what are some jobs for Poles in America, particularly in the big cities like Chicago, New York etc. I am asking this question regards to my cousin who lives in Gdansk, and he is studying English with Business at his University. He hopes that after his graduation he can find a company that will support him to come work in the States. He is also studying spanish as well. Im not exactly sure what his chances are of finding a company.
Jobs for Poles in America
Polish credit unions such as Pol Am often advertise for various job openings.
he is studying English with Business at his University
Not a very useful major, I'm afraid, without loads of prior experience working successfully in the business world. Tell him to get a magister or second degree in actuarial or financial mathematics at a good school like SGH or one of the top politechnikas, and the world is his oyster. Actuarial mathematicians in particular are in very short supply and earn a lot; they can basically name their own price.
A useful rule in any job market anywhere is that the more serious applied mathematics and hard sciences you study, the more good jobs are available to you, and the more money you receive. High-level applied mathematics is the best predictor of future earning potential. A non-mathematics-based major ("humanistic") does not open many doors unless you are a top student at a top school, and are very politically adept at exploiting contacts (especially professors, and, sadly, in many cases, family connections as well).
Simple supply and demand. There is a glut of "humanistic" graduates on the job market in every country, while there is a desperate shortage of graduates in serious applied mathematics-based majors, even in the United States. Spend a few minutes in the line of any unemployment office in America and you will meet lots of business, English and Spanish graduates.
Don't get me wrong, humanistic subjects are very useful, and I have two humanistic degrees myself (classical languages and German). But it is the science degrees I hold that open up the job market to me.
A second rule about language majors is that they don't offer much earning potential if you are not a voracious reader of literature in that language. The more books you read, the more you can earn. Sadly, few of the language majors I meet are avid readers. Last night I was speaking to a graduate of filologia angielska from the University of Wrocław and was aghast at how little she had read, and how, even though she "loves" English, she doesn't habitually read books in English. Predictably, her spoken English was not impressive.