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sicklyman
Joined: 02 Feb 2013
Posts: 930
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 Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 3:54 am Post subject: |
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| Lord T wrote: |
Did the person/people that hired you give you any indication of the sort of problems you would encounter at BAe?
I know there is an induction in the UK before you fly out, did they tell you about the disciplinary procedures that you may be subjected to in the event of students being caught sleeping in your classes? |
you're kidding, right?  |
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Lord T
Joined: 07 Jul 2015
Posts: 285
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| Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 10:34 am Post subject: |
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Not kidding as such Sicklyman, but I think I know the answers.
So the deal is (as others have suggested on this forum) that the teacher is paid good money for crowd-control duties, keeping his mouth shut, and accepting that he may be kicked out at any time through no fault of his own.
No wonder they point you in the direction of the nearest bar! |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 1:32 pm Post subject: |
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| The whole biz of EFLing at BAe is enveloped in toxic Management Speak which bears no reality to the way things really are. |
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wawawawonder
Joined: 16 Apr 2008
Posts: 13
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| Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 11:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Lord T wrote: |
Did the person/people that hired you give you any indication of the sort of problems you would encounter at BAe?
I know there is an induction in the UK before you fly out, did they tell you about the disciplinary procedures that you may be subjected to in the event of students being caught sleeping in your classes?
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The interviewer may well ask how you have coped / would cope with a crowd of uncooperative young men. Nothing will prepare you fully for the reality however.
The induction is for BAE staff in general and, as such, not tailored specifically to teaching staff. One or two of the various bods in charge of the induction may, on hearing of your fate, let out a sadistic chuckle followed by a sarcastic 'good luck!'. You may even be lucky enough to perceive in advance a certain disdain that is common among non-teaching staff for us 'backpackers'. |
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yep
Joined: 24 Jun 2014
Posts: 33
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| Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 10:47 am Post subject: |
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I've been at BAE for some time now. The days are long, but if you have good classroom management skills and figure out how the 'system' works. It all becomes pretty easy.
If you're going to be in Saudi, why wouldn't you take the best paid job there is? |
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In the heat of the moment
Joined: 22 May 2015
Posts: 393
Location: Italy
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 4:50 am Post subject: |
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| yep wrote: |
I've been at BAE for some time now. The days are long, but if you have good classroom management skills and figure out how the 'system' works. It all becomes pretty easy.
If you're going to be in Saudi, why wouldn't you take the best paid job there is? |
The same reason you won't choose to live on lentils and whatever freebies you can get - life is for living, even in Saudi. |
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yep
Joined: 24 Jun 2014
Posts: 33
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 8:19 am Post subject: |
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Good analogy. But work is work... I have to go to a certain place for a certain number of hours each day. What I do there is irellevent....I work for money.  |
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sicklyman
Joined: 02 Feb 2013
Posts: 930
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 9:20 am Post subject: |
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| yep wrote: |
| If you're going to be in Saudi, why wouldn't you take the best paid job there is? |
if you're at BAE, you obviously know the answer to that question.  |
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desertfox
Joined: 14 Jun 2015
Posts: 120
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 12:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Lord T wrote: |
I assume desertfox that you are British and were either a direct hire or hired by a recruiter.
Did the person/people that hired you give you any indication of the sort of problems you would encounter at BAe?
I know there is an induction in the UK before you fly out, did they tell you about the disciplinary procedures that you may be subjected to in the event of students being caught sleeping in your classes?
Do you feel that you have been let down by BAe and/or the recruiting agents? |
To answer you directly Lord T:
1. I am British and I was hired by a recruiter
2. The recruiter gave me no indication of what was to come. There was an induction by BAE at Preston, but it was rather general and not specific to teachers. The induction consisted of about 40 people, most of whom were technical guys, rather than language teachers. The nitty grtty of TSI was not alluded to, or the punitive aspects of the position.
3. The recruiter let us down, but for reasons other than that I mentioned. There was a marked lack of transparency about the length of time the recruiting process would take. Issues like that.
4. The problem with TSI was that there was no induction process once there. There was nobody in the management willing to take responsibility for any issues that arose - no only teaching issues. But important issues connected with visa renewals and visa runs, as well as the general well being of those who had just arrived.
