Possibly changing jobs in Lodz - higher salary

Hello guys,

Currently I live and work in Lodz. My gross salary is 3300zl (+/-2300zl net). Company pays for my room and takes 300zl from my salary. Thus I stay with 2000zl. Plus they pay, once a year, a ticket to Brazil (my home country).

Today I have got an offer to change work to get 5200zl (3689zl net). I wouldn't not have the ticket back home paid by them and neither the room paid by them.

do you guys think it is a good idea?

Both jobs are for the same position. One (current work) is a BPO company. The offer comes from a Shared service center work.

Any ideas/suggestions/thoughts?

What's the point of staying in Poland? You should be looking for a higher paying job all the time. Instead, it looks like you are stuck in a trap. Do you have any salable skills or qualifications? If not, concentrate on getting some. Might be worth returning to Brazil to do so if you can rely on family and friends there.

I like living in here, no problems with that. and I do not see myself living back home.
Plus, getting something else at another country, let's say richer, isn't easy for non-EU.

You completely evaded my questions, which makes me think you aren't asking yourself the right questions. Think long and hard about what you are doing. I can't see how it makes any sense career-wise or future-wise to stay in Poland for so little money and no realistic hope of advancement.

If you don't have serious skills or qualifications you can sell on the job market, focus on getting them ASAP. Working in a call center is not considered valuable experience.

As I see it, you have been offered a position with approx. 1,300 PLN more per month, even if you take out 300 pln, you still have 1,000 pln. Unless your ticket to Brazil costs 12,000 pln, you are better off.

For me it's not an easy answer because the fact that your empoyer deducts 300 PLN from you salary for an apartment doesn;t mean you'll find an apartment for 300 PLN :)

If it does (just a room for example) it's simple maths - you add cost of apartment per year + cost of two way ticket to Brazil to yearly salary and check a result. I wouldn't change for 100 pln per month difference though. Too much risk.

Anyway DominicB is acting a bit a$$holish but he's got a point - at least in developing yourself, try to get some qualification and advance yourself.

I don't like, however, how he tries in his every post to sell his opinion that anyone who stays in Poland is an idiot. Let's just all go to UK :)

Happy to hear you like it here, enjoy your stay!

I see nothing wrong in pointing out that Poland is rarely the best choice, and usually not a good choice at all, for foreigners interested in serious education, career advancement, and earning potential (actually, savings potential is the more important factor).

Usually, there is something blatantly wrong with their information, assumptions and/or logic. So how is pointing out that they are in danger of committing career suicide being an "a$$hole"? Sound commendable to me.

DominicB

I'd agree with you, as you sound almost reasonable, if I haven't seen the same rant of yours so many times.
It is not a best place for sure, not the worst either, but suicide? Seriously? You make those suggesions in an offensive way, which between the lines says that everyone coming here is an idiot, as there are so many better alternatives.

Did you consider that if everyone thought as you, there would be nooone in Poland, with have to put "noone at home" sign and go to UK.

So to ask again, are you also registerd at bulgarianforums, czechforums, slovakforums, lithuaniaforums and so on and so on and write alle the time:
"Don't come to XXX, that's suicide, it's a $hithole, go to UK or Germany, don't be stupid?" Or just on polishforums?

You would like to point out your opinion which more often than not is far from reality.


The OP has never said that he is working in a call center. He said BPO. The fact that you immediately think "call center" when being confronted with BPO, shows how little you actually know about the Polish job market. Yet, you are always the first one to give your advice which usually is nothing but nonsense.


At the moment, you are left with 2000 PLN on your bank account. These 2000 PLN are yours to spend however you like. You do not have any other financial commitments i.e. rent, bills, internet etc. etc.

With the new job, you get approx. 1700 PLN more net but you still have to pay rent, bills etc. After paying rent and all the bills, you will be again left with 2000 PLN but you have start all over in a new company.

I think I know which company you currently work for. I know the apartments they offer their employees are usually of good to high standard. This company also offers you training and development opportunities. Not only internal but also external trainings for example ACCA etc.

You may want to speak to your manager about the possibilities of development before you make your decision. I also know that this company, should you be doing a good job, would most likely make you a new offer (add a few hundred zlotych) if you indicate your intentions to move on.

