Well, it looks like that big time gap is becoming a problem and after 8 months I am going to begin my search again it seems. Kinda sucks after all that investment and even though you never meet them you grow fond of them and it sucks really bad to know its over.
But the main question I guess as you can see by the Subject, Is Degrees in Russian Universities compatable with America, say your woman has a degree in Science, or Physology, can she get a job here based on that degree diploma?????
She can evaluate this diploma (even medical MD) but for many jobs America asks license. So it will be better for her to get scholarship and get Master degree. With this American degree it will be much easer for her to get job.
Russian woman with University diploma usually work as teachers for ESOL (English as a second language) or in Human recourses departments. If she has MD she will not able to work as a doctor without 4 exams plus 4 years additional trainings but she can find postDoc or Research Associate position even without phD.
A very appropriate subject for me right now. I am running smack into this problem. My lady is a lawyer in Russia. She has consistently held jobs that are prestigious with a lot of responsibility, rubbing shoulders with some important people. She doesn't want to come to America and work in Wal Mart.
A predicament.
I have a friend who is a paralegal and that pays well but would still need both some ESOL and university. I think the way out if this is to take a job working as a receptionist in a law office or clerking until she feels her feet and starts to pick up on what's going on. Then work towards a paralegal position. Good money and relatively quickly with much less school. Just as much prestige etc.
I understand the question of ego here but I have already explained that I personally don't care a hoot about a career only the money on the table every month. We need X amount to make it each month and that is all that counts. If a career can be fitted into that scenario fantastic, if not so be it.
I personally have done everything from engineering and truck driving to growing flowers and delivering pizzas to make a living. Sometimes 2 jobs. That is life. I am struggling to get that through to her right now. It is sort of either me and pot luck with a stacked deck or it isn't going to happen.
About getting qualifications transferred. I had / have this same problem. I have a City and Guilds in electronics from England from back in the seventies. Recognized all over the world. Just not in the USA. I got it evaluated as a 2-year associates degree in electrical engineering by a company right here in Miami. They are called Joseph Silney and associates. Worked real well for me. They are recognized all over the USA and I don't think they even have a competitor right now. I can take their evaluation to a state university and it will be recognized. Of course how many credits they will give me is another story. It is a start though.
My friend Lena is Colombian and a doctor. She started babysitting and eventually ended up as an assitant in a doctors office. The idiot actually consults with her! Talk about cheap help! Anyway she is working on becoming a nurse and of course it is easy studying for her. She wll actually be better off being a nurse than a doctor. Incredible.
As a whole, college degrees aren't much worth the paper they are written on since the US has dumbed down the education system. Yes they may open a few doors but after that it still boils down to common sense and ingenuity on a persons part. Small business which drives the US economy is full of people without college degrees. Hard work, common sense and good money management is the best way to create wealth. Also having the foresight to see beyond just making ends meet and paying bills.
A doctor knows the human body is the same no matter where it is located, russia, US, patagonia or BFE....An engineer learns both decimal and american/english measuring systems to build the bridge or whatever else he wants...an accountant needs to balance everything to ZERO...
But a lawyer should not have any high expectations of a prestigious career unless he/she becomes as knowlegeable about the laws of the land and the countless federal, civil, state or community systems used to practice it in an effective, ethical and profitable manner...
I don't envy Marina having to consider coming down from the top of the corporate food chain in russia to be a mere legal clerk in some law office.
If that's what she wants to do to be with you, my hats off to you, Izi for being the most worthy man this babe has ever known.
And my best wishes for both of you to going into it with your eyes wide open knowing what's ahead for you both if she does this.
The potential for future regrets and resentment is something I'd do my best to keep an eye on and discuss as often and openly as possible.
Maybe a question to think about with Marina's education is, does she necessarily need to be a lawyer in the states? I don't know much about the corporate food chain as Toad refers to, but if she is educated what is wrong with a career change? There are many things she can do that is just as financially rewarding and possibly more morally rewarding than being in the legal field in the US. Larissa has spent the last 20 years in Ukraine as a speech therapist and we have talked about this often, she really does not want to pursue that career here in the US. She is looking forward to coming here with a fresh and open opportunity to do what she loves to do as a hobby, design and make clothes. I have seen the children she works with as a therapist and can understand the emotional toll it has taken on her. With many of the women from the FSU their educational backgrounds give them unlimited opportunities for many career options in the states. Just look at many here in the states that work in a different field than their degreed discipline. I wish you both the best and hope she keeps her options open and not limit her opportunities.
Just a footnote, in many of my job interviews in the past I have had only one prospective employer ask me what my major in college was and only three that asked for proof of my degree.
your "As a whole.."-post above I regard as a wise one. I've learned some of it myself, and your last two lines I couldn't agree with more.
What kind of work do you do, or have done rather?
Toad & Nas,
You have both touched various nerves that I too have thought of. However the fact that she knows only Russiabn law apparently is not an obstacle. Yesterday I called a god friends sister who is a paralegal with 25 years experience. She filled me in on the scoop. The best way to explain this is an example. She knew some lawyer in Miami who hired a Venezuelan woman as a secretary come whatever. This lady was a lawyer in Venezuela. Subsequently she was doing all kinds of legal work until she eventually left and became a real paralegal. Everybody won.
