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Posts by DominicB  

Joined: 28 Sep 2012 / Male ♂
Warnings: 1 - O
Last Post: 23 Sep 2020
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Posts: Total: 2706 / Live: 547 / Archived: 2159
From: Chicago
Speaks Polish?: Yes

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DominicB   
24 Apr 2015
Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]

(for Polish standards)

That's where your going wrong. "Good money" by Polish standards is lousy money by global standards. For example, a lot of the junior engineers posting here will be earning a measly 25 to 25 thousand dollars a year. That is how much they would be able to save each year if they got a job in a richer country. Why come to Poland to work for peanuts in some lousy call center in a job that will take you nowhere when you can get a much better paying job in a richer country and enjoy a much higher level of savings in absolute dollars, and have a job that is much more interesting because R&D dollars flow in rivers instead of trickles. There are PLENTY of much better opportunities outside of Poland, which is why young Poles are itching to leave in droves.

When I told you about the Irish Bars and particularly the Irish Mbassy in Krakow which was managed by a Canadian girl,

And you honestly think there are a lot of jobs like that, so much that a Spaniard should hop on a plane on the off chance that he might possibly get one in Poland? Advising someone to make a fatal career choice based on the lucky circumstances of some Canadian girl you heard about is irresponsible, and borders on cruel. There are already scads of British and Irish backpackers and assorted slackers in Warsaw as it is that are lined up to take these jobs already.

Sorry, but Poland is definitely not an attractive country for people who want to make money and further their careers. Not by a long shot, except for a select few (generally senior IT engineers). It's a fine place to goof off as a break from life for a year or two for a gap year, if you can afford it (and I am NOT a fan of unproductive gap years). Or for an extended vacation or retirement. Or, as in my case, a great place for an extended sabbatical/charity project. But as long as there are much better opportunities elsewhere, in terms of savings potential, it would be foolish to come to Poland under the delusion that you are going to make good money there.

Also, my advice to young people about staying at home and beefing up their qualifications is spot on. A lot of the young people who post here are thinking about dropping out, and they need a good kick in the pants to bring them back to the real world.
DominicB   
24 Apr 2015
Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]

Started university when I was 16, and never paid a penny in tuition. Always had a full-ride scholarship, fellowship or grant.

Family background is academic on both sides, so I learned the game early and well.

Either way, you seem to be forgetting that it is perfectly fine to have an average economics degree without risking that your children need to be off sick on the day they discuss "My daddy is a ......." in school.

You are aware of the didactic value of hyperbole, right? And that I'm having a bit of fun here. Very serious fun, though.

you look as if you are either angry with your own life or you have studied too much causing some kind of wiring fault.

No. I'm just dead serious earnest. And brutally realistic.
DominicB   
24 Apr 2015
Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]

If that's all I carried in my pocket, it would be quite cheeky indeed. Those degrees were for fun and diversion while I carried on my more serious scientific studies.

When studying anything language related, I can certainly see your point.

It's even more true when studying STEM fields, if you were implying otherwise.

That however makes me wonder why you keep talking about "solid" education in order to achieve something in life so your children can wear "real clothes" and your wife can eat "real food".

It breaks my heart when I talk to young students who are wasting their time studying worthless majors like psychology, economics or business. They don't realize that they are being ripped off to pay for the STEM students lab equipment while they get the table scraps, and then they're fcuked for life as no one is going to hire them except McDonalds, Tesco or Starbucks, or some sleazy English school in some backward country.
DominicB   
24 Apr 2015
Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]

you aren't actually well qualified in EFL/ESL/whatever you want to call it.

I have two bachelors degrees in languages: German and classical languages, and taught myself Danish and Polish all on my own. I also taught ESL for four years in Poland, and ran the largest English group in Wrocław for another eight years, so to say that I'm not well qualified is a hoot.

EFL/ESL as taught in schools is a joke. Five years to go from elementary to FCE? A truly motivated learner would never be satisfied by that pace, and those that are are not truly motivated, and will end up knowing English only superficially.

Look at any of the coursebooks. How much actual useful text is in them versus silly glossy pictures? Four or five A1 pages in a 70 page book? And the exercises are so short and superficial that they essentially useless. No power drills. And embarrassingly patronizing lessons aimed at teenagers that miss the mark with them and nauseate adults? And they're paying 80 PLN for the book? That's a disgrace.

