Feeling like a school graduate... what can I do for a job in the US?

[Spacegirl 0]

I am getting more and more horrified by the thought I will have to start my life from scratch after moving to the country of my fiance. I figured there is mostly communicaton of English-speaking petioners for fiancee visa going on here, could anyone tell me if their wives work or if their fiancees are actually going to study/work after moving and if yes, then do what? I have higher education diploma in English language and going to eventually get it evaluated but a Russian native working as an English teacher in the USA sounds at least weird... I am 30 y/o and studying at this age in my country is considered kind of.. late. How is out there?

BTW anyone knows any forums for Russian immigrants with the same probs out there? That would be so helpful! Thank you guys!

[brian-and-aurore 1]

Hi !

Have you considered teaching Russian instead ?

I am French and once I arrive for good, I will teach French. I'm currently finishing my degree in France in English language (and the minor "French as a foreign language" which I chose before I was engaged to a US citizen).

A high number of schools in the US would hire native speakers of a language that they offer, especially if your English is great as it seems to be (for communication with families and co-workers).

If you want to teach in public schools, however, you will definitely need to go back to University and get teaching certification. Most Liberal Arts colleges offer certification in one year for people who don't already have a degree in education but whose degree is recognized as at least a Bachelor's Degree (4 years).

If you wish to work in private schools, you will be hired regarding your skills and not really your degree (although they want you to have a minimum of a Bachelor's degree equivalent). If they can advertise on their website that you come from a good foreign university, they love it ! You can, for instance, check out the private schools' websites from the area where you will settle with your husband and see where from the other teachers are.

If you really want to teach English, you may want to consider teaching ESOL - English for Speakers of Other Languages.

In know that in Maryland, all schools have several ESOL teachers because of the high number of children coming from non English-Speaking families.

Once again, public schools will require you to have a degree from the state were you wish to teach, but private ones won't.

It's not impossible for you to teach English as Language Art if this is really what you want to do.

I know someone who does, but it took her a long time to get accepted. She is French and she works in a bilingual French-English elementary school - where she taught French for 10 years before getting her new position.

[Spacegirl 0]

Brian-and-aurore, thank you so much for your post and very helpful info, especially the idea of one year Liberal Arts College certification! I did think about teaching Russian, it would be such a great option for me, I just honestly doubt Russian is in great demand there, especially in a state like MI. I bet French is though!

As for teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages you mentioned, two years ago I was TEFL certified (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with an American school in Prague. Do you know if its the same or they somewhat differ? My fiance says my English is great but I still dont feel confident enough participating in conversations with natives, especially group conversations. Due to the slang, lots of phrasal verbs and idioms they use a lot I very often wonder what they mean. I hope once Im there in the English speaking environment I will start feeling more confident.

Does anyone have experience changing their specialization? how reasonable is it at the age of 30? I am interested in psychology, how much can it be an option for a non-native as me?

Thank you guys!

[eekee 182]

In the States, going back to school to change your career is very common. Many schools have special "continuing education" programs, designed for working adults. It's not at all weird to go back to school at 30.

I do know, however, that the job market in Michigan is particularly tough. You could also try doing interpretation and translating while you're going back to school. Gary should have more info on this, as I know his Alla does that and makes a fair amount of money doing it.

[clueless_in_usa 8]

I am getting more and more horrified by the thought I will have to start my life from scratch after moving to the country of my fiance. I figured there is mostly communicaton of English-speaking petioners for fiancee visa going on here, could anyone tell me if their wives work or if their fiancees are actually going to study/work after moving and if yes, then do what? I have higher education diploma in English language and going to eventually get it evaluated but a Russian native working as an English teacher in the USA sounds at least weird... I am 30 y/o and studying at this age in my country is considered kind of.. late. How is out there?

BTW anyone knows any forums for Russian immigrants with the same probs out there? That would be so helpful! Thank you guys!

Spacegirl, my thoughts to you is to be open to whatever you can find, instead of having the expectation that you are going to land here and immediately be considered for a specific kind or quality of job. If you come with high expectations, you may be very disappointed and frustrated soon after.

Keep in mind that there are 14.5 million unemployed people currently in the USA. Many of those will have precedence over you because they have something you won't have: verifiable experience in the USA. Therefore, you will have to find a differentiator for yourself, if you want to jump ahead of thousands of candidates for a specific job; you need to offer something that is valuable for the job and that most Americans cannot offer. That's the only way you will jump to the top of the list of candidates.

