Job Discussion Forums

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Do you have the required certification/license to teach K-12 in your home country? If you don't, can you get it? (it is invaluable if you want to get into the top International schools)

This would be separate from your TESOL cert. They don't recognize all TESOL certs in the Gulf. No online or quickie certs... they accept the ones that provide supervised classroom teaching with real students.

What kind of classes were you teaching in Asia?

VS

hugebritneyfan · Joined: 11 Feb 2009 Posts: 19

Yes, my Bachelor of Education degree allows me to be a certified teacher in my home country. I taught ESL at private institutes in Asia.

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

hugebritneyfan · Joined: 11 Feb 2009 Posts: 19

My teaching license is curently being issued, I'll have it before the start of the school year. I taught general English including comprehension in addition to reading, speaking, writing and listening.

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

Hugebritneyfan:

What's your interest in working/living (and struggling financially) in the expensive UAE? Why not stay where you are or go elsewhere to gain better TEFL experience and/or pursue a masters degree?

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Of course it depends on what level HBF wants to teach. The MA is certainly needed if the goal is to teach at university level.

If K-12 is the goal, then certification (on the way) and experience is the key. I agree with Nomad that the Gulf is not the place to get that experience as the pay is too low for entry level. It is VERY expensive and is not the place that I would choose if I were under 30.

If you are still considering this 8500 Dh a month offer, it'd better also provide on top of that - free furnished housing, tickets, visa fees, medical, and a gratuity. You didn't make this clear.

If 8500 Dh is your total offer... run!!

VS

hugebritneyfan · Joined: 11 Feb 2009 Posts: 19

Teaching K-12 is definitely the goal and I would never accept an offer without the benefits of housing, tickets, etc. with that salary range. I won't go for the 8,500 but I'm willing to accept the 9,000-10,000 range.

Are bills, groceries, etc. really that expensive that one would struggle under an entry level's salary.

I had heard pay in Dubai and Abu Dhabi was very good and the Middle East is an area I have yet to travel around. I was in Dubai about 2 years for a vacation and really enjoyed it.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

hugebritneyfan · Joined: 11 Feb 2009 Posts: 19

Would you consider a salary of 10,000 Dhs to be low as well for a general English teaching position? Provided that includes accomodation, health, etc.

bin There · Joined: 16 Jun 2012 Posts: 20

10,000 is low when you think that teachers at ZU, HCT, UAEU, etc can start on upwards of 18,000 for general english. It is possible to save at least 5,000 of this though as long as you are very careful with your money and don't follow the higher-end expat lifestyle of friday brunches, starbucks, luxury hotel stays. There are many Indian restaurants where you can eat as much as you want for lunch for under 10 AED, a KFC snack box is 11 AED, a falafel of schwarma sandwich half that price. Elec/Water bills for a single person around 250 AED, Internet 350 AED. Pick up used furniture from those leaving - usually very cheap. If you live downtown, I wouldn't get a car - even though the weather is amazingly hot in the summer, I still waited for taxis and wasn't in the UAE for the hottest 2 months. Try it for a year or two, get experience and then move up the ladder.

Eisenhorn · Joined: 25 Oct 2009 Posts: 146 Location: HCT Land. UAE

HBF-

The cost of groceries and entertaining are almost the same as the US/UK.

You can get buy on less and find some "deals" if you do the local/pakistani/indian diet/lifestyle, but in general you will find the cost of the basics the same as in your home country.

The gulf does pay better than anywhere else... if you have the degree AND experience. The problem is that you don't have the experience.

You can get a job in China paying about 15 to 20K US a year, but the cost of living there is 1/4 to 1/10th (depending on which city you live in) to what it is in the US/UK. And you can get those jobs w/out the experience.

You can get a job in Japan paying about 25-35K US, but the cost of living is MORE than in the US

As for comparing the offers you are getting with HCT/ZU and the rest... that is apples to oranges. Those jobs have the degree AND experience.

If you are a certified teacher and you have the MA, you can get about 12 to 18K AED per month, housing, airfare and medical insurance at the good international schools. The problem is that most of those have ALREADY HIRED for the fall and now are just looking for last minute hires.

Most of the intermediate secondary schools will pay in the range of 6 to 10 (some will give housing/airfare etc, some won't).

You need the EXPERIENCE to get the jobs that pay more.

Go to china, korea, thailand etc...and get the experience the same way MOST of us did. Then after 5 years, come on back and get the big payday you seem to want.

Tom Le Seelleur · Joined: 27 Dec 2007 Posts: 242

Hi
Don't listen to the sceptics about not being able to survive here in the UAE on the projected salary, it is enough if you are careful and I assume you are single. Many of those writing comments work in the tetiary sector which is a world away from K-12 yet this sector can be more enjoyable depending on where you work. Take the job, sharing is fine there are plenty of places (VS is always doom and gloom) where you can find other teachers in the same position and you can survive on food at about 1500 dhs per month. Get a year or two experience and get a Diploma behind you (as you have a Teachers Cert) and then you could get to a decent international school that pay well with better benefits. You don't need an MA to work in the UAE in schools.
Tom

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Eisenhorn · Joined: 25 Oct 2009 Posts: 146 Location: HCT Land. UAE

HBF is after the k-12 international school market. It is a pretty nice market actually. You get to be a content teacher, have about the same working schedule as the teritary and get nearly the same pay (at least in the UAE).

It is a very competitive market, and most of the schools have already hired for the fall. What you find now is the bottom of the barrel, or the last minute hires.

Now is 8500 plus housing, plus airfare and the rest a BAD deal? not really. IF housing is included, and you get yearly airfare it isn't bad. It isn't great.

Can you come to the UAE and survive on that amount? Yes you can. But if you are wanting to come here because it is the UAE/Saudi are giant ATM's.... then it isn't correct. Go to China, Japan, Korea, South east Asia and get the experience there.... lower cost of living, a lot more culture, etc... If you want to have the ME experience, then by all means come here and be at the bottom of the barrel to get that experience.

hugebritneyfan · Joined: 11 Feb 2009 Posts: 19

VS: As a tourist, I go to explore, experience the culture, NOT have an iPhone and party at the hotels on the weekends. That is NOT what I do as a tourist, EVER, and that is not how I would live my life in Dubai.

Eisenhorn: You are absolutely correct. You know what I'm after and the situation I'm in. I am declining the 8,500 offer though and looking to 10,000 instead.