Sorry, but FCE as taught in schools is primarily a money-making racket, and lousy as an educational tool. Those that do actually learn English learn despite the system, at home on their own. And a lot faster than the system makes possible.

You seem to be under the common delusion that learning occurs in the classroom. As an academic, you should know better.
DominicB   
24 Apr 2015
Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]

Mmm - and what happened to authentic texts?

That turns out to be pretty much baloney, except as a minor supplement. It's hard to read the immense volume you will require to achieve advanced knowledge if you rely just on short, sporadic texts. And the volume most students read is, frankly, pathetic.

However, I did have one student who I prepared for a conference in India. He came back with the big fat Sunday edition of the India times, and he read every single word of it: each article, each ad, each marriage announcement,He got the attention of the visiting world vice-resident of his company, who had done a long stint in India himself. He ended up applying for and getting a five year contract with his company in Mumbai. At eight times the pay he was making in Poland.

Honestly, though, people who have the patience and motivation to read that volume of tedious authentic text day after day are a very rare breed indeed.

Sorry - I don't get why newspapers don't "count" - they are wonderful sources of language with purpose.

Because they are rarely read in depth, and usually just skimmed. After "reading" a newspaper for half an hour, you might have the false impression that you have read a lot, when in fact, only a small fraction of your time was spent actually reading, and not too deeply at that. Exceptions as I described above.

As for films, you would be shocked to see how few pages the spoken text of a film takes up. Ten, twenty A1 pages at the most. Sometimes even less. Again, density is the problem. You will process much more material in two hours of reading a book rather than two hours of watching a film. And the material processed while watching a film is processed very superficially indeed.

Reading newspapers and watching films is fine as a supplement, but they can never be the core.

What if the learner doesn't read literature in their own language?

That is a big problem. It's pretty difficult to master a foreign language if you have not mastered your own. I was constantly shocked by how little most of my students read in Polish. Some haven't read any literature at all since matura, and they have masters degrees. That's sad.
DominicB   
24 Apr 2015
Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]

DominicB, many of things you say are very sound.

Glad I could be of service.

But unfortunately, there is usually a cloud of unnecessary pessimism attached to them.

I'm thirty years older than you, and I have a lot of friends and acquaintances my age that regret not having been more prudent about choosing their careers and saving up for their kids' college funds or for retirement. Sorry about the lazy comment, but it was calculated to light a fire under you. I know a lot of people who are working their butts off in low-paying, low prestige jobs because they were to lazy to improve their qualifications, and with retirement on the way, they are biting their nails in despair.

If you really want to be a super teacher, get some education in a specialty like medicine, law, science or engineering so that you can teach high-paying clients without much competition. Speaking from experience, it is wonderful to work in a world in which you have no competition, and you hear the words "spadł z nieba" a lot.

And if you're planning to stay in Poland for a longer time, learn the language to a very advanced level so that you can translate. It pays better than teaching, especially if you have a specialty.

As for teaching English, my philosophy is very simple and effective. If you get your students to voraciously read real literature in English, you have succeeded, and so have they. If not, you have failed, as have they. There's basically nothing in any of the books listed above that adds anything substantial to that. That is the cake. The rest is just icing.

By real literature, I mean actual real books. Contemporary literature is best. Specialist or academic books don't count, nor do magazines or newspapers, nor anything on the internet, except as a minor supplement. Sci-fi and fantasy are best because of the huge range of vocabulary and grammar. Classics might seem like a good option, but not really because they are boring and dry if you don't have the language skills to appreciate the language.
DominicB   
23 Apr 2015
Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]

Not about whether or not he should be a corporate clone with a gym membership and an ulcer.

Better than being a starving English teacher who can't afford a gym membership or food.

You also have a slanted view of engineers if you think they are all corporate clones with ulcers. The great advantage of having a good engineering or other STEM degree is that it gives you incredible freedom to shape your own career to your liking. And it opens up vast vistas of potential development for your kids, as well. At twenty-five, the OP probably hasn't caught on yet that the single best indicator of quality of life is lifetime savings potential in absolute dollars. When he gets to be my age, it's the only number that counts in his whole life.
DominicB   
23 Apr 2015
Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]

The guy's 25! Better to see the world as he's doing.

