radi6404 Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 I am thinking about my future life at the moment and have several options, one of which is going to Bulgaria and living for little money, trying to apply for jobs in Bulgaria and starting to work when someone is interested and employs me. The good think about Bulgaria is that my parents have a flat there and the living costs are still so low that you can easily have a relatively good life with 300 . So I am looking for internet pages that offer jobs as an author so I can write texts and easily earn money. I think I am good at writing and can write interesting texts, I am quick at writing aswell and for me such kind of job is very easy and joyful. I will register at some German author portals that I know and if they accept me earn some money from tehre, but I am not sure if that will be enough for monthly income so I have to register at English language based portals. So my question is, does anyone here know such author portals? I will not even ask if anyone here is intersted in my services since people here do not consider my as a skilled author and on the other hand the people here are skilled authors themselfes. I am also very interested in internet pages that offer online jobs as a translator, for example German to English or English to German and any balcan language to German or English and the other way round. If I manage to find one or two portals for any of the above described activities earning 300 or more will not be a problem. In addition to that I could write boooks about various contents, including a book about goa trance and psy trance, but I do not think many would buy it. I will be delighted to hear your thoughts about it and am free for other sugestions aswell, since it is not sure whether I will get a job, I tried two and a half year in Germany and no comapny wanted to apply me, so I do not have an easy time right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotwang Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 I think I am good at writting The word is "writing", Radi. Let me be brutally honest: if you want a job that involves writing English, you need to get much better at it than you are now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radi6404 Posted June 24, 2013 Author Share Posted June 24, 2013 I do not spellcheck what I write, because I have no English office right now and I do not think it is very important to be perfectly correct inside this forum where it is not essential the text to be 100 % correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotwang Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 The problem is not just your spelling, though. Your writing is full of run-on sentences, missing punctuation, incorrect prepositions, and unidiomatic phrasings that make you sound like a non-native speaker. Let's look at some of the things that are wrong with the first two paragraphs of your OP, for example: I am thinking about my future life at the moment and have several options, one of which is going to Bulgaria and living for Nope, the correct preposition is "on". little money, trying to apply for jobs in Bulgaria The repetition of "Bulgaria" sounds weird, most English speakers would just have something like "there" instead of "in Bulgaria". and starting to work "starting to work" sounds unnatural, a native English speaker would have written "starting work". when someone is interested and employs me This also sounds unnatural, and I can't quite put my finger on why. I think it's that it sounds redundant - it should either just read "is interested." or "employs me.", or alternatively could read "is interested enough to employ me".. The good think You mean "thing" here. But even if you had a spell checker it wouldn't have helped, because "think" is a correctly-spelled word, albeit the wrong one. about Bulgaria is that my parents have a flat there, and the living costs are still so low that you can easily have a relatively good life with 300 300 what? OK, that's probably the forum's fault and not yours. But it's still the kind of thing you should notice and fix.. So I am looking for internet pages You mean "web pages". that offer jobs as an author so Starting two clauses in a row with "so" sounds weird. I can write texts So does "write texts" - as opposed to writing pictures? and easily earn money. I think I am good at writting and can write interesting texts This sounds doubly weird when you write it twice in quick succession., I am Most native English speakers would have more contractions (e.g. "I'm" instead of "I am") in their writing than you do. I don't know of any rules for when one should and shouldn't use them, all I can tell you is that your underuse of them sounds odd. quick at writting aswell "as well" is two words. and for me such kind of job is "would be" very easy and joyful. I would be surprised to hear a native speaker describe a job as "joyful". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radi6404 Posted June 24, 2013 Author Share Posted June 24, 2013 Ok, yes, you are right. There is a long way to go, I have to learn the language better in order to be able to write English as a native speaker. I need mroe practise in order to do that, but I think I can learn it and get better in writing. I need to focus more on English articles and learn the grammar properly, but I think I can do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsu Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 A friend of mine used to do online translations from German to English (or vice versa, I can't remember), I could ask her for whom she did that. I'm just pretty sure she had to show a certain degree before she got accepted. I'm again not really sure but I think you must have the Cambridge English proficiency diploma to get accepts (or something on an equal level). Have you thought about doing translations from Bulgarian to German? I mean there your chances would imho be much bigger since you're an native Bulgarian speaker but also went to school in Germany. And have you tried Google