Life / Are there any grey markets in Poland where you can convert currency for a better rate? [4]


Basically, no. Those days are long, long gone. Legitimate exchanges operating on the free market insure that rates are as competitive as can be. There is no need for blackmarketeers anymore.

Life / Advice on Moving to Zakopane [37]


Indeed it was. It sounded downright suicidal, career-wise.


I rarely, if ever, recommend informatics. It's the lowest paid engineering specialty, and even more so as a non-engineering degree, unless you have a second serious degree in a specialty that allows you to stand out on the job market.

My standards are petroleum, geological and biomedical engineering, econometrics and actuarial sciences, all fields with stellar employment opportunities and fantastic lifetime earnings and savings potential.

As for the "stay at home", you overlooked that I recommended Scotland and Norway to the OP, which are both abysmal in Poland except for select few with heavy-duty qualifications and experience that makes them highly desirable on the Polish job market.


"Feelings", "heart" and "love" are great, as long as you have the cold hard cash to pay for it. If not, Poland is an awful place to be. The love runs out quick when the cash does, and so does the fun. As for the countless doofuses from the UK and Ireland who post here saying that they want to be with their Polish girlfriends, thinking that they are going to find a job with zero salable qualifications or experience and even less knowledge of the local language, they have another think coming if they think they can sponge off their "in-laws" for long before they get the proverbial boot. They would be better off investing in hand lotion and tissues. "Love" is a luxury only for those that can afford it, and I have very little patience for hopeless slackers who persist in believing otherwise.

Real life chews up silly dreamers and spits them out, especially in Poland. Parasites are dealt with harshly there.

Life / Planning to relocate to Wroclaw, Poland [17]

@Magician: If you have a guaranteed monthly income of at the very least $1500 USD after taxes, then by all means, Wrocław is a great place to live. I'm an American who lived there for many years myself, and I think it is the best city in Poland.

If you need to work, then things get tougher. Work is very difficult to find once you arrive, especially well-paid work. There are very few viable options unless you have kicka$$ qualifications and experience.

If you do have serious qualifications, then the WORST thing you can do is to come to Poland and try to find a job there. You would be MUCH better off finding a job with an international company that does business in Poland while you are still in the West, and then get transferred to Poland at Western wages, which isn't likely to happen if you get hired in Poland.

Frankly, if you are thinking in terms of a longterm

If you lack serious qualifications and experience that are salable on the very competitive Polish job market, that leaves call centers and English teaching. Call centers are generally awful and pay very low, so even as a supplement, they don't make much sense. Even if you are desperate enough to work in a call center, it would always be better to go back to the States.

Teaching can be rewarding if you can establish your own business, as I did. I wouldn't want to do it full time, but as a supplement, it was fun and relatively well paid. Problem is that the golden age of teaching English has long past in Poland, and there is an abundant supply of teachers from the UK and Ireland, so no schools have any incentive to hire an American because it's a major hassle. Also, because of the glut of native speakers in Wroclaw, it is hard to find reliable students who are willing to pay a reasonable rate until you build up a reputation and can rely on word of mouth. That can take a while.

Frankly, the chances of you both making a goal of it financially are astronomically higher in the States than in Poland, and her chances in the States are vastly higher than yours in Poland. If you are thinking of a serious LTR leading to marriage, then Poland is not a viable longterm option.

Life / Advice on Moving to Zakopane [37]

Thanks, Helena. I also don't understand what they mean by "negative", either, because I always give positive advice. It may not be the advice they want to hear, and it usually excludes moving to Poland for naive reasons, so they must think there is something "negative" about that.

I lived for twelve years in Poland myself, so I know the pleasures and the pitfalls very well. The "Go for it" cheerleaders often don't, and I suspect that some of them would take perverse pleasure in seeing silly dreamers come to Poland and get burned.

Work / Salary Expectation for HCL Senior JAVA Developer with 4 years experience in Poland [66]

1,2 and 3 together will set you back anywhere from 2000 to 3500 PLN, or even more, depending on the city, the neighborhood and the size and condition of the apartment.

4 together with sundry household supplies will set you back anywhere from 1000 PLN to 2000 PLN, or more, depending on how much you cook at home versus eat out, and how much you take advantage of cheaper foods that the locals eat (pork, chicken and very mild fish like pollock and Vietnamese "catfish"). Beef, lamb, seafood and higher quality fish like salmon and halibut are significantly more expensive, and less widely available. Potatoes, cabbage, onions, carrots and apples are generally cheap. Tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant and southern fruits are more expensive, sometime very much so when not in season.

In most of the larger cities, there are stores that sell at least some Indian and oriental spices and products, and halal meat is available in the largest cities. Of course, the selection of all these items is limited and prices can be high.

