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Qatar Petroleum
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bristow



Joined: 28 Mar 2008
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Fri May 02, 2008 3:26 pm    Post subject: Qatar Petroleum Reply with quote

Is Qatar petroleum to be recommended? There seem to be no posts about it.
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mouse5



Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 142

PostPosted: Sat May 10, 2008 3:21 am    Post subject: QP Reply with quote

Chaotic management. High staff turnover. The cleaners get a better deal than the teachers.
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harrythehook



Joined: 03 Jan 2008
Posts: 21

PostPosted: Fri May 30, 2008 7:28 am    Post subject: time to say goodbye Reply with quote

Just one more day in Qatar. It's not been a bad place to live and work but difficult for singles, especially men. The Gulag isn't as dire as some say. Punch in, punch out, do your job and things will be OK. Don't get into office politics. If you get an out of town job at one of the outposts, even better. I have to say it's been a decent stint. But the money is definitely not enough for me to hang around. There aren't too many places to hang out, there's the Rugby Club, Garveys and the Ramada petty well the best places in town. Garveys is cheap but sometimes makes you feel desperate. The Irish Pub is good but way too expensive for us Gulagers. I spent last night there celebrating.

I had thought of staying on at another joint in town but they didn't bother to reply. Then I got some nasty comments from a regular joint cheerleader. Anyhoo, I'm going to have a nice R & R break in Phuket with my lady and then on to the UAE where the big bucks are. My new offer just can't compete with the salary at QP or the one the joint is offering.

Gulag salary now up to 11,800 plus apartment plus car allowance. The Griffiths people are pretty upfront. The students are lazy but good natured and some even study. They have to be pushed but there are some ambitious types that make it worthwhile. If you don't give up on them, they won't give up on you.

There's been bad press about QP but not as bad as some places in this country. At least our manager is not weird or controlling or manipulative. He's got his own problems and just wants us to keep out of his way. Basically hassle free admin types if you do your job and MYOB. It all depends how you deal with them. Leave them alone and they'll leave you alone. I've had no problems and most of the others don't either.

Do I recommend QP? Sure. Why not as a stop gap job for a year or two.
Most Gulagers are nice people. Apart from the long hours and low pay, very little stress. So long all you Gulagers. It's been nice knowing you.

By the way, the cleaners don't get a better deal. They are overworked and underpaid. At least the Gulag teachers have a decent roof over their heads, the apartments aren't great but most are decent. They're a lot better than the dump we had to live in a few years ago with the oil engine pumping outside.
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james van cleave



Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 59

PostPosted: Fri May 30, 2008 3:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As an old Gulf hand, I must say Harry got it spot on. I was there on a short contract. It's not a bad place to work per se...just boring, pointless, dispiriting-well, you guys know the routine.
The "students" were generally worthless but not malicious (unlike their counterparts north of the border). The administration was pretty accommodating -to me, at least. That is to say they were not like the admin. boys back at the old MLI in Abu Dhabi--duplicitous fiends....academic hacks who were under the delusion they were running a department at Heidelberg and not a vocational EFL course in the T&W. "Hey, Hi! You out there somewhere big Zed?!"
QP would be very suitable for someone starting out or just wanted a foot in the door in the Gulf. Nightlife in Doha's a bit tired. Try the Ramada, Rydges-especially the jazz bar.

Good Luck , Harry.
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rocketchild



Joined: 27 Mar 2008
Posts: 96

PostPosted: Sat May 31, 2008 6:33 am    Post subject: omg Reply with quote

sounds horrible
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harrythehook



Joined: 03 Jan 2008
Posts: 21

PostPosted: Sat May 31, 2008 7:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

No, not horrible. Actually, it's been a decent place to work. Most of the people you work with are fine, a couple of oddballs, but most of the people are like everyone else, working to make ends meet. The management is reasonably efficient and listen to complaints. We were moved from a real dump a few years ago to a much better block.
And the salary is being regularly reviewed and upgraded. You get a shared car or car allowance. Your afternoons are your own. (Unless you work in the afternoons.) Most of the people are friendly and helpful.

So it's not horrible. It's a place to get experience and learn the ropes about living in the Gulf. And when you resign there are no hard feelings.
For people with little experience, it's a place I recommend to get started.
You get good experience with elementary and remedial teaching which prepares you for anything.

Your job is what you make it, provided you have supportive management. Griffiths is OK, the usual hassles but they try to iron them out.
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rocketchild



Joined: 27 Mar 2008
Posts: 96

PostPosted: Sat May 31, 2008 7:39 am    Post subject: not a good place for a newbie Reply with quote

really, long hours, low pay, the accomodation isn't great but its a roof over your head...

this is what you said.

sounds horrible.

For a person to move to a dull boring place like QATAR, a decent flat and decent pay is the minimum anyone should expect if you have any self esteem.

A gap year in Qatar hahahaha, now that is funny.