Although the law is different in each country the basic principles are the same. It is possible to ease yourself into this chosen profession with dignity and decent renumeration. It will take time though. It is a question of brains and effort. None of which is lacking with Marina. It is unlikely that she will be Perry Mason. A paralegal can make extremely good money better than what I make and the kicker is they don't need any qualifications at all.
My friend told me that it is not even worth getting certified. That won't help with money because it about how your head ticks and experience. She said that Marina should get her feet wet using an agency (she recomended one) and then work her way up from the inside. We are also going to go to Florida Atlantic University and get her enrolled for the various classes that can be take for paralegal instruction. It doesn't look bad.
First English then the career. It can be done.
Marina can also do accountancy and management. I have another friend that is self taught and does accountancy for a very good living.
Last year while visiting my girl in Russia I spoke with one of the best dentists in her city as I had entertained the thought of moving there (one of my crazy moments) and asked about what I would have to do to receive a dental license there...what education and what exams. He told me with my American degree and American Dental Association membership I would not have to take any exams or get a special license. He was ready to put me to work on the spot. I did find that surprising.
Resentment is always a problem and if we marry and I get to my deathbed without something being thrown in my face about the move it will be a miracle. It is human nature.
She needs to understand though that especially to begin with it is about the money she will bring home and not the career. Eventually that will straighten itself out but to begin with if she has to work in a store for 6 months or a year until something jells so be it.
When I came to America I did all kinds of work until I was hired illegally to work as a tech in Miami. I stayed in that job for 7.5 years!! It gave me the knowledge I needed to move on in America. Now I am in engineering in Motorola. Who would have thunk it! Couldn't have happened in England. One thing I like about America is that if you are mentally flexible life can take you in unexpected paths that are just as good if not better than your chosen field.
Marina is starting to understand this now. It will not be fully absorbed until she is here and actually starts looking for a job. My problem is that I don't want any fuss about just getting a bread and butter job to raise income while we sort things out. I will solve it.
My Major in college was political science, with a minor in history.
I have spent most of my adult life in sales in one area or another. I started in automotive sales as a salesman, then sales manager then Finance and insurance manager. I looked around one day and saw my daughter growing up and I wasn't a real fixture in the home due to the hours required in auto sales, so I have spent the last 18 years in Industrial sales. For ten years my ex and I had a real estate investment company which I did well at, the the subsequent divorce, which I walked away from that business, as foolish as it sounds I had my motives. I have never been one to destroy what I created I left the business to my wife in lieu of she stayed out of my 401k. Now my daughter runs the business with her fiance and she does very well at it. He has been in construction and helps maintain an repair the homes she owns. I told her when I die don't ask for an inheritance she got it already! LOL!The last three years in real estate I made more in it than I did with my day job. I got tired of rental properties and began buying distressed properties and rehabbing and reselling them. Now I have a vending business in it's infancy, I borrowed money from my 401k to invest in it along with I play in the funds and stock market. I make a little money at that, but that is more of an educational thing for me now. The main reason I looked at vending was the minimal amount of time required to do it also with Larissa's pending arrival in the states I wanted a second income supplement for her until she gets acclimated with a different culture and lifestyle. Also it would give her something to participate in and feel like she is contributing during her adjustment period here. My fear with her and I think many of the women of the FSU coming here is boredom until they understand the way of life here. My initial start up expense in vending was just under $7000, I bought 70 single vend gumball machines and 4 used soda vending machines. My monthly net after expenses is just a little over $1300 a month. $5000 of the 7000 I borrowed from my 401k. I am close to recapturing my initial investment in 6 months of operation. The second income more than compensates what a second wage earner would make in the region I live in. I've been pretty pragmatic in my approach to find a wife from Ukraine. I didn't want to throw her into the job market with the stress of being a wage earner to support our life style. She will have other difficulties to deal with when she arrives that I felt was more important for her to deal with without the added stress of looking for suitable employment. All of my machines are within a 1 hour drive from my home, I spend about 14 hours a month servicing them and collecting money. Gumball machines average about 2-4 turns a day and the soda machines do about 8-12 vends a day. This will also help subsidize my income when she arrives because I am planning to take of leave of absence from my employer when she arrives. My main reason of staying in the corporate world is for insurance and benefit reasons. When she starts working in whatever endeavor she chooses, which her dream is to design and make clothing, I will then use the profits to load up my 401k to the max at my current employer. A simple plan, but with the current socialist security program in America that is a mess, a conservative but strong one. It's not how much money you make, it is what you do with the money you make. Maybe I should hire Toad as my financial advisor?????
yer lingo went amiss, "401k" I had to look up. As I thought some pension fund, no idea you could pull (borrow) from it, our taxman would hit you hard. Volutarily loading it, if possible at all, is also something I'd never do, but I guess it earns a real interest where you are hence your remark.
I hunch it might be a little more complex than just a retirement scheme by looking at what the SE throws at me. Maybe all pensions are paid from the same fund coffers, state-managed probably?
