Are my dreams so unrealistic?

amother

Wed, May 15 2024, 4:21 pm

I’m a young married living in Israel supported by parents. Me and my husband are both in school, and hoping to get part time jobs. The market here is so tough, either you need crazy experience or you get paid $8 an hr. I don’t understand how anyone gets started here or pays their bills. I was hoping at this point in my life I would have some flow of money but instead I have a drain of savings.
I always wanted to live in a house with a backyard my kids could run around in. I am now coming to the realization that I might just be poor and in debt living in a small rented apartment my whole life. I’m davening for an opportunity but it just feels like there are none. I feel like everyone is so poor here.

shabbatiscoming

Wed, May 15 2024, 4:27 pm

amother OP wrote:

You say you are in school. What are you studying? Hopefully you will have a bigger earning power once you finish studying than with any part time job you may find or have now.
And of course there are jobs that make more than 30 an hour. You have to look, but they are there.
I promise you that not everyone is living poor in Israel.

shabbatiscoming

Wed, May 15 2024, 4:46 pm

amother OP wrote:

I am studying alternative medicine, I hope to work on my own schedule to be able to be the primary caretaker for my children Iy”H. My husband is becoming an engineer, he is very smart.

I still don’t understand why there are no solid part time jobs here. My friends in America get paid $25 hr. Why are there no remote opportunities?

I wish you a lot of luck. It takes a lot to get a budiness going. And alternative medicine is not something that everyone uses here. Depends on your clientelle.
I wish your husband a lot of luck as well.

What do you mean in terms of solid part time jobs? There are many. Where are you looking? Part time you can make between 3 - 5k shekels.

What jobs are they doing that they are making 25 an hour? But also, you cant compare.

amother

Stoneblue

Wed, May 15 2024, 5:41 pm

amother OP wrote:

Are you planning on staying in Israel? If you have dreams of a house with a backyard then you will likely not be able to find that in central Israel, although in my experience families living in apartments treat their local parks like their own backyards.

Have you looked into the marketability of your chosen career? Many people aren't interested in alternative practitioners, so in order to make a good income in that field you would need to work someplace that has a large population so you could service the smaller percentage who would utilize your services. And if you want to work from home, you would need to live somewhere accessible to a larger population or become so sought after that people would willingly travel to see you. Working from home also requires space and privacy so you would need to build that into your housing requirements.

What kind of part time jobs are you and your husband looking for? If you're only looking in your fields then you'll probably have a hard time finding something because you don't have the education or training for anything yet. You need to be more open to other fields and also not be too concerned about your dignity. For example, many posters here have made good money cleaning apartments when they were first starting out in Israel. Do you have children yet? Maybe taking on some babysitting would be a good income for you.

You should also sit down with your husband and go over your budget. Even if you're getting supported there may be ways for you to economize and save rather than spend everything you get - a cheaper apartment, more walking and less paying for transportation, no takeout and careful spending on groceries, etc.

amother

NeonPurple

Thu, May 16 2024, 2:33 am

First of all - plenty of people are doing well. But there is not as much of a part time job culture here - and that might be what is holding you back.

While there are many jobs paying way more then 30 nis an hour, many times you need to start at entry level and build yourself up. I started at 30, and within a year was making 50, and know am making 85.....

If you want to look for an american remote job while you build up your clientele, it can be a great option. There are opportunities, but usually entry level no experience positions would be more like 15- 18$ an hour. There are even jobs offering starting salaries of 20-25, but those tend to be on US hours or.

Remember you are immigrants - think of how hard it is for immigrants from south america to establish themselves in the US. They need to really work hard to get to the same place someone else born with connections and american education does. The advantage you have is the fact that you are american. Doesn't mean you will always be poor - but chances are that if you are in an american area, you will be surrounded by people in your boat....

You haven't said where you are or what hashkafically you are, but a big house is only affordable to people with family money or an incredibly successful business in central areas. It's like living in Manhattan - no one can afford to buy a big house if they aren't wealthy.

If you go further out, or to the shtachim it can be comparable to what an apartment in Jerusalem/ Beit Shemesh/ Petach Tikvah would be, but you chose a field that really needs you to be in a central location to have enough business.

