Jobs For Us In Israel

SJcookie

Tue, Jul 03 2012, 10:57 pm

My husband and I are, G-d willing, making aliyah very soon! We are very excited and looking forward to living in the Holy Land.
As of right now, it looks like we'll first be living in RBS and then move to Tel Tzion or Neve Yakov later on.

I have my BA degree in history and have worked as a teacher. My English and Hebrew are both fluent.
My husband is a mohel, shochet, and sofer stam. He will be learning in Kollel for the first year and afterwards will start officially start working B"H

Two questions:

1. Can I work as a translator? Do I need to take a special class/have a specific degree?

2. Are shochtim/sofer stams generally needed in Israel?

smss

Wed, Jul 04 2012, 2:11 am

Shalhevet would know about translating, maybe PM her?

Hatzlacha with the move!

Tamiri

Wed, Jul 04 2012, 5:43 am

Shochtim are probably more political appointments. As far as sofrai stam: if he can get a name for himself and does beautiful work, I am sure he can find business. People always need tfillin, mezuzot etc.

freidasima

Wed, Jul 04 2012, 6:16 am

Forget about being a shochet in EY. Maybe abroad in South America. not here.
Sofrim can work, depends on where and how much they can drum up business.
If you can teach history maybe you want to be a high school teacher? I don't know whether there are jobs where you are going or what Israeli qualifications one needs but it can be a possibility. Also to translate you really have to live the two languages and have a good grasp of the colloquial in both.

SJcookie

Wed, Jul 04 2012, 10:59 am

Thanks for the responses!

Tamiri wrote:

When you say political appointments, do you mean that he would need to join the Israeli rabbinate?

Do most sofrei stam work from home or work for a specific place? How does one "get a name" in Israel?

Tamiri

Wed, Jul 04 2012, 11:57 am

I mean that someone who knows someone and is correctly connected gets the job. You don't hear about people "stam" being shochtim, like in the U.S. Which leads me to believe you need connections.
How about being a mohel too?

SJcookie

Wed, Jul 04 2012, 2:17 pm

Tamiri wrote:

He is actually also a mohel Very Happy

But we are searching for something that will have a daily parnassah. Mohel is more sporatic than a sofer or shochet.

Wed, Jul 04 2012, 2:45 pm

Not in Yerushalayim. Any idea how many baby boys are born here a day? (I don't. But it's a big number. There are mohels here who do bris miles every day - and often more than 1 or 2!)

SJcookie

Wed, Jul 04 2012, 2:49 pm

Good point, kb.

So anyone have any ideas how we can network? Spread the "word" or name?
Do we print business cards here and then just give them out, or what?

smss

Wed, Jul 04 2012, 2:51 pm

When you come, try advertising in the Newcomer's Guide - it's like a phone book/information book for English speakers in Israel.
But you're right, in the beginning it probably would be more sporadic jobs, as he's still getting his name out there.

roze22

Wed, Jul 04 2012, 4:34 pm

if you are interested in teaching still, I teach history at an american type school. We are in Hod hasharon, but people commute from Jerusalem, and there are similar schools in Jerusalem. PM if you want more information. No Israeli certificate needed

shalhevet

Thu, Jul 05 2012, 3:33 am

For translation:

The most important things to have IMHO are an excellent grasp of/ writing style in your native language and a good understanding of the second language(s).

I say that to be a translator you need to know three different things - how to translate, excellent Word/ Office/ internet searching skills, and how to run a business in Israel.

It is definitely not enough to know two languages. I very much recommend taking a course in translation - you will learn very valuable skills. Though there are some translators who never took a course and just got good with practice. There are some short courses available – there is one in Yerushalayim run by Writepoint which lasts a few months – I wonder if anyone here has done the course. You don’t have to take a course – most people are interested in the quality of your translation, not your qualifications.

I strongly recommend joining the ITA http://www.ita.org.il/index.php?cnt=about_us They also have a conference every year with lots of useful lectures and a yahoo group where you can ask general questions.

You have an advantage in already knowing about history and education, because you can specialize in such translations (most people seem to come to translation as a second career for this reason).

Take courses in the computer skills now if you don’t have them yet.

For running a business in Israel, I highly recommend a MATI course http://www.mati.org.il/eng/Ind.....D=111 (they have in other locations too). The price is very low for new immigrants.

B'hatzlacha – let me know if you need any more information.