WORK AND TRAVEL USA: SUMMER JOB

РАБОТА И ПУТЕШЕСТВИЕ В США: ЛЕТНЯЯ РАБОТА

Казакова Наталья Алексеевна

студент, кафедра маркетинга услуг и бренд-менеджмента, Государственный университет управления,

РФ, г. Москва

Викторова Мария Ивановна

студент, кафедра маркетинга услуг и бренд-менеджмента, Государственный университет управления,

РФ, г. Москва

Костикова Юлия Валерьевна

научный руководитель, старший преподаватель кафедры иностранных языков, Государственный университет управления,

РФ, г. Москва

ABSTRACT

The article is devoted to the study of the impact of the «W&T» program on the life of students. The internship program in the USA «W&T» provides an opportunity for full-time students not only to travel in the summer in order to earn money, but also to improve the level of culture and English through communication with native speakers and familiarization with traditions.

АННОТАЦИЯ

Работа посвящена исследованию влияния программы W&T на жизнь студентов. Программа стажировки в США W&T предоставляет возможность студентам дневной формы обучения не только путешествовать летом с целью заработка, но и повышать уровень культуры и английского языка посредством общения с носителями языка и ознакомления с традициями.

Keywords: work and travel, cultures, English level, expertise, capabilities.

Ключевые слова: работа и путешествия, культура, уровень английского языка, опыт, возможности.

The clash of cultures is inevitably becoming more and more widespread. This is the reason for the appearance of new possibilities for the interaction between different countries. There are a lot of exchange programs for people, who are ready to sink into an alien culture. «Work and Travel» is one of such programs. It has remained relevant till the present time due to the fact that it gives many opportunities to young people, for example: studying in various spheres; to know another culture better and explore its peculiarities. What is more, they can learn about other peoples’ traditions and share their experiences.

«Work and Travel USA» is the most popular student exchange program. Its nowadays purpose is to present full-time study students in higher education establishments with chances to be part of daily lives of the U.S. people. What do they imply, when students talk about this unique opportunity? They mean that via travels and part-time jobs during the program, lasting for up to 4 months in summer holidays, any person can gain priceless knowledge. The program is one-of-a-kind for the fact that every participating student can accomplish several goals at the same time. They are: to get acquainted with the culture of the USA, to get international job experience and to improve the English language thanks to daily communication with the natives. What is striking, is that one can do these things, while travelling across every of 50 states [4]. Taking part in such programs and studying English, it can give undergraduates a plentiful supply of opportunities. If a student uses them, his life changes radically. People, having experience like this, are in higher demand on the global labour market. Besides, it provides quite a high level of a starting salary. When having a good command of the English language knowledge and experience of working abroad, all students can climb the career ladder easier.

It goes without saying, «Work and Travel» is a legal student exchange program that functions under the guidance of the U.S. Congress. Every candidate gets confirmation documents. On its basis they get the J-1 visa (a special kind of a visa for exchange students). Participants’ staying on the territory of the United States is strictly controlled by the government. Despite the fact, they are under control, students, who take part in this program, have equal rights with the U.S. citizens. These rights are declared in official documents, including Social Security. This is the main document required for legal work in the USA. Good thing is: every participant of the program has a sponsor. These are mostly American companies, which provide vacancies. Sponsors work with agencies that represent participant’s interests. They look for jobs, arrange recruitment fairs and take care of all necessary documents. It is crucial to know that the U.S. embassy announces an official list of approved companies every year. Also, «Work and Travel USA» is active only during summer holidays in the Universities. According to the US embassy, students have the right to stay in the territory of the States for four months - starting in May, ending at the beginning of September. Notwithstanding, the official arrival date and the staying period are declared in the Form DS-2019 [3, p. 150].

According to the requirements of the U.S. Department of State, every student must fit the following criteria: an ability to speak proper English and, besides, he or she must be a full-time study student of a higher education establishment.

It is important to mention that while staying in another country, communication skills gradually improve. A person grips the culture of the country he or she is in. They understand the motives of people around, their traditions, habits, and values. Getting a new cultural experience allows to broaden the horizons and find out how people live in their country as well [2, p. 35]. Some of their principles or habits that actually can come in hand in a daily life can be adopted, making life easier and more pleasant. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people have definite stereotypes about other cultures when living in another country their whole life. They prevent them from travelling abroad, communicating with interesting people, adopting their experience, and finding out new exciting information. The destruction of these stereotypes allows them to see a fascinating world of other cultures that have been developing for centuries and have their own unique history, customs and traditions.

