalon, Direct Method or Berlitz school, but these are generally lousy schools with lousy conditions that pay peanuts, and sometimes not at all, so avoid these schools like the plague.

Without a CELTA, you might find a job off the beaten track somewhere in some small or mid-sized town like £omża, Augustów, Piła or Kielce. Finding openings there is a challenge. The advantages are that schools are desperate for teachers, that wages are about the same as in the bigger cities, and that the cost of living is considerably lower. The disadvantages are that if you are not satisfied with your school, there's often nowhere else to go, and that village life is not for everyone.


Then why would you want to teach in Poland? It hardly seems like a logical choice. Either accept a job and start working, or spend your time beefing up your qualifications so that you can find a better job. At best, teaching in Poland would be an extended vacation after which you have nothing to show for it. At worst, you could end up in the red. You certainly have more attractive options for spending a gap year than teaching in Poland. Explore those.

Law / As a foreigner non EU citizen working in Poland, can I get visa for my spouse? [34]

It takes a long time to learn Polish. Two years would be optimistic.


You would have to get accepted into a Polish university as a full-time regular student, which isn't easy.


Definitely not. As a student, you would theoretically be able to work only during the summer, but summer jobs for foreigners that don't speak Polish well are very rare, so don't count on finding one. Even on the odd chance that you could find a job, the cost of your studies would be more than you earn, so there is little point.


You would need a separate student visa.

Really, your chances of finding work in Poland are microscopic, so you and your husband should make your plans on the very safe assumption that you will not be able to earn a single penny during your stay in Poland.

Work / Salary in Gdansk (multinational IT based company) [11]

The analysis you would have to do is how many dollars you are able to save at the end of the month. If it turns out that you would be able to put away more cash in Poland than in your own country, go for it. You will lose your home court advantage, like knowing how to live cheaply in your country, get help from family and friends, or take advantage of connections you have already made. So even if you earn less in your home country, it may turn out that you might be able to save more. You'll have to do the math, though.

Generally, though, Poland is a country that exports IT personnel, rather than imports them, especially for entry-level positions. 3800 PLN a month works out to about $13,000 US a year, which is about a third or even less than you would earn in the US or in Western Europe for an entry-level IT job. So if your main goal is to eventually migrate further west, as I gather is the case, then saving up as much as possible should be your highest priority so that you are able to move comfortably when the time comes.

Work / Prospects for Finding a Job Teaching English in Poland or Elsewhere in Europe [17]


Basically, no. Make your plans on the very safe assumption that you will not be able to work or earn even a single penny in Poland as a student. If you don't have enough money of your own, Poland is definitely not the place for you.

USA, Canada / 10 things that show you are Polish [24]


Not mine. My most precious possession is something I cannot mention in polite company.


My name is more like these. Once instructed, most Americans gladly pronounce the name as correctly as they can with their phonemic inventory, just the same as Poles generally pronounce non-Polish names once instructed. I've never met anyone who was disrespectful in this regard, in any of the countries I have lived.

USA, Canada / 10 things that show you are Polish [24]


Hardly. My Polish name is always "Anglo-mangled", but Americans always respectively pronounce it correctly once I tell them how to. You must have quite a twisted imagination if you think anyone like me would "hate going through life" because of something so trivial.

Life / Is 10500 monthly is enough for a family to live in Warsaw Poland [136]

Not for non-EU citizens that require a work permit and don't speak a word of Polish.

Work / Salary in Gdansk (multinational IT based company) [11]


That's rather low. Too low to consider relocating to Poland for, even for an entry-level job.

Life / Is 10500 monthly is enough for a family to live in Warsaw Poland [136]



If by this you mean that your wife hopes to get a job as a kindergarten teacher, dream on. Chances of that happening are nil. In fact, make your plans on the very, very safe assumption that your wife will not be able to earn a single penny during your stay in Poland.

News / Poland have the 3rd best Education System of Europe [49]


Thanks.


True, but not to the degree that I saw or see in the US.


Also true. For example, the Rektor of the Medical School in Wrocław was found to have plagiarized. And agree about the generational difference as well. Millennials have a much stronger moral compass than their elders, for whom kombinowanie and cwaniactwo were virtues, if not essential survival skills. I generally HATED teaching people educated during communist times because so many of them were fundamentally and incurably intellectually dishonest to the point where they were incapable of actually learning anything.


Indeed it is.

Life / Little-known facts about Poland [45]


No. Those are something altogether different, and yes, those hostels still exist. There are still several PRL-era ones in Wrocław, as well as more recent ones. The building I described above was built to serve as primary residence for families, and still serves that purpose today. Same with the buildings I described in the other cities.