My wife spent three months attending interviews and being denied jobs. She only found a job when she lowered her expectations to "whatever comes my way." She's been working there four months already and she let her work habit speak for itself, to the point that her manager is already considering her for a managerial position. Not the engineering job she was expecting and accustomed to, but a lot better than being unemployed ... and already higher on the list of candidates for other jobs.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I am getting more and more horrified by the thought I will have to start my life from scratch after moving to the country of my fiance. I figured there is mostly communicaton of English-speaking petioners for fiancee visa going on here, could anyone tell me if their wives work or if their fiancees are actually going to study/work after moving and if yes, then do what? I have higher education diploma in English language and going to eventually get it evaluated but a Russian native working as an English teacher in the USA sounds at least weird... I am 30 y/o and studying at this age in my country is considered kind of.. late. How is out there?

BTW anyone knows any forums for Russian immigrants with the same probs out there? That would be so helpful! Thank you guys!

Oddly enough Alla is studying for the same thing. Alla has a masters degree in Russian/Russian Literature and English from a Ukrainian university and worked as a translator/interpreter for international businesses in Ukraine. (She actually was tranied as a teahcer but bailed out of that after perestroika as it was paying like $200/month in Ukraine and she could make $1500 in international work plus travel! She was traveling for business in Prague when I met her) She came here and was able to get a teaching certificate nearly immediately (she had to take a semester of US History to do so)

She also began a masters program in TEACHING English in a university here.

The problem she ran into here...There is -0- demand for Russian teachers here in Vermont, even though Middlebury College has one of the top Russian programs in the US, there are no teacher openings. Those people leave their jobs when they die and that's about it. The demand for an ESL teacher, for example is higher, but they want her to have at least a degree from a US university if she is not a native speaker. It is not that it is REQUIRED, it is just because they can "prefer". If it is what they prefer, that is what they will get.

We had checked this out before she came and had her all set up to start school here before she arrived. (beats staring at updates on the USCIS website)

She should graduate her MA program this summer.

What does she do now? When she arrived, it was before the change in interpretation of the I-9 form, and she got a job right away working in a women's clothing store part time. This was to get her adjusted to the culture, exposed to other people and using the language with natives. But as her school work increased, she didn't have time for it anymore. She was doing translating for some of her former clients and for some visa work etc. She is an ameture photographer and made a lot of photos of local "natural" things and sold them as greeting cards and framed photos in local tourist trap shops. She is an entrepenuer, did I mention? She also worked/works as a model occasionally. Pays good but not a lot of work in Northern Vermont and she usually has to go to Montreal, Boston or Providence for photo shoots. Makes for a long day but pays really well.

But her "break" came a little over a year after she arrived. I was hospitalized for 10 days and my roommate was Bosnian. He had an interpreter come in each day when he met with the doctors. Alla said "Um...excuse me...how do I go about doing this?" The guy referred her to the woman in the hospital that handled this. She went downstairs and came back a little while later with a contract in her hand to work as an interpreter for the Hospital for $35/hr on an as needed basis, minimum 1 hour for each call. This has turned into contracts with several other clients including USCIS, State of Vermont, USDA, CBP etc. She has maybe 6-10 jobs per week now that she schedules in with her school work (she can take them as she can, she has the option and her clients understand she is a student) During the current semester break she has been doing 4-5 interpretations per day! It is pretty lucrative work for a student.

Hoepfully after she gets her degree she will get a job teaching ESL classes. She is doing that as part of her practicum now for Vermont Adult Learning. She hopes they will offer her a paid job after graduation. It is not "big bucks" but she doesn't care. She will be doing what she likes.

In a few years I will retire for good (I am semi retired now) and we are planning to live in some exotic locales and she can teach English (by then she will be a US citizen and the boys will be finished with their educations). Why not live in Italy for a year and she can teach ESL? Or Brazil? Or maybe Istanbul (yuck, but her friend is teaching there and says she loves it) who cares? For a year I can tolerate it and I love adventure, always did.

If you will attend a university here, take the GRE and/or TOEFL exam in Russia before you come (if you haven't already)

Edited January 16, 2011 by Gary and Alla

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Brian-and-aurore, thank you so much for your post and very helpful info, especially the idea of one year Liberal Arts College certification! I did think about teaching Russian, it would be such a great option for me, I just honestly doubt Russian is in great demand there, especially in a state like MI. I bet French is though!

As for teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages you mentioned, two years ago I was TEFL certified (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with an American school in Prague. Do you know if its the same or they somewhat differ? My fiance says my English is great but I still dont feel confident enough participating in conversations with natives, especially group conversations. Due to the slang, lots of phrasal verbs and idioms they use a lot I very often wonder what they mean. I hope once Im there in the English speaking environment I will start feeling more confident.

Does anyone have experience changing their specialization? how reasonable is it at the age of 30? I am interested in psychology, how much can it be an option for a non-native as me?

Thank you guys!

MA-TESOL is the degree Alla is pursuing now. Your experience will be helpful, no doubt and depending where you live you may be able to land an ESL teaching job. It will depend on the supply/demand issue. The preference will be for native speakers or teachers trained in a native English speaking country. That is not to say you can't. It is just that in the local market here, there is no need for programs to hire non-native, non-US trained teachers. Read: "There are lots of them available, why should we choose YOU?" By getting the US degree you would also do a practicum of teaching (student teaching) and that opens some doors. The people at VAL really like Alla (who doesn't?) and will probably offer her a job after she graduates.

