Recent graduate: at first I worked hard, but after six months I stopped

22/08/2014 - 02:17

Safiya, graduate of the Linguistic University, found herself a high school in Minsk for compulsory work but ran away immediately after.

"I waited two years for it to end. Now I am looking for a job either as a translator or a content manager. If I don't find it, I'll simply leave. I want to go to Kiev, will probably be a freelancer there," shares Safiya her plans after two years of compulsory work as a teacher.

(Photo courtesy of Safiya)

During the first month at work she was mostly annoyed by the "coercive" approach and cleaning up of the city, not the salary of 3 million rubles.

"We could be ordered to clean some important place like Chyzhouka Arena or a tennis court instead of having a lesson. That day of work was not paid for, because you were not fulfilling your professional duties. The administration could be rude to you," says Safiya.

Her colleague Hanna, also a graduate of the Linguistic University, for two years taught English at school. She is now going to teach adults English for twice the salary.

"I never intended to become a teacher, I thought I could walk out of the system like many of those studying linguistics. I taught at a pretty good school, but I decided to leave the education system, as it is in agony. After all, you have to stick to the study program you have to teach, and keep your thoughts to yourself," says Hanna.

After graduating from Gomel University, a young engineer Natalia is directed to the compulsory work place in Minsk, at the design institute. She quits in 18 months.

"I studied to be an electrical engineer, and I was sent to work in Minsk, because the profession is connected with railway transport, it is rather manly. The salary I got was small, 1.4 million at first, at the end of the term it was a little over 3 million. At first I worked hard, but six months later I stopped. I simply came to work. I requested that I should be redistributed, but they wouldn't go for it. After 1.5 years I did it myself," says Natallya.

Now she's working on television. But she recalls that 90% of her classmates assigned to jobs in Gomel stayed at their first workplace.

After studying at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Informatics programmer Yaugen was assigned to the workplace where he worked as a student.

"I chose the company myself, it wasn't a problem. I just do not understand why there was a distribution, as the majority went to work where they had been before," says Yaugen.