Law / Can non-EU spouse/dependent work without work permit in Poland? [26]


Just beware of scam artists. If any "consultant" asks you for any money, they are a scam artist and you should not do business with them. Real headhunters NEVER ask job seekers for money.

Life / Whats with going to sauna naked in Poland? [41]


That would be odd, and little wonder that it would draw attention.

I studied in Denmark, where I used the sauna almost every day. Never saw anyone with any clothes on in the sauna during that time. The further north you go in Europe, the less prudish people become about nudity. Poland is pretty prudish for northern Europe, about the same as Great Britain or the United States, especially when you are talking about mixed company. However, they do realize that the sauna culture is from the north, and have largely adopted the behavior that goes with it, but not completely. A good rule of thumb is to follow the local rules for the particular sauna you are using. If FIVE people have told you you are not following the local custom, it's best to trust them and change your behavior accordingly, or forgo using the sauna.

Language / Correct use of Co or Jak when asking a question [6]

Another twist is that sometimes the questions themselves are different in English and Polish. For example, in English, we ask "What do you think?" In Polish, they ask "How do you think?" (Jak sądzisz?). "Co sądzisz would sound odd in this context.

Work / What is the salary of a cleaner in queen boutique hotel in Krakow or in any other restaurant or hotel? [17]


Don't come to Poland. 8 PLN is minimum wage and not worth moving for. And if you're offered more than that for a cleaning job, then something is seriously wrong, and it is probably a scam. In any case, it is not worth pursuing this opportunity any further. It's going nowhere.

Work / What is the salary of a cleaner in queen boutique hotel in Krakow or in any other restaurant or hotel? [17]


You misheard for sure. He said 8 PLN, gross. That's minimum wage. 8 Euro an hour for a cleaner is pure fantasy. If he said that, he's trying to rip you off. Run, don't walk away.

Work / Salary expectation for a Junior java developer in Krakow / Warsaw Poland? [17]


Definitely look for better opportunities. This one simply isn't worth the bother and cost. Like I said, you may well end up in the red after a one year stay. Believe me, better opportunities exist, even in your home country.

Work / Looking for a Job Non-EU living in Lodz [13]


You're not an American, unless you are a recent immigrant. Your English is obviously non-native, so trying to pass yourself off as a native speaker is not going to work.

Any useful answer will depend on how honest and forthcoming you are with information about yourself, your education and experience to date, and your expectations.

Generally speaking, though, coming to Poland to be with your "fiancee" sounds like a recipe for disaster. You do realize that Poland is a highly competitive job market, and that there is little chance that you will find gainful employment without heavy duty qualifications and experience?

To answer your other question, you have not provided enough information to determine whether studying in Poland is a realistic option for you. Generally, though, if your plan depends on earning or receiving money in Poland to fund your studies or your stay, forget about it. Jobs for foreign students are rarer than hens teeth, and there is nothing in the way of loans, scholarships or financial aid available to non-EU citizens.

Sorry, but based on the scant, and potentially misleading, information you have provided, I have no reason to believe that your plan to come to Poland is nothing but a silly dream fueled by puppy love and/or desperation to gain entry to the EU for economic reasons.

Work / Salary expectation for a Junior java developer in Krakow / Warsaw Poland? [17]


That's 2800 PLN net, after deductions. Not worth moving to Poland for so little, even for a junior position.

That will barely cover a very frugal lifestyle, with zero luxury or savings. Throw in the cost of airfare and visa fees, and you might even end up in the red after one year. All it would take is an abscessed tooth or a couple of weeks in bed with the flu to wipe you out financially as you would have little in the way of a rainy day fund.

There are better opportunities elsewhere, and for this amount of money, there are probably better opportunities in your own country.

Life / Advice on Moving to Zakopane [37]

Read his question again.

Life / Advice on Moving to Zakopane [37]


Well, there are a couple of obvious boxes that it isn't ticking, namely:

1) There is practically zero chance that you sill be able to earn money in Zakopane. Like Weeg said, the supply of cheap unskilled labor outstrips the demand by several orders of magnitude, and wages in the hospitality/gastronomy branch are very low, probably too low to pay for ski tickets and beer. There is a good reason why so many Poles go to work in the UK, and not the other way around. No matter how you cut it, the UK is a veritable bed of roses career-wise compared to Poland.

2) There is little you could possibly do in Zakopane to improve your qualifications so that you could start a new career in Poland or back home. The only thing that springs to mind is learning Polish, and unless you have other salable skills, education and experience, that isn't worth all that much on the Polish job market. Can you really afford to pi$$ away your savings on what you have described as an extended unproductive vacation?

