Job Discussion Forums

[ntropy]

A month or so ago, there was a posting for instructors working in EG on a rotational basis for an oil company. Anybody know if they've begun hiring/interviewing? I've seen a few posts on the topic but they're dated, so if anyone has anything new to add, I'd appreciate it.

[refazenda]

I also saw this position listed recently. Has anyone had any experience with this company? I am wondering if the schedule (28 days on, 28 days off) is too much for some people to handle.

[dmb]

I saw it today and was wondering about the pay. Any idea?

[biffinbridge]

I first saw this ad a couple of years ago .Flour Industrial Services advertised it and it was a 28 day rotation ,salary 30,000 uk pounds /annum.1 year later the same post was advertised by Wood Group North Sea.The salary had been changed and you weren't paid for time off.I applied and they didn't answer.At the moment I'm on a 65 day on 21 day off rotation in the Sahara,(oil company again) and it's a long time in the sand.Can someone pm me the e-mail address for that job i'm interested in who'se got the contract now and may well keep it on file.

[Gnome]

I have been told that most of the hiring of EFL Instructors for Africa takes place in the UK. You can check out the British TESL sites for job postings. The reason they hire out of the UK is because of the transportation costs of flying you to the EQ or Libya, for example, especially on a 28/28 rotation. They also want to fly you to Africa from a convenient central point. So, if you want any of these jobs, you should move to the UK. North Americans need not apply.

[CharlesTESOL]

Why shouldn't North Americans living in the UK or another EU country apply?

[Gnome]

Is this a rhetorical guestion?

If not, I agree with you and have said so above. North Americans living in the UK or Europe should apply. Fluor or whoever has the contract these days, will not conduct interviews in North Amercia, nor will they fly an EFL Instructor from North America to EQ every 28 days. It is not cost-effective for them to do so. Also, the interviews would take place in the UK and instructors would be sent by charter to EQ. That's the business reality.

If I am wrong and you have some examples of exceptions, please tell us, so we in North America can apply. But in my 10 years experience, lower paying EFL rotation jobs are usually given to instructors who live in the UK or Europe. I can only think of one exception and that is when you are working for a North Amercian oil company as a direct hire. And, those jobs are few and far between and pay much more than the typical EFL instructor usually gets when working under a UK recruiter's contract.

[CharlesTESOL]

Thanks for clearing that up. I interpreted your previous statement to mean simply, "North Americans need not apply," rather than North Americans not living in the UK or nearby need not apply. Cheers!

[Snoopy]

Wood Group were advertising again today. Their advertisement was seriously lacking in detail. I'll find out what I can.

[Yahnena]

any idea what the 28 days working schedules looks like? How many teaching classes / day ?
cheers

[ntropy]

12-hours a day, 7-days a week. Seriously. I forget how many teaching hours a day.

I did this for four years with another employer and it's really not bad. 28 days off makes up for a lot.

[lozwich]

I'm thinking seriously about the Wood Group job, and have a bunch of questions..

1. Any ideas if they ever hire women teachers?

2. What are the living accommodations like? Do you have to share, or does each person get their own flat? And are there cooking facilities?

3. In the research I've done so far, life in EQ seems relatively calm, but how accurate is this?

It would be good to hear from anyone who is working or has worked for Wood Group, it looks like quite an interesting job, but the brevity of the posting makes me wonder...

Lozwich.

[Yahnena]

I haven't lived in EG, but in neighboring Cameroon. Volunteered there for over 1 year.
EG is very calm, people very nice, not political problems. They're basically trying to make a living. Since they found oil, the living conditions slowly improve.
I doubt it though, that you will get to see too much of the country while working. Prepare for being pretty isolated.
I also wonder, if they would consider women. They should, women often are better in adapting .
Why don't you apply and if they respond with more details, tell us more about it.
Courage, courage
cheers

[Yahnena]

how could I forget about the HEALTH ISSUE:

First this location calls for the whole bit of vaccines, from yellow fever to hepatitis A and B and many more. It'll take you at least 6 weeks to 2 months to get that all into your body, if you are in perfect health, that is.

All of these do not DO NOT protect you from Ebola-like viruses. There are plenty of those around, some of them don't even have a name yet. All of them are equally deadly (over 90% death rate) and easily transmitted (handshake or by breath). If you are teaching the 'national work force' as the ad says, you are at very high risk because of the very close contact. Those people also work an on/off schedule. When they're 'off' they go back to their villages to take care of their big families .......... and can come back with some dangerous stuff.

I have some experience, as I was in Congo shortly after an outbreak in 1996/1997. Early spring to summer seems to be the worst. As soon as there is an outbreak, people die like flies, within days a whole village can be lost. Often there are not enough survivors to burry the dead, which doesn't exactly help the situation ...

Insist on an excellent health/life insurance including an emergency repatriation to a Western country, in case anything serious should happen to you.
You wouldn't want to end up in an Equatorial Guinean hospital with a serious problem and there pick up some more of their bugs

Has anyone applied for this position and/or some more information?
cheers

[Yahnena]

how could I forget about the HEALTH ISSUE:

First this location calls for the whole bit of vaccines, from yellow fever to hepatitis A and B and many more. It'll take you at least 6 weeks to 2 months to get that all into your body, if you are in perfect health, that is.

All of these do not DO NOT protect you from Ebola-like viruses. There are plenty of those around, some of them don't even have a name yet. All of them are equally deadly (over 90% death rate) and easily transmitted (handshake or by breath). If you are teaching the 'national work force' as the ad says, you are at very high risk because of the very close contact. Those people also work an on/off schedule. When they're 'off' they go back to their villages to take care of their big families .......... and can come back with some dangerous stuff.

I have some experience, as I was in Congo shortly after an outbreak in 1996/1997. Early spring to summer seems to be the worst. As soon as there is an outbreak, people die like flies, within days a whole village can be lost. Often there are not enough survivors to burry the dead, which doesn't exactly help the situation ...

Insist on an excellent health/life insurance including an emergency repatriation to a Western country, in case anything serious should happen to you.
You wouldn't want to end up in an Equatorial Guinean hospital with a serious problem and there pick up some more of their bugs

Has anyone applied for this position and/or some more information?
cheers