The story of the relocation to Poland of the developer Dima Nikolaenko

We continue a special series of materials about the relocation of programmers from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia to other countries. Developers tell how to find a job abroad, move and adapt locally. Our fifth hero is Dima Nikolaenko from Kyiv. In 2014, he moved to Wroclaw, Poland.I am a mathematician by education. For a long time I wanted to find a job on the same path, in science. But in Ukraine they didn’t pay much for this, so at some point I just took the opportunity to train in one IT company where my friend worked. Mathematics is good because it teaches you to think, although it does not give you a specific profession. In a month and a half, I got into programming and started my career as a database developer. A year and a half later, on the fourth attempt, I almost got a senior position as a developer at the outsourcing company Luxoft, and have been working there ever since. At first, I developed in development, then it became clear that when I was coding, I could not make the product and the company better, because some higher-level things were missing. So soon I became a team leader. Then I went to product management, and then to management of an even higher level.

moving

My relocation happened by itself. I thought about it in general, but in the end the company itself offered me to move. In 2014, a revolution took place in Ukraine, so all large outsourcing companies began to transport employees abroad: these were requirements from customers and they could not do it differently. At first they offered a relocation to Romania, but I didn't want to go there. Then to Bulgaria, when they realized that people did not want to go to Romania. Then they offered Poland, and I decided to try. Before that, I had already been in Poland, so I understood what the country looked like, understood that this was Europe, and at the same time I did not know anything about Wroclaw or other nuances. Various portals wrote about the relocation, but at that time it did not help me get an accurate picture, because my forecast diverged from reality. Moved with my wife. Our position in life is all it takes should fit in one bag. We developed this idea into a car: we moved with everything that fit into the car. In 2014, the company's relocation package was very good. Now the company covers the move itself and housing for the first time, and allocates some amount for the initial expenses. Previously, they still gave a solid amount from above. Housing was paid for the first month. The move was also covered and given an additional $600 for luggage. It turned out, we covered about 3 thousand dollars. The move was also covered and given an additional $600 for luggage. It turned out, we covered about 3 thousand dollars. The move was also covered and given an additional $600 for luggage. It turned out, we covered about 3 thousand dollars.

Documentation

The company helped to arrange the documents for the move. To open a work visa, you need documents on proven work experience. Here in place there is still such a formal document as “Analysis of the labor market”: that is, your position must be in short supply on the Polish labor market according to this document. In Poland, you can get two types of work permits: there is a Blue Card, standard throughout Europe, and there is a local card, which is more focused on Poland. Blue Card allows you to work anywhere after a certain period of time: not only in Poland, but also in other countries. Local, respectively, - only in Poland. I received a Blue Card. On the spot, in Poland, the process of paperwork is very long. And although the permit itself and the move can be arranged quickly, then you still have to wait quite a long time for the card itself (you can work without it, but you can not travel and leave the country). In Poland, in general, there is quite a lot of bureaucracy and a lot of people who want to apply for documents, so waiting for the card itself can stretch for two years. I waited 7 months in 2014-2015 and 1.5 years in 2017-2018.

Housing

At first we lived in a rented apartment, but after 1.5 years we took out a loan for our housing. In Ukraine, everyone does not trust loans, including IT people. In Poland, you change your attitude towards this. Now I think something like “why didn’t I do this before?”. In Poland, mortgage loans are issued for an apartment at 3% per annum, and instead of renting a house and paying a substantial amount for it every month, you can pay exactly the same amount for your apartment. You can take a loan for 20 years: even if the apartment is not yours, you pay even less money than for rent ... This is what I would like to understand right away when moving.

Work culture

I moved without changing company, team or project. We moved with half of the team that worked in Kyiv. There were four Poles for the entire Luxoft in Poland. All the rest were from Ukraine and Russia. Then the situation gradually changed: local projects appeared, for which they began to hire local developers. Now everything is different: the teams in the company are mixed. There are 40 people in my team, everyone speaks Polish, except for me and another colleague. Now we are working in the telecom business, and the local market is very suitable for this direction. In Ukraine, it was quite difficult to find people who have this profile and are ready to move to Poland. In the Polish labor market, this is pretty good. There are huge differences between us and the Poles in the culture of work. The first three years I worked here only in Russian teams, and at that moment nothing changed - as they moved, they continued to work. We even spoke Russian and did not start speaking Polish. The Poles work much more procedurally than we do. We have work in the first place, and then, as it turns out, personal life, family, something else. Working in Europe is more of a means to an end. In addition to the main things (and for them this is a family), there is also work on which they spend a certain part of their time. It is very difficult to force Poles to recycle: not because they are bad and do not want to work, they just have such a culture. In addition to the main things (and for them this is a family), there is also work on which they spend a certain part of their time. It is very difficult to force Poles to recycle: not because they are bad and do not want to work, they just have such a culture. In addition to the main things (and for them this is a family), there is also work on which they spend a certain part of their time. It is very difficult to force Poles to recycle: not because they are bad and do not want to work, they just have such a culture.I was impressed by how the working day shifted in Poland compared to Ukraine. In Kyiv, I always started working at 11-12 o'clock in the afternoon, somewhere around 20:00 I was released, sometimes I worked at night. There is no such thing in Poland: if you come to the office at 6 in the morning, then someone will already be there, at 8 half the office is already full, and at 16:00 the office is almost empty and you sit by yourself. The first three years after the move, it was impressive. Then I realized that they work more efficiently, but less time than we do. There are good and bad sides to this relaxed approach to work. Of course, it is right to have personal time, but on the other hand, it often interferes with business. A lot of companies that try to do support go to India or Eastern Europe because you can't do it well in Western Europe. There is a cultural difference between us in our approach to responsibility:

