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danshengou
Joined: 17 Feb 2016
Posts: 434
Location: A bizarre overcrowded hole
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 Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 11:20 am Post subject: What's left of the ME and TEFLdom?? |
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Well, the consensus is clearly that the glory days are over, but maybe it's time to take a headcount of the dead, soon to be dead, and rather be dead programmes out there in ME land.
Well, first there is AUS (but iffy on campus living for singles) would be one of them, but some say this requires god-like credentials...ok, surely not worth it then. Then, maybe SQU (iffy accommodation, iffy dating for SWMs in general), maybe KFUPM (if one can handle Saudi), or U Nizwa (but low pay and micromanaged and middle of nowhere), and...for sure not HCT...and the rest are ditching their foundation programs and axing teachers left and right. Maybe CCQ, but they want a PhD ideally (pfft!) and it's Qatar (not fun) and they play games with a huge salary range, and what else CNA-Q (but Canadians only)...I can't think of ANY off hand actually...maybe PI? or QU (again it's Qatar!), or ATI (tough grind for lower pay these days I hear)? Most military and vocational gigs are going to be nuts. And then there's all the shakey contractors...Looks like the ME is a ghost town for TEFL or damn near. Time to head East to buy time, marry up, or train up (if you are young enough and can afford it). Or just work for peanuts somewhere with a good vibe and better scenery and call it a life you can't afford because someday you will be old without a pension. Seriously folks, what's left of this industry?! |
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Gulezar
Joined: 19 Jun 2007
Posts: 483
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| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 1:58 pm Post subject: Re: What's left of the ME and TEFLdom?? |
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| danshengou wrote: |
| ...maybe PI? ..... Time to head East to buy time, marry up, or train up (if you are young enough and can afford it). Or just work for peanuts somewhere with a good vibe and better scenery and call it a life you can't afford because someday you will be old without a pension. Seriously folks, what's left of this industry?! |
Haven't you heard? PI has merged with KU and Masdar. Definitely, it is time to hone your skills, but then it always was. You have to be able to bring something new to the table. If it is an "industry", it's time to stop being just another cog in a machine and start being an innovator who knows how to grease and maintain the machines in pristine condition. |
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danshengou
Joined: 17 Feb 2016
Posts: 434
Location: A bizarre overcrowded hole
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| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 5:00 pm Post subject: Re: What's left of the ME and TEFLdom?? |
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| Gulezar wrote: |
| danshengou wrote: |
| ...maybe PI? ..... Time to head East to buy time, marry up, or train up (if you are young enough and can afford it). Or just work for peanuts somewhere with a good vibe and better scenery and call it a life you can't afford because someday you will be old without a pension. Seriously folks, what's left of this industry?! |
Haven't you heard? PI has merged with KU and Masdar. Definitely, it is time to hone your skills, but then it always was. You have to be able to bring something new to the table. If it is an "industry", it's time to stop being just another cog in a machine and start being an innovator who knows how to grease and maintain the machines in pristine condition. |
I heard of this change. But to my knowledge there have been no details as to whether this will create jobs for English teachers or not. |
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Gulezar
Joined: 19 Jun 2007
Posts: 483
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| Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2017 6:08 am Post subject: Re: What's left of the ME and TEFLdom?? |
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| danshengou wrote: |
| I heard of this change. But to my knowledge there have been no details as to whether this will create jobs for English teachers or not. |
Word on the street is that some of the older members of staff at KU and PI have not been renewed. This leaves approximately 30 of the original 40 members of the conjoined team to carry on. The students at PI will continue at at PI in segregated classrooms; therefore, PI's program will continue for a few years. All new Fall 2017 students will be enrolled at the KU campus in a coeducational setting and with the expectation of a Band 6 IELTS/79 TOEFL and completion of Prep STEM requirements for entry to the university.
