Job Discussion Forums

[ksonnen]

My husband and i are considering a move to the middle east later this year. We have a 5 month old and i will continue being a stay at home mom, and my husband will work. He has a BA in English, Masters of management, and a TEFL (but no license). He taught for 3 years in Korea, and has most recently been a campus director for a branch campus of a US University. Questions:
1. What kind of job prospects does he have? He would like to teach HS or Uni.
2. What kind of salary and benefits should he expect?
3. Could he support the three of us? What is rough cost of living?
4. Anything specific about having a baby in tow that we should consider?
5. We are looking primarily at Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Any pros/cons or suggestions of other spots?

Thank you!

[nomad soul]

Without a teaching license, he's not qualified to teach at the HS level. As for university positions, a relevant MA is preferred and several years of experience at the tertiary level. University positions in the UAE are competitive, and many applicants possess TEFL-related graduate degrees and experience.

Positions in Qatar are a mixed bag, but there's the Community College of Qatar. CCQ jobs are listed on Houston Community College's website. Other sites include TESOL.org's career page, higheredjobs.com, and chronicle.com.

Since you're located in Texas, he should consider attending TESOL International's annual conference and job fair in Dallas. It will be held in March. There are likely to be employers from the Mid East doing interviews on site to fill teaching spots.

[scot47]

KSA ? Ruled out ? Parts of it are excellent - as the curate said of his egg.

[ksonnen]

Any other countries that we should look at? We are also interested in Kuwait, but it seemed like there is really nothing there except Kuwait City (we would like somewhere with a few weekend trips in country). What is the situation in Oman like?

We ruled out KSA b/c it's too conservative/restrictive.

[nomad soul]

[veiledsentiments]

Qatar is rather like Kuwait... basically one spread out city - surrounded by lots of sand. If it is opportunity for weekend trips, Oman is probably the best choice. Beaches, mountains, deserts... lots to see actually. (or trips to Dubai for a different environment) If you read on the Oman board, he could likely get an offer from one of the recruiter-hired colleges spread around the country. Nomad Soul"s questions are relevant here too. (recognized cert and recent experience - preferably in Academic English... not conversation)

The money won't be stellar, but with the free housing and tickets, you should be able to live and even maybe save a little if you can manage to stay 2-3 years. (first year tends to cost a bit getting all set up in a new place) There are about a half dozen recruiters... all with rotating pros and cons.

VS

[ksonnen]

This is the husband of which she speaks. :)

I taught college English as recently as 2010, and I taught ESL in Korea for 3 years. I have a BS in English, a Masters of Management, and a TEFL Cert from 2005. I've run a Masters program here in the States and am currently the Campus Executive for a university branch campus.

Does anyone have specific recruiter recommendations for the Middle East, i.e. ones that specialize in Middle Eastern schools?

Thanks so much for all the helpful responses and insight.

[veiledsentiments]

Was the teaching *after* the cert? Who did he teach? What did he teach? Kids or adults or high school or university? Conversation or writing or reading? (universities want to see Academic English... preferably reading and writing as these are the weak skills of Arabic speakers)

How long has it been since he was in the classroom? If it has been too long ago, they won't recognize it. I will warn you that his management experience may end up hurting him... because the person interviewing him isn't looking for "teachers" who may be looking to replace him.

What kind of *cert* is it? Middle East employers usually require a 120 hour cert that provided supervised teaching. (not practicing with your cert classmates). No online or weekend certs recognized.

The only recruiter to be considered in the UAE is Teachaway, but they are only hiring teachers for the ADEC program for K-12 and require a state teaching license/certificate. (he's out for this one) Universities direct hire through their own websites.

There are none in Qatar. Again, look at Houston Community College's program in Qatar. Recruiters are actually unusual outside of Saudi Arabia. Oman has about half dozen for their system. Look at the ads and then do a search here to see the pros and cons... they all have pros and cons... and it they exchange pros and cons regularly.

VS