Polish language

For me, one of the reasons for moving to Poland is that the Ukrainian and Polish languages ​​are similar. Two weeks after the move, I already began to understand Polish, but it took much longer to start speaking. I didn’t speak Polish for about three years, because I lived in a huge Ukrainian diaspora with a lot of friends. Two years ago I started working with Polish teams and thanks to this I started learning the language very quickly.

Prices and salaries

Prices for food and pubs here are similar to those in Kyiv. Things, including cars, are slightly cheaper. The whole service and everything related to human manual labor is more expensive. Renting housing is much more expensive (the price for a two-room apartment with a communal apartment is about 700-800 euros per month). But it is worth noting that the apartments are much better. There is a very big misconception that you need to leave Ukraine in order to earn more. In the IT field, this is exactly the opposite, although for some reason many do not know this. In Ukraine, net profit per month is much higher, for other countries the trend is something like this: the farther to the west, the less net profit from wages. This is due to the sharply rising prices. In Poland, prices are relatively low. In Poland, the salaries of IT specialists are on average the same as in Ukraine, but only here they are still charged about 30% tax. As a result, in Poland, the salaries of IT specialists are lower.

taxes

There are different tax rates, which depend on the profit. The tax is divided into two parts: the first part, about 14%, goes to social contributions, the second part is income tax, which depends on the amount. If the income is up to 20 thousand dollars a year, then the person pays 15% income tax, if the income is higher, then the person pays 32%. As a result, on average, IT specialists get about 31-32% tax per year. In Poland, there is a legal loophole for technical professionals that allows them to pay less tax: they can get a discount on creative work and reduce their income tax by up to 21%. As a manager, I pay an average of 32-33% per year. In Poland, there is such a form of employment under a B2B contract - this is a form of cooperation very close to our private business. B2B people pay low tax, about 12% per year. But because of this, they lose a lot of things: both medical insurance, and paid holidays, and sick leave. You can work for B2B if you are a good technical specialist who can easily find a new job. If there are layoffs somewhere, then the first ones are cut off by B2B, because they are not employees of the company. If a person is an employee of the company, then they always warn him about dismissal in advance (even 3 months in advance) and give a certain amount from above. If a person has worked for a long time, then this is 2 salaries on top. That's a big defense, and B2B doesn't have that at all. What are taxes spent on? For example, on the roads. Since I am a traveler, roads are very important to me, on weekends in a couple of hours I can drive either to Berlin, or to Dresden, or to Prague, or to the mountains. I really feel the quality of the roads. You can see from the streets where taxes are invested: everything is landscaped, everything is being repaired, Many parks are open, bike paths are being built all the time. A certain part of the tax goes to the city plan, and you can track on the Internet what exactly. You can even vote on how the tax will be used. There is, of course, a minus: our taxes pay for the program of the pro-government party, which everyone here hates. She is extremely populist in her politics. Basically, actions and reforms are aimed at the masses, and therefore are not very supported by an intelligent society and business. The main negative currents in Europolitics now: populism, anti-globalism, nationalism, the problems of migrants and the formation of attitudes towards them, anti-economic reforms for the sake of winning points in election campaigns. how the tax will be used. There is, of course, a minus: our taxes pay for the program of the pro-government party, which everyone here hates. She is extremely populist in her politics. Basically, actions and reforms are aimed at the masses, and therefore are not very supported by an intelligent society and business. The main negative currents in Europolitics now: populism, anti-globalism, nationalism, the problems of migrants and the formation of attitudes towards them, anti-economic reforms for the sake of winning points in election campaigns. how the tax will be used. There is, of course, a minus: our taxes pay for the program of the pro-government party, which everyone here hates. She is extremely populist in her politics. Basically, actions and reforms are aimed at the masses, and therefore are not very supported by an intelligent society and business. The main negative currents in Europolitics now: populism, anti-globalism, nationalism, the problems of migrants and the formation of attitudes towards them, anti-economic reforms for the sake of winning points in election campaigns.

