Work / I'm interested in teaching in Poland and I need some help. [33]

@pawian

Couple of things. Demand for teachers from abroad has plummeted as schools can rely on the pool of native speakers already in the country, who are more flexible and easier to work with than recent arrivals. Also, there is now a large pool of Poles who are able to teach English. Demand for non-EU teachers from the US, Canada and Australia hit the skids in 2004, when Poland joined the EU. British and Irish teachers developed a reputation for alcohol abuse and skirt-chasing, which drove down demand for them.

On the flip side, wages have stagnated while cost of living has increased, making the job far less attractive to potential teachers outside the country. It simply does not make much financial sense to move to Poland to teach anymore. Not even as a way of spending a year goofing off. Experience in teaching English in private language schools has also lost it value on the job market, and provides no tangible benefits. There are just many other better ways to spend a year.

News / So rate but good deeds of Polish politicians [9]


Pretty much bottom of the barrel as far as credibility is concerned.

Study / Delayed Arrival in Warsaw university of Technology [8]

@Hashim_ahmed

There is no point in going to Poland now. You will just have to turn around and come back, resulting in a big waste of money. Also, there is the risk that you will be refused entry, and that will have a big negative impact on future visa applications.

Forget showing up at the university and expecting them to change their minds. They won't. Not in a million years.

You can always try again next year. Just be more careful about the timing of your visa.

Use the year to beef up your Math and English, and also learn some Polish.

Study / Delayed Arrival in Warsaw university of Technology [8]

@Hashim_ahmed

Probably not. Course sequences start in September, and the second semester assumes you have completed the first part of the course. January intakes are generally for students who are transferring from one Polish university to another.

You have to wait until next September.

Study / Delayed Arrival in Warsaw university of Technology [8]


It's not a few days delay. It's a few days after the end of a rather generous six or seven week long delay. The students are well into the semester now, and the OP would have trouble catching up with a month and a half of work.


Blame has nothing to do with it.

Law / Getting a job in Poland with a working visa - Need legal advice... [9]


Yes If you find an employer who is willing to go through the arduous process of obtaining a work permit to hire you. However, it is extremely unlikely that they will go through the trouble of doing so for someone at the intern/entry level.


Nothing at all in Poland. Return to your country of origin and start all over again.

Work / Teaching English in Poland - better opportunities for an American? [20]

@robyng

That ship sailed years ago. Americans have had a hard go of entering the English teaching field in Poland ever since Poland joined the EU. Teachers from the UK and Ireland do not need visas and work permits, and do not have to be hired on full-time work contracts. Few employers are now willing to jump through those hoops for an American nowadays. It's quite a hassle, and I don't blame them for not wanting to deal with it.

There are also plenty of Americans who already have permanent residence in Poland to cover whatever American-specific jobs arise. Permanent residents don't need work permits either.

Wages have largely stagnated over the last twelve years. They have not rebounded since the recession hit, and are not so appealing to young Americans anymore, as they have not kept pace with inflation. And cushy jobs go to those from the UK and Ireland or to Americans already on the ground long before you would ever hear of them.

The golden age is long past. Definitely for Americans. And not just in Poland, but just about anywhere in the EU.

If there are any "greener pastures" left, they are probably in Asia. But since I know nothing about that market, don't take that as a recommendation. My recommendation would be to forget about TEFL altogether, and school up for a real career with a real future.

Law / Is it possible to work with the same work permit on a different jobs in Poland? [24]

@Decubic

First of all, a work permit is not something you can get. It is something your employer gets. It is permission for them to hire you. It is not permission for you to work anywhere except for that employer.

So if you want to change jobs or do a second job, your new employer will have to apply for a separate work permit to hire you.

No employer in Poland is going to apply for a work permit to hire someone from India. And even if they tried, they would never get it. There is no need for mechanics from outside of the EU in Poland.

You're stuck with IT, and with the employer that first hired you.