His future wife and kids will certainly think otherwise. He had better start now about thinking of making himself an attractive prospective spouse so that he can find likewise for himself. In just a few years, he's going to find it harder and harder to do so with each passing day. He's jerked around enough of for now, and it's time to go back to the real world.

And it's possible by the way to earn a high income teaching.

Not for this kid. No way, no how, no where.
DominicB   
23 Apr 2015
Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]

In order for me to develop as a person, professionally and socially, I must leave for the big cities.

Frankly, you're going to have to give up the "teaching game" altogether, return to real life in your own country, and get some salable degree or trade certification. Something useful that employers need, and not just in the imaginary world of a deluded slacker (not saying that you are one, just covering that base preemptively).

I mean, what's the point of spending 5000zl or whatever for a certificate that will not be useful if you leave the teaching game?

There is no point. It would be like flushing 5000 PLN down the toilet. Teaching English in Poland is a dead-end career choice for all but a select few, and you are not in that group. Save your 5000 PLN for tuition as I described above.

I prefer to take a wait and see approach.

Your future spouse and children will hate you for that. Get of your lazy duff and do something about getting some real qualifications that will help your find a real job in the real world and earn some real money so you can take care of yourself and your family without being a burden or drag on your folks, friends and taxpaying citizens.

Sorry to be blunt about it, kiddo, but you really need to wake up and smell the coffee. You've lost a sense of proportion and a realistic perspective on the world and your place in it, and now you are desperately building castles on ice thinking that you can make the pretty, pretty polly in Wrocław. Not a good sign. Reassess and get back to action.
DominicB   
22 Apr 2015
Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]

I intend to work for a Direct Method school

If you're talking about Speed, you might want to rethink that. I have never heard a good word about it in all my years in Wrocław, and the teachers I know that worked there were all pretty much unsatisfied. Pick a school with a better reputation. Speed's is so bad that they even posted fake positive reviews about themselves on this forum. Pathetic.
DominicB   
22 Apr 2015
Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]

Currently, i make 4000zl NET in a tiny town.

Taking in cost of living, that's much better than you can expect to do in Wrocław, and probably the best you could do anywhere in Poland. Like I said, if there is anyplace in Poland where money is to be made, it's off the beaten track in small towns where no foreigners go. No competition.

For cries ache, stay where you are and spend your time building up a decent clientele.

How will it not be possible to make more in a big city like Wroclaw?

Wrocław is one of the most attractive cities to live in in Poland, and, consequently, one of the most expensive. It draws scads of British and Irish slackers and backpackers who are desperate enough to give "conversation lessons" for as little as 20 PLN an hour. No school in Wrocław is going to agree to give you 40 hours a week. You would be lucky to get 20, and even then, you would probably have to work for several schools.

Also, don't forget Wrocław is a bit larger than the small town you are in, so getting from lesson to lesson can eat up a lot of your time.

By the way. I lived in Wrocław for eight years myself. Before that, I lived in a small town off the beaten track. Materially, I would have been better off in the small time if I had made my living solely by teaching.

There's a story (sounds apocryphal but apparently true) about someone advertising private lessons at 40zl a pop. She didn't get many takers and was short of money so she put the price up to 60zl and got a lot more enquiries...

That isn't going to happen unless you have serious qualifications, and it won't work for young teachers. Clients that go for this want to see a thick layer of coarse hair on your oversized balls. If you are not a genuine alpha male, forget about it.

I charged 70 PLN to a few select clients who were very reliable and gave me lots of hours per week in three hour blocks. More mentoring than teaching, though. Otherwise, I just didn't find it worth my time to deal with bit players. I made a lot more on translating and editing without the hassle of scrambling around town from client to client. For the universities, I charged 60 PLN because they were pretty reliable about paying me. Sometime a few months late, but I could count on getting paid eventually. But then, I have a research doctorate and a medical degree as well, so I was operating on a plane where I had no competition.
DominicB   
22 Apr 2015
Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]

I was thinking about teaching 40 hours a week at a wage of 40 PLN at least; that would yield an income of 6400 PLN a month in which there is no vacations. Is this realistic?

