Job Discussion Forums

[Fred Bilbo]

The war continues but the situation in Kuwait seems to have stablised. In my opinion it is safe to return to Kuwait. Many schools will reopen on Saturday, people are out and about once again. In general life is returning to 'normal'.

[omar805]

I've just read a headline, "Missile lands near Kuwait City mall" on the Yahoo website!

[veiledsentiments]

A cruise missile hit Souq Sharq around 1:30-2:00 am. Mostly it destroyed the theater. A couple of people with minor injuries. First they said that it was a Chinese Silkworm missile from Iraq and later the American military said that it may be ours.

School situation looks to be up in the air again.

[scot47]

There never was a realistic military threat. The danger is different. The danger is a long guerilla war which will spill over into Kuwait and the neighboring countries to the South. The dogs of war have been unleashed and will not be going back to their kennels for a while.

[scot47]

The moral is clear - if you are chicken do not come to the ME. Incidentally what happened to Mr Quackslither and his prognostications of doom for all of us here ? (made safely from his ranch near Des Moines). I trust he is safe tending his livestock in Iowa.

[kevbris]

My wife will accompany me to Kuwait. She is Indonesian and a dental specialist. Will her relocation to Kuwait be a benefit for her or a real hassle??

WQill she cop any @$%^&*%^*^(^ because she is Asian??

[scot47]

i do not know about Kuwait but in Saudi she would not be treated as well as an American or European. That is a fact.

[kevbris]

Thanks mate

fact is fact

its good to know

[shebab]

If you are going to Kuwait to work at Kuwait University, make sure you are actually going...The illustrious English Language Center at KU concludes their all their emails with "look forward to seeing you soon," but never gets around to processing your entry visa! For your sake, I hope it's a "real" company you are working for over there...

[veiledsentiments]

Kevbris

I worked in Kuwait with an English teacher who had an Indonesian wife and everyone always thought that she was his maid or nanny. She spoke little English, so I never knew how much it really bothered her. The teacher said that they just ignored such things, but I always felt sorry for her.

I'm not sure what a dental specialist is, but if she has some sort of certificate of her training, she may very well be able to find work at a dentist's office.

Kuwait is full of hassles, no matter what your nationality - even for Kuwaitis. If she has a strong self-image and is prepared to accept a certain amount of disrespect, she should do fine. If she is timid and insecure, it could be a nightmare for her.

VS

[ohman]

A Kuwait University gig is worth waiting for if you are looking for decent pay and minimal stress from work. Although there is an official policy about working off campus, it's done. Still, the university offers evening non-credit extension courses like TOEFL prep so even within the university, there is usually a way to increase your monthly take.

The reason the university takes so long tp send you a ticket is that they are usually processing a herd of new teachers as those teachers who have their two to three years in, leave en masse each year.
Why?

Kuwait itself is a place where many people find two to three years about all they can take of the fishbowl existence. You work with your colleagues. You go home to your colleagues. There is no escaping co-workers unless you choose to live a cloistered existence. The longtimers worth knowing have already chosen this option and so are hard to get to know. The long timers who are out and about, offering newbies advice and rides to the store can be pretty cutthroat.

[Cleopatra]

Ohman,

I find your reply interesting and pretty much reflects what I knowfrom KSA re. people stikcing to their own small circle of friends. What I wasn't too sure about was what you meant when you said that the 'freindly' expats can be 'cutthroat'.

I'm intrigued...

[shebab]

[ohman]

By cutthroat I mean co-workers whose ad hoc position is reporting back to supervisors any warts they may find while generously offering you rides to ministries, grocery stores, furniture stores, invites to meals,etc.

Take advantage of the offers, but I suggest you keep quiet about your personal life past or present. Gossip in Kuwait, in any small ex-pat community is a bloodlust sport. Be aloof--if someone still offers you rides despite your refusal to give out any more information than name, date and place of birth, your offer is probably a genuine friendly gesture.

Yes, there is stress waiitng three months for your visa. I waited from October till March and went belly-up on bills as a result of not having a paycheck for the first three months that year, then waiting an additonal two months once I got there. I didn't receive a real paycheck until May and that was a pittance as I had all of my advances deducted at once--they'd said they'd collect the money in installments but changed their minds.

Still, once I was locked into the system the following year and for three years after that, the job itself was a piece of cake. It's true the administration is not interested in much; they weren't even interested in a putting up a veneer of efficiency at times. Kuwaiti administrators tend to duck out as early as two to tend to their side businesses.
Kuwait U. is not the place for professional development unless you strike out on your own and put together presentations for conferences. Kuwait is basically semi-retirement.

[veiledsentiments]

Hi all,

KU is actually one of the more interesting places to discuss on a board like this. I am sure that anyone reading about it and not knowing the Middle East would think we were all --- confused? You find people that have been there for years and like it ('love' rarely is mentioned) and then there are the many that absconded as soon as they could apply and get an exit visa. I have worked with so many people who looked back at it with affection because it was their 'first job in the Gulf.'

The difference seems to be what department you were hired by. Many are small and casual - allowing the teacher wide scope to do their job with little management or hassle - or so I have been told. Then there are the nightmare positions like the Faculty of Medicine in the late 90's when 50+% of the staff absconded annually.

Traditionally - in the 70's and 80's - KU was the place that teachers started in the Gulf. They would hire people just out of college with the crisp new MA and little or no experience. At that time salaries there were some of the highest in the Gulf, but I know people that were making back in the 70's the same salary that they are paying now. As long as they keep getting teachers, why should they raise it? In fact, they have made cuts to benefits - family allowances and housing. The year that I was hired, they decided to cut the furniture allowance for single people. I was the only one of the new people to get the married allowance because I just happened to be in there when a Kuwaiti administrator was there and I made the case that whether you are married or single - a refrigerator, cooker, and sofa and chairs cost the same amount!! As to overall pay and benefit package, nowadays I would put them about in the middle of the scale.

But, they are certainly at the top of the scale in the bureaucratic hassle department. I would rather deal with the Mogamma in Cairo than the Kuwaitis in their Ministrys. The only thing that I can say in their favor is that at least they treat their fellow Kuwaitis as abysmally as they treat the expats.

And cut-throat, back-stabbing fellow teachers --- well they are everywhere too. I found living in the Gulf very similar to living in a small town. Everyone knows everyone - everywhere you go, you keep running into each other. There is the Brits vs the Yanks vs the Aussies vs the Kiwis - which can be both fun and aggravating. But the gossip scale is certainly extreme - perhaps because there is just not that much to do.

Personally I found Kuwait boring and mostly unpleasant. It is the one country that I taught in that I would never go back. The only positive thing that I can say about the place is that my students were great. The circumstances under which I would recommend KU is if it is the best pay offer you have or perhaps your only offer, you need a job badly, and you want to get your foot in the door in the Gulf. I believe that normally first contracts are now for only one year, and even if you end up in one of the less pleasant departments, one can easily survive a year.

VS