Real Estate / Home loan in Poland based on my US credit score? [15]


Nobody would ever give you a loan. You have no reliable source of income as far as a bank in Poland is concerned. Nobody would give you a loan in the States, either.

Really, you are not going to solve any problems by moving to Poland. You don't have a plan, or anything even resembling a realistic clue about how life in Poland operates, and, since you're mind is hopelessly clouded by desperation, you never will. If you were to move to Poland, or any other country, you would definitely fail and lose what little you have.

If you want to improve your lot, forget about writing and get a real job. School up for a real career.

As the great writer Robert Heinlein wrote: TANSTAAFL. There ain't no such think as a free lunch. And that's doubly true for Poland. If you want to eat, you gotta work. And work doesn't mean sitting around all day on your fat a$$ pretending you are a "writer".

Talk to a responsible adult ASAP because your life is going down the $hitter fast. You need a massive dose of reality ("I need at least a 110 m2 two bedroom apartment in an attractive location, but I'm on Medicaid" - spewed my cornflakes laughing at that one)

Snap out of it, kid. Your dream isn't going to come true. In Poland or elsewhere. Unless you do some actual work.

Real Estate / Home loan in Poland based on my US credit score? [15]


Desperation. The only thing keep them from putting their head in the oven is the faint hopeful fantasy that someone, somewhere must think that they are worth something. It's like buying a lottery ticket with your last buck and then fantasizing what you will do with the winnings.

@Iwrite4Food

Poland isn't kind to silly dreamers, kid. It will chew you up and $hit you out without a moment's hesitation. It's not Fantasy Island, where Ricardo Montalban magically grants you your every silly wish.

If you can't make it in an extremely cushy country like the States, then you aren't going to make it anywhere else, either.

Real Estate / Home loan in Poland based on my US credit score? [15]


Compared to Poland, it's very, very cushy. The opportunities you have to improve and advance yourself are enormous, IF you are willing to get off your duff and do the work.

If you are poor in the States, if they are working at McD for a living rather than for extra cash, it's almost always because you find being poor more attractive than actually putting in the work to improve your saleable skills. Dollars to doughnuts, that's the case with the OP.

Work / Certified TEFL Teacher jobs in Poland [2]


Practically non-existent. Forget about it, that ship sailed years ago. Any need can be met with EU-nationals and permanent residents, and wages have stagnated to the point where they are not at all attractive. You might not even break even. The situation is essentially the same everywhere in the EU. If there are any green pastures for TEFL teachers, the are in Asia, especially the richer Arabic countries.

Work / A predictable "Is my salary high enough post" - Krakow 13,500PLN GROSS Month [30]


So is 1.85 lakh. With cost of living and cost of schooling for the child taken into account, he may be better off staying in India, at least as far as quality of life is concerned, especially the quality of life of his wife and child.


Probably not. Your chances for advancement are probably higher using India as a base than using Poland as a "foot in the door" to the richer countries of the EU. Living in Poland will probably not increase your chances of finding work in a richer country that is more receptive to Indians. As for staying in Poland long term, very few Indians do. By far the overwhelming majority either move west, legally or illegally, or return home within a few years at most.

Also, Poland has become a less attractive destination for Indians, and Indians have become less attractive employees to Polish companies over the last five years. This forum hardly ever gets questions like yours anymore, whereas five, ten years ago it got several a week. The golden age for Indian workers in Poland is long past.

Work / Gross Salary 20000 PLN in Poland [9]


So is 1.85 lakh. With cost of living and cost of schooling for the child taken into account, he may be better off staying in India.


Probably not. Your chances for advancement are probably higher using India as a base than using Poland as a "foot in the door" to the richer countries of the EU. Living in Poland will probably not increase your chances of finding work in a richer country that is more receptive to Indians. As for staying in Poland long term, very few Indians do. By far the overwhelming majority either move west, legally or illegally, or return home within a few years at most.