3) Learning Polish to a level where it is salable on the job market will take you many years of hard work. It's a daunting exercise, and very frustrating. It's not a "plug and play" language like English, and saying even the simplest things requires considerable grammatical knowledge and practice.

4) What do you do when the cash runs dry? That's going to happen sooner than later if you are practicing winter sports all the time and spending your time in bars.

5) If alcohol or other substances contributed to your saying the wrong thing to the wrong person at that Christmas party, then you have a very serious drinking/drug problem indeed, and should get help for that as soon as possible. That will be a million times easier in the UK than in Poland.

6) If you can't make it in the UK, then chances are exceedingly remote that you will make it in Poland, especially without the extensive network of family and friends that Poles rely on to survive.

My advice is to stay in the UK where it is MUCH easier for you to build up your qualifications and embark on a new career with MUCH higher lifetime earnings and lifetime savings capacity. There are plenty of opportunities for further education or reschooling, none of which will be available to you in Poland, either in the short term or the long term. You don't have to take a trip to Zakopane to reevaluate your life priorities. What about finding work in the oil fields of Scotland or Norway. Wages are FAR higher than anything you'll ever earn in Poland, the relative cost of living is lower, and savings capacity is FAR higher.

Sorry, I don't think your plan is a viable option, and there are certainly many other options available to you within the UK. If you really want to emigrate, pick a country where you stand a realistic chance of finding gainful employment. That pretty much rules out Poland.

Travel / Is there an event or where we can try out free food in Poland? [4]

At least in Wrocław, the Hare Krishnas give out free food a couple of times a year. Otherwise, in 12 years, I never saw free food fests anywhere beyond occasional samples in a supermarket.

Work / Moving Wroclaw/ Salary negotiations as a senior research engineer with PHD [23]

That's about 9000 PLN a month after taxes (27,000 Euro a year).


Well, you are not Polish, and not in Poland, so this question is sort of pointless. What does matter is whether that amount of money is a good offer for you, where you are. Is it good enough to justify moving to Poland for? It will cover basic expenses for a couple and one child. Depends on your standard of living now where you are.

Also, does the job make sense not only financially, but also in terms of career advancement. Only you can answer that.

Work / Moving Wroclaw/ Salary negotiations as a senior research engineer with PHD [23]


Oddly, one engineer I know that used to work at Nokia in Wrocław got the attention of the world vice president of the company during and inspection tour, and was offered a five-year contract in India at eight time the wages he was making in Poland.

Work / Moving Wroclaw/ Salary negotiations as a senior research engineer with PHD [23]


The worst way to enter the salary negotiations stage is to respond to their request for your opinion of what you should earn. Always make them be the first to mention a concrete figure, or else you lose. And keep your limit hidden from them. Don't ever give in for fear of being impolite or of not getting the job. They will lose all respect for you and know that they can fcuk you over whenever they want with impunity because, basically, you gave them permission to.

Also, don't be afraid to just hang up the phone if their offer is too low, say less than 75% of your hold-out price. If that's the case, negotiating is a simple waste of time for you and them, because you will never be able to bring them up into the range that is acceptable for you. A quick hang-up without bothering to even say goodbye sends them the clear message that they have crossed the line, and if they do call you back, that shows that they value you more than their initial offer. So you're in a much better position.

It's better not to take a job at all than to take one from an employer who takes advantage of your weaker position before you even sign a contract with them.

Work / Translation Company in Poland - would it be profitable here? [12]


I second that. You're just not a businessman, Levi, and never will be, no matter what you do. You just don't have it in you. At all.

Study / Archeology studies in Poland? [7]


True, if you are independently wealthy and set for life. False if you have to actually earn not only enough to live on, but also enough to pay for your studies. Kind of hard to do by stocking shelves at Tesco.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

Indeed. If there are still any oases left for English teachers, they are outside of Europe.

Work / Translation Company in Poland - would it be profitable here? [12]

There is basically no need for translators unless they have abundant technical qualifications and experience. For example, scientific, medical and legal translators are very much in demand. Business translators, less so. So unless you have a ready pool of qualified scientists, physicians and lawyers, your plan is not realistic. There are scads of non-specialized translators fighting for general translations in the country, and every possible non-specialized niche has already been filled, so you would have great difficulty finding a foothold.

By the way, your English is not at the level where you would be able to do professional translation into English. I'm guessing that your French isn't, either. And if you don't speak Polish, how are you going to translate, anyway?

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


If you are not making 4000 PLN netto, coming to Poland is a waste of time. And I highly doubt that anyone would pay you that much, 12 months a year. 3000 netto is going to be a frugal existence that doesn't allow for much fun or comfort, and less would be terrible.