The demand to teach Russian is far lower than the demand to teach French. French was always one of the popular languages to learn in the US, along with Spanish. Here we live just a few miles from French speaking Quebec so there is a demand for French teachers but, surprisingly, little demand for French interpreters. Nearly all the Quebecois speak English and they don't need interpreters. The hospital is full of Canadian refugees escaping the healthcare system in Canada, but they all speak English well enough and there is little demand for a French interpreter. Perhaps in other areas of Quebec it is different, but we border the Montreal region and most people there can speak English.

There is little demand at the primary or secondary level for Russian. There is a greater demand for college level Russian, but few jobs available. Check it out though. Every year there is an ESL teachers convention. This year it is in New Orleans and we plan to attend for the first time. Lots of people there offer jobs teaching ESL, but are you willing to go to them? Many are foreign contracts but some are in the US also.

[Terry&Tigger 4]

It's nice to know there will be one more Russian fiancee here in Michigan soon

Welcome and check out www.zaokeanom.com , it's a forum for Russian ladies in the USA, you might find it helpful. Feel free to pm me if you want 'girls' talk Good luck.

[sea-monkey 13]

check out www.zaokeanom.com , it's a forum for Russian ladies in the USA

Is this the forum Slim refers to all the time? Saying the MOBs get entitlement ideas from. I've better block this site now on my router

[Terry&Tigger 4]

Is this the forum Slim refers to all the time? Saying the MOBs get entitlement ideas from. I've better block this site now on my router

I am not that familiar with Slim's personal attitude towards that forum, I just know that it is the only part of virtual space where a Russian girl can get first-hand information about what to expect when in the USA, and find emotional support if they need it, and most do. Been there, got a T-shirt.

And probably it would be more polite if you kept the usage of the term 'MOB' limited to those guy discussion threads instead of using it in a thread started by a girl.

[sea-monkey 13]

Ok, please accept my appologies. Slim is a bad influence

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Ok, please accept my appologies. Slim is a bad influence

Oh shirt.

[Terry&Tigger 4]

Ok, please accept my appologies. Slim is a bad influence

Thank you for understanding

[slim 1,525]

I am getting more and more horrified by the thought I will have to start my life from scratch

Don't be horrified... do your homework.

Employment in the USA is based on initiative and drive. The more thoroughly you pursue opportunities, the better the outcome will be. You can move here without doing anything in advance and you'll "start over" by working a minimum wage job that you don't like. Or you can move here and take advantage of opportunities you've established for yourself through the hard work you've already done.

You have a degree? Get it certified by an international accreditation company or else it's useless. You work a good job there? Find similar jobs in the area you're moving to and fax your resume to perspective employers, maybe even get reference letters in English to send along with your resume.

As others have pointed out, ESL and/or translation is a great opportunity for someone with a TEFL cert.

There are numerous opportunities for folks who pursue them. But, if you just "show up" and think you're going to get a job... you will. But it probably won't be the job you wanted.

Is this the forum Slim refers to all the time? Saying the MOBs get entitlement ideas from. I've better block this site now on my router

I don't think that's it. Most MOBs get their "bright ideas" prior to departure from the FSU. It's like they're experts before they even go through the process, hence my disdain for the "knowledge" posted on those sites.

The site posted here sounds like a better network for them since it's for women already here, married and working, etc. It would be nice if women could read that site prior to leaving the FSU or immediately upon arrival so they could formulate their perception on experience and reality-based knowledge as opposed to "real housewives of XXXXXX."

And probably it would be more polite if you kept the usage of the term 'MOB' limited to those guy discussion threads instead of using it in a thread started by a girl.

As long as we're fat old bald guys with trophy wives, MOB fits too. While we may not all fit the profile, we definitely wear it whether we like it or not.

Ok, please accept my appologies. Slim is a bad influence

Slim is a bad influence

Guilty as charged.

[LvivLovers 39]

You're never too old to start going back to school. My wife had had some schooling in Ukraine but had to withdraw due to her financial situation. Once she got over here she started completely over in a new major. after being out of school for 5-6 years. She had to start with English classes first just to get accepted into her university. Anyway, long story short, she's halfway done with a degree in Biology and is planning on going to medical school after that...we're looking at probably 8-10 years before she's totally done. That said, there were quite a few people in her classes that were also planning to go to medical school that are several years older than she is. The fact is, time goes by really quickly regardless of what you do. You can either have a new degree/career in a few years or not have one. Either way, it ulimately feels like the blink of an eye.

P.S. For the record, I don't consdier my wife to be a MOB. I consider myself to be a MOH! (She was the one that found me! haha)