More and more of the students can in fact hit a band 6 in IELTS. Employment opportunities seem to lie in STEM, Research, Basic Information Literacy, Writing Support or other areas of specialization within EFL. |
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plumpy nut
Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652
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| Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 8:15 am Post subject: |
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The oil money is drying up, oil prices have broken through the 50 mark again. Only the most accomplished "I love their culture" PhD westerners with their hijabs and thobes converting and discussing the Koran with the natives, are going to be staying.  There won't be any money to keep anyone else. |
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maqueen
Joined: 28 Feb 2006
Posts: 28
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| Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 10:43 pm Post subject: It is a masochist's dream. |
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| The culture, scenery, activity choices and interesting interactions with such high level people makes me almost think I should be paying for the experience! |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 1:55 am Post subject: |
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| danshengou wrote: |
| Well, first there is AUS (but iffy on campus living for singles) would be one of them, but some say this requires god-like credentials...ok, surely not worth it then. Then, maybe SQU (iffy accommodation, iffy dating for SWMs in general), maybe KFUPM (if one can handle Saudi), or U Nizwa (but low pay and micromanaged and middle of nowhere), and...for sure not HCT...and the rest are ditching their foundation programs and axing teachers left and right. Maybe CCQ, but they want a PhD ideally (pfft!) and it's Qatar (not fun) and they play games with a huge salary range, and what else CNA-Q (but Canadians only)...I can't think of ANY off hand actually...maybe PI? or QU (again it's Qatar!), or ATI (tough grind for lower pay these days I hear)? Most military and vocational gigs are going to be nuts. And then there's all the shakey contractors...Looks like the ME is a ghost town for TEFL or damn near. Time to head East to buy time, marry up, or train up (if you are young enough and can afford it). Or just work for peanuts somewhere with a good vibe and better scenery and call it a life you can't afford because someday you will be old without a pension. |
Well... The Gulf obviously is not for you since your focus seems to be on dating, plush housing, a mega salary (that elusive 20K SAR/mo you've mentioned), and easy, vanilla teaching with lots of spare time for fun. In fact, you've had nothing good to say about the region or employers, including the better ones. Frankly, I doubt there's any part of the world and teaching situation you'd be content in given your criteria. 
| Gulezar wrote: |
| It is time to hone your skills, but then it always was. You have to be able to bring something new to the table. If it is an "industry", it's time to stop being just another cog in a machine and start being an innovator who knows how to grease and maintain the machines in pristine condition. |
I agree. The days of mediocrity are so over. For those who do want to teach in the GCC (for whatever reason), make sure you have relevant, grad-level credentials as well as those desired skills and knowledge employers want to see. That may mean acquiring further education and taking on projects or duties that build your competencies. It's a no-brainer. |
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Mr. Kalgukshi
Mod Team
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Posts: 6613
Location: Need to know basis only.
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| Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 11:13 pm Post subject: |
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I suggest that the personal asides cease ASAP and future postings be on topic. If not, there will be consequences including sanctions.
Last edited by Mr. Kalgukshi on Tue Mar 14, 2017 2:02 am; edited 1 time in total |
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bograt
Joined: 12 Nov 2014
Posts: 331
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| Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 1:02 am Post subject: |
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MOD EDIT
$5k a month is not unreasonable but in a free country you'd be expected to work for it. IE you'd probably have to sacrifice the work life balance. People can make $5k without doing much in the ME because you have to make other sacrifices, like the ones you mentioned above. Everything has a price. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 2:38 am Post subject: |
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| bograt wrote: |
| People can make $5k without doing much in the ME because you have to make other sacrifices, like the ones you mentioned above. Everything has a price. |
Times have changed in the Gulf, bograt; there's the decline in the oil industry in addition to initiatives to replace expats with qualified GCC nationals. Salaries have become stagnant for some teachers currently in much of the region, while others looking for work are seeing postings offering less in terms of pay and benefits. That $5000 US/mo is not the norm, and EFL jobs paying that much (usually male-only military/defense gigs) will ultimately spur a lot of competition as salaries for university positions continue to decline. That said, an experienced, k-12 licensed/certified content teacher has more options.
BTW, the belief that teachers in the Mid East don't have to do much for high salaries is a myth. Plus, ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia does not represent the entire GCC.