for any of those Portals? I'm sure you can check online what diploma you need to work for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsu Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Btw. did you ever visited a career counseling (Berufsberatung)? I know you tried to get an apprenticeship or job in the IT-field and unfortunately it didn't work out. Maybe they can analyze your talents and then give you some hints about other fields where you would have better chances. I know it sucks that employers rate you mainly based on your grades from School but in the end you have to work with what you have and maybe some fresh Inputs would help you with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ion1zed Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Good advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radi6404 Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 I have been to a carrer counceling so many times. They recommend me teh same jobs again and again. The problem si that they at the carrer counceling can only tell me what I can apply for, anything else is up to me. They can not help me getting a job or apprenticeship unfortunately. And lately it is so bad companies where I apply to do not even answer anymore, so I have to think about alternatives. Maybe working in the internet for a few hundret euros and living in Bulgaria is an alternative if it works out. If it works well I could even save some money for pension. I think I will try for a few more job addvertisments here and if it does not work let's go to bulgaria and try my luck on the internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsu Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 My I ask what kind of jobs they recommended? But the situation on the job market is bad at the moment. And I take it your problems with your eyeseight does not make it any easier for you. Considering I know lots of people who sent out 100 applications before they got a job... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radi6404 Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 They recommend jobs for office, secretary alike jobs and some jobs to organize the traffic at a company, care about what is in stock and what comes in and gets out. Well I have not send 100 but probably near to 300 applications and have not recieved a job. i am sure in Swizerland or in Austria I would have better success, since people would care about my good English language certificates and also about what I write in the application. My good computer knowledge, my good communication skills, I am sure there is more care about it aswell, for example in Austria an apprenticeship must be provide for any young person and what they provide here to me is an appreticeship in a closed fassility with people with bad eyesight or blind people in a town I don't like at all. I will not go to Stuttgart which I can't stand at all and which is crowded and cold in winter just to have an apprenticeship. But that is how it is here in Germany, so I think it is high time to leave the country and look for jobs in a different country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsu Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 I don't know if you'd have better chances in Switzerland. Here French is more important than English since French is one of the four national languages. And employers also base their decisions on your grades. Which English diplomas do you have btw? And did the career counseling check some of your applications to maybe make them better (I'm not saying your applicatios are bad but a professional eye on them never hurt imho). I understand you don't want to switch to another city to get an apprenticeship. But considering your age maybe sooner or later you will have to accept something like that go start working. Mainly because I think it might be easier to find a job or an apprenticeship in a bigger city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radi6404 Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 I have imrpoved my applications and they are better now, a better cv, but when i was at the application coaching they did not tell a lot to improve, so I guess they were not that professional themselves. My English certificate is from the ELI (English language institute of the American university in Bulgaria, Blagoevgrad) So it should have some value and good effect on the application. http://www.aubg.bg/templateT1.aspx?page=100354677 http://www.aubg.bg/template5.aspx?page=4705&menu=001004006005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radi6404 Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 I have imrpoved my applications and they are better now, a better cv, but when i was at the application coaching they did not tell a lot to improve, so I guess they were not that professional themselves. My English certificate is from the ELI (English language institute of the American university in Bulgaria, Blagoevgrad) So it should have some value and good effect on the application. http://www.aubg.bg/templateT1.aspx?page=100354677 http://www.aubg.bg/template5.aspx?page=4705&menu=001004006005 So that's about it with my applications. And about the second matter, I will never put my quality on life on rest for three years to go to Stuttgart where I feel bad and don't like only to get an apprenticeship. Our life is not that long so you can give away three years of it and go to a town with weaker sun and less sunlight, which is very crowded and narrow, which is loud and which is not the direction where I want to be at all just for an apprenticeship. Europe os so big and I will not go to Stuttgart by any means only to get an apprenticeship, it can't be the last option to go to a closed fassility only to get an apprenticeship. Tatsu, I know why I do not get an apprenticeship here. Germans just prefer Germans over a foreigner with little eye dissability, they prefer their own men, they are like that. And English is of no importance to them, I know how well Germans speak English anyway, there is barely anyone who