To earn money in Greece: it’s not worth the candle?!

To earn money in Greece: it’s not worth the candle?!

Guest workers in Europe are a hackneyed topic. Wherever the Slavs go! Does it make sense to look for a better life and earnings in Greece? What jobs do foreigners most often fill there and how much do they get paid? The portal "ZagraNitsa" found out something

Only the lazy have not heard about the Greek austerity policy, unpopular reforms and the unemployment rate, which confidently remains at around 25%. Therefore, let's be honest: going to Greece to work is not the best idea. At the same time, it is impossible to say that immigrants are taking bread from locals. Newcomers often take the lowest paid, “dirty” jobs. On the other hand, the Greeks want foreigners to spend rather than earn money in their beloved country.

Work: virtual and real

At first glance, a person with a higher education (especially not in the humanities) and knowledge of languages ​​- English, Greek, German - can get a good job in Greece:

• in the tourism business. It’s scary to think what would happen to the country if it weren’t for tourists... Almost 20 million foreigners vacation here every year!
• at agricultural enterprises. We are talking, first of all, about the production (growing, harvesting, transportation) of labor-intensive crops intended for export. These are olives, tobacco, grapes, citrus fruits;
• at enterprises of the chemical and petrochemical industries. However, Greek chemistry has a very modest position in the world. Khimprom works exclusively for the domestic market.

But in the mining industry you definitely won’t get anywhere! The industry is poorly developed in the country. In the mountainous regions of Greece, brown coal, bauxite, and nickel ores are mined, but their volumes are negligible.

You may ask: what about the famous Greek shipbuilding? It is now in decline. Directives of the European Union have crippled this branch of mechanical engineering, and it is more profitable for local shipowners to place orders at shipyards in China.

Anna Shumskaya, specialist on immigration and education in Greece, head of EUEASY:

It is almost impossible to get a job without knowing English. Even if a person is helped to find a vacancy, they are hired to do hard work: in the kitchen (washing dishes, cutting vegetables and other auxiliary work), in hotels as maids, to distribute leaflets, as nannies. And of course, there is a chance to get a job with Russian-speaking entrepreneurs: in shops, cafes (but not as a salesperson, but as an auxiliary worker). They will pay 300–600 euros for a full day, depending on the severity of the work. It turns out that the salary is at least 30% lower than that of those who know the language. The Greeks themselves rarely undertake such work. Typically, such vacancies are occupied by Albanians, Bulgarians, and immigrants from the CIS countries

As a result, we come to the conclusion: your best chance of finding a job is in the tourism sector. Administrators, waiters, maids and other service personnel are always needed. But don’t forget: for such vacancies you need a language, and during the season you will have to work seven days a week, 12 hours a day! Salary - from 600 to 800 euros per month. There’s no need to stretch your lips: a third of this amount will be spent on rented housing, and another third on food.

On tangerine and orange plantations, olive groves, you also need to work hard. And this is not an exaggeration! The most sought-after contingent here are physically strong, resilient young people. The work, of course, is seasonal. Earnings - 300–600 euros per month. They pay the same amount at poultry farms. But it’s even worse there: a specific smell, an endless conveyor belt, and not everyone is capable of slaughtering a bird.

Greek job sites

The main difficulty here is language. All portals are in Greek, and Google translator is unlikely to save the situation. Call a Russian-speaking Greek for help!