hello, one polish company offers to me position of the Unix System Administration. They are located in Wroclaw. During the phone interview we stopped at 1300 net(EUR). So I need the opinion of people that are living in Wroclaw . My future responsibilities will include only Unix Administration. and what type of Unix specialist possible to find for this money (newcomer,intermediate or experienced) . thanks for help.
This shared service center thing is mad - companies get a bunch of EU and Polish grants to establish them and then use that cash to import Indian programmers (many of whom struggle to use google for these queries) and overpay them thus forcing up Polish wages and making the services inefficienct for the customer.
overpay them thus forcing up Polish wages and making the services inefficient for the customer.
Yes, you are missing the point. They are not overpaying them, but underpaying them, thus driving Polish wages down. These jobs don't pay enough to be attractive to local Poles with equivalent experience, who take better jobs or, often enough, go to work in the West. If they were not so easily replaced by Indians and Pakistanis, this would force Polish wages up. The influx of cheap labor from outside the EU keeps wages depressed.
The entire, and only, point of outsourcing is to keep labor costs as low as possible.
Wondering if you can help me with some data about salary in Poland, especially in Katowice. The things I want to know is about a common monthly salary, the taxes that government takes. In my country government takes 30% of my salary.
I'm From Mexico, and I'm earning a really nice salary here, but I want to go out of my country and see other things, I'm single but if I move there I will probably get married. The thing is that I have an offer from IBM, and they asked for the desired salary, I did a calculation and I noticed that going there for same amount of money I should ask for 14,200 approx (Before Taxes). Here in my country there is no more options for me to move to another job, I can't move to another company because they can't pay me even same as the company i'm working for is paying me.
It is important to make a good decision, in case I go there and if for some reason i have to come back to my country, i will lose the opportunity to join back to this good job. But I really want to go out I read nice things about Katowice and Poland :).
Btw I'm 38 years old, and i feel it is my last chance to go out and live in another country hehe.
Yes, you are earning a pretty good salary in Mexico, one that will be difficult to match in Poland.
First of all, taxes in Poland are slightly higher than in Mexico. About 32%.
Cost of living is going to be a bit higher for you as a foreigner in Poland than as a Mexican in Mexico. Expect to spend about 50% more for the same quality of life, and possibly more depending how much you travel back to Mexico. You will lose the financial advantage of being a native Mexico in Mexico, and will not be able to live as cheaply as a native Pole in Poland. You would have to make about 20000 PLN to give you the same lifestyle that you have for 14000 PLN in Mexico.
Wages and cost of living are not the important number when considering an international job move, though. The important number is savings potential, or how much you can put aside at the end of each month. Make sure you do your calculations carefully.
As for the offer itself, three things: IBM is a notoriously stingy employer in Poland. They have a reputation for paying well below the average. And Katowice is considered the ugliest city in Poland. Frankly, it's a dump. And third, there is no shortage of offers like this in Poland. Recruiters have lots of jobs like this. So this is not a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it's not your golden ticket.
I think it's great that you want to get out there and see the world, and encourage you to do so. However. the way to do that is to take the time to conduct a proper job search, and not rely on recruiters or internet sites. The best jobs are advertised almost entirely by word of mouth, face to face in the real world. Recruiters and internet sites get the table scraps, the jobs that no one in the know wants. So take advantage of your real world contacts, especially those who have worked in richer countries. If they don't have anything, ask them if they know someone else who might. Expand and exploit your network until you find something attractive.
Poland is a great place to live if you have enough money and don't have to worry about savings. Katowice may be a dump, but there are some nice cities, like Wrocław, where I lived twelve years myself. But the same can be said for most countries. There's no reason to limit your search to Poland. It's generally not an attractive country for highly qualified expats. Wages are low, the cost of living relative to wages is rather high, and savings potential is very low.
Also, never tell a company your income expectations. Kick the ball back and tell them to make an offer first. It is very unfair of the company to make you give a number first, when they have the advantage in terms of information. Once you give in and tell them your salary expectations, you effectively lose what little negotiating advantage you have. I wouldn't want to work for a company that unfairly took advantage of me.
Last of all, there is one thing that bothers me about your post, and that is the part about marriage. If you are unable to find a suitable spouse in Mexico, that problem will not be solved by moving to another country.
Take the time to do a proper job search using your real world contacts, and ignore recruiters and internet sites. I'm sure you will find a much better job than this in a place that is much nicer than Katowice.
I thought Katowice was better to live than Wroclaw!
I remember IBM contacted me in Oct last year, for a position in Wroclaw and when they asked for my salary expectation i said 12,500 PLN, then i was discarded for that position. And now they offer this new chance but in Katowice. I think they will do the same hehe. But I will wait for the input next week. And I will follow your advice :)
I wanted to go to US, but this is not a good time for mexicans in that country, and for Canada I dont know people there and as you know, the job sites are not good enough.
And anyway, if I stay here in MX I will get married at the end of the year, my girlfriend and I are planning for it, we have almost 5 years in this relationship, then it is time my friend :).
I really appreciate your advice and your information, it will help me to make any decision, you know, its hard to know this kind of information about other country by only searching across google, the thing that can helps is finding some good forum and a nice people that helps other people.
The good thing about it, i know where i will be in my next vacations lol. I read and watch videos about Poland and seems really nice and inexpensive in comparative with Western Europe.
thanks for your time and for gave your advice it is really appreciated. David.
