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Given a choice, which would you pick?

 
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abercrombie



Joined: 17 Oct 2012
Posts: 11

PostPosted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 8:00 am    Post subject: Given a choice, which would you pick? Reply with quote

Greetings, everyone. I am shopping around for a university in the Middle East. I thought I had a job lined up in KSA, but I couldnt come up with a NOC based on bad information from my Saudi manager (you don't need any paperwork when you leave Saudi Arabia! HA!)

So I heard great things about Kuwait (it's wealthy) and not so great things a bout AUM. My question is this: if you had a choice between Australian College Kuwait and AU of Middle East, which would you choose?

I've also set my sights on Oman, which I've heard is better than Kuwait. Neutral
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What are your credentials? It helps us to know where to point you. A decent university job in the Gulf requires a related BA + CELTA (or other 120 hour cert) + a few years of related experience. The better employers want a related MA.

Were you at a university in Saudi?

VS
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abercrombie



Joined: 17 Oct 2012
Posts: 11

PostPosted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 11:12 pm    Post subject: credentials Reply with quote

MA in TESL
BA in English -- the usual adult ed credential in ESL and Social Science which is actually a license to get exploited by school districts (not in demand now, however)

CELTA cert (which made $$ for Cambridge) but I was eager to revisit Vancouver.

prior experience in China (1 yr) Prior experience in KSA (1 yr)......
Eight + years getting ripped off (teaching ESL) in Calif Rolling Eyes
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 1:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would say that you should apply to any of the universities in Oman, Kuwait, or the UAE. Unless your MA is brand new... and thus all your experience pre-MA, you should have a good chance to get something decent. You should be able to avoid the shady employers in Saudi (using illegal visas) and places like AUME in Kuwait.

In your application/CV, be sure to emphasize your experience with Academic English... especially the reading/writing area where you know that the Arabs have most of their difficulties.

VS
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mashkif



Joined: 17 Aug 2010
Posts: 178

PostPosted: Thu Dec 06, 2012 3:57 am    Post subject: Re: Given a choice, which would you pick? Reply with quote

abercrombie wrote:
Greetings, everyone. I am shopping around for a university in the Middle East. I thought I had a job lined up in KSA, but I couldnt come up with a NOC based on bad information from my Saudi manager (you don't need any paperwork when you leave Saudi Arabia! HA!)

So I heard great things about Kuwait (it's wealthy) and not so great things a bout AUM. My question is this: if you had a choice between Australian College Kuwait and AU of Middle East, which would you choose?

I've also set my sights on Oman, which I've heard is better than Kuwait. Neutral








If those are your only two options in Kuwait and Kuwait is HAS to be, then the A.C.K. It is the lesser - though not by a huge margin - of two evils.

If it doesn't have to be Kuwait, Oman wins hands-down. The salaries are barely a half of those in Kuwait, but the quality of life is higher and there's none of the dreck associated with outfits such as the two aforementioned Very Happy
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abercrombie



Joined: 17 Oct 2012
Posts: 11

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 9:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the info....I got the general impression that Kuwait would be just like KSA (good $$ but hellish lifestyle).

My villa in KSA had a rat who decided to become my roommate....I set out traps but finally escalated to rat poison.....he moved out but left his calling cards.. Mad
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mashkif



Joined: 17 Aug 2010
Posts: 178

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 4:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

abercrombie wrote:
Thanks for the info....I got the general impression that Kuwait would be just like KSA (good $$ but hellish lifestyle).










Hellish? Not at all.

Unless you're the type who absolutely can't LIVE without alcohol for a few months, then Kuwait is very pleasant. You can mix freely with whomever you want, people wear whatever they want, nobody goes around with a whip "admonishing" people to go pray, nothings shuts down five times a day while they go bother gods, women are not treated quite as badly, etc.

In comparison to Oman, Kuwait is, however, filthy. The infrastructure is nothing to write home about. Some areas look, sound, and smell like Karachi. There's not much in the way of natural beauty. Kuwaitis can be arrogant -- I once got into a heated argument with some jackass who insisted he should be served first at a cheese counter. (I finally told him we'd liberated his country so the least he could do was show some manners; he backed off.) That is all true of Oman, too, I guess, so I guess what Oman on Kuwait is a much more beautiful nature and generally more laid-back, friendly people. Considerably lower salaries though...
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Daktari



Joined: 08 Mar 2010
Posts: 57

PostPosted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:11 am    Post subject: haha Reply with quote

Kuwait is possibly the most disappointing country I've worked in. I don't know what they have been doing with the money but it's a filth hole. Go to Doha or the Emirates if you want a nice environment, good students and lots of lolly.

I love the aloofness with which some people dis the drinkers of this world. Kuwait is full of booze and it's easily found. It's also full of seedy Chinese comfort women, who you can't avoid in supermarkets on Saturdays.

You can have a pretty normal life in Kuwait; it's just a construction dump with appalling dusty weather, murderous drivers and dull mall after dull mall.

Groundhog Day in a country....but without Bill Murray.
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