Rather than focus on specific lifestyle choices and negative TEFL trends, perhaps this thread should be about the strategies or paths that teachers are actively taking to stay employed and competitive regardless of their motivation for working in the region. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 9:47 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm... An interesting career option for those of you looking for some post-TEFL, high-income potential in the GCC:
The high-earning butlers of Dubai
By Sophie Robehmed Dubai, BBC | 12 September 2013
Sara Vestin Rahmani, director and founder of London's Bespoke Bureau British Butler and Housekeeper Academy, placed one newly-trained butler in the United Arab Emirates this year on an annual salary of 582,000 Emirati Dirhams - the equivalent of £100,000 or $158,000.
Dillon, 37, who swapped the military to train to be a butler three years ago, hasn't looked back since he took up the residence on the exclusive artificial archipelago Palm Jumeirah to work for an Emirati family business in 2011. "I went in at entry level at £35,000 ($55,000) plus all expenses paid. I now earn £70,000 but I work very hard," he says.
(End of excerpt)
For the full article, see http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24049107. |
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Gulezar
Joined: 19 Jun 2007
Posts: 483
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| Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 4:52 am Post subject: Back to the Future of U in ME |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| Rather than focus on specific lifestyle choices and negative TEFL trends, perhaps this thread should be about the strategies or paths that teachers are actively taking to stay employed and competitive regardless of their motivation for working in the region. |
Wow! That's a great spin on the original topic. Here are some suggestions if you want to market YOURSELF for a future in teaching in the Middle East.
1. Have a K-12 license to teach. Out go the Foundations; in come the high schools.
2. Focus on STEM; the students are much weaker in Math and Sciences than in English.
3. Expand it to STEAM; the new buzz is how to get creativity into Math and Sciences.
4. Develop your skills in Writing Centre support. As the Foundations are phased out, there will be a need for those who can support weak undergraduates.
5. Academic Reading Support will also be needed.
6. Develop skills in Summer Preparation Classes. This could mean doing a summer gig in your home country. Eventually, the concept behind these transitional programs may seep into the Gulf.
7. Be a blended learning guru.
8. Upgrade your technology skills.
9. Learn some Arabic or another target language for your next destination.
10. Be an assessment guru: IELTS, TOEFL or EMSAT. Know the exams. You can even make some money on the side and essentially "upgrade your salary" and "downgrade your lifestyle".
11. Do any of these with passion, not with a target to upgrade your salary, but with a genuine interest. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 10:36 pm Post subject: |
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Gulezar:
Do you know anyone who's done half of what's on your list? (Or became a butler?  ) |
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Gulezar
Joined: 19 Jun 2007
Posts: 483
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| Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2017 9:30 am Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
Gulezar:
Do you know anyone who's done half of what's on your list? (Or became a butler? ) |
Yes, I do know individuals who have done 5 out of 10 of those items, but over the years, not in one fell swoop; it just takes one of these gems on your resume to get "the next big thing in the Gulf or beyond". Then, there are those who have opened their own consultancy firm or moved on to Library Sciences. Just like any market, it's important to find a niche, and offer something above and beyond years in the region, good references and a Masters in TESOL from a well-known university. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2017 12:15 am Post subject: |
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| Gulezar wrote: |
| I do know individuals who have done 5 out of 10 of those items, but over the years, not in one fell swoop; it just takes one of these gems on your resume to get "the next big thing in the Gulf or beyond". Then, there are those who have opened their own consultancy firm or moved on to Library Sciences. Just like any market, it's important to find a niche, and offer something above and beyond years in the region, good references and a Masters in TESOL from a well-known university. |
I'm reminded of Aesop's tale about the grasshopper and the ant. 
This is where networking at conferences, meet ups, workshops, job fairs, special interest groups, etc., pays off as a way to get yourself out there and make crucial connections.
Additionally, those seeking a career transition or advancement should seriously consider creating a professional web presence (website), especially if they have a collection of their work. An ePortfolio was required for my M. Ed Tech program, but it's not uncommon for teachers, trainers, course designers, technical writers, graphic designers, librarians, etc., to showcase their best work as well as present themselves as professionals in their fields. For samples and ideas, check out SLCC's Faculty ePortfolio Resource Site.
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