speaks English without accent, my father speaks better German and with less accent than most Germans and he is far away from my English knowledge and speaking abilities. Germans speak English with hard German accent and with German grammar, they use German grammar and not English grammar to form the sentences, so English is of no importance to them. And probably they think the certificate is not of value, since it is from Bulgaria, a country they label very low, they know mostly negative things about Bulgaria and they label it one of the lowest countries in any aspect in whole europe. So I think basically what they look at arre my poor schoolgrades. They also look at the many years without proper working activities, but they don't realize that if they do not take me my cv will get even worse and it will be harder with each year passing for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsu Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 That's what I meant when I said maybe sooner or later you will have to take something like the apprenticeship in Stuttgart if you want to get something done. I'm not sayin you have to do it or something like that, it's your decision. But as you wrote yourself: the longer you don't have any work experience the harder it will get to find something. Especially if your grades aren't that great. I do understand you don't want to waste three years of your life in a city you don't like. On the other hand how many years will feel wasted (when you look back) if you are still living with your parents in a few years, still not having your own money? I don't know that much about the German school system but is there maybe a way to take some classes to get another graduation than the one you have (or the same but with better grades)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radi6404 Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 I can get a higher graduation but I tried that once and failed, the stufff in physics, chemistry and math is very hard and I fail on it. I am not very good at those classes, I am better in languages and computer. another problem is my eyesight, when I go to such a school they will work a lot with wall projectors which have tiny and unsharp letters and drawings which I can not see properly, the black board or white is not a problem, I see that well enoguh, but the wall projector is hard to see for me and a lot of information will be lost. It can be organized that I recieve the drawings for the projector as a copy, but I think I will try for a few more apprenticeship offerings and if that does not work try my luck in Bulgaria, there is a life to live. And about Swizerland, I am sure the chances would be higher to get something or even in Austria altough English is not the most important language in Swizerland. You don't know the mentality of Germans and especially German managers and bosses, they are so strict and unsocial, it os beyond belief. they only want to employ the best and have no social concerms at all, I have never seen people that cold, people who do not value my skills in this or that area but only look at my school grades and when they invite me to an interview listen to any word I might say they don't like to have a reason to not take me. If you are not the best Germany is unforgiving. By the way thank for your help. I really appreciate your efforts to help me and the time you use for that, I also appreciated it earlier when you helped me with some of my applications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsu Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 No problem, I really hope you will find a job or an apprenticeship in the near future. Be it in Germany or Bulgaria. I wouldn't rate the Swiss people as cold but also here people with a handicap like yours can't find jobs that easy. People who run a business are into it for the money so the also want the best employees. There are extra jobs for people with handicaps but not as much as were needed so... Maybe there is a school more related to IT or business science you could go to? Or as you mentioned yourself get a higher English diploma. The TOEFL is not bad but if you want to do translations as work you might need a better one. Maybe you could even do that with distance learning (Fernstudium) so you don't have to bother with those overhead projectors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radi6404 Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 with languages it is not a problem at all, but all higher langague learnig here is connected with the Abitur, a degree that requires very good skills in math and physics in order to pass through and get that at all. Maybe in Bulgaria I could study English and a different language in order to be professional at those and maybe even give lessons at schools for it or do professional and qualified translations for it, Reading words is easier, if you do not recognise all letters but for example 8 of 10 at the overhead projector it will still be clear, also language study is connected with talking so it would not be a problem doing it. I don't like the idea a lot of distant learning because I wanto to make new contacts aswell. I could also imagine becoming an accountant. I could do the paper work for big international or smaller international companies, incoluding mutli- lingual work like German English or German Bulgaria and combinations of that, ofcourse. Accountant is really a job that I have some interest in, and the maths it includes is not that hard and can be solved with calculation- software. I do not think it requres equations and algebraic skills like they are for getting the Abitur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procyon Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 As you made this your problem public in a forum, I feel free to express my opinion about that: reading your posts (which are a good reflex of the real us, in our daily lives) there's something that catches the eyes - you think you are ready to work but employers are losers who can't see your