Be careful to hire Toad, after all he also must be looking for some extra dough for when Lena arrives at his home. Remember she will not work, he will, hence his income has to up somehow ;-)
Mike,
My close friend Bill has been bugging me for a long long time to get into the vending business. He wants to sell me right now several soda pop machines to get started . He is primarily a mailman in Raleigh, N.C. He says he is making over 2000 dollars a month from coke machines and he is not near his goal yet. He said it is as easy as pie . It is also money that the IRS cannot finger either.
Mike, I tend to disagree with you in regards to a college education. However, I think the resultant claim is the same. A base college education is what you are SUPPOSED to have gained with your High School education. I don't think the U.S.A. is limited in this regards. I think England has many of the same issues, but not on our scale.
Your points on wage earning are well taken. I make enough that my wife-to-be is not required to have a job. I also have no qualms about her having a job if she desires. However, if we are to have children, I consider being a mother a priority over a job (again, she won't require one with me). I want to support her in being all she can be, and vice versa. As long as those goals are part of us being husband and wife, I'm all for it.
TD, in my companies case, yes, you can take a loan against your 401K (retirement fund) and suffer no tax penalty. In fact, you end up paying interests to yourself in this case. I wish the bulk of my 401K was a loan in my case, since the economic performance of my particular fund has been horrible (I.E. I'd make more money paying myself interests than what the fund is producing). :-(
Nas & TD,
Because I'm an independent planner I do not have to charge my clients for any fees, unlike everything you find out there with just about every brokerage company.
Borrowing from your 401K is not always a great idea, but Nas did it with a carefully and premeditated purpose, so even if taxation of the 7K comes into play, it will not be significant and can always be included in the offsetting future income the vending biz will generate.
Nas, what I would seriously consider, is telling your daughter that since she got her inheritance so early in life she should be responsible for taking care of any and all financial needs for you and your ex wife in your senior years...:)))
When it comes to work for Lena, she is tickled to death she will get to in either one of my business and that all or most of the traveling will do will be 99% for pleasure, not as a part of an international corporate team of negotiators...If all the international travel she has to do would at least come with standarized western salaries it might be worthy, but not for US$500 a month.
She can make that in one in California translating documents in any of her languages.
I have considered the vending business sevearl times but it is all predicated on the location of the machines. It seems to be sew up in the Miami Ft Lauderdale area. The usual few big boys gobbling up all the prime locations. The cost of the machines isn't that much it is location, location, location. I have a friend who still has a garage full of gumball machines that he can't get to locate properly. It seems that the way to do this around where I live is to buy an existing business with an established route. That definitely isn't $7,000.
I borrow against my 401K regularly. I pay myself back via my equity line although I try my hardest not do that. I only pay half a point for the loan the other 6% is paid to myself. There isn't enough in there to make any real impact on my retirement and I cannot afford to squirrel away 10% each week which is what it would really take. Also the thing has not done well over the last few years. So far this year it has lost 6.5%. A bottomless pit to throw money into. I turned it down to 1%. Therefore the 401K to me is just a resovoir I use to improve cash flow and make sure the interest is going to the right person - me.
Generally regarding a personal business I have been nibbling around the edges of a franchise for several years now. Dunkin Doughnuts, Subway or something like that. Hundreds of thousands to start up though. Could easily lose the little I have and get to a bankruptcy court fast. I keep looking and I hope that one day I will land on something.
This has turned into a good thread very educational. I need all the input I can get with this subject.
Thanks Toad for the advice with my daughter. I don't think that will be much of an issue and if it becomes one I will be pushing a grocery cart full of aluminum cans. Taking care of the Ex? Bullet to forehead would be good!
As for my 401k I do not have a tax penalty involved since it is a loan to me, and like Scott I am paying myself interest back. Many times I have borrowed against cd's and the such but I prefer if I am going to borrow I pay myself not a bank the interest. Also I like to use instruments that if in an emergency I can be liquid for cash.
Thunder the key to my 401k is my company matches dollar for dollar up to 15 percent of my annual wages. This year the match has been the 15% and I will load it to the max because I do gain a bit of a tax advantage on my disposable income.
Izi the key I have found in vending is a numbers game. We have the big vending companies here also but I'm not competing with them. I have yet to have any problem with locating gumball machines. If 60 machines only did me 600 a month that would be fine. The initial layout isn't that bad, also I'm not big on buying routes from wholesalers, they are in it for themselves, but if you can get an established route from an independent guy, go for it the value is there in the buy. Basically the vending is to help subsidize Larissa's arrival and later to be our GFO fund. General F**k Off fund. I offer my customers 30% of the take, that is the gross. 850 gumballs runs about 16 bucks do the math that is around 800% ROI on a case of gumballs. I have some machines doing only 10 bucks a month and I have a couple doing 80 bucks, the Mexicans here love chiclets!
I'm a niche vendor, just looking for small places with decent traffic to earn some extra bucks. I reinvest some of my take into new machines, you would be surprised if you marked on a map a 60 mile radius of your home the places you can put machines.