Viewing topic: Hello Everyone

I haven't posted on this board for about a year. I recently returned from my 2nd 3 week trip to Moscow. I saw both good and bad. For some, things are still good but for others not so good. Visiting there gave me the itch to again consider teaching in the future. In about 12 months, I could be in the situation to leave my good paying job. But everything I hear about teaching seems negative such as low pay, being treated poorly by schools, long hours, etc. Is there anything good about teaching english in Russia?

Hi Mike! And welcome again...

It's good to hear that you actually got yourself out here - but much that you are able to read around here and also what I told you in our PM exchange still holds true....

Am I right in recalling that you asked the same question in the past, when you first looked in here? The answer is still the same.... It will really be what you make it....

Yes, I asked the same question and still remember our conversations. With the bad economy and visa changes, I asked because I was wondering if things have gotten worse since we talked way back.

The visa situation has become a bit more 'sticky' in the last year but, on the plus side, many teachers have had enough and have baled out, thus leaving more students for those left here.

I know that I am perhaps different from many others, but I have to say that, although I can see the effects of the so-called crisis, I am still pretty busy with teaching work and still happy here with a good income...

You can see the ins-and-outs of what is best to do now re: visas in other posts - but it's still a while till you finish your current job and everything could change once more in that time...

So, in summary, Mike... In my opinion, there is still a good time to be had here and good money to be made here in teaching...

Just very recently there has also been good weather as well... I'm in SPB, as you know - and I have just spent the day toasting myself on the sands with temps of 28/30 degrees... But it's been a long time coming.... More of the same is predicted for tomorrow as well... I am already glowing quite nicely....

Maybe someone else would like to come in on this?

There have already been almost 30 views of this topic in the last 24 hours... OK, granted - minus a couple of views by me and civi68.....

Hasn't anyone else got something useful to say on this topic? (I would so hate to monopolise opinion......)

I'm here. Sort of.

Ditto the dog, sage words.

I think you have to be optimistic if you're coming to Russia. At present there isn't a lot to be upbeat about, but the same applies to most, if not, all the world. There are lots of reasons why people might want to come to Russia, even a few reasons why some people (me, for example) choose to stay here, but making a lot of money from teaching isn't one of them, you need to go to one of those sweltering sanddunes in the middle east for that.

Depends on your definition of a lot of money - I know for a fact there are people on this forum making more in a month than some people in the UK make in almost a year

There is one hapless twat in Moscow right now making 6k a day teaching.

Etc.

I hate to sound sceptical, but I find that statement rather hard to believe. Do you mean teachers in Russia making more in a month than teachers in UK make in a year, or are you comparing the teachers' salaries in Russia with what farm labourers or factory packers make in a year? Does the teacher in Moscow make 6k roubles, dollars, euros? And is s/he just another humble EFL/ESL pedagogue or a specialist in some arcane science lecturing at an academy for the children of oligarchs?

The Moscow chap is a pretty hapless Russian BA graduate making 6k roubles (not dollars or euros ) a day.

Comparing to post-tax in the UK, I know there are secretary jobs etc. that make less in a year.

I don't think many secretaries take home less than 10k pa. For that pay, they probably don't work much more than 40 hours per week (real ones, not academic hours).
So, how do we make 10k (pounds sterling for all you American Johnnies)? Easy!

We don't want overdo things, so we will fit just 6 lessons into a day, at 3ah each: that's 18ah at 45 mins = 13.5 real hours. Working like this for only six days per week we clock up 108ah, or 81 real hours.

At a stonking rate of 1000p./ah (which means your schedule will never be that full, if occupied at all) this comes to 108k p. or (currently) GBP 2160 per week. This rounds out at GBP 9350 pcm. And all for only 351 (60 minute) hours of work. Work that extra lesson on just three days per week and you have your ten grand.

Piece of cake!

Yeah - it's possible Cairo - and more. But what you need to do is get into group teaching and need to have enough contacts and invest a bit of money in a full-size whiteboard (5000-6000 rubles) and a few whiteboard pens.

Run 4 groups a week, ideally with 8 or 9 students and you can (here, anyway) charge each student 14,000 rubles for a 48 real hour course (64 academic). That's 12 weeks teaching, (maybe with a half-term thrown in). The figures are thus:-

4 groups X 9 students X 14,000 rubles = 504,000 rubles = about £10,000 for 12 weeks work and little outlay - as you just rent a biggish, ideally, ground-floor flat, which will cost you only a bit more than a one-room flat - and then you don't need to rent classrooms to teach.

Fill your free timetable up with 7 or 8 one-to-one, private students (the going rate here is about 1100-1200 rubles per real hour if you know the 'right' people).

