Navy Guy seeks help looking for work in Poland!

Hi all, I'm sure you get a lot of requests very similar to mine, so i thank you for your time in reading and perhaps giving me some much needed advice. I currently work as a Royal Navy Engineer, however i am looking to relocate to Poland in the next 18 months to be with my partner. I am aware that my earnings will be nowhere near what they are now, however we are both going into this with our eyes wide open, at least in that regard! My educational qualifications are 13 GCSE's at grade A-C, 3 A levels grades A-C and a foundation degree in Electronic Engineering from Portsmouth University. I am attempting to improve my Polish language using the Rosetta Stone course and on leaving the Navy will take up studying the language using a professional instructor, however i would like to ask what the likelihood is of me finding work in Poland in a related field (i am a hydraulics and high pressure systems maintainer). Also, i am very interested in the possibility of becoming an English teacher, as a means to a full career rather that using this as the "easy" method of finding employment. What level of Polish language skills would i need in order to achieve this?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer me

Joe

as a skilled and educated guy you should (I believe) find a job in a foreign owned company (especially British owned) in Poland after some serious searching even if it is only say a purchase specialist (in your field) - the better Polish you can deliver the better your chances are too - you don't have to know any Polish to start a career as an English teacher because a lot of language schools look exactly for native speekers (but sure they want you to have some sort of qualification to teach)

You should apply to foreign companies operating in Poland who employ engineers. I'd advise you to look at large outfits who are starting up here in Poland. I work a couple of days a week in a big Swedish company and it's like the Tower of Babel in the office and on-site. There are Swedes (of course), Brits, Germans, Czechs, Latvians, and many more nationalities, even a few Poles. English is the language medium in most encounters.

If you want to have TEFL as a back-up, do an RSA/Cambridge Certificate course. It takes a month full time and can cost a grand for a good one. (And look up the various uses of the word 'however'.)

you could for example be looking for companies who start exploration of shale gas deposits in northern and eastern Poland - big players are involved - and as far as I know there is a lot of hydraulics involved in drilling rigs and also later during the exploitation

Great advice; not very eco-friendly!

Joe, how much experience do you have in the Navy?

None. I don't allow Polish to be spoken in my classes by my students and I don't speak Polish either, except to explain some words about fish. For example, how can you describe cod so that someone understands?

especially when people don't actually know how the cod looks like, don't actually know what is special about cod etc - I know because until recently I knew very little about cod

sorry for the off-topic

lol.... reminds me of the 100 point 'fish bonus' in Scrabble.

OP sounds like you are doing your homework, and someone like you will find work anywhere.

Delphiandomine, i have been in the Navy for just over 8 years, broadly as a weapons engineer and specialising in my chosen role for approximately 3 years now. To everyone else thank you so much for you helpful advice, i had had some thoughts about the oil industry but did not realise there were also opportunities in this field in Poland, so that post was extremely interesting. Delphiandomine, i have also been reading some of your older posts in this forum referring to CELTA courses and believe that this would be a great way to add "another string to my bow"!!

Honestly - don't bother with the CELTA just yet, unless you can (I doubt it...) convince the Navy to pay for it. I can tell you for an almost certain fact that as an ex-Navy guy, you won't be able to put up with the bullshit that comes with the job in Poland.

Your best bet would be to come to Poland for two weeks, and spend the time talking to as many companies as you can. You've got enough experience to be taken seriously, and I'd be willing to bet that there's going to be several companies who might be interested in you. Don't forget about all the subcontracting that goes on here - there's bound to be some interesting possibilities once you're here.

I know little about defence, but perhaps someone else here will be able to point you in the direction of where the relevant companies are in Poland?

Also - will you be moving to a certain area, or are you free to choose?

One of the perks of my job is that we are entitled to "Enhanced learning credits". Basically i can use a one off grant of up to £2500 to further my own education, which CELTA would certainly fit into. I will be moving into central Warsaw. I will be over again at the start of May, and already have one interview lined up with a guy who deals with both civilian and defence communications, however i feel that there is much to be said for "shopping around" a bit before i sign on any dotted line. Teaching certainly does have its attractions, i currently undertake a training role working alongside civilian assessors to further my junior rates education, it also has the advantages of half-terms etc which would be an advantage in bringing my daughter over with me for more extended periods of time.

I'm afraid that without knowledge of the polish language it will be almost impossible for you to find a job in this field in Poland. It's worth a try though. Don't let your degree go to waste by taking up crappy work just to live in Poland. Think it through, talk to your partner.

Could be worthwhile then - but I would recommend taking the 4 week long CELTA rather than part time. And yes - there is much to be said for shopping around, and you're in a great position moving to Warsaw rather than to the sticks. All in all - I wouldn't consider teaching as a first port of call (pardon the pun!) - but you would certainly be far more valued than some spotty 22 year old American fresh off the plane.

However - is there any chance of you managing to upgrade your foundation degree to a full degree? The reason for this is that the Poles take qualifications very seriously - and a lack of a full degree may hamper you a bit.

But I would push with your own experience - I have a good feeling that it'll be worth something here.

Teaching privately doesn't tend to follow such systems as half terms - I don't work for language schools anymore, but when I was - there wasn't anything such. You can expect around 10 days off at Christmas, a handful of days at Easter and that's about it between September-May. Some schools *may* close down for the 2 week winter holiday, but I wouldn't bet on it.


Wrong. Absolutely, totally wrong.

He's not just some fresh-faced graduate straight off the plane - he's actually got some decent experience behind him. The fact that he's already managed to line up one interview says it all - his skills are in demand, and he's likely to be experienced enough not to need the Polish language.

Undoubtedly, the OP's qualified but how does one manage "in the trenches" if you will, without knowing Polish. Will his English be enough?

it can be enough - any Polish he could add to it (especially technical Polish) will be a great asset

It's hard to say - he doesn't have a huge amount of experience that would make people bite his hand off, but he isn't some fresh-faced fool as well. But I think it's worth a shot - 8 years experience in this sort of thing in a decent military force doing something specialist like this should count for something. Then there's all the generic jobs such as project management too.

I can tell you that many of the top executives in Poland don't speak Polish well - I know one big telecommunications company has a new CEO who doesn't speak a word of the languages of the countries where they operate.

Upper management's a whole different story. Hopefully, the folks he'll be working with and consulting will have a familiarity with English until the OP's Polish is up to snuff.

i really do not think that 'papers' are REALLY that important nowadays in PL. He is engineer, and when 'real work' has to be done, experience and knowledge is all that matters.

one of reasons why so many people in PL cant find the job, is becuse they spent so many time to get useless paper instead of learning something useful. We all know those 'marketing specialists', specialists of 'european integration', or other etymologists. Then they desperately send hundreds of CVs to companies that need people with any real skills.

Language, even simple Polish will be sufficient - simply because almost all engineers speak English to better or worse. I agree with previous poster - you should look for a job in your area of expertise. Reliable and knowledgeable people are sought after.

jobisjob.pl/in%C5%BCynier+elektronik/praca

first from the top.
engineers are needed.