Not for someone just starting out. It would take you a long time to build up a reliable clientele that would enable you to make that much money, and that is going to be very hard to do unless you have serious qualifications in a specialty area like law, science or medicine. Also, the logistics of teaching 40 hours a week would be horrendous.

By reliable clientele, I mean students that show up for practically every lesson and practically never cancel. Those are scarcer than hen's teeth, and worth their weight in gold.

As a beginner, you are highly unlikely to make more than half that. Competition in Wrocław is fierce, and there are scads of unqualified Brits and Irishmen who give "conversation lessons" for as little as 20 PLN an hour. Basically, beer money at best. They will make it even harder for you to build up a clientele.

Even if you register as an independent contractor and farm yourself out to schools, you will have great difficulty getting 40 hours a week. And that would involve the dreaded and tiring split day: lessons for two hours early in the morning and for six hours in the late afternoon and early evening, with a big fat dead gap in between.

Like I said, tops you can realistically expect as a beginner in Wrocław is going to be about 3000 PLN after taxes.

Anyway you cut it, teaching English to make serious money is no longer a viable option in Poland. That ship has long since sailed. The best you can hope for is an extended break from the real world. Even established teachers are having a hard time, as wages have stagnated while the cost of living and the level of competition have substantially increased. If there are any opportunities left, they are in places off the beaten track where few foreigners ever go and the cost of living is lower than in the big popular cities like Wrocław, Warsaw and Kraków. Finding those places, though, takes a considerable amount of research. Probably more than it's worth.
DominicB   
14 Apr 2015
Law / Poland - Temporary Residence card - Karta pobytu - required documents [143]

Odds are....negative decision = they will make things very difficult for you.

Especially since you have given them ample reason to question the sincerity of your intention to make Poland your primary place of residence, and also possibly to question whether your marriage is genuine.

Best to consult a lawyer

I agree. It is exceedingly unlikely that you will be able to appeal successfully without the help of an attorney.

will they forgiv me because I was not know about that ???????

I would not hold my breath. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Can you tell me that what is waiting time for this

No one can. It all depends on the good will of the wojewoda. It could take months. Or longer. That is, if they decide to review your appeal at all.

You do realize you made a major blunder that will be difficult to set right, if it can be set right at all? You've given the wojewoda concrete grounds to question your good faith, and it will be difficult to regain his trust, especially with an appeal based on ignorance of the law.
DominicB   
10 Apr 2015
Law / Polish Visa Refused, Going To Make Appeal, What should I do ? [81]

a bigger bank account still does not mean that the person will return home.

True to a point. Shenanigans aside, a fat bank account indicates that the applicant is doing well enough at home and therefore is less likely to end up being an economic refuge. It's indirect evidence of substantial ties to their homeland. Same with owning property or interest in a business. They're no guarantee, either.

What is a small bank account? How do you define it?

It's childishly easy to define: whatever the consul in question thinks is sufficient. Duh!

How many PLN that may be is going to vary wildly from case to case, depending on the strength of the other evidence and the arbitrary discretion of the consul, which is pretty close to absolute. There is no magic number.
DominicB   
9 Apr 2015
Law / Polish Visa Refused, Going To Make Appeal, What should I do ? [81]

Poland, like any other country, do NOT have to issue visas and therefore have the right to refuse visas and do not have to give any explanation.

Indeed. Nor can you take any reason they give you at face value. If you are security risk, they are not going to tell you.

I assume all the Third World people who try to get visas for Poland do not give a sh####t for Poland as they see Poland as a entrance door to EU since obviously they mean to move further west.

Many have legitimate job offers from IT companies operating in Poland, and a few are highly qualified financial specialists. But for the rest, like Sahil, what you say is invariably true. Even the engineers and specialists view Poland as a stepping stone to greener pastures.

If a visa is refused, the applicant has to make other plans to go to another country and that's all.

Trying again and again after being turned down is a senseless waste of money and time.

Perhaps you have ever tried to assist a Non-EU citizen to get a visa and they had it rejected?

I have helped. Many times. Holding them by the hand. To both Poland and the US. The applications to Poland were all turned down, as expected, because of lack of funds and lack of credible ties to their homelands. A small bank account is a red flag that might indicate a high risk of becoming an economic refugee. Not necessarily, of course, and they are aware of shenanigans to manipulate this, but it is still taken into consideration as part of the big picture.