Run 3 sets of 12-week courses a year - let's call them 'terms', shall we? and, by my calculations, that will give an income of:-

Groups £30,000
1-2-1s £11,000

Of course, you get the students to pay for the whole course in advance each term and you will lose some 1-2-1 classes due to cancellation (but with a firm cancellation policy) and also due to students moving on - but equally you will probably pick up other work to replace this.

You may not always get the 'ideal' 9 students per group - but if you're earning over £40K for just 36 weeks (about 8 months) work, with a teaching week of just 30 real hours (4 groups X 4 real hours + 7 one-to-ones X 2 real hours), I doubt if you would lose much sleep over it. You might even feel inclined to pop a bit more in, in fact... You can get any 'new' students needed by getting recommendations from existing students

And there I rest MY case.....

Ermmmmm... Sorry - I forgot, all tax-free, of course - which must be worth £55-60K equivalent in the UK.....

"....and little outlay, as you just rent a biggish flat...." (I think I've quoted you correctly mememe)

Even here in Cheboksary renting a biggish (minimum 2 rooms) flat wouldn't leave you much change out of $500. You could at least quadruple that for a flat in Moscow (I know, because I wasted some time and money looking there two years ago--and I'm sure rentals haven't gone down since, crisis or no crisis) and I have it on good authority (the renowned bobs12 himself) that Piter isn't much cheaper. Add to that the not inconsiderable inconvenience of living on the ground (1st) floor and the possibliity that some officious and/or hostile neighbour might report you for using residential premises for business purposes (I know there's a regulation against that, and a hefty fine, though can't remember detalis offhand) and you might find that renting an office (or a classroom from a school) wouldn't have been such a bad idea after all.

Hi Larry and thanks for your good points all...

I will, as per the norm, deal with each in turn....

I think the phrase that springs to mind is "Speculate to accumulate"....

Sure, you can rent a grotty one-room flat in Piter in the sticks and 15 tram stops from the metro for, probably 12-15K rubles/month. You can also rent a big and pleasant 3-room flat, near the centre, within 2 minutes of the metro, for 30,000 rubles/month. I know cos that's what I pay currently - so it's about $950 - which is still pretty extortionate, given that I rent out my large-ish 3-bedroom house in a provincial UK city for less than that.

So, you're paying 15K more a month for a much nicer flat to live in and , more importantly, one which is a good environment to learn in - and which is much more convenient for anyone (ie: lovely, lovely students) to travel to.

Living on the ground floor is not popular with Russians (so even cheaper to rent) but my flat is also pretty secure, with a good strong door, bars on the windows - and, (just in case any villainous and impecunious English teachers or others are reading this), never has money or other valuables kept in it

To get 15K more per month on your income is about a mere 3 extra students joining a course. If you can't get more than 3 extra students using these methods - then just don't bother trying this at home, folks!!

Of course you have to work up gradually... When I started teaching private groups 5 years ago, I wasn't sure if it would work out and thus my 'extra investment' was pretty limited. I had my existing one-room flat about 15 minutes walk from a central metro and I was then paying 12,000 rubles a month. Such was my reluctance to spend money that the 'whiteboard' was the enamel cover from my cooker which I used to quickly rip off and attach some string to just before each class started!!! I was also limited in group size by the small dimensions of the 1-room flat, to just 4-5 students maximum per class.

Regarding neighbours: The outside entrance door to my block is less than 5m from my flat entrance door and, because my students have 'Respect!' (said in suitable voice) they come and go in an orderly and quiet manner. The person I rent the flat from knows exactly what I do and if anyone were to make any allegations of running a business, what the hell - It happens all the time here and what can they really prove if, indeed, they were that intersted? Is it an offence to have some 'friends' around for a chat and to help them with their English...? I think not....

That said, I do make a point of getting on well with my neighbours: ie: I don't pry into their business and they don't pry into mine. I accept, though, that if you DO happen to get an a$$hole as a neighbour, it could cause a few inconveniences...

So it is possible - you have to plan and develop, of course, and you also have to put in some background work apart from the teaching, such as recruitment, placement/mid term/end of term test preparation (but once you've built up a 'stock', it's done). But if you work smart (and low-profile) as regards finding students and behave professionally, then it is quite possible, I believe, to have a good income from teaching in Russia, as I have said before....

Or, if anyone isn't confident that they can do it, they can keep travelling and working for schools for $20 an hour.... I know which I prefer...

Quote from Larry: "and I'm sure rentals haven't gone down since, crisis or no crisis"

I've recently negotiated a 5,000 ruble per month reduction (previously 35K) on my flat rental. I know it's very un-British, but it's the Russian way....

The market here in SPB HAS gone down and landlords are often keen to agree a reduction for trouble-free people with a proven record of paying reliably and on time.