Mechanical engineer born in Poland, grew up the States. Go back to PL. How?

ok, so im a 25 year old mechanical engineer, i have a degree in architectural engineering, and ive been working in the construction field for 5 years now. id like to move back to poland and live and work for some time... maybe 2 to 5 years... we'll see. im having trouble finding and even searching for jobs in my field. i speak polish fluently, but my reading is sub par, and my writing is virtually non existent. can anyone provide some insight into finding a design or engineering job for a fluent american and polish speaker? id really be open to any type of work, but id like it to be somewhat related to my field. im also interested in photography, and have shot some wedding before... anyway, any info is appreciated. thanks!

Well, you're not fluent if you can't read and write in the language.

If you really want to come here and work in your field, then you need to learn Polish to a very high standard. No ifs, no buts.

incorrect. absolutely incorrect. i spent the first 6 years of my life in zamosc, have visited numerous times since, and have spent my entire life in a polish speaking home, speaking to my parents, relatives, and even friends. what reading ability i do i have, comes from my ability to speak the language and sound out words. trust me, im fluent.

He meant that you ain't fluent, if you can't read AND write...

got it. apologies. thats the hard headed polish side of me. anyways, I need a job. any comments or insight?

Just do it ;)

Stop care about others opinion about you moving to Poland. if you wont find a job there you can always start to import stuff into America from Poland.

not really

now, find the thread about job searches in here somewhere.. i posted a bunch of good links to where i was looking for engineering field jobs..

but trust me, unless you really are fluent it's going to be hard finding something with a polish concern.. and engineering jobs in PL are realy few and far between.. also, they don't pay nearly what they pay in the states, if you're licensed that is..

also read up on life in PL, it's not as peachy as it may seem but go and try to experience it on your own.. going to PL to find a job is much better then just surfing the net for one..

good luck

yea, im fully aware of life in poland... thats why my family left. the majority of my family is still there, aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc... but, i figure if im ever going to go back, it has to be now. its not going to happen when im married with children. gotta do it while im still single and unattached. the hardest part would be giving up my good paying engineering job in the states, for a company ran by polish guys... thats how i got the job in first place, lol.

maybe you should ask them of what they think you ought to do to secure a job in PL..

the guys i work for left the country while they were teenagers, when poland was still ran by communists...

And as I said, you aren't if you can't read or write in the language. Speaking means nothing when you're pouring over a complicated contract written in legal Polish.

If you speak fluently, I guess you can get excellent reading skills, and good writing skills, in 6 months.

But it's obvious that it's difficult to get an academic job if you can't read and write well.

Why not go and teach English for a year and work on your Polish skills.

bartlomiej wrote:


uuuchhhh, i can't imagine why you would want to drop all that and come live in Poland. i just don't get it.

enjoy.

A good paying job in the US is nothing to spit at, they don't make so many of those anymore. My advice would be to avoid personal entanglements (no whoops! pregnancies) reduce expenditures and save up some bank while becoming literate in Polish. It's easy to find Polish newspapers on the web, start reading them every day. Start listening to Polish radio over the internet (esp talk radio). Maybe borrow some books of famous Polish literature in Polish from relatives. Keep it up until you can easily read newspapers like Rzeczpospolita and/or past and current authors and understand Polish financial news.

After a year or two of polishing your formal, professional Polish (as opposed to informal dinner table Polish) you might be in shape to actually find or start a business here and you'll have some resources so that you don't have to teach (if you don't want to).

Hey, I think you should do it,
I am a Polish American, just came to Poland for the third time in my life, same as you, fluent, but can't read very well or write. However, since this visit, I have fallen in love with Poland, and after I graduate next year I am moving here for sure.

I have already improved my reading dramatically over the summer, and now am reading a book in polish.

I hope you can do it.
Good luck

Even then he'll find it hard - From what Ive gathered through personal experience, Polish engineers are pretty shyt hot at their jobs. He could go down the avenue of trying to find companies in the US who have offices in Poland - then try for a secondment, its a long shot but its one way of getting his foot in the door.

well ok... so as i mentioned before, im into photography. Everything is self taught, but ive had exhibitions locally and even in boston, so i guess im decent. I was looking at the film and photography school in lodz, maybe for a possible change in career paths. The problem is that its a 5 year degree, and school kind of sucks in my opinion... although itd be a great way to meet people.

anyone here a fulbright fellow or teaching assistant?

I never thought I'll speak against getting degrees, but this is an exception - photography. You've exibited already? I swear, the more you 'learn', the harder it is to be original. All you need nowadays is the knowledge of tools, and there is no reason to go to school for that. You have to be able self-learn the tools, and fast, since something new and entirely different will pop up the minute you finish your class.

BTW, Bartolomieju, when was the last time you were in Poland and for how long?
My suggestion would be to dramatically downsize, work for 6 months saving every penny, then take a leave of absence and go to Poland for however long those pennies will allow. Don't burn your bridges anywhere, because times, they have a way of a'changing.

so i think ive got a plan... Im going to combine my interest of photography and education of construction/ engineering/ and design, and attempt to get a fulbright grant to document the massive building boom in poland before the 2012 eurocup. do a photo-journalism book type thing. I just sent an email to an old college prof of mine to get his input and insight (he's done this sort of thing before). what do you guys think?


last summer, 3 weeks. huge change since the last time, maybe 8 years prior. thats what made me think of the construction.

What massive building boom?

Just do it and quit thinking about it (quit obsessing about the money). If that's where you want to be, than go for it. You're either going to love it or hate it, in which case you can move back to the States. If you love it the money won't matter.

lol.., well the highways and such..


try what you will... but i'd take fstop's advice over most of the others.

Well, I don't if it is a good plan for making money, but it is certainly interesting idea :-) If that is your plan, then definitely you should check this places:

(there is a possibility that you would have to register (for free) in order to gain access):

skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=45

This is a forum where construction geeks both hobbists and professionals shares opinion about new and old buildings. Every good photo is appreciate there :-)

Just to show what you can find there:

Warsaw National Stadium

Gdansk Stadium

Poznan Stadium (almost finished)

Wroclaw Stadium

Wroclaw Bridge on Highway (supposedly the biggest of this kind (concrete category) in the world)

[sources: all pictures from polish forumers of SCC]

PS. Whatever some grumblers will tell you, there is plenty of interesting construction sites in Poland right now. Is it boom? I don't know, but definitely there wasn't anything similar in Poland for couple of decades...

i really dont care about the money at this point. i just want to spend some time in my home country. i know that in poland ill never make as much money as what i make in the US, not even half. the fulbright will be enough to survive, meet people, and still do something related to my career and personal interests. plus, any employer in the states would be proud to say they have a fulbright scholar on staff, so it looks good in the future when i come back. ive already got the ball rolling on this, meeting with advisors in the states, but i need to get some contacts in the academic/ construction world in poland. anyone know of anyone?

Merged: Thinking about going back to Poland from US - good companies that seek candidates for engineering positions?

I think about taking my family back to Poland. We live in U.S now.
The only obstacle is finding a good engineering job in Poland.
Mechanical engineer is my occupation and I have 8 year of experience working with jet engine turbine airfoils.

I'm originally from Wroclaw and my wife is from woj. Podkarpackie.
Does anyone know any good companies that seek candidates for engineering positions?

Yes. Rolls Royce - in particular in your field (turbine). And they are expanding their operations in Poland soon.

Does Rolls Royce actually produce aircraft engines in Poland?

@Alien
They produce engine parts (as I recall the gear mechanisms) in a joint venture with a company called Safran. The factory is in the south east. They also do something with marine engines in Gdynia.