The US visas I helped with were a different story, and were all approved for serious students with serious scholarships. Even then, the most stressful situation I had in my twelve years in Poland was when one of my students was turned down (he had a full-ride athletic scholarship at a good school). Years of my work and his just flushed down the toilet. Fortunately, after a week, the consul called him back to let him know that he had made a mistake and changed his mind, thank God.
DominicB   
9 Apr 2015
Law / Polish Visa Refused, Going To Make Appeal, What should I do ? [81]

I don't really own any property in India

Of all the things you listed, this is the only one that means much. 1,3 and 4 will help little, if at all, and 2 only marginally so. They're looking for serious money.

but my father does. I'm not sure if I can offer them for a collateral security arrangement to guarantee that I'll come back on time. But I'll try to tell them indirectly.

It doesn't work like that.

Sorry, but they are probably going to view you as a high-risk economic refuge like they did before. Nothing substantial has changed in your situation, and nothing you have is convincing evidence that you will return to your country. Quite the opposite. Save your money and forget about applying for a visa. Chances are practically zero.
DominicB   
29 Mar 2015
Work / Regarding demand of physiotherapy in Poland [21]

A major reason for going to university is the ability to cultivate good contacts that can help you in your future career. If you want to work in the UK, studying in the UK will give you a big advantage over graduates from abroad, if you remember to aggressively cultivate useful contacts.
DominicB   
26 Mar 2015
Genealogy / Looking for any and all information on Dabrowski/Dombrowski from Poland [88]

It's one of the most common names in Poland, used by hundreds of families that aren't at all related to each other, like Smith or Jones in English speaking countries. You're going to have to do real genealogical research. You'll need to know places in Poland where these people came from.
DominicB   
26 Mar 2015
Work / How much is the average living cost in Poland for foreign student? [46]

Can anyone help with the minimum salaries earned by a foreign student?

Zero. Which is pretty much the same as the maximum you can expect to earn.

What type of jobs do they get?

Basically, none. There are extremely few jobs for foreign students, so make your plans on the very safe assumption that you will not earn a single penny during your stay. Likewise, there is no financial aid available for foreign students, nor can you get student loans from Polish banks.

If you or your family cannot afford to pay EVERYTHING, forget about studying in Poland.

What would be the average expenses per month he would have to face.

500 Euros a month would be a safe minimum, and perhaps more depending on your lifestyle. That does not include tuition, books or supplies.
DominicB   
25 Mar 2015
Study / Physical therapy BA degree in Poland - how schooling here transfers over to the United States? [10]

the cost of housing is one of the most expensive places to live in the U.S.

That is true, particularly in areas where people want to live, that is, west of I-5. I was shocked when I moved there. East of I-5, though, prices are much lower. Poway, Ramona or Escondido are a lot cheaper than La Jolla or Solana Beach. Traffic $ucks big time, though, so it may be worth living in a costlier neighborhood than dealing with a harrowing commute.

On the flip side, I received a job offer from remotely rural Texas recently. Abysmally low pay, as expected, but figures on cost of living, including housing, were much higher than I expected. Basically the same as here in Chicago Lakeside.

Back to the topic please
DominicB   
25 Mar 2015
Work / Working in Poland without speaking Polish [75]

Of course, silly boy. On the very, very safe assumption that the OP has little or nothing to offer on the Polish job market that doesn't exist there in overwhelming abundance already. The burden is on you to prove me wrong, not the other way around.

And yours seem to be based on lucky, but highly improbable, exceptional cases and on the extremely delusional belief that Poland as a whole resembles the tourist centers of Warsaw or Kraków. You could count the Irish bars outside of Warsaw and Kraków on one hand, two at the most and still have a plenty left over to pick your nose.

Bottom line still is that the OP is totally wasting his time even thinking about finding summer employment in Poland. It just ain't gonna happen.
DominicB   
25 Mar 2015
Study / Physical therapy BA degree in Poland - how schooling here transfers over to the United States? [10]

I am considering attending a physical therapy school in Poland which is three years long.

