IBM BRNO

seanpaul1789

Hello guys;

Do we have any guys here, who already working for IBM BRNO?

I am -probably- starting my job on 3rd of May, as IT Specialist 1st Level Support, and any help would be appreciated (I had great insights from radioactiveman already, but since he has never been in BRNO, I need more precise info)

1) I will have around 14 000 CZK (After paying for the room they have reserved for me which costs 6700czk/M for a single room bills included) would that be good enough for me to survive in Brno? (I usually cook at home and do not go out so often)

2) That 6700czk/m for a single room seems too expensive, if anyone living there already, what is the average rent for a room in Brno (preferably around IBM)

Anyone who is willing to help pls either reach me via my private inbox or post here!

I am really confused to make a decision due to the financial aspect of the problem. So please let me know whether or not 20 000 czk/m after taxes is grand to survive in Brno?

Regards;

Eoin

Moved from old thread in work/jobs

Aseth

I recently left IBM in Brno so I can answer your questions:

1) 14k you're getting is quite low. It used to start at about 17k-19k after taxes. But again it depends on your position in the company. IT specialist is just a general title.
2) You can survive but again almost 7k for a room seems really high. If it's a short term thing I suggest you find sth cheaper. check internal IBM forum once you start - ppl are helpful, there are also posts from ppl looking for flatmates and those rooms are way cheaper. Btw avoid renting in Cejl(part of town). You could probably get a room for around 4k - 5k.

Food and eating out is cheap. Beer is good and cheap. There's a real Irish pub where you can meet your fellow expats - The Immigrant on Veveri.

If you have questions - pm me.

PS Not sure if it's still available - there used to be a relocation package. Ask HR about it.

syklops

seanpaul1789 wrote: »

Hello guys;

Do we have any guys here, who already working for IBM BRNO?

I am -probably- starting my job on 3rd of May, as IT Specialist 1st Level Support, and any help would be appreciated (I had great insights from radioactiveman already, but since he has never been in BRNO, I need more precise info)

1) I will have around 14 000 CZK (After paying for the room they have reserved for me which costs 6700czk/M for a single room bills included) would that be good enough for me to survive in Brno? (I usually cook at home and do not go out so often)

2) That 6700czk/m for a single room seems too expensive, if anyone living there already, what is the average rent for a room in Brno (preferably around IBM)

Anyone who is willing to help pls either reach me via my private inbox or post here!

I am really confused to make a decision due to the financial aspect of the problem. So please let me know whether or not 20 000 czk/m after taxes is grand to survive in Brno?

Regards;

Hi,

Im in the middle of moving back from Brno. I originally went to work for IBM but it didnt work out.

20,000czk is not a lot in Brno. Prices have gone up a bit since I moved over there 4 years ago, but IBMs salary has stayed the same. There are plenty of other IT companies offering quite a bit more so you might be lucky and move to another company. 20,000 is exactly 800 euros, so about the same as a welfare recipient gets here. However, you will probably want to come home once or twice a year so factor that in to your calculations.

On the one hand alcohol and cigarettes are much cheaper over there, as is eating out, clothes are more expensive than here, as are electronics and homeware. Yes you can live on 20k in Brno, and sharing a flat will help a lot, but it will be a bit tight.

You will not get a flat including bills for less than about 10,000 a month so 6000 for sharing a flat is pretty decent. Renting is also comparatively expensive. The flat I am renting in Athlone now is less expensive and streets ahead in decoration and mod cons, than my last flat in Brno was.

I won't tell you my experiences of IBM. I was maybe just unlucky with the team I was put on, and the job was not really a good fit for me. The lovely Mrs Syklops will be along here shortly to give her experiences of working in IBM instead.

Things have improved alot in the 4 years I have been there. Alot more expat and english speaking events have arrived. It is now also possible to get a hamburger in places other than McDonalds. Some of them are pretty good too. There is a regular english speaking comedy event, and the husband of a friend of mine has set up a real American diner in the city centre, selling real American food like pulled pork sandwiches and buffalo wings, which I wish had been there when I first went over. However, in some ways, its like Ireland was in the 60's. Shops generally open for a half day on a Saturday and are closed for Sundays, the only exceptions being the large supermarkets and there is a 24-hour Tesco.

Some words of warning: While Czech people will be very kind and helpful if they 'know you', as a whole they are very unfriendly and insular. People on the street can be rude and even ignorant, and in shops, banks and restaurants they will swear to you that they can't speak English even if they have a decent command of the language.