potential. Well, this is not the reality: while you're a nice person in this forum, you sound like someone who can't work in a group. Your interactions here in Psynews range from weird to violent. You react knee-jerking to simple comments and some of your opinions make people laugh - that's great in a forum about music - but they would sound completely out of place in a work place. Also your point of view "me right", "they wrong" on employers and advisers is a sign that there's something that needs to be fixed about this. Your skills too, need to be improved. For instance, you brag about that your English is very good. It is indeed for a non-native speaker. But it should be a native speaker that had to say that your English is very good, not yourself. I have an American friend who speaks Portuguese perfectly, better that some native speakers. But I never heard her praising herself, and when praised, she denies adamantly that she is fluent. This is what a well-centered person does. I do hope you get a nice job. But I think this attitude of yours is easily perceived during interviews, and in your CVs too. Don't take this as an offense, but I think that if you reflect a little on your stance, you could change a little and more opportunities would be opened to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radi6404 Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 You are right, but I have to come with something and show what my skills and abilities are. Without that I would not have anything to attarct companies and the chances would be even weaker. I am not such a kind of person who will say I am bad at things I aktually am not. I have to rely on something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procyon Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 You are right, but I have to come with something and show what my skills and abilities are. Without that I would not have anything to attarct companies and the chances would be even weaker. I am not such a kind of person who will say I am bad at things I aktually am not. I have to rely on something. Yes, you have a point here. You can't play dead and hope people discover you're alive. That is not it. My point was that some of your views can be changed for better, become more proactive. For instance, when you said above that advisers were not professionals, have you thought that any of us here could be a potential employer and by reading that we already have a negative view of your attitude? Or that they are good professionals indeed and you are just judging them wrong? This happens. Take a more positive attitude, it helps a lot. You will feel more confident and humble, and interviewers can feel that. The same way they feel when a candidate have a wrong pre-judgement about them, the work, the world. Remember that most RH directors and interviewers are psychologists, they're prepared to assess capabilities and the lack of them. Take their advices. And good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsu Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 with languages it is not a problem at all, but all higher langague learnig here is connected with the Abitur, a degree that requires very good skills in math and physics in order to pass through and get that at all. Maybe in Bulgaria I could study English and a different language in order to be professional at those and maybe even give lessons at schools for it or do professional and qualified translations for it, Reading words is easier, if you do not recognise all letters but for example 8 of 10 at the overhead projector it will still be clear, also language study is connected with talking so it would not be a problem doing it. I don't like the idea a lot of distant learning because I wanto to make new contacts aswell. I could also imagine becoming an accountant. I could do the paper work for big international or smaller international companies, incoluding mutli- lingual work like German English or German Bulgaria and combinations of that, ofcourse. Accountant is really a job that I have some interest in, and the maths it includes is not that hard and can be solved with calculation- software. I do not think it requres equations and algebraic skills like they are for getting the Abitur. You don't have to study English to get a good diploma in English. ll you need to to do is attending classes for the Cambridge diplomas. That's what I did. They are internationaly known and all you have to do is attending the exams. There are preparation classes offered in all of the languages School. You can even get a diploma that certifies that your English is good enough to teach others (that's what my friend who worked as a translator did). You dont need to have the Abitur or any other qualifacations. You can even just go and attend the exams if you pay the fee. Which would imho not make much sense since you will need to prepare yourself. Yes, accounting has nothing to do with Algebra and the likes. I work with that and I was never good at Algebra. You could attend a Handelschule (that's how it is called in Switzerland) but it might be possible that you will have to pay for that and that you need certain schoolgrades for that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radi6404 Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 As far as I know the handelschule is connected with the Abitur here in Germany, like everything is, but I will inform better about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsu Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 In Switzerland it certainly isn't but our school System works differently. But I do now that the English Cambridge diplomas for sure aren't. And they work in the same way in all the countries since that Cambridge Institute is hosting all of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radi6404 Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 Oh Tatsu, it sounds so much better in Switzerland, I wish I was there, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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