Posts tagged work
On Mahjong
Yes, you read that correctly. I’m writing an entire blog post on the ancient Chinese game of Mahjong, or at least the digitalized, solitaire version of it. I first played this game as a teenager, probably in middle school or maybe the first year of high school, when a Chinese-American friend taught it to a bunch of us and we would play for hours on her dining room table. Right away it reminded me of Rummikub, which was unknown to most Americans but familiar to me, as I had played it in Germany with my uncle as a little kid.
Nostalgia aside, I had forgotten about Mahjong for over a decade when I found and downloaded a free solitaire version of the game for my laptop. Then I found a free phone version as well, and it quickly became my go-to procrastination tool during longer periods of work. But unlike taking Facebook breaks or catching up on my Reeder feed, Mahjong breaks felt refreshing, not draining, and after a game or two I was actually ready to get back to work.
Anyway, why is any of this important enough to write about (and what does it have to do with writing, for that matter)? By playing Mahjong only during prolonged stretches of work, I managed to condition myself to work longer. By allowing Mahjong to be my only acceptable form of rest, somehow the temptation to procrastinate in other ways was significantly reduced (though not completely eliminated yet, I am only an ADD-prone human).
Playing Mahjong is also an excellent gauge of current brain functioning for me, which is an important thing to be aware of when intoxication and sleep depravation are regular occupational hazards. If I can’t complete a game in a timely manner, if the tiles are starting to blend together, I know it’s either time for sleep or more coffee. It’s a fail-safe; if I can’t put two Chinese characters together, I have no business writing anything.
My point is, over the last year I’ve learned to develop these systems that allow me to work in spite of myself, even at times when I’d much rather be out riding bikes or occupying a bar stool or even watching cheesy TV shows. Mahjong breaks are part of the system. Another trick is listening to the Battlestar Galacta soundtracks while working - something about Bear McCreary’s gorgeous classical battle compositions puts my mind in a place where it needs to create, be productive, fight battles (“Prelude to War”, anyone?), aspire to greater heights, even if it’s just translating magazine copy or writing website articles.
I wish I could say that my job is always exactly what I want to be doing, that work always feels like play, but that’s bullshit. I love my lifestyle, and there are days when I love my work, but more often there are days when it feels like work and no amount of sugarcoating will make it otherwise. Deadlines leave no room for mood swings or deliriousness. So I put these systems in place so I can work through the work until there’s less of it and more of the type of work that I do love. And even then, I have no illusions that that work will always come easily, but if I can manage to ingrain these little mind tricks, even those days won’t be as hard anymore. At least, so I hope.
“ Never, ever sacrifice your happiness for a paycheck. It’s better to scrounge for change in the couch than to do something that is sucking out your soul.”
Freelancing, by the Numbers: 2011
I can unequivocally say that 2011 was the most formidable and fulfilling year of my adult life. It was my first full year of just freelancing, which means it was the first year that I have been wholly in charge of my financial situation. It was also the first year I have kept a detailed budget since I had my first job at 16. It was the year I paid off my credit cards in full. It was the year I didn’t leave Central Europe all summer, and still had a blast. It was the year I stepped foot on the African continent for the first time (and did it cheap as hell). Most importantly, it was the year I broke even, despite working the least and having the most fun of my adult life.
But forget my words, let’s look at the numbers, because graphs are fun!
Here’s a breakdown of my total expenses for 2011, by category:
Fun fact: I spent 1/3 of my food budget on booze. Yay? The basics such as rent, electricity, and food ate up the biggest chunk of my budget, but paying off those credit cards (i.e. the sins of the past) really took a toll. 2012 goal: keep that number under 5%. Oh, and then there’s that pesky student loan…
Now that we’ve got money out, here’s money in:
As you can see, proofreading and translations paid the bills. Considering my savings took a hit, it’s no surprise I barely earned any interest. Other is generally selling stuff, band money (very rare), photography gigs (even more rare) or gifts from family, while writing only earned me a measly 6% of my income. My goal for 2012: 50% income from writing.