Why physical therapy? The job prospects are rather unspectacular, the wages, too, and the work that you, as a foreigner, will end up with will 95 out of 100 be in geriatric care, which is not particularly exciting or rewarding unless you are one of the few who have a true vocation in that direction .

Why not a much better paid allied medical career with much better job prospects like nurse anesthetist or nurse practitioner? This is time to be thinking more deeply about this in terms of future earnings and making wise decisions based on sound financial planning.

California

California is an extremely demanding state when it comes to medical credentials. It's hard enough to get credentials from other states in the US recognized in California, never mind from abroad. If California is your goal, study in California, or you just might find that you have to do everything all over again from day one. This is exactly what happened to a medical technologist I know who wanted to work in California (born and trained in the US).

On the flip side, wages for allied medical fields are higher in California than in the rest of the US. Double or more than what you would get in Texas, Florida or the South. So studying in California would pay off.
DominicB   
25 Mar 2015
Work / Working in Poland without speaking Polish [75]

He has never said anything about his experience.

Exactly. Which means, by default, that he has none. But even if he did, his chances of finding summer work in Poland would be exceedingly remote.

However, your statement -
"Pretty much no chance".
- is simply incorrect.

Nope. It's spot on. With precious few exceptions, and this is not even close to being one, anyone coming to Poland to find work ought to have their head examined. There is precious little to be had, wages are low for what few jobs exist, and there are MUCH better opportunities elsewhere. Poland is a country that exports unskilled labor, not the other way around.
DominicB   
25 Mar 2015
Work / Working in Poland without speaking Polish [75]

If i was a pub landlord in Krakow, I would welcome someone who has no expectations after the three months high season.

There are a gazillion of them within walking distance. There are even scads of British and Irish slackers to choose from right on the doorstep. What possible reason would you have for hiring an apparently inexperienced Spaniard that is on the other side of the continent?

Get real. There is enormous competition for summer jobs in Poland. Advising the OP to come to Poland in search of summer employment is either plain stupid, or plain cruel. There are MUCH better opportunities elsewhere, and the OP would be wasting his time even thinking about Poland.
DominicB   
25 Mar 2015
Work / Working in Poland without speaking Polish [75]

Why would you say that?

There are gazillions of Poles who speak English just fine and would be willing to take those (precious few) jobs. And A LOT of them have experience as in bartending. What possible reason could anyone have to hire a Spaniard, of all things, to work in a pub in Poland?

plenty of Irish Pubs

Two dozen in the entire country. Three, tops. Four if you count all British puns in, too. You have a bizarre conception of "plenty".
DominicB   
25 Mar 2015
Work / Working in Poland without speaking Polish [75]

I live in Spain and i am civil engineer. I would like to go to Poland in summer for 2 or 3 months. I am wondering if I could get a job in a bar or a shop without speaking Polish. Is it possible to be hired only speaking English?

Pretty much no chance. So improbable that it's not even worth the time thinking about. Make other plans instead of wasting your time with this.
DominicB   
22 Mar 2015
Work / Employment prospects of a Computer Science Graduate in Poland [16]

if we get the job on the basis of our master of computer science? And if yes then how much we earn ?

Not very much. As monitor said, you can expect to earn a lousy 8000 to 12000 USD per year on your first job, which is below the minimum wage in the US for burger flippers and Walmart greeters. When you have about five years of experience, that might go up to 24000 USD per year. You would earn three to five times as much in a Western European or English-speaking country.

Please give me some helpfull information.. thank you.

It would be much smarter to get a masters in petroleum, geological or biomedical engineering. Job prospects and earnings are much higher than IT.

Also, engineering schools in Poland are not much better than those in India, if at all. There is no compelling reason for you to study in Poland. If you want a quality education, try Western European countries or English-speaking countries. Otherwise, study at a good engineering school in India.

Ignore any marketing hype from Polish universities, especially private ones.
DominicB   
20 Mar 2015
Work / Proofreading - What is the going rate in Warsaw? [40]

Never worked for an agency.

Also, precious few Poles are capable of writing or translating technical English at a level that requires only "proofreading". I've only met a handful. Hell, not many native speakers are capable, either. Once my Polish got good enough to translate, I turned down almost all proofreading jobs. Not worth the grief dealing with clients who think their "translation" was good enough to warrant only minor changes when it had to be completely rewritten basically from scratch.