Financially you would not be better off if you do decide to go for the new job. Perhaps even worse than you are now. I am not sure if it is worth to move for this offer.

can i ask about your qualifications and job and your salary level :)

Look at the OP. Trapped in a dead end, low paying job in a distant country with no real hope for advancement if he doesn't get some salable qualifications. Staying in that dead-end job without seriously beefing up his salable qualifications would indeed be career suicide. Just enough comfort to lull him into complacency. He'll end up working in a lousy call center for measly peanuts forty years from now, or worse. All the worse if he has plans to get married or start a family.

As for getting serious and salable qualifications, Poland is most likely not the best place for that, especially if he does not know Polish, which he probably doesn't, at least not to the level that he would be able to get serious education at. It would almost certainly be much easier for him to do that in Brazil, where he enjoys the home court advantage, and probably the support of family and friends.

You still don't know what BPO is, do you? You compare it to a call center without any real knowledge.

Your arguments and "facts" are nothing but laughable nonsense. The OP would have a lot of opportunities to "beef up his qualifications" in the company he is working for now. I know the company and they do offer external qualification programs such as ACCA or CIMA. But i guess, becoming a qualified accountant would be something his children would have to be embarrassed about, right?

Laughable, Dominic, simply laughable.

In fact there's nothing to do with call center in my current job and neither in offered position.

I believe it is always easier to go back to one's home country to work there and make a life there. But, in my case, I don't want to go back home. I like living in Europe and I like Poland. I have made friends here and I've got a girlfriend in here. Even my polish is getting better (way far from good and from good enough to work, but still...)

JollyRomek is right. The current company offers internal trainings as well as externals, but salary there is way too low for me. Offering the room + flight makes a foreigner refrain from leaving it. Too scary, especially when you are not an EU citizen.

I agree with what was mentioned before. Poland is not the best place, but it is far from being the worst. Based on my personal experience.

I have done some research and I believe I can find a good place to rent.

I will think over during Majowka, but I believe I will accept it.

Do that. Have a few beer / vodka over Majowka (as is tradition in Poland) and think about it. But, if it is about money, speak to your manager at your current company first to see what they can offer you. If you have the right language and do a good job, they would be happy to offer you an increase which can be anything between 200 and 1400 zlotych. I know of a Polish native with fluent Spanish who just got 1400 PLN increase to make him stay because he was that good at what he was doing.

Don't listen to people like Dominic. It is usually people like him, who shout the loudest on internet forums, because in real life they have nothing to say in their "dead end jobs".

I am not sure which engagement you in at your current employer but if you want, drop me a note and we can take it offline.

Every reason to stay :-)

You sound happy here and that's the key to everything.

Don't take DominicB's comments too seriously. He seems to expect every time to follow an American-style corporate career path (conveniently ignoring the fact that more people end their careers closer to the post room than the boardroom). Being in a place that makes you happy, with a person that makes you happy and doing something you like is everything.


Unfortunately BPOs by their very nature are ruthless bottom-feeders. Extreme capitalism, replacing whole departments of employees, hiring people under illiberal terms and conditions and skimming off their cut. Fine if you're happy there, but not for everybody. This other job you mention sounds slightly better. You'll have a chance to save a bit and if you buy your flight carefully and in advance it wouldn't be so expensive.


Spot on, there's an element of trolling in there, plus a one-size-fits-all dose of US capitalism that they can frankly keep there. It just doesn't ring true.

You should take up Jolly's suggestion and contact him by PM. Sounds like a useful contact.

Thanks a lot jon and jolly :)

I really like your words and I appreciate them and also your time on this.

Time to hit the road. I will write when I am back. Enjoy Majowka guys!!

update:

It is 95% chance I will change the job and take the new offer. I have talked to my TL and she said that, although she would love to have me in her team, she, alone, can't do anything.

It was a bit disappointing to me. I was expecting at least a counter proposal, but nothing.

That's why I believe I will leave and start a new life!

That's quite a disappointing reply because there are always ways and methods to do something, specially in the company you are currently working for.

She is of course right in saying that she personally can not do anything i.e. give you a counter offer, but she certainly is able to make a recommendation to her manager and her manager to theirs.

It might be different when you hand your notice letter to her. She might wake up then.

I was not expecting she would smth herlsef, but she could at least to someone, who could maybe see what to do. As you mentioned.

Maybe she didn't buy the idea that I might leave. Atmosphere is good here, but I am not getting younger and I need to think about my future.