Job Discussion Forums

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

Constant and continuous negativity in virtually every posting a member makes across all our forums is not welcome here, as is the case with using this board for pursuit of personal agendas of any description.

If this continues, the maker(s) of such postings will not.

[forumchi]

I wouldn't recommend working for IPA through contractors. They are sacking ICEAT staff for no reason. Jordanian guy is in charge of the observation. He has no clue about teaching. He is imposing his own archaic style on everyone else. He doesn't recognise the modern methods of ESL teaching. If you can avoid this place at all costs.

[bigdurian]

The only thing I know about IPA, is that which comes in a glass.

[cnthaiksarok]

[revilo]

I landed in Riyadh and spent my week in the IPA apt.
It brought back bad memories of the apt. that ACK used for new teachers.
That apt. had empty syringes in the parking lot due to the steroid users at the gym next door.

The IPA apt. has the filthiest bathtub I've ever seen, although the bathroom is spacious. IPA is out of the compound business and they are offering a housing allowance, which I lose if I don't jump on it.

They are also subcontracting a lot of teachers. My guess is that the glory days of KSA are long gone.

[voyagerksa]

[revilo]

[ginger123]

Hello everyone!

I heard IPA Dammam is not bad, workload is heavy but good staff especially expats. Money wise is the same, not great but that is everywhere putting in mind salaries have been cut in a lot of institutions .

I don't know about Riyadh but it seems like a bad place to be now!

[sheikhitnow]

Salary of 14,000+? With two MAs I got 13,000 plus free furnished housing at IPA in Jeddah--back in 1994-96.

[veiledsentiments]

No use bragging about the "good old days" LOL. They are dead and gone. Pay and benefits went down the toilet a few years ago and are only getting worse... along with conditions.

VS

[sheikhitnow]

Almost, VS. Qassim is gone now for westerners; they have fired all the westerners except one without end-of-service gratuities. Two guys had been working for them for 12 years and earning well over $100,000 a year with the usual benefits, free housing, company car shared by only one person (if at all). They lost their 12 years' worth of gratuities--which were to have been calculated on the latest salary--and other bonuses. I retired in 2015 with benefits after six years. But some managed to get work at Blue Force near Khobar or somewhere at about 27,000 Riyals/mo. plus shared villa and car. Apparently there's no unusual madness by Saudi employment standards. Blue Force seems to be among the very last at that attractive level. You know, it's not that the Saudis have become poorer to the extent that they have to pay expats hogwon-like salaries. The fall--and now rise again--of oil prices doesn't make the old salaries unaffordable. They just use that to take advantage of the fact that EFLers are a dime a dozen, and newbies are either desperate or starry-eyed.

[KSAbound]

I recall last year that IPA in Riyadh offered very low housing allowance but was moving to a compound this year and would provide housing on the compound instead. Anyone know if that happened? Also, I tried searching for a direct hire ad and haven’t been able to locate one for this year. Anyone know?

[sheikhitnow]

Is there still an IPA Jeddah? I was there in '94 to '96 and we were treated well. The two Saudi managers had U.S. MBAs. We had free street-level housing, not a housing allowance. My experience over 29 years in five countries is that people with an ESL/EFL education are the worst managers in the world. By the way, I find it unconscionable that salaries are the same or less now than they were 23 years ago.