Perhaps the hardest part of freelancing was the month-to-month disparities in income. Feast or famine, as they say:
(Net income + savings - net expenses)
All in all, I scraped by. I earned exactly PLN 188.39 (about $50) more than I spent in 2011, and managed to end up with just under PLN 800 (about $230) more in my savings account than I started 2011 with.
The Important Part
Victory? Technically, yes. Really though, this was just a(n educational) start to the freelance lifestyle, and this year I need to earn a whole lot more, spend a bit less (especially on booze, ouch) to make this thing sustainable. There is some hope, though, because here’s another telling figure:
Pages translated or proofread in 2011: 1085.18
Estimated hours worked* in 2011: 813.89
Hours worked in a normal 9-5, 40hrs/wk job (assuming 50 weeks): 2,000
What this means: while the average joe was slaving away in a lightless office for 2,000 hours of 2011, I spent about half of that actually working, while the rest was spent reading, working on my websites, reading more, playing music, biking, enjoying the summer, going to festivals, traveling, and in general feeling better about life. That also means I can still work a bit more this year, earn a better income, while still having more free time than if I were traditionally employed.
Just to bring it all home, this was me working in November, on a sunny beach in Barcelona, sipping cappuccinos and enjoying the 19 degree t-shirt temperatures:
What this untimely means: the “free” in “freelancing” makes it absolutely worth it.
*This was my best guess, judging that it takes an average of 15-30 minutes for me to proofread one page and 40-60 minutes to translate one page, based on the breakdown of translation and proofreading pages… let’s just say there was some complicated math involved, but my best guess is that I spent between 800-1,100 hours working in 2011, whereas the average person would have spent 2,000.
“ As the hierarchy of the traditional workplace breaks down, we are all gaining more freedom and flexibility. More and more, we can set our own long-term goals, we can determine our own work schedules, we can work at an office or at a coffee shop, we can make our own decisions about what we focus on today, and what we focus on tomorrow. But this “freedom” also brings responsibility — a responsibility that, I would argue, demands a vastly increased capacity for self-control.”
If I had to pinpoint the single most difficult part of freelancing, this is it. Not the occasional poverty, not the lack of regiment (which I enjoy), not the instability (also a plus in my book), but the sheer amount of self-control it takes to get anything done, and more importantly, to build a business and a future rather than just getting by.
In essence, I began freelancing nearly a year ago as the kid who grabbed the marshmallow after two minutes. I may have left my old job, but I was still weighed down by my old habits, and it took months for me to even realize this, and the past two or three months of continuous, hard work to get a grip on it, which I still consider very much a work in progress. But I’ve gotten better. Even if I don’t always control my Facebook itch, I’m aware of it. Even if I don’t always wait until I’ve finished all of my work for the day to eat dinner (a surprisingly effective habit I’ve found), I know that’s what I need to do, and I do it more often from week to week. If nothing else, jumping off the deep end into the freelance pool has made me minutely aware of all of my faults, and singularly motivated to improve on each and every one. That’s why I’ve started getting in shape again. That’s why I’ve been setting goals and writing them down on a giant white board hanging over my desk in my apartment. That’s why I’ve made a lot of them public, to keep myself accountable. That’s why I want to stop drinking for a month or two, or at least severely cut down. That’s why I keep some semblance of a schedule, even though I don’t have to. That’s why I need to make myself write more, whether I feel like it or not, whether I have paid work to do or not, because everything depends entirely on me now, which is an equally terrifying and exciting prospect.
Back to Work! Or, How to Get a Job in Poland
As I’ve mentioned before, one of my few paid writing gigs is for Airgate Magazine, a high-brow arts publication travel rag published by the Krakow Airport. Occasionally I write quasi-interesting helpful articles for them, the newest of which you will find below.
While the summer is a time of travel and enjoying the weather (when it isn’t perpetually cold and rainy like this summer, anyway), now that autumn approaches it’s time to get back to work. But what kind of job can an expat expect in a country where he or she might not know the language, or be lacking a residency card? This month we’ll explore the available options as we look at the expat job market in Kraków.
