RW Working in the USA

[purpletib]

Sorry, I'm sure this has been covered before, but the search option seems to pull up ANY post thant contains search words, so I guess I need to learn hot to use it a little better.  It's slightly different from another forum I frequent. 

So, on to my question:

When you marry a FSUW and they come to the US, or whatever country they will be moving to, how many seek a career once they are in their new home and how much work does it take for their education at FSU uni to be transferred to a degree that is applicable here? 

I'm just curious to know how many of the women seek to continue the career path they chose in the FSU for much better pay, and how many would prefer to be "housewives."  I can completely understand wanting to be a stay at home mom and support that belief, but after the kids are in school it seems like life could get a little boring being a housewife.  Not to mention, in today's work force a beautiful women from a foreign nation would make for a strong diversification as an employee and several employers would clamour to hire someone like that.  Heck, I've already seen it at college in which they hire professors from different states because of the "diversity" they bring. 

Just looking to get some perspectives on the matter, and imput from both the experienced men here whom have married and also from FSUW.

[BC]

Sounds like a good poll subject.. don't think I've seen one before.

[Lily]

   Not to mention, in today's work force a beautiful women from a foreign nation would make for a strong diversification as an employee and several employers would clamour to hire someone like that.  Heck, I've already seen it at college in which they hire professors from different states because of the "diversity" they bring. 
 

I am a bit surprised to hear that diversity may play a role in hiring decisions...may be some non-profit institutions would think this way?

IMHO, every person is evaluated by the labor market by his / her unique sales proposition. What can she deliver to the market that the other job seekers can not? This USP sometimes varies from country to country.

In Russia, for instance, one can bring very good English to the table, whereas in the US the same skill would seem to bleak when compared to the educated Americans. It's not a skill anymore in the US, just a life necessity.

The diplomas may also be aquired anew in the new country, but again, the USP seems to be more valuable asset to me than the diplomas.

[MaxxumUSA]

I am a bit surprised to hear that diversity may play a role in hiring decisions...may be some non-profit institutions would think this way?

IMHO, every person is evaluated by the labor market by his / her unique sales proposition. What can she deliver to the market that the other job seekers can not? This USP sometimes varies from country to country.

Lily,

Although it is not prevalent in small companies... Any corporation in America that grosses over $10 million in sales is considered a big business which comes with downfalls.

One huge issue in america is EOE.  EOE means Equal Opportunity Employer.  I am not - and will not even google it, but basically it means by law you need to prove to some extent that you hire people based on their skills,  and not their race or gender.  This has caused some companies trouble because they need to hire people not based on their skills but based on their race.

In other words - in some instances the law has forced companies to hire under qualified people to positions that they would not have if they were white men.  (Majority of workers in the USA are white men.)

I forget the exact term used for this but this is definitely a big political topic in USA.  I think the term might be "affirmitive action?"

I am sure the posters on this board will chime in here with their opinions.

- David

[Jumper]

Lily-

My understanding of it is:
Larger companies need to hire a certain percentage of minorities.
to be considered an equal oppurtunity employeer..

a believe a *minority* in this sense ,
 can be defined by both race,
 or by being female..
 as the majority of workers are male.

I may be incorrect, but i believe a company hiring for example a hispanic female, gets to report
this as two minorities,,
in the statistics of EOE regulations?

so if the company was below thier EOE percentage quota.
and two people of similar professional backgrounds and experience apply..
one is white male,
one is minority female (that a RW might fall into that catergory)
 since they are tied in qualifications, the job is obviuosly going to the one that the company can use to meet:
either the governments,
 or
 thier own equal oppurtunty employment hiring guidelines.

if they get two for the price of one.. in this reporting .. thats even better?

and no! they would never hire someone less qualified to meet those guidelines , if they are far out of compliance   

 

This is a common perception here, by many people,
 of how this works,,
but that does not mean it is accurate or reflects the true regulations.   
it may , or may not be anywhere near reality in todays biusines world.

but for sure there was *affirmative action*
 guidelines and regulations for companies of certain size in the past
(size being determined by amount of employees )

and the governments own jobs,, and own hiring guidelines
for those jobs,
 were held to a certain standard:
Basicallty the prenmise was to employ a ratio, in race and sex,
that somewhat matched the general,or local , population.
or at least was not incredibkly lopsided from it?
 
as example:
if a  community was diverse and population 30 percent minoritries.. 
then the local workforce in a large local companies employement would be expected to be near that same 30% minority.
??

