Job Discussion Forums

[dagi]

Although this branch doesn't seem terribly active, I'll try to ask another question:

Another school I applied to wants me to call them, disuss some things and they want me to state the salary I want to earn.
It is a private k12 school and I do have 2 years teaching experience with kids in a regular school and a B.A. in Ed.
So what's a reasonable salary? And can I ask them to pay in a foreign currency?

[veiledsentiments]

I have no idea what the current salaries are in Egypt for K-12, but it won't be much since you have limited experience and salaries are notoriously low. You may try asking that the salary be 'based' on dollars or euros... though paid in EP. I don't know if that would work or not.

It is unlikely that you could get foreign currency unless they have students that pay tuition in foreign currency. The only two places that I know that pay at least part of the salary in dollars are the American University in Cairo and Cairo American College. You don't qualify for AUC, and probably also not for CAC - even though it is K-12, as it is very hard to get jobs there.

It you are being hired from outside Egypt, you can also expect to get housing, travel, and health coverage. If you are locally hired, you will only get your salary.

VS

[dagi]

"but it won't be much since you have limited experience and salaries are notoriously low."

Forgive my ignorance, but can you be more specific? What is "not much"? Is that 100$US a month or is it 1000$US or did you mean 300Euros?
What is not much, compared to the costs of living?

Another school is offering +/- 1500Euros a month, is that not much? Or is that ok?

[veiledsentiments]

By not much, I would mean that you should be able to live on the local economy with few frills.

The 1500 Euro salary's ability to do that depends on whether you get any benefits on top of that figure. If you have to rent a flat, buy your flight tickets, pay your own health care... etc... It won't go far.

VS

[dagi]

Are you serious that 1500� won't get me far if I have to pay my own rent and plane tickets back home? Holy shit, how expensive is it to live in Egypt then?
Now I live in Western Europe, earn 1200� net, have to pay my own rent and my flights back home! That is not too much over here, but it is okay to live on and I am even able to save.

[veiledsentiments]

All is relative of course. I would consider a 1500 Euro salary with no benefits as rather paltry no matter what country I was living in. Perhaps it has been too many years since I was at entry level pay. Apparently you live cheaply and don't have to fly very far. (It would take more than a month of that pay to just fly me home from Egypt.)

One detail that you might want to know is if you are paid only for the months that you actually teach or is it for 12 months of the year. Are you being paid in Euros or the equivalent in EP?

VS

[Sekhmet]

Ok, so here's what I know about salaries. Bear in mind that this is based on information about Alex, and not Cairo, but I'll do my best!
The best thing to do is to apply for a job from overseas. It might be harder to find one, but at least they might be willing to give you benefits. Which generally would only include some housing and medical. Because most people here work on a tourist visa (it's extremely hard to get a work visa - I've been trying for 2 years!) you can't get social security (and thankfully, no taxes!), but that makes it very hard to get benefits of any kind. I haven't heard of any schools in Alex that offer flights, but I know a couple in Cairo do.
The basic wage in Alex tends to rely on hours worked for teaching adults and a salary if you're teaching kids. I teach adults, and my average monthly wage is around 3500LE, which is easily enough for my flat, food and entertainment, as well as saving a bit. However, as VS said, it's not so easy to afford flights home on anything like a regular basis on that!
Some of the bigger schools pay more, and a lot of the smaller schools pay a bunch less, so it's basically a case of doing research. I know that some schools (particularly universities and international schools) require a lot of experience - I think a minimum of 5 years for the University - and even an MA in related field. So it's very tough to get those jobs!
Ok, I hope that's helpful...
Sekhmet

[veiledsentiments]

Hi Sekhmet... what are the chances for getting paid in Euros or Dollars?

VS

[Sekhmet]

Hey VS
In Alex, from what I've seen, slim to none. I know people working at some of the best schools (Kaumeya, EAS, AmidEast) and none of them are paid in dollars. However, they were hired from inside the country - they came to do a TESOL course and got hired after that. It is possible that some of the schools will pay in dollars, but that is more likely with a foreign hire.
But don't take my words as gospel!! All I've seen is people who have applied and been accepted while they were already in the country, so it could be different.

[veiledsentiments]

To be honest, I only know of two places in Cairo that pay part of the salary in dollars, but that is because some of their students pay in dollars. (AUC and CAC) Even if you are local hired you get them...