Be the cliché
I admit that it would be pretty impossible to write an article about expat trades without starting with the most popular (or at least visible): English teacher. Contrary to popular belief, having knowledge of the language is not enough, at least in a competitive market like Kraków. Most schools today require a certificate showing your competence not only in British or US English, but also in communicating effectively to students. This is commonly met with a CELTA (Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults), TEFL Certificate (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), or TESOL Certificate (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) or similar. A Bachelor degree helps, but is not always necessary depending on the school, and proof of experience can often substitute a specific degree.
If you’re an aspiring language teacher, there are two places to earn teaching certificates in Kraków: the British Council or the Tischner European University. The average salary for English teachers tends to hover around PLN 3000 per month, though hours tend to be shorter and more flexible than traditional office work (which might be the greatest appeal of the teaching profession), allowing for extra income to be earned from private lessons. As an added bonus, while the recession has hurt many other lines of work, it has also shown the importance of language skills in an increasingly competitive job market, thus paradoxically increasing the demand for language schools and teachers.
Selling out
If you’d like to work for a multinational company with offices in Kraków – perhaps one based in your home country – the good news is there’s plenty of choice, and the pay tends to be well above the average. Examples of international companies with offices/headquarters in Kraków include IBM, Indesit, Bayer, Motorola, Lufthansa, International Paper, BP, Orlen, Shell, UBS, Google, ABB, ComArch, Sabre, Linde Industrial Gases, Mittal Steel Company, and, if your soul is also on the market, Philip Morris has a Polish branch located in Kraków as well.
The bad news is, anecdotal evidence suggests that securing a position in these companies is more often than not based on the same system at work in most hiring decisions in Poland – connections. Though that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t send in a CV when you spot a job you’re clearly qualified for, an easier way might be to be hired in the national branch of the company in your home country and then request a transfer.
In recent years, Kraków has also become a business process outsourcing (BPO) and shared service centre (SSC) hot spot. These jobs usually pay less but are more abundant, and include positions in human resources, finance and accounting, and call centres for companies based in other countries. Examples of these types of firms include Capgemini, AFS, Ahold, Communication Factory, and others.
Going it alone
If the thought of spending eight or more hours in an office each day defeats the purpose of living in a beautiful city like Kraków for you, you’re not alone. Another way to find work in Kraków is to simply create it, by starting a business. There are two ways to do this, and your personality, skill set and interests will determine what kind of business you start. I won’t go into the specifics of actually registering a company in Poland as that’s been covered by our financial guru Tej Panesar in a previous issue of Airgate.
If your skills generally require you to sit in front of a computer to make money (i.e. programming, graphic design, writing, translating, photo editing, etc.), freelancing is a good option. There are plenty of expats in Kraków and around Poland supporting themselves this way by running a one-person company (jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza), yours truly included. Start-up costs are low, and generally include the cost of registration of the company, including accounting help if necessary (and if you don’t speak Polish, that’s definitely a necessity), website design, and marketing in order to secure clients. The downside: as with freelancing anywhere in the world, there are alternating times of feast and famine, and you may have to rely on one of the two previously mentioned sources of employment in downtimes. Note that non-EU citizens can establish a sole proprietorship only if they have a permit of settlement or asylum.
The second option is opening a brick and mortar shop or business. The start-up costs here are much higher and generally require investors as well as extensive accounting and legal help, but the rewards can be much higher as well. Here, residency issues can get quite tricky, and it’s not uncommon for non-Poles to have Polish business partners, as their native knowledge is often invaluable to the success of the company. If you’re interested in starting a business in Kraków, a helpful resource is the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency website.
Anything else?
While the above-mentioned livelihoods are certainly the most common, there are some other options. If you’re highly skilled in a technical field that’s in demand (such as electronics, engineering, some programming or AutoCAD), you may be able to work for a Polish company regardless of your Polish language skills. There’s also the possibility of working for film companies as an English-speaking actor or doing voice-overs – a long shot, sure, but it pays well and is probably more fun than most other options.