A better suggestions for a newbie would be go to JAPAN, CHINA, KOREA, and make some money and have a rich cultural experience.

A gap year in Qatar would be like living in a sunny prison cell, and just doing your job and keeping your mouth shut....who is that nice for?

QP SOUNDS like a place for non native teachers who can stand being treated like crap cuz they have few options left in the TEFL world.

eeek...be warned some teachers post because they suck up to management and promised to write something 'nice' about the school as they are having a hard time hiring native speakers.

this goes for all gulf posts in general.

i worked with one Canadian teacher who privately HATED the management but publicly recommended the school on daveseslcafe.
He was one of the most hated teacher working there and still is...
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zeke0606



Joined: 22 Oct 2007
Posts: 185
Location: East Outer Mongolia

PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 4:20 pm    Post subject: what? Reply with quote

rocketchild, I think you hit harrythehook on the nail head! I was in Qatar a couple of years ago for six months. And Griffiths and GSSG ARE THE WORST in the gulf! I was at the bakery down by the refinery. We were lied to by Griffiths, and lied to in every breath by everyone at GSSG management.
And my boss at the bakery - nice, but harried Indian man in charge of the ELT's and his good friend, another Indian man, that was in charge of the technicial training there -------- both were over worked or at least made it look like that. I liked both of them and the chief at the gulag was great!
In the six months that I was there - GSSG refused to give me my resident permit ---------- I would not pay that fellow from the GSSG office 600 QR bribe!

Zeke
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rocketchild



Joined: 27 Mar 2008
Posts: 96

PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:16 pm    Post subject: demanding BRIBES from TEACHERS Reply with quote

Mad
glad to hear you had the balls to leave.
and not pay the bribe.

I have also been asked for a very very large bribe from a 'reputable' GULF based school, yes even run by the GOVERNMENT !!!!!!

To tell you what they did to my life, is a long horrible story. But basically, yes they destroyed it.

One day I will post all the details, and name names, but for now I PM people to stay away from them.

Just be warned that bribes and blackmail are done even at very high levels of gov't in the GULF and Schools and UNIs and no one will hear your pleas for JUSTICE and forget the 'labour' courts hahahahahaha
get on a plane and leave.

These are not so rare occurences either. Many pay to stay, some pay to leave, some pay out of fear, many stay silent in shame.
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 6:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What should we make of an outfit where the teachers have named the Training Centre "THE GULAG" ? Does that not say it all ?
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james van cleave



Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 59

PostPosted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 7:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I feel compelled to say something on their behave...and believe me I am not generally magnanimous when it comes to those bloody Gulf weasels.
QP is the only place I've worked in the ME...I've had 5 jobs there...where everyone gets the same deal no matter what their national origin might be. Indians, Nigerians, Filipinos, Brits, Americans, Aussies..why even our neighbors from "the Great White Waste of Time" all get the same pay, housing, vacation etc...as lousy as that might be.
I never saw that in Sodomy Arabia or Dubious Dubai.
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mouse5



Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 142

PostPosted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 8:21 am    Post subject: Getting the same deal Reply with quote

james van cleave wrote:
where everyone gets the same deal no matter what their national origin might be. Indians, Nigerians, Filipinos, Brits, Americans, Aussies...


Not in my experience. QP is like any other institution in Qatar. Their agents offer differing salaries, housing etc, all depending on the slice of the pie they can grab. Staff turnover is still high at the gulag.
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 12:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

james van cleave wrote:

QP is the only place I've worked in the ME...I've had 5 jobs there...where everyone gets the same deal no matter what their national origin might be. Indians, Nigerians, Filipinos, Brits, Americans, Aussies..why even our neighbors from "the Great White Waste of Time" all get the same pay, housing, vacation etc...as lousy as that might be.
I never saw that in Sodomy Arabia or Dubious Dubai.

That may be true in Saudi, but in both universities where I taught in Oman, all nationalities were paid the same... and it was the same at HCT in the UAE where the only variation tended to be year of hire.

VS
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james van cleave



Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 59

PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 8:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I worked directly for the UAE government for a number of years. I was paid about 14000 a month,+ decent housing and other benefits... while Jordanians, Egyptians and Palestinians-- (remember the compassion the Emiratis have always had for those poor, suffering people?)--doing exactly the same job, were paid at most 7,000 a month= slummy apartments and no benefits to speak of,
The only ones who felt they were getting a raw deal were the g-damned locals who were incensed because they were expected to show up for work at least once a week.
Ah, the Persian Gulf...love it or leave it...(MOD edit)
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Never Ceased To Be Amazed



Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 3500
Location: Shhh...don't talk to me...I'm playin' dead...

PostPosted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 10:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

james van cleave wrote:
The only ones who felt they were getting a raw deal were the g-damned locals who were incensed because they were expected to show up for work at least once a week.


Ah, God Bless the GHQ and their black hearts! Evil or Very Mad

NCTBA
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