5. I got the impression that as an organisation, BAE is hugely dysfunctional in almost all respects. They appear incapable of organizing (air) base passes for their employees. Teachers arrive on the compound and commonly wait up to a month or longer to get their credentials so they can start work. It is very expensive and inefficient for BAE to operate in this fashion. And a pain for those caught up in it. |
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1st Sgt Welsh
Joined: 13 Dec 2010
Posts: 946
Location: Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 2:26 pm Post subject: |
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| In the heat of the moment wrote: |
| yep wrote: |
If you're going to be in Saudi, why wouldn't you take the best paid job there is? |
The same reason you won't choose to live on lentils and whatever freebies you can get - life is for living, even in Saudi. |
I hope it keeps working out for you yep and I actually think both of you have a point. If your priority is to squirrel away a certain amount of dollars, as fast as you can, and you have the discipline to be able to focus on that goal, for as long as it takes, then fair play to you! However, as ITHOTM said, given a choice, I think that's not the sort of life that most of us would want to lead indefinitely.... |
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In the heat of the moment
Joined: 22 May 2015
Posts: 393
Location: Italy
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| Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 8:13 am Post subject: |
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| yep wrote: |
| Good analogy. But work is work... I have to go to a certain place for a certain number of hours each day. What I do there is irellevent....I work for money. |
Each to their own, of course, what ever ticks the boxes for you is all good. I see it as I could earn more, spend less, be miserable and last a couple of years. I don't have anything to rush towards so am taking a little longer, living a little better, and will save more overall than if I just 'coped' for a couple of years.
Again, if what you're doing suits you then more power to ya. |
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travelbug66
Joined: 27 May 2015
Posts: 26
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| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Working for BAE in Dhahran, has been the worst decision I ever took in my entire life. It has totally ruined my life. I resigned with a complete nervous breakdown, after 1.5 years of madness. It caused my divorce from my wife, and has led to years of mental problems. I became a complete alcoholic, and was subjected to intense paranoia by the company after I left, as I threatened to be a whistleblower for all the drink and drugs that were freely available on the compound. In my last few months, after my marriage had been ruined, and my wife had left me, I was introduced to a drug dealer, who proceeded to happily sell me £1000 of hashish a month, enough to smoke 15 joints a day, this led to a complete psychosis. I am a completely broken man, and am suffering from severe depression, 4 years later. On the upside, the compound facilities were good, and I had no problems teaching the cadets. But never in my whole life, have I been subjected to such sexual and psychological harassment by some of the men at work, and some people on the compound. |
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Lord T
Joined: 07 Jul 2015
Posts: 285
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| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 8:07 pm Post subject: |
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A cautionary tale if ever there was one - I am told that even their recruiters are getting sick of the way BAe treat ESL teachers.
travelbug66, you are a brave man to tell us your story, and I'm sure I am not alone in wishing you all the best in your recovery period and beyond.
Lord T |
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hash
Joined: 17 Dec 2014
Posts: 456
Location: Wadi Jinn
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| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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| travelbug66 wrote: |
| Working for XXX in XXX, has been the worst decision I ever took in my entire life. It has totally ruined my life. |
Nearly the same tales of woe, wine, wailing and gnashing of teeth can be heard coming from the camps of Vinnell, Raytheon, Booz Allen and the myriad other similarly spawned military contracts in KSA going back to the early 70s. BAE is by no means unique in this regard.
I've said it before and I guess I'll be saying it over and over again: ESL teachers, especially in the military contracts, are unwanted personnel. ESL programs have been shoved down the throats of these and similar companies for a variety of reasons, none of them having to do with "training", let alone "education".
It's really hard to accept that your employer is paying you a lot but doesn't really want you around and may very well totally despise you just for being there and alive.
I always advise friends heading to one of the boot-camps to remember that they are not really going there to "teach". Git that outta your mind right away. That's the last thing they want you to do. You are there to keep 'em off the streets, period. If you can accept that your MA was obtained so that you could basically babysit in what is akin to a reformatory school, then you'll have no problem. If you're looking for intellectual stimulation, go to China. |
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RustyShackleford
Joined: 13 May 2013
Posts: 449
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2016 4:33 am Post subject: |
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| hash wrote: |
| I always advise friends heading to one of the boot-camps to remember that they are not really going there to "teach". Git that outta your mind right away. That's the last thing they want you to do. You are there to keep 'em off the streets, period. If you can accept that your MA was obtained so that you could basically babysit in what is akin to a reformatory school, then you'll have no problem. If you're looking for intellectual stimulation, go to China. |
Thanks for that reality check, Hash.
But yep, you're not there to teach. Wake up, stand up, shut up, write you up are pretty much the orders of the day and even then, it's all about just maintaining the social order.
ESL teachers, the front lines of defence in the war on terror. |
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