Most importantly, don’t be discouraged if you can’t land your dream job the second you arrive in Kraków. If you’re determined to make this city your home, all you need is the perseverance to build your network of contacts, improve and diversify your skills and language abilities and eventually you’ll find the right career for you.
“ Ignore the pessimists who say journalism is dead. It’s never been more alive. Journalists are storytellers. Throughout history, people who have wanted to tell stories only had one option: work for someone else. He gets the profit; you get a paycheck. Now, for the first time in history — thanks to the internet — we can take the reins. We’re not forced to climb the corporate ladder. We can build rungs underneath.”
Stop Crying That There Are No Jobs. Create One. | Afford Anything
I love this sentiment. And this is one of my favorite blog discoveries this year. Go read it.
UK Interpreters Boycotting Applied Language Solutions Agency: pisspoor rates, mishandling of personal data, and unqualified interpreters | No Peanuts! for Translators
I’m so behind this. Not only do people willing to work for peanuts (in any profession) show a deep lack of self-respect, they ruin the market for the rest of us. I understand being competitive, but when you’re settling for half the going rate just to get that little bit of extra business, it’s no longer even profitable for you.
In places like Poland, where the “entrepreneurial spirit”, if you will, is not so deep-seated as in other Western countries, my theory is that this willingness to undervalue yourself comes from a fear of failure. Generally, if you’re a freelancer (working contract to contract) or you start your own firm, you’re going to earn 20-30% more than someone working at an agency doing the same work (at least in the translation business). But, you’re going to have to hunt down your own clients, run your own website, and if the going gets tough, make your own “Will translate 4 food” signs. At an agency, you’ll earn less (dramatically less in some cases, as the linked article testifies to), but at least you have that warm fuzzy feeling that you probably won’t starve to death.
And some people like that (yeah, I don’t understand it either).
What we need in this country, though, is a sense that a healthy amount of risk is not only good, but necessary to succeed as an individual and as a society. And that means that instead of doing work for laughable rates, you tell your employer to shove it and become my competition. Because hey, chances are, I’m earning a lot more than you (without even trying, ha!). So come and take it, if you can.
On Journalism
Last month, I transitioned from a “proper” job as the editor of a small newspaper to a freelancer. Now that the novelty of working at home and out of cafes at whatever hours I choose is wearing off, I’ve made some observations.
To be completely honest, what I’m going to miss most about my job, besides the people I worked with, is the press previews, free passes, and additional access that the title of “journalist” afforded me at events like exhibition/museum openings and festivals. Not because, if I were to add it up, I probably got thousands of dollars in free entrances and swag (although that certainly helps), but because of the status that came with how I got those things. That little badge that says “MEDIA” or “Press Photographer” on it is not just a free entry, it’s proof that I’m just a little more clever than the people without one, because, hey, those suckers had to pay to be here while I didn’t!
It’s the privilege of knowing something first, before the unwashed masses get their hands on the information (though thanks to Twitter and WikiLeaks, that privilege is quickly disappearing). It’s tangible proof that I’m better than other people - or, of course, it just seems that way, because everything I’ve said is complete and utter bullshit.
Being a journalist does not make you a better person; it makes you, in the best of cases, a more observant person, and in the worst and more frequent cases, a closed-minded, self-satisfied son of a bitch. Journalism is a world of entitlement, because whatever job title or piece of paper says that you’re a certified journalist entitles you to information. But it’s a closed world, and it rarely produces human beings that come out better than when they started in the business.
Still, I’m glad I had the experience, and I’m glad to be out. I still want to write more than ever, but on my own terms, and not dictated by the hot topics of the day. And I believe there’s still a market for this type of writing, perhaps more than ever before, thanks to the proliferation of god-awful articles and thinking out there. It just becomes that much more difficult to make it without that innate entitlement that comes with the title. That’s ok, though, it’ll make it all the sweeter in the end.