I would really recommend you sitting down with mesila or paamonim. There is also a great organization that helps with career counseling and job hunting called Mercaz Kivun. They can really help develop a financial game plan that is reasonable and help you manage the ropes

amother

Thu, May 16 2024, 5:57 am

I plan on working remotely mostly with US clients. Most alternative health practitioners work mostly on Zoom.
I don’t believe in choosing a miserable and degrading work just to get by but at least I have the luxury of support.
I am looking for any respectable part time work. I do well in client facing roles, however because I have trouble with Hebrew, it seems there are no opportunities. I am not interested in cleaning or babysitting. I did babysit the first few years I was here but I am a professional with plenty of educational background, I have my own child, and I believe I should be doing something that utilizes my skills more, even if it isn’t in the field I am planning on working in.
My husband is in a college program so he can’t go faster. For now he is just looking for some part time work. The college is modeled that the mornings are free for boys to either learn or work. He learnt the first year but went to work after. His work just pays him so little and he does so much for them. He is also fluent in Hebrew as well.
We are not looking to live in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. My understanding is homes are achievable here, being that most people I know live in them. What I don’t understand is the job market here. Someone said you can get 3K a month as if that was a good thing. What does that even cover? I don’t mean to bring someone down I just am shocked at how people accept this status quo and feel fine working endlessly to be barely above water. That being said, who am I to judge being I am provided a “boat” (support).

Elfrida

Thu, May 16 2024, 6:09 am

It's hard to build up a good income in alternative medicine. In Israel there is a certain demand, but it's not huge, and the market is very full. You will have to work evening hours and Fridays to accommodate your clients and their working hours, at least to begin with. It's seasonal, and not likely to give a reliable income for some time. You can take time off when you like, but you won't be paid for that time, and if you aren't reliably available, your clientele will start going elsewhere.

That's the bad news.

If you want a house with a garden, you're almost certainly looking at moving out of Jerusalem. On the good side, smaller yishuvim, more based in nature, are often more interested in alternative medicine. You'll also get more customer loyalty in a smaller environment.

You may have to adapt your dreams, especially of you are planning on staying in Israel, but you don't need to give up altogether.

amother

Coffee

Thu, May 16 2024, 6:14 am

amother OP wrote:

My understanding is homes are achievable here, being that most people I know live in them. Someone said you can get 3K a month as if that was a good thing. What does that even cover? I don’t mean to bring someone down I just am shocked at how people accept this status quo and feel fine working endlessly to be barely above water. That being said, who am I to judge being I am provided a “boat” (support).

Depending on where you live, and the size of your apartment, 3K can cover the rent. You can't expect a full time income from part time work.

Ask the people you know how they bought houses. A lot of them will have bought years ago, when prices were much lower.

amother

Snowdrop

Thu, May 16 2024, 6:27 am

amother OP wrote:

I'm confused at your response.
YOu want to work distant - so why is Israeli salary bothering you? The same as eventually you'll work distance, find a job now working distance. Then Hebrew is not a problem.

I don't know how to say this nicely but worldwide, students in training take low level jobs until they qualify. Saying that you are a professional with a background etc isn't really relevant unless you can work in that field, in Hebrew, or distance in English while you qualify.

What work is your husband looking for?

I have been here 20 yrs and counting. I started off cleaning houses while I switched my certification over, worked for an Israeli company part time for a while at about 20,000 shekel a month and am not working long distance for an American company at about 35,000 a month. But you have to be prepared to start at the bottom while you qualify!

If you want to make it here long term, you have to accept the situation and just stick your head down and get moving. Being frustrated and angry won't help you.

I also agree with posters that alternative medicine is likely not a lucrative career. I don't know which branch you're following but you have to have excellent provable results or else invest a fortune in advertising. I'd imagine it takes a long time to build up a clientele.

amother

Indigo

Thu, May 16 2024, 8:25 am

amother OP wrote:

The part time jobs your friends in Lakewood have are likely playgroup assistants or back end office jobs not client facing, they’re fun because you socialise with coworkers the actually work is not particularly fun. If you want that kind of job it exists in Israel, several of the big Lakewood offices have people working in Israel.

amother

DarkMagenta

Thu, May 16 2024, 8:40 am

amother OP wrote:

I find this hard for you say. You’re in school so you can’t work yet in your field to earn a nice salary but you’re too overqualified to get paid a non-professional salary. If you’re in school and looking for a part time non-professional role, I think you’re expecting too much.

I started in the USA in an internship at $700 a month. I now earn 32k nis a month plus amazing benefits. But this is with schooling, work experience, and slowly working my way up. It’s not overnight.

My dh is now at 30k nis a month as an engineer but he started working for free. He didn’t make a lot of money at first. It takes time and effort. Until we were qualified, we compromised.

I really don’t mean anything by this, just that maybe it’s expectations that are too high. We all start earning pennies, it’s not unique to Israel or any location. It’s a part time non-professional role so the salaries are simply low.

amother

Thu, May 16 2024, 9:14 am

Elfrida wrote:

You clearly did not read the full situation and I would appreciate for the future if you don’t give advice on subjects you don’t know such as alternative medicine field.