Ask for 4000 netto, guaranteed for twelve months out of the year, or for 6000 netto, guaranteed for nine months out of the year, and don't be disappointed if no agrees. Like I said, you have to re-evaluate your priorities. Teaching English in Poland has ceased to be a viable career option for newbies.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


Very unrealistic, but not in the way that you think.

First of all, teaching languages is pretty much a dead end job in Poland nowadays. That ship sailed long ago. Wages are dropping or stagnant, so prospects are rather poor.

If you thinking about a career that pays 8000 or 9000 USD per year, 12 max, then you need your head examined. There are very few teachers that top that, and most of them were lucky to get themselves established in the good old days. Now it's a lot harder.

Start thinking about a real career where you can earn real wages and lead a real life. Beef up your qualifications in Portugal or the West. Consider reschooling totally to a STEM field like petroleum, geological or biomedical engineering. Designing is OK if by designing you mean writing high-level code in exotic languages, or, even better, hardware design, especially research and development. Less so if you mean gaming or the more "artistic" side of the field. The world needs more "artists" like it needs more rats and cockroaches.

At the end of the day, math means money, and the more advanced applied math you study, the better your life will be. Or else you will end up as a barista at Starbucks, a burger flipper at MacDonalds, a shelf stocker at Tesco, or a lousy English teacher at some obscure language school in some backward country somewhere.

You Are selling yourself short, You CAN do better. And should. Think about your future children.

Study / Which is the best university to study international/european law and international relation in Poland? [29]

Basically the same problem as international relations: far too many people study these majors, and there are not enough jobs to go around.

The exceptions are financial engineering, econometrics and actuarial sciences, all very difficult heavy math-intensive specialties that have good job prospects.

A simple rule to remember is that math is money. The more advanced applied math a program requires of you, the more useful it is on the job market. Avoiding advanced applied math is the same as avoiding success. Graduates of math-free and low-math majors end up parking cars and polishing shoes for their more successful STEM peers. Now is the time for you to decide whether you want to be a winner or a loser. Choose lots of heavy-duty math and sciences, and your chances of success go up dramatically. Choose humanities and business/finance/economics, and your chances of being a waiter or hotel receptionist for the rest of your life go op even more dramatically. It's up to you to choose to be on the winning team. Don't disappoint your parents. And your children.

Also, Poland is not the place to study financial engineering, econometrics or actuarial sciences. Germany would be the best option for these programs and also for engineering programs.

Study / Which is the best university to study international/european law and international relation in Poland? [29]

There are good engineering schools in Poland, but unfortunately, none of them are ABET accredited, which might be a problem with getting your diploma recognized elsewhere. The best engineering schools in Poland are Politechnika Warszawska and SGH in Kraków. However, if you are from India, the engineering schools there are at least as good as in Poland, and some of them are ABET accredited.

The things that Polish engineering grads complain about are:
1) practical courses are behind the times, with outdated equipment;
2) there is limited partnership with local businesses and industry, and there is little in the way of R&D done in the country, so opportunities for internships and good jobs are limited.

3) getting degrees recognized in the West is complicated.

Foreign students complain mostly about the weather, which can be very cold and wet, and also about the fact that it is next to impossible to find part-time jobs during studies or any jobs at all at the completion of studies. Nor is any form of student aid, scholarships, fellowships or loans available for foreign students. Another thing is that flying home for holidays or visits is terribly expensive.

So keep these things in mind when making your plans, especially the fact that earning money is impossible during your studies. Make your plans on the very safe assumption that you will not earn a single penny during your stay in Poland.

Study / Archeology studies in Poland? [7]


The sad thing is that are people out there would would find this funny.

Even sadder is that I am one of them.

Study / Archeology studies in Poland? [7]


It's not good to study it anywhere. It's usually near the top of useless majors worldwide. Better to study a STEM field like engineering or chemistry, and then branch out into archeology once you have some useful technical skills and knowledge that you can apply to the job. Otherwise, chance are much better that you will end you career advancement as a barista at Starbucks than landing one of the very few archeology jobs that open each year and draw several thousand applicants apiece.

Think of STEM as the balls of academics, and the humanities as crotch lice. Which would you rather have?

Study / Which is the best university to study international/european law and international relation in Poland? [29]

Indeed. If you took a poll of the baristas at Starbucks, the burger flippers at MacDonald's, and the shelf stockers at Tesco, you would find at least a thousand international relations grads for each engineering grad. The difference being that it is a career for humanities majors, and only a way station for STEM grads.

@Van6190: Studying humanities anywhere except at the top universities in the world is a pointless waste of time and money because there are more unemployed humanities grads in this world than cockroaches, and nowhere near enough jobs to go around. Don't commit career suicide. Study engineering, especially petroleum, geological or biomedical engineering. And do it at an ABET accredited school, of which there are none in Poland.