We went over in 2009 when the crash had crashed here and literally no-one was hiring and we didn't know how long it would last. We went over, both got jobs and we lived a life, but, we weren't completely happy there. We could only afford to come home once per year. Obviously as an IT guy I love my gadgets but I couldn't afford to buy half the things I wanted to, partly because they were more expensive over there than here, and partly I was earning about half what I could be earning here.

The food will take some getting used to. I hope you like pork.

Its a very liberal country. There is 24 hour licensing, and crime is very low. Also both transport and medical services are second to none. The jury is out on their dental care.

Things are looking up in Ireland, and IT is busy. Do you really need to go?

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Edit: Mrs Syklops beat me to it.

syklops

Aseth wrote: »

I recently left IBM in Brno so I can answer your questions:

1) 14k you're getting is quite low. It used to start at about 17k-19k after taxes. But again it depends on your position in the company. IT specialist is just a general title.
2) You can survive but again almost 7k for a room seems really high. If it's a short term thing I suggest you find sth cheaper. check internal IBM forum once you start - ppl are helpful, there are also posts from ppl looking for flatmates and those rooms are way cheaper. Btw avoid renting in Cejl(part of town). You could probably get a room for around 4k - 5k.

Food and eating out is cheap. Beer is good and cheap. There's a real Irish pub where you can meet your fellow expats - The Immigrant on Veveri.

If you have questions - pm me.

PS Not sure if it's still available - there used to be a relocation package. Ask HR about it.

I understand it that he is getting 20k in total. ~6k on rent and 14k left over.

Aseth

I need to add that as far as IBM is concerned you'd either like it or hate it.
As Syklops already mentioned a lot depends on the team. It would be great if you could have a more international one like the team I was in. Czech nationals were only about half of the team so everyone spoke English and didn't have an issue with it. If you have only Czech ppl in your team then I already feel for you. They will only speak Czech and forget about being included except for meetings and emails. Very few choose to socialize with foreigners. After 3 years there I knew only 2 Czech people socially, having plenty of friends and acquaintances among other expats.
On the positive side there are more businesses noticing the raising amount of foreigners living in Brno and you have a better chance of finding someone speaking English with every year.
People being openly rude is something I could never get used to.
I won't agree on the food - I found it very nice but I'm biased here being Polish
To sum it up - it's an experience, Czech rep can be quite exotic to live. I liked working for IBM but I wouldn't like to live in that country ever again. Think twice before you move as you might find something better here.

syklops

Yea, after 4 years and despite having made strong relationships with Americans, Brits, Poles, Macedonians, Bulgarians, Slovaks, Italians, Ukrainians and Russians and a myriad of other nationalities, the number of Czech people I would call a friend is in single digits.

seanpaul1789

Guys, I really appreciate your quick answers!

@Aseth, I will earn 20k per month, what I meant was I will have 14k left after paying for the accommodation. (so skylops got it right)

Meaning, I will have some difficulties -finance wise- but since it is gonna be for only 3 months I think I can stand it.

I am moving to Australia on August and the reason why I take this offer is to have "IBM" written on my CV so that I could find a job in Australia with the reference. (although 3 months period might be too short)

It also seemed to me that 6700K for a single room is kinda expensive, and I will definitely keep your advices in mind to find a cheaper accommodation. I dont wanna give away 1/3 of my salary for accommodation.

So the last question would be whether or not that position would make me gain some experience? I am a fresh graduate and itching to learn, so what are the main tasks of IT specialist 1st level support (I will be dealing with servers precisely) ?

Will I have my training before-hand?

People in certain forums are complaining about the bad working environments(bad quality equipment) and heavy work loads etc is that right?

And most importantly, I am hitting gym quite often, will IBM provide that card which gives discounts?

Cheers!

Aseth

IT specliast lvl 1 doesn't really explain anything. What exactly would you be doing? I have my suspicions you will be wintel sys admin Which is pretty good. You will also have a couple of days of general training - so called welcome days.
Every newcomer gets a mentor. You can get a good one or a bad one - it really is a lottery.
As far as gym is concerned - they won't help you here. We had a special offer from 'blue gym' but it's small, smelly and badly equipped. There are several good gyms around town - bobby centrum, hotel continental has a very nice gym and the staff speaks English. There are 2 or 3 more - depends where in town are you going to live.