Also, Poland has become a less attractive destination for Indians, and Indians have become less attractive employees to Polish companies over the last five years. This forum hardly ever gets questions like yours anymore, whereas five, ten years ago it got several a week. The golden age for Indian workers in Poland is long past.

Work / A predictable "Is my salary high enough post" - Krakow 13,500PLN GROSS Month [30]

@Ziemowit

The massive influx of Ukrainians, in the last five, six years for one. Ukrainians are less hassle to hire than Indians. And, of course, the practical disappearance of questions about jobs in Poland from Indians on this and other forums. And the added difficulty for Indians to get a work visa to Poland. 90% or more of the questions Indians ask on forums nowadays are directly related to the difficulty associated with getting a visa. It's really difficult for the to get even a appointment at the embassy. Companies are less motivated to help because they can always hire a Ukrainian instead.

Also, I suspect a good bit of the earlier employment of Indians in Poland was on the shady side, or at least not as promised, and it certainly spawned many, many employment and immigration scams. I think that Indians have caught on about that, too. And also to the fact that working in Poland doesn't really help get a job in the UK or other richer countries than staying in India would.

Work / A predictable "Is my salary high enough post" - Krakow 13,500PLN GROSS Month [30]


A little more than 10,000 PLN. Twice as much pay sounds great, until you realize that the cost of living for an Indian expat with wife and school age kid in Poland are going to be a lot more than twice the cost of living for an Indian native living in India. It's also going to be a good bit more than for a native Pole with a wife and school are kid living in Poland.

Things to take into account:

Expenses related to travel and relocation. Not only tickets, but visas, days of from work to travel to embassies, etc, all add up. If he stays in India, this expense is, of course, zero. Depends on whether he gets a relocation bonus or not, and how generous it is.

Loss of home court advantage. A Pole can live a lot cheaper in Poland than an foreigner, who doesn't speak the language, know how the "system" works, or have a network of family and friends.

Tuition for the child. That's going to cost a whole heap. ISK costs 60,000 PLN a year. That's 5000 PLN a month, each and every month of the year. He might opt for something cheaper, but that would probably represent a huge drop in quality compared to what he is currently getting in India. That drop in value has to be figured in as a cost.

Travel back home. Going to visit the folks and the in-laws will cost a LOT more than it would had he stayed in India. A funeral or wedding or two can wipe out any savings.

Keeping the wife occupied. In India, she has friends of her own ethnic/language/social group who she can socialize with. It's going to be hard if not impossible for her to find anyone in Poland. He will have to keep her occupied somehow from going stir crazy, and that's going to cost something.

Job networking. It's tempting to think that, being in Poland, an Indian would find it easier to break into the job market of the richer Western countries. It's probably harder, though, because back home, he has, or should have, an extensive network of colleagues who have worked in the West or even are working there right now. Poland doesn't make as much sense as a "stepping stone".

Language / Dziadzia / Babcia - help me with spelling/pronunciation [81]

@Paulwiz

"Great" is expressed by "pra-". So great grandfather is pradziadek, great grandmother is prababcia, and great great grandfather by prapradziadek.

Food / Which foods are generally disliked/unpopular in Poland? Which non-Polish foods are slowly gaining popularity? [138]

@NieNazwany

As far as lamb goes, most Poles have never tasted it. While the country does produce some lamb meat, it is overwhelming destined for export. You'll encounter it in upscale restaurants, and rarely anywhere else. The Poles that I know who did try lamb mostly found the taste disagreeable, specifically a bit "rotten". And I'm talking about very young lamb, not mutton. Lamb marketers have a tough row to hoe in Poland.

Other big dislikes are any cheese or any fish except for the very blandest varieties. So bland that you have a hard time telling one variety or species apart from another. Aromatic cheeses or fish with a fuller flavor physically disgust them, except herring and smoked mackerel.

Sage and licorice are taboo, too. Both provoke violent retching. Even the mildest forms of licorice. You see do see sage in the spice section in the store, but beats me who buys it.

