Job Discussion Forums

[Blackbear]

Really? I've been to a lot of places and, whatever their faults, the Omanis are some of the most welcoming and hospitable people I've ever met.

I agree.

Conditions are in decline across the Gulf and that's the way it has been for ages. Certainly, this has been exasperated by the oil crisis, but, you would also have a lot of variation based on institutions. For example, at the college I was at, you could have doubled the class sizes and teaching hours [not saying that this is what has happened] and it would have still been manageable.

Yup. I have seen foreigners get doctorates and return to the Gulf because they could not get work "that suited them" in Europe/USA/UK even though they had "connections" or wasta in those places.

The Gulf region is still a good place to work.

[Whatever will be]

Students in Asia (Especially in Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Kambodia,.Burma/Myanmar) are usually much more pleasant to teach than those in the Gulf.

Yes, it's difficult to return to a First World teaching position after some years in the Gulf due to its Third World reputation.
Educational Standards are low, curriculum is often a hotch potch of random Learning Outcomes, Methodology and Pedagogy fossilized in the 1970s, when mass education in Oman started.
Any employer knows that you come from an educational backwater and will require major up-skilling, which will.cost them time, energy and money.

Even getting a PhD will not help as the academic rigor is lacking, the research training and publication record as well as other givens (editor/ reviewer of journals or books, member of a conference committee, conference posters and papers, ...) are missing. This makes one pretty much unemplyable in the tertiary sectors of the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

Higher Education in the Gulf means mostly just teaching basic English, (not even to IELTS or CELTA standards). Because of that, it's hard to move on. Then again, if you look for a slow paced, resaonably well paid job until retirement, the Gulf might suit.

[Blackbear]

[Whatever will be]

Anyone studying for a PhD would be giving lectures as a casual staff member on the side. The idea behind is to get experience and build up a professional network. Universities are keen to groom future staff that way as it introduces new academic to the workplace culture. Meanwhile, getting on various committees and publishing profusely is essential. Proficiency in statistical programs and specific software (NVIVO, EndNote, Latex...) is crucial.
Yes, academia is competitive in the western world and only the savvy, hardworking and persistent will succeed. Once in, there is a career path that can go all the way to a Dean's position.

Just studying to get the degree and then expecting a full-time job as a professor /tenture is not going to happen.

Sure, one can go back to teaching English in the Gulf. It requires little intellectual effort but also flatlines any academic career.
The question is "Why bother with a PhD?" as it will not get a higher salary in most places.

In fact, an accountant with a Bachelor's degree in the private sector gets as much as a PhD in one of the government colleges. On top of it, the private sector employee gets quarterly performance bonuses and after a few years even a promotion.