Job Discussion Forums

[Ed]

Hello.
I'm a Canadian english teacher of Korean descent. My English is native (my Korean certainly not). My wife is white American. We have two young kids. We don't know much about the U.A.E, but what we've read is positive. We're wondering if we'll face any racism in hiring or any problems in general.
Thanks,
Ed.

[grand fromage]

I think you don't have to worry too much. However, you may want to choose your prospective employer more carefully. Mli, where I am, didn't used to have any problems employing anyone, provided they had a Master's degree and N.A. background. Lately, they've had to start recruiting everywhere else English is spoken as an L1, so they should be even less picky. The Higher Colleges seem to be run mostly by Brits and as such prefer their own. However, there are many exceptions to that rule too. Besides, the UAE is full of people from all over the world, so blending in won't be too hard. Of course, you will encounter some incidents where people won't be able to figure you out and may come across as racist. However, that could happen anywhere. I have many non-caucasian teacher friends and they have not complained too much. But maybe it'd be better if you got a second opinion from someone non-caucasian just to be sure.