Food / Which foods are generally disliked/unpopular in Poland? Which non-Polish foods are slowly gaining popularity? [138]

Most of the people who live in Poland bordering the Baltic Sea have no history of living near the sea at all. They were resettled there after WWII, mostly from former Polish territories now in Belarus and the Ukraine. Before the war, Poland only had a tiny stretch of seacoast near Gdańsk.


Completely unavailable and unknown. Unlikely that you could get most Poles to even try it. Even beef consumption is limited. Much, much less popular than pork, which makes up 90% or more of non-poultry meat consumption.

As others have said, younger people are more adventurous and curious, especially those who have worked or vacationed abroad, or those who live in cities. The comparison to the UK or the US in the fifties is not quite right. More like the seventies or eighties, before the foodie revolution really took off.


Szałwia.


Parsing mistake. That should be: (Aromatic cheese) and (fish with a fuller flavor).

Work / A predictable "Is my salary high enough post" - Krakow 13,500PLN GROSS Month [30]

Indian women do not socialize with other Indian women unless they are of the same or compatible language/social/economic/cultural/relgious background. Caste is very important. So the pool of compatible native women in Poland who she can befriend is very limited, and maybe even zero.

Food / Which foods are generally disliked/unpopular in Poland? Which non-Polish foods are slowly gaining popularity? [138]

Exactly why few Poles would add it to food. They think it tastes like "medicine", not "food".

Work / A predictable "Is my salary high enough post" - Krakow 13,500PLN GROSS Month [30]


Some do, most don't. Especially married women don't.

It's not only caste. The other factors I listed are also very divisive: language, ethnicity, religion, economic status, and other cultural factors. Much more so than in other countries. India is by far the most stratified and segmented society in the world.

Work / Is starting a language school doable in Poland [9]


If you had done so 25 years ago, yes. But any need of this sort has long been met, even in places like Tuchola. A lot more native Poles have learned English to the point where they can teach it at all but the most advanced levels. This reduces the need for native English speakers. And in a community that size, the market for French will be a niche one that is also probably satisfied at the moment, as well.

I would say that it is unrealistic to expect that you will be able to support yourself and your family by teaching English or opening a school nowadays. You'd have to operate quite a successful operation, and that would take years to establish. And it might be impossible to do so in a town as small as Tuchola. Until then, you would have to live on savings, hoping that one day, your investment would pay off. And probably hoping against hope.

Frankly, I think your wife's idea of moving you all to Poland is totally unworkable. It would be far more feasible to continue living and working in the UK and taking extended vacations in Poland. There is just no way that you will be able to avoid a drastic cut in earnings and savings potential if you move to Poland. And, like I said, you'd probably have to live off of savings for an indeterminate number of years. Basic math is your enemy here.

Food / Which foods are generally disliked/unpopular in Poland? Which non-Polish foods are slowly gaining popularity? [138]


You would think, but that is not the case. I've had dozens of Polish friends and students go to work in the Netherlands, and told them specifically to try Indonesian food, particularly rijsttafel. None did. In fact, they did very little eating out at all, surviving entirely on supermarket food. Especially bread and cold cuts. They are there to make money to bring back to Poland, and eating out works against that. Even cheap takeout. Sampling the local food, whether native or exotic, is very low on the priority list.

As a foodie evangelist, I have to say that Poles are particularly difficult to convert to the foodie faith. I've had a few stunning successes, and I've met some avid Polish foodies, some from surprising quarters, but most Poles are quite reluctant to budge from their comfort zone.

Sadly, a lot of the reluctance has to do with cost. Trying an unknown food means risking that you will end up with something you don't like and have to throw away. Particularly in a restaurant setting in the West, where food is extravagantly expensive in relation to back home. Better to stick with the tried and true.