It is necessary to say, communication with the dwellers of the English speaking countries is of the utmost value for the undergraduates, who want not only to see another culture and travel, but also to upgrade their level of English and enrich it with expressions used by natives. Interacting with people, who speak English since childhood, any student can get several useful skills. They are: good pronunciation and accent, and knowledge of various collocations and idioms, corresponding to modern language tendencies. Although, the main experience one gets when working in Summer in an English-speaking country is communication with the natives, it is also possible to improve one’s skills in the sphere one works in. Even a job in one sphere but in different countries has its own characteristics. Provided that one knows them, he or she succeeds.

Depending on a vacancy, one chooses, they may develop the abilities in this sphere. It may be useful in the country you are from, if one wants to work in this field further. For example, if the position is related to the sphere of your future profession, it will be easier to find a job at home and build a successful career [5, p. 171]. After the first exchange trip, it becomes easier to work in an English-speaking community, as you get experience of interacting with culture. Besides, a notion of the motives of different people is clear. One also has an opportunity to participate in the program further and develop in the sphere of learning a language in the professional field. Acquired skills will be in great demand at the university. Thanks to taking part in the «W&T program», new possibilities appear, when choosing the place for an internship. English skills are got good enough to work in a foreign company or move to another country. Furthermore, these activities will not lead to a culture shock [1, p. 29].

Many Russian students have tried «Work and Travel» and are ready to share their experience and emotions in social networks. It goes without saying, this is useful for people who want to go abroad in summer for working purposes. Besides, by reading reviews on the program, people can get rid of their doubts and fears. Those, who participated in the program are, mainly, satisfied with their summer trip to the USA. Being interested in social life, some managerial abilities and readiness to work hard are requirements to be met so that one takes part in «W&T». The user with the nickname “Feelings” describes their journey with the following words: “Coming to the U.S. has changed my whole life. However, posh it sounds. I have unforgettable memories now. That was the time of my life. This experience let me see the USA from another side. Borders are gone and stereotypes, no longer, exist thanks to this program. I am thankful for the opportunity to study the language abroad.” Furthermore, there are a lot of websites on the Internet, where one can find reviews and determine all the advantages and disadvantages of this summer job. One should choose the place of work carefully and employer, go through the employment agreement and choose the agency, which will help in dealing with the necessary documents.

We have surveyed the students, who took part in the «W&T program» ro find out its influence on them. The received answers were used to summarize the experience of 33 students, having participated in the «W&T program». They had to describe their work experience, living conditions, rest opportunities in the USA and tell about the advantages and disadvantages of this program. Responders noted good living and working conditions, provided to them for the summer period. Working time lasted up to 9 hours a day. The remaining time one could spend on entertainment and trips around the country. They succeeded in earning from 7 to 15 thousand dollars in 4 months. The student Anya says: “If there is enough confidence in the knowledge of the language and financial opportunities, you should go, because it is an unforgettable experience of living in another country with its pros and cons”. Also it is exciting to get acquainted with another mentality and to destroy some stereotypes. As a result of the survey, the following drawback was found: the participation in this program is quite expensive. In general, one spends about 200 000 roubles to collect all the documents, pay for the program itself and have a money reserve. This is a big amount of money and not everyone managed to find it. Those, who have the experience of participation, however, claim that the costs pay off. It was difficult to get a visa. One of the students, named Lisa, notices: “I know some unfortunate cases. The employer did not make any connections and people stayed without any work and living places (the work is found very fast there). Unscrupulous employers may not pay for overtime jobs or not supply with the hours mentioned in the job offer. Students can only go to small towns. It is a complicated and expensive task to move from there. Medicine is far from being free and one’s insurance does not cover all possible cases. Even if the case falls under the condition of an insurance company, a student still has to pay 200 dollars. That is the reason for being sure about one’s health. Food quality leaves much to be desired. Russian shops are only in big cities.”

Crowning it all:

1. Get ready for an interview at the embassy.
2. Take some spare money. If an employer asks to undergo an unpaid training period, one has to find money for living somewhere. 
3. Do not transport money and documents in a suitcase - it might be lost.
4. Be ready for much work and to live in a small town.
5. Do not stand near air-conditioning and take care of health, as medicine there is expensive. Even if the case is insurable, any person must pay.

«Work and Travel» is a great opportunity for personal development and self-actuating. Every willing student, who meets the requirements, can change their life by starting a summer internship in another country. It opens up a wide variety of opportunities and gives a priceless experience of communicating with English speaking people. Nowadays speaking a foreign language is extremely important. The reason for it is globalization, because of which cultures are merging and a common business space is being created. Personal development, one’s professional skills and abilities are positively affected by a trip to another country. Thus, learning English presents people with a lot of possibilities in the modern world. They will make life more interesting and diversify leisure activities.

References:

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