 

to the original poster,,

i think it is very difficult to make any generalization about such things.. as to who will pursue a career and he would not.
?
a very individualistic thing?
and also very situational?
in addition it is probably somewhat fluid and changes after the RW transitions into the culture more comfortably?

many RW i know here work, but may or may not have followed the same career path they once held.
additionally many of those same women either took time off to have a child then later return to their career, or have plans for that..

having children is "in general" held more as an "of course" to be a complete family.. than it is in the west anymore.
(but i hate making generalizations)
so I feel most RW would have some plan to have children ,
 wether a future carrer was part of that or not.


My wife is an example , of this thinking and the above scenerio..
but was a stay at home mother initially when relocating here, as even with god english she simply wasnt comfortable in the workplace or culture yet, and assimilatinmg was a job in itself.
i will say when she started working,, which was quicker than i really wanted or expected, it did hasten her transition into the culture..language and social situation.
and really was a good thing , regardless of if she had been payed or not!

We also do know a lot of RW that are stay at home mothers and housewives..  many would certainly work if they needed to,
 or the situation seemed prudent to..
or many have in the past, and do not now since they have
recent additions to thier families
life often change up ones wants, needs ,and expectations though..?

if a generalization can be made..
 it would be that RW  that have the *hootspa*
 to pack up and relocate half way around the world, away from thier famalies and all they have known..
 generally are pretty adapt at handling any of lifes challenges ,
 are intelligent,  adaptive  and will fit into what the situation may bring!!!!!!!
or,
 will work hard to make it what they want ..

as always YMMV   
   

[Lily]

Yes guys, I understand your points, thanks for your explanations. 

Somehow I heard about the EOE and affirmative action promoting access to minorities. I understand that being a minoroty may in fact turn to be a strenth in the U.S. from the legal perspective, but my IMHO it is the market USP that still plays a decisive role.

[Lily]

Can the mere Russian nationality be considered a minority factor in the U.S., irrespective of gender?

[Jumper]

Lily-

honestly there are so many factors involved..
but yes a RW here , educated,, and with decent language skills,,
has an advantge in many workplaces.

and of course it  would not always be about affirmintive action or EOE--

It could be as simple as being a better  candidate for a high end saleperson at the local Jaguar or BMW dealership,,
as often her pose and exotic accent,  fit the mold of thier product line , or a perception the company is trying to convey.

maybe silly,  but true.

[Lily]

AJ,

From my experience of positioning myself in the U.S. market - yes I had this opportunity - I can tell that the decent language skills are not enough for some professions.

Any English language skill that are below the native U.S. or English speaker level is not enough..  My English is unsufficient, for instance. An accent makes it even worse..

[DKMM]

AJ,

I like that idea.  My girl has been looking at help wanted ads on craigslist to get an idea of what she could do here and I never thought about using the advantages like you mention.  Jags would be perfect with her Russian/British accent...

Since nobody answered the original question:

She wants to work as soon as possible, hopefully within a month of arrival.  Work for a couple years then quit and have kids until they are old enough for school... then we'll see.  That's normal for everybody I know my age though.

[Jumper]

Can the mere Russian nationality be considered a minority factor in the U.S., irrespective of gender?

I believe this to be true, but honestly do not know.



the reality is..or at least my beliefs..lol
is that anyone here, that is motivated, and hardworking, somewhat intelligent,
can find a decent career.

higher education helps, but  not mandatory,
 and most Russians have higher education.


i'll put it another way..
you dont see many, if any,
 eastern europeans unemployed in this country..
most do quite well, regardless of thier professional or prior career backgrounds ,  education ,, or even language skill.

and most come here with a decent set of credentials anyway,, that puts them in a very good position.

but the biggest thing most eastern european immigrants bring tio the employmebnt table?  in my mind?

good work ethic, abilty and motivation.

(generalization of course)

That alone would have me carefully review any eastern european applicatents at my place of work.
and would likely highlight thier file ahead of others..

 I know a lot of polish guys in my area that have been here a long time, have  good incomes, nice families,, and do not speak english well or have any real education.

of course the area i work in is pretty diverse,
my companies location there,  a white american male, is a minority..

  
Lily, yes in certain fields, language is crucial..
 Thats why many would haver to shift careers..

 it is never an asset to be down on local language skill,
I hope i did not imply that it was..

but there are often oppurtunities here that are decent paying  jobs that can get a new immigrant well thru life ,, otr certainly until the language skills are up to a higher standard?

my wifes accent alone has gotten her many job offers..
but they may be in a field or carrer she isnt interested in,, for example being a salesperson for BMW.

but her nationality and accent, did help her in employment.
even though her english skills hurt her. 

no a fair tradeoff, i admit,,

but you can maske a positive out of most any situation,, you may have to approach it differently though.or look at it from anothers perspective?

[Lily]

I believe this to be true, but honestly do not know.


 

Same with German nationality, for instance, I hope?

If only good work ethic and motivation were the assets..

