Work
"Without leaving home, I earn like in Europe"
Conclusion. Read the beginning: You are no longer welcome here<\/a><\/p>
According to the popular global freelance labor exchange Elance, Ukrainians are among the top three most active remote workers in the world, trailing only Americans and Indians. Our have already freelanced $50 million (in the first half of this year, earnings of Ukrainian freelancers grew by 25–50% compared to the same period in 2012).<\/p>
"It's more profitable for me to work in Lviv than abroad," admits Lviv programmer Igor Chaika. "I look for clients online; over three years of work, I've built a reputation and my own client base. Without leaving home, I earn like in Europe – 1.5–2 thousand euros per month (I develop websites for European and American clients). With this money, I can support my family, rent a good apartment, and buy a car on credit. In Germany, for example, after all taxes, I would get the same money, but life is more expensive there."<\/p>
Poltava sound engineer Oleg Romanyuk has also settled well as a freelancer: by creating commercials and recording music for clients in Russia and abroad (mainly emigrant radio stations), he earns about $2,000 per month. "I don't even think about moving abroad," says the sound engineer. "Here I have family, friends, and a good income."<\/p>
Globalization and the development of communication channels provide an opportunity to try oneself on the global labor market not only for IT specialists but also for many other professionals. The main thing is to understand how and where to look for work, as well as to learn English.<\/p>
Unlike Eastern European countries, Ukraine is not an EU member, and therefore our compatriots cannot freely go to work in Western Europe like hundreds of thousands of Poles, Latvians, Bulgarians, and Romanians have done. But if we manage to make a breakthrough into the global labor market, so to speak "without leaving our permanent residence," then the minus of our "non-alignment" will turn into a plus.<\/p>
First, "nation of freelancers" still sounds more proud than "nation of plumbers." Second, the realization of the obvious fact that there is nowhere special to "escape to" may eventually lead to an understanding of an equally obvious truth: you need to change your country, not your place of residence.<\/p>
Aleksandra KHARCHENKO, Antonina TSYMBALYUK,
Dmitry GOMON,