Work / Companies in Poland that support Work Permit [8]

@mbv747

Jobs like this are usually filled by Indian agencies that do their own recruiting. Companies in Poland rarely hire foreigners directly on their own, even for something like SAP. The only chance you have that way is if you know someone working for the company who knows of a current job vacancy that exists and can act as an intermediary. Otherwise, your just shooting blanks.

Second, demand for non-EU IT workers has dropped a lot over the past few years in Poland. It would be a waste to spend time on a job search in a country which has so few jobs to offer, at wages that are much lower compared to the US or the richer countries in the EU.

I assume you are from India or other developing country, and having a hard time getting a visa in the US. Here's a tip: try to find a job in the public or non-profit sectors. Much easier to land a visa there then for private for-profit enterprises.

Last of all, you have a lot of work to do on your English before you can even think of passing yourself off as an American, so please don't even try. It turns people off.

Food / Which foods are generally disliked/unpopular in Poland? Which non-Polish foods are slowly gaining popularity? [138]

@jackrussel

The above post was from me. Forgot to log in.

Work / Companies in Poland that support Work Permit [8]


No chance. There are multiple clues that he is not a native American, and not a native speaker of any variety of English, for that matter, and it's not due to neglect, but to inadequate command of a second language. No native English speaker could have made the mistakes he did. When native speakers make mistakes, they are of an entirely different sort.

Work / Got a Job Offer in Poland but a 3 month Visa and Probation Period concerns me [15]


Sorry, but it sounds like they are hiring you for their center in India with no intention of ever transferring you to Poland. They are holding out "Poland" as a carrot to get you to take the job and work hard in hope of a reward that will never come. Doesn't sound like a company I would want to work for. It's a borderline scam, if you think of it.

Forget about Poland. It no longer offers anything that could benefit a person from India. It is difficult to get into, wages are poor, cost of living relative to wages is high, there is no Indian community to speak of, and it is not an effective "foot in the back door" to the richer countries that you really want to move to. Concentrate on finding a job in those richer countries instead of wasting time going through the back door.

Work / Got a Job Offer in Poland but a 3 month Visa and Probation Period concerns me [15]


And so am I. I am not at all against immigration. Quite the opposite. I think you've misread my intentions. What I am against is the elaborate system of employment and education scams that take advantage of poor third-worlders using Poland as bait, as if it were some type of magic back door to the countries that they really want to get into. As in this case.

If you read my posts, they usually can be summarized as "If you want to get into the UK or other richer country, then don't waste your time with Poland. You'll have better luck staying at home and trying from there, with the help of your network", or "Diplomas from Polish universities for courses taught in English are almost always worthless on the international job market. If you can't afford to study in a richer country, then you're much better off studying at a good school at home than in Poland".

Truth be told though, very few Indians are interested in immigrating to Poland long term. Very few of those that come to study are interested in actually studying. Of those Indians (and other third-worlders) that do come, most are gone in a couple of years, and extremely few are left after five years. I don't blame them, though, as wages and living conditions are far, far better for Indians and other third-worlders in the UK and the other richer countries, and will remain so far into the forseeable future. So it is little wonder that they are enticed by promises of Poland being some magic backdoor and that this makes them vulnerable to scam artists.

Ask yourself this: How many of the third-worlders who post here would have any interest whatsoever in Poland if they didn't perceive it as a back door to the UK and other richer countries?

Work / Warsaw job with US experience (tech company) [2]


Probably not many, if by "appreciate" you mean providing a level of compensation that is comparable to his present employer in the US. His best chance is to get a transfer to Poland by his present employer or other Western company with no reduction in wages. Since he speaks Polish, it is more likely that a well composed request based on a realistic, well researched plan would be take seriously.

Otherwise, he will most probably have to resign himself to a deep cut in wages, or, more precisely, in savings potential. That will almost certainly dampen any enthusiasm he has for working in Poland.

One area where he could make out like a bandit is b2b sales. If he speaks both English and Polish to near native level, and he has a proven b2b earnings record, then the world is his oyster.