[Jumper]

eastern european in general.. yes german as well


I woud not hesitate to hire most any immigrant Lily..
nor would nost employers,
as in general, they are more motivated
 to
well.....
actually  WORK.
and be to work on time,, ,
etc etc.

while i do ride and design motorcycles   for a living, my whole time isnt spent testing them,,
and i do manage my department, and do the hirng & firing etc.

I have been thru a lot of employess over the years..
and yes anyone  new to this country  polish, german,,  eastern european, etc etc etc  applicant will generally get an interview
at least,,
just on thier recent immigrant status alone.
to me , and many employerers ,, it is not negative in anyway, but a postive

*shrugs*

[purpletib]

Equal opportunity and affirmative action aside, as I originally stated it could simply be a matter of diversification in the workplace.  Universities are big on this in particular as to have a various perspective on the courses taught by bringing different viewpoints from different cultures to the table. 

My original question was more along the lines of how does a FSU education translate into the US?  For example, what would be required for someone in the FSU who is a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or teacher to follow the same career here?  A transfer of their transcript and passing, for example, a bar exam or testing to achieve a teaching certificate?  Language barriers aside, as obviously it could easily take a year to adjust to the culture shock and language limitations to pursue a career. 

It just seems to me that obviously one of the attractions to well educated FSUW to WM is the opportunity to have a career that pays more than the average $500 per month that they made at home.  Yes, there are many who look to a WM to support them entirely and be a full time mother and raise children, but it also seems that the opposite would almost be equally true.

[Lily]

For a Russia-qualified lawyer it may be sufficient to get a LL.M. degree in the US. With that, some states allow a foreign lawyer to sit for a bar exam. He or she should also present a proof of some years of successful legal practice in the home country and some other docs. Once passed, he or she should be able to practice law and to be employed as a lawyer.

An English traslation of the Russian university transcript alone will not do. This should be presented to the particular U.S. university or law school in order to consider the holder for a LL.M. study, along with the other credentials.

[jb]

Being a Russian female does not qualify as being a double minority for EOE purposes.  It seems when they were writing those guidelines only Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics were considered to be nonwhite minorities, native Americans were added later.  You'd think a new immigrant would be in the running, however, people of European decent are not eligible to be considered a minority, no matter how fresh off the boat they may be.

To try to answer the original question; it is probably a matter of personal preference, in our case, I'm 13/14 years older than my wife.  We have no small children, nor do we expect any.   My wife was a professional teacher in Russia and loves the education field.

While I'm in general good health, I don't know how much longer I'll be around, none of us know that. Adding significantly more life insurance if you are over a certain age is cost prohibitive for most of us.  Although my wife will have a paid for house, be completely debt free, and have a fairly large chunk in the bank account when I croak, I thought it would be best is she were in a position to be self sustaining in the event something else happened to me.  To that end we've had her Russian diploma evaluated 2 or 3 times by different foreign credential evaluators to get the best read on where she stands, academically.  She has since held adjunct teaching positions for the past several years and now is a full time Mathematics Fellow at the college where she teaches.  This will get her on a tenure track and into a decent retirement plan. 

If you plan to marry a young woman and produce a family this may not suit your immediate future needs, however I don't think it would hurt to get your wife's diploma evaluated and see if there is any more classes she could take or needs to take to improve her chances in the employment market should the need arise.  As far as the question; "how many want to be housewives?",  I don't know a single RW who wants to be idle, if they are not actively taking care of a small child in the home, they'd rather be working at something,,, IMHO.  Russians seem to admire success and tend to strive for it.

Of course, YMMV.

[Gator]

Lilly wrote,

Any English language skill that are below the native U.S. or English speaker level is not enough..  My English is unsufficient, for instance. An accent makes it even worse.

From having met you in person, I can testify that your accent is minimal.  Rednecks and Bostonians are more difficult to understand.

Your command of English seems excellent, probably from having received some of your education in Chicago.  Nevertheless, the legal profession would require superlative skills in writing, much higher than the average American could ever produce.

For men traveling through Moscow, I suggest that you contact Lilly.  She is a delightful person.
 

[Lily]

I really appreciate your compliments and kind words Gator! 

[ElaRossa]

Usually it takes a year to get a conditional green-card in hand. The driving licence for conditional residents can be obtained with conditional green-card in hand only. It is possible to get a working permit meanwhile, starting from a K-1 90 days period.

The rest depends on a company policy. Some places hire with a working permit, some would prefer a green-card holder. The rest depends on professional skills and level of English. There are better employment chances in megapolices and less prejudice/hate towards foreigners as well. There may be places that hire only of FSU . As a rule, one has to star everything anew.

I advise to do higher education reevaluation if any.