Job Discussion Forums

[Sheikh Abdullah]

Hello all,

I have just graduated from a university in California and have officially received a job offer from a language center in Saudi Arabia. I really don't have much teaching experience but the brother who called me was very helpful. He was from New Zealand and he told me he would help me with the whole process of training me.

The place is located in Al-Rass, KSA. This place is 3 hours away from Riyadh. They are offering me 2,000 USD/month--Is this pretty good? I wanted to know what people thought about that salary. Of course, apartment allowance included. This will be located right next to the school so I can just wake up and walk outside.

Someone please give a 23 year old rookie advice.

Thank you so much,

Abdullah

[johnslat]

Dear Sheikh,
I assume you have a BA but not an MA and that you have no overseas teaching experience.
The salary offered is about as low as it goes in the Kingdom, and, as you may already know from reading this forum, teaching at a language center is usually not a pleasant experience at all there.
Do you know how many hours per week you'll be teaching? Do you know how many students you'll have in a class? Are you VERY self-sufficient, since Al-Rass, though it has a population of about 130,000, is pretty much in what we in the US sometimes call the boondocks.
Just how tolerable working at a language school can be will depend a lot of the Manager/Director. If he's a good guy, it can be OK, but if he's not, well, it will be abject misery.

Would this be the school?
"New Generation for Languages/Queensland English School
here are two main holidays. Eid el Fitr and Eid el Adha.
Each are 10 days paid leave. There are also breaks between
courses.
Hours of work: We have morning classes and evening classes. 10am to 12pm and 4pm to 10pm. There are no classes between 12pm and 4pm."

Hmm, split-shifts - not so good.

And here's something I just found:
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 3:16:25 PM
"The Bloody Battle of Al Rass between the Saudis and Al Qaeda

Numerous reports from Saudi Arabia confirmed that a fierce battle was underway in the town of Al-Rass near Buraidah Aunazah. The battle, which began in the morning of April 4, continued for 2 days and that Saudi Arabian (Sulul) security forces were using poison gas in an attempt to flush out the Mujahideen that were waging a fierce battle. At one point in the combat, the Mujahideen fired at a Sulul helicopter that was flying overhead, forcing it to increase altitude.
Medical sources say that so far at least 22 Sulul security agents have been have been admitted to the Al-Rass main hospital, some with serious injuries.

For two days shots were being fired and thick smoke was rising over the Al-Jawazat quarter of Al-Rass. Saleh al- Aoofi, the leader of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula was in that area directing the battle however other reports indicated he may be among the casualties. One Saudi vehicle was burnt and a house was completely demolished.

The latest information indicates that a large security reinforcement detachment has arrived from Anizah and that the entire town is now completely surrounded by Saudi Sulul forces."

http://www.waronjihad.org/saudi080405.html

But I can't vouch for its accuracy at all.

Regards,
John

P.S. Further research would indicate that the events described above actually took place in early April, 2005.

[tillymd]

Sounds like you should choose another city, John's post is not very promising, I will have to watch a feel good movie now.

Since I have never taught in the ME, I cannot give advice. I do recommend consulting a Magic 8 Ball, the answers are very straightforward: yes, no, try again later. All my major life decisions are decided this way, it eliminates the need to think.

Congratulations on your graduation

[Sheikh Abdullah]

The guys name was Yasir. He was one of the teacher trainers there and he has been there for 2 years now. He told me everything was pretty good over there and that it wasn't a big city but anything you want can be found there.

I would be working 10 AM to 12 PM and then going from 4 PM to 10 PM. I figure maybe I can work out in the morning and then later on play basketball or study Arabic/Quran. About the boss, he said he was a really nice man with a lot of patience.

2 Holidays = 20 paid holidays off.
Also, a 15 day vacation each year that I work.

I don't really know what I want to do but I really want to find a job in Medina.

Any more help?

[rio darro]

Medina, huh? Since you're interested in Arabic, I trust you are aware that the word "haram" does not refer to a bevy of Saudi beauties awaiting a man to make them future brides. �yea?

[mouse5]

Get a job as a waiter at the Medina Hilton. You'd make that amount in tips! And get full board if you don't mind living in overcrowded accommodation.

[Maude Edithe]

Dear Rookie;

A brother from New Zealand? They actually allow people like that into the southern Dominions these days?
News to me.

My advice, Abdullah, is to run away from this offer as far and as fast as your little feet can carry you.
Two thousand dollars a month and board does not begin to cover the agony, frustration and, ultimately, the disappointment with your faith and the Faithful that you will, no doubt, encounter in Saudi Arabia.
If you're serious in all this, why not try Indonesia?...Or just get a teaching credential and stay in California?
Trust me ...a life in the Gulf only leads to misery...just look at some of the middle-aged wrecks who contribute to this post on a daily ..excuse me, on an hourly basis....(Hi, Girls! Hi!).
Honestly, cut your teeth in Korea, Japan, or even Central America.

Good luck !

[eclectic]

the only worse offer I ever got regarding location was from Erbil, Kurdistan. Yeah, right, like Im gonna go there. There isnt even a country called Kurdistan. Try Northern Iraq, meaning occasional truck bombs coming through the door during Grammar Module III.

Al-Rass is definitely a recent hotbed for alQaeda recruitment as well as clashes.

$2000 per month in KSA is diddley-dick. Run away fast.

[johnslat]

Dear Sheikh.

Based on my experience, Maude has a point (not about the "middle-aged wrecks - that's inaccurate. I'm a geezer wreck.)

" . . . the disappointment with your faith and the Faithful that you will, no doubt, encounter in Saudi Arabia."

with a slight correction. You may not experience disappointment with your faith - since I believe you're wise enough to distinguish between that and the hypocrisy and extremism of some of the "Faithful"), but you may be disillusioned by the often vast difference between the tenets of Islam and its actual practice in the Kingdom. I knew a lot of converts who came to Saudi with high expectations, but in every case, they were greatly disappointed by the behavior of many citizens of the Kingdom.
Perhaps they were too idealistic, expecting human nature to be somehow different there, but Saudis, just like all the rest of us, don't always act as their faith tells them they should.
This may not happen to you - the disillusionment - but if so, you'll be (based on my experience) quite an exception.
Maude also suggested Indonesia - the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. And, having spent two years there, I'll second her recommendation.
Regards,
John

[veiledsentiments]

Ya Sheikh.

I fear that you may end up very disillusioned about Saudi Arabia. Employers will often mislead you and once you are in the country, they take your passport and you can't leave without their permission. The US embassy will not help you.

Because of the attraction of working in Medina or Mecca, many employers have been known to be even worse than the worst of the bad employers discussed here.

If you wish to improve your Arabic, live in a Muslim country, and become a teacher, I suggest that you consider North Africa or the Levant. At least there, if conditions are bad, you can go home when and if you want.

VS

[rainman1]

There a lots of good jobs you can find at languages schools in Jeddah that are close enough to the haram