Job Discussion Forums

[flyingfish2004]

If anyone knows any web sites related to ESL in Iran, please drop me a line. (jobs, tips, general concerns, personal tales, etc) There doesn't seem to be any postings on the web regarding working in Iran. Do they employ foreign teachers at all?

[scot47]

Before 1979 there was an enormous market in Iran for teachers of English. Then.....nothing. Or is there something ? I know of no one who has been there teaching since the Shah left.

[Tom Cat]

I believe, but am not certain, that Americans are legally forbidden to earn money in Iran. If your passport is not a problem and you have an MA, contact the British Council in Tehran. They handle requests from the local universities for English teachers. I know of no opportunities for people without an MA. The Council does not run classes in Iran.

[james]

Dear Mr. Cat,

I hope that you have luck in finding a teaching position in Iran. I remember seeing a job advert. on Dave's Job board about 8 months ago listed by a Canadian college that was looking for ESL teachers to work at its branch in Tehran. A sine qua non for the position, howver, was having a Canadian Passport. Teachers from south of the border were not invited to apply. Having a U.S. Passport disqualified me from consideration.

I have been to Iran twice in the past year and I will be spending my summer holiday away from the K.S.A. in the City of Esfahan this summer. My wife of 24 years is Iranian. We take our 8 year-old-son to Iran every chance that we can to bolster his bilingualism. By spending a considerable amount of time in Iran we are trying to instill in him a pride in being both Persian and American.

One thing that I can tell you about Iran is that its people are absolutely wonderful. Despite the images that most westerners see on television of wild and crazy fanatics, Iranians are among the warmest, most generous and hospitable people in the world. Over the years, I have grown to respect and admire these wonderful qualities that nearly all Iranians have. Sure, there are unfriendly people there, but they are the exception and not the rule. This does not mean that I agree with their politics, but politics aside they are a friendly and welcoming people toward foreigners. Many young Iranians want despartely to learn English because they see it as a way to enhance their chances to emigrate to Anglophonic countries. I am confident that if you were able to obtain a tourist visa to Iran that you would have no problems finding employment as an ESL teacher in a very short period of time!

I wish you the best of luck!

james

[scot47]

Maybe there is something happening EFL-wise, but it is not manifested on the web ? If anything is happening I would imagine salaries are low. Nothing like in the pre-1979 days when I believe English teachers from Britain and America were quite well-paid.

[james]

The job that was posted on the Job Board about 8 months ago was offering $2000 Canadian per month with free room, board, Internet access at work and transportation to and from work. I beleive that that the position required 12 contact hours per week. While the salary offered was not great by Saudi or UAE standards, it was significantly better than many of those offered in China, Europe and Africa. $2000 Canadian per month would be enough to live very well in Tehran (or anywhere else in Iran except, perhaps, Kish Island) and to save a large portion of it every month.

While Scot47 is quite correct in stating that salaries now are not anywhere close to those paid during the Imperial Era, a teacher lucky enough to land a job in Iran today ought to be able to make an acceptable salary from his/her primary employment along with a handsome extra-income from the nearly limitless demand for private ESL tuition.

[scot47]

But it was for Canadians only ! Actually 2000 Canadian plus accommodation is not bad - for 12 hours contact. People work in Saudi for not much more. Forget the days of megabucks in saudi. They have gone and are not coming back. People work in saudi for $2000 US - and sometimes less.

[james]

Dear Scot47,

While you are correct in stating that some people work for less than $2000 US here in Saudi, I beleive that such people are in the minority. Private institutes and the teachers' colleges are the only employers that I am aware of that offer less than SR7500 per month. I work at a college (not a teachers' college, Alhamdillia) in a sparsely populated region of the kingdom and the lowest paid member of our staff is earning around 9000 while the highest paid is earning well above 11,000. A friend of mine working at another college is earning in the mid-12s.

This year ought to be the year of the job-seeker. With the recent events in Riyadh (coupled with the very negative media portrayal of Saudi Arabia in the West for the past two years) many prospective job applicants will simply be too afraid to take jobs in the kingdom. Those of us who have been here for a while know that daily life in the kingdom is safer than in many places in anglophonic countires. The few teachers that are willing to venture here, will be in an excellent position to demand good salaries at their interviews. Far too often in the recent past, demand for ESL positions has outweighed the supply of decent jobs in the kingdom. This year, however, the number of vacant ESL jobs may very well exceed (and exceed grealy) the number of applicants for those positions. If the free market works well anywhere, it works well in the kingdom. Those of us already on the band wagon are unlikely to benefit from this situation, but newbies should do well, indeed.

[Stephen Jones]

The good jobs are in the government sector and their salary scales are often fixed by law.

The cowboy outfits are likely to have to clean up their act a little though.

What I think we will see are openings for those that normally would not get in so easily, though this is a trend that has been going on for some time as a result of the expansion in Higher Education.

The most likely effect though is that those Indians who are leaving Oman because of Omanization land up in Saudi.

[scot47]

In Saudi they won't put salaries up. They are more likely to reduce requirements. As it is it is difficult to get a decent job without an MA in Applied Lingusitics or TESOL. That may chnage. My question is where do all those people with MA's go ? Globally there are not that many jobs in EFL for native speakers of English.

[Tom Cat]

[quote="james"]
I remember seeing a job advert. on Dave's Job board about 8 months ago listed by a Canadian college that was looking for ESL teachers to work at its branch in Tehran. A sine qua non for the position, howver, was having a Canadian Passport. Teachers from south of the border were not invited to apply. Having a U.S. Passport disqualified me from consideration.
[/quote]

James,

The info on Iran is quite interesting, but I'm still a little unclear on the situation for Americans. Was the Canadian job limited because they COULDN'T or DIDN'T WANT TO hire an American? As I said above, I thought that Americans are still affected by economic sanctions.

Cheers,
Tom

[senor boogie woogie]

...............by order of the US Federal Government. This is why Americans cannot go to Iran. Americans are not allowed to go to Iran, North Korea, Libya, Cuba (which is stupid), and Iraq (unless you are in the military, some stupid peacenik woman got prosecuted for being a human shield there). Americans were not allowed to go to Vietnam until about 1995.

I worked with an Iranian woman at one time. I forget her name, but once she told me that sally Field movie "Not without my daughter" is pure BS, that Iranian men love, take care of and adore their wives.

In China, I sometimes taught an adult class when the regular instructor was gone. We had a man named Mustafa in there. Very nice, easygoing man. Always dressed like he was going to the club. Was doubledly screwed in China because he couldn't speak English or Chinese. The Chinese women took him under their wing.

But what I will remember about Mustafa was that the man washed himself in cologne. You could smell him a 100 feet away. Damn he stank!

SENOR