Medicine

An officially registered employee is provided with medical insurance, those who work under a B2B contract are not. As in all of Europe - if you die, then everything will be done in the best possible way with the best quality. But if a serious case is far away and just a routine examination or an eye test, dentistry, and plaster are required, then they won’t even lift a finger. In such cases, you have to make an appointment 2 months in advance for an inconvenient time on an inconvenient day - and this is even in the best clinics. As for the quality of equipment and preparations, everything here is modern and at a high level. And it is worth noting that antibiotics and serious painkillers cannot be bought without a prescription in a pharmacy.

Wroclaw

Wroclaw combines a big city, but without a heap of skyscrapers - and therefore it is cozy here. There are short distances everywhere (and convenient transport makes them even smaller), there is no metropolitan bustle. The city is beautiful, cozy, there are a lot of interesting things around. The geographical location of Wroclaw is definitely better than any other city in Poland, it is close to the Czech Republic, Germany and mountains. Business is growing by leaps and bounds. There are already many large companies with developed delivery centers in the city. These are Luxoft, Epam, UBS, Credit Suisse, Data Art, Cogniance, Softserve, Nokia, DXC, Capgemini, IBM, EY, BNY Mellon and many others. Many shopping centers, cinemas (even IMAX), IKEA. In terms of scale, this is certainly not the capital, but for Europe, Wroclaw is a very large city.

Communication

I made one friend from Poland, but in general, in terms of worldview, he is closer to Ukraine than to Poland. The Poles are very close to us culturally, you can always make friends with them according to your interests, but they have a slightly different attitude towards friendship, and their values ​​are different from ours: they put the family on a higher level than the Ukrainians. As an example, New Year or another holiday in Ukraine is the time when I can go somewhere with friends and have a great time. But here for the holidays, the Poles can go to visit their grandmother, which, in fact, they do. They have family values ​​at a high level, and this is something that is not very close to me. I think that I do not acquire friendly relations with the Poles precisely because of this.

Leisure

For me, one of the reasons for the move was the opportunity to travel around Europe. And here I have been doing this for 7 years. Of all the countries in Europe, I have not been only in Denmark. The nearest warm sea by car is Croatia, Italy, Albania. Excellent ski resorts in neighboring Jasny (5 hours by car), Austria (10 hours by car). My second hobby is snowboarding and mountain hiking. But there is not enough mountain romance here, because Europe is densely populated and has too good infrastructure. In the Alps, you can get there by car and walk to places that, for example, in Russia, only a few reach. Often you can meet queues for one or another mountain. Everything is wild here, but in Europe there are a lot of regulations: you can’t stand with tents, you can’t kindle fires. What I've been appreciating the last couple of years in Wroclaw is that there are mountains, the Sudetenland, two hours away from the city. We leave on Saturday with friends, ride boards all day in the morning and go back in the evening. If I don't go anywhere else, it's because of the mountains. I knew that there are Tatras (Slovak mountains) nearby, that you can go to the Austrian Alps, but I did not know about the Sudetenland.

Why do people return

When we all moved to Wroclaw, our team was very large. Since I was already in management then, I conducted research and looked at how many people and why are returning back to Ukraine. The statistics were something like this: of all those who moved during that wave, approximately 15-20% returned back in the following years. The main reasons are money (for some reason people thought that they earn more in Europe), in Kyiv the salary is objectively higher. The second reason is when a person moved by himself, without a wife, without a girlfriend, or without very good friends. Some found it very difficult to integrate because of this. Someone found a new environment, someone found it more difficult and they returned. Also, one of the reasons is that the partner (wife or husband) had nothing to do in Poland. Some more people returned for personal reasons, such as the death of someone close to them.

conclusions

I plan my life for no more than 3 years (during such a period, so many things change that it just doesn’t work out to plan further, the forecast is too inaccurate). Here I am for the next 3 years. Having traveled around the world and having acquaintances here and there, I came to the conclusion that any location has its pros and cons, and they depend only on personal preferences, but not on any general "this location is objectively better." Where is it better: in Ukraine or in Poland? Nowhere is better. It was such a revelation: Poland is neither better nor worse, just different. If I return to Kyiv, it will be not because it is better there, but for some other reason. In Poland, it is definitely worse in terms of money, worse in terms of loss of ties with friends and relatives - this is partly lacking here. But there are many other things here: confidence in the future, comfortable life.

• Abroad is no better and no worse. Abroad is different.
• Of the minuses: money, friends / family, integration into society - better in your native country.
• Pros: life, travel, confidence in the future, travel is better in Europe.