Jobs

[scout86]

The best option is probably paying someone else to talk me up.

I pay someone to do my taxes for exactly the same reason. It's not that I CAN'T do it, I just hate it and am not very good at it as a result. There are people out there who actually enjoy that sort of thing (or some I'm told). I may as well let them have their fun. (Have you considered writing a book in your spare time? You've got plenty to write about!)

 

[SoSadGuilty]

Hi @Casey_03 is this kind of stuff doable for you? Link Removed and is this website any good http://www.journalismjobs.com/index.php Do you use LinkedIn? If not then I suggest you set up a profile on there now and start networking, you'd be surprised what turns up via networking. Also there are groups on LinkedIn and jobs advertised.

I say all this with seeming confidence while my own life is going to hell in a handcart!

 

[Ronin]

Our various intelligence agencies keep saying they need people who can speak some of the more unusual foreign languages.

Intelligence agencies in functioning countries have both residency /and/ stellar academic requirements, so that'd require being stateside & back in school for quite a time.

And I don't want to be a doomsayer, but Russian is darned common in diplomatic circles and military alike, it's not unusual at all.

 

[sedna]

@scout86 I'm not sure if I could do it. I've never really tried; I think I'd be lim...

I live where there are several different levels of military defense language institutes. I know that some require less clearance and experience than others, and Russian isnt his priority anymore. They want Farsi and Pashti mostly. The less in demand languages they arent as picky, some I know are just regular Russians that are artists and werent even teachers, they dont have advanced degrees.

I also have noticed that there are a lot of recent Russian immigrants, many of them dont speak English or are struggling with it and depending on one family member as translater. A friend tells me there's a really big influx of new immigrants around Portland and Vancouver Wa over the last few years.
Teaching English to Russians temporarily is probably something you could do easily and that can be set up in informal ways.

After looking at your post I was wondering might be easier for you to approach the move back differently. Instead of finding ' The Job'
before you get here, you could try to find something that looks like an easy way to earn some money while you handle relocation.

You're going to have to get yourself settled in and decompress some trauma. You'll aslo be getting your baby into a routine and setting up a new place to live, meeting up with old friends and family maybe. Possibly dealing with some lingering legal issues or biological dad problems.

That doesnt seem like something you want to try to juggle with impressing a new boss with a performance that you feel you had to really sell to them in advance.
I think all of the ideas I saw here are good and you should over shoot a little instead of being self depricating. Its a good idea to have someone else do it too, it adds credibility.

I myself am guilty of always overestimating my potential to take on huge projects, then it leads to failure because I dont respect what ptsd can do to totally randomize performance levels.

I dont know if its possible for you to survive financially without the big job right from the start, it just seems like getting settled and possibly just getting your feet wet in a Russian culture or teaching / journalism environment is safer. A lot of jobs arent advertised on the net either, Im sure theres more than you can see right now.

 

[Casey_03]

Thanks @coco9 You make a very good point. I may not be in the best circumstances to be aiming for a great job now anyways ... I hadn't even thought of that, but that seems like a more rational approach. i'll try to find something just to pay the bills at first until things are stabilized .. and then I can move on to building a proper career. @Cashew I totally agree about Russian actually being very common. There are loads of people in the U.S. who know Russian. But it's not so common to have lived and worked in Russia for over a decade, which I think is an edge I have over many others. The military and diplomatic types who know Russian never actually go native; they tend to live in a bubble if they visit Russia at all. I see all these "Russia experts" working at think tanks and as analysts in the U.S., but most of them have never lived in Russia or witnessed political processes in the country firsthand. They have fluency and that's it; they lack experience.

 

[Powder]

I understand there is a huge Russian immigrant explosion in South Seattle, WA area, Kent, Washington. I almost took a job there.

If you can get Emergency Teacher Certification, you could become an English as a Second Language Teacher. There are few who would be bilingual in Russian.

You would have insurance for medical.

You can look at Kent School District to find information on this. Another area in my home state of WA where there are jobs and low enough cost of living but things to do is Puyallup.

My mom-in-law and bro-in-law both live and work there. If interested, PM me and I will see if my Mom-in-law will be an email contact for you for questions from a local.

She's about to go into surgery at the moment, so later on this month, for her availability online to discuss things.

 

[Powder]

I searched Russian jobs Kent, WA and found a list.

This looked interesting:
http://www.indeed.com/cmp/CWU,-Inc/...FvRZvQYRM0O9G2rGa2wZEH3NpnEKhxks0xYATo4VysVJP