| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
MENA_chica
Joined: 28 Sep 2014
Posts: 82
Location: Middle East
|
 Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 10:24 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
| lcanupp1964 wrote: |
| Please take care as you descend. |
I reject it! Return to sender  |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 12:13 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| There are lots of dysfunctional EFLers in KSA ! I was one of them ! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
fledex
Joined: 05 Jun 2011
Posts: 342
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 12:16 pm Post subject: |
|
|
My perspective:
Edex was the single worst employer by far of all the employers I've had in 40 some years in many different countries. That you were actually placed in the city and school they promised puts you pretty far ahead of the game. That you have also been paid on time for two straight months also is a good sign. Is salary still paid in big wads of cash in smoke filled rooms?
That you got an iqama in 5 weeks is astounding. Even the best employers have had trouble getting them lately. One employer that used to get them in two months is now taking 8 months to get them.
The rest of your post sounds like the Edex I've known and hated over the years: mini-buses to the mall and work, etc. It's usually not until the summer rolls around that the stuff starts to fly. Do you know what will happen with your classes, travel, etc after the Spring term ends? We never did.
The positive and negative posts both say a lot about the poster, maybe more than the post itself. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
MENA_chica
Joined: 28 Sep 2014
Posts: 82
Location: Middle East
|
| Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 7:22 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| scot47 wrote: |
| There are lots of dysfunctional EFLers in KSA ! I was one of them ! |
 Scot47, you crack me up!
| fledex wrote: |
Edex was the single worst employer by far of all the employers I've had in 40 some years in many different countries. |
I'm so sorry to hear that you had an awful time with the company. Glad you've picked up the pieces and moved on.
| fledex wrote: |
| Is salary still paid in big wads of cash in smoke filled rooms? |
 I was paid my first salary in cash by a very professional gentleman in their accounts department.
| fledex wrote: |
That you got an iqama in 5 weeks is astounding. Even the best employers have had trouble getting them lately. One employer that used to get them in two months is now taking 8 months to get them. |
After reading various threads on this forum, I was prepared to wait up to 6 months to get it! Actually, I did my medical a week after landing, and received notification that the iqama was ready a week before I collected it. Similarly, a friend who came to Saudi Arabia a week after I did, received hers a week before me. I also think it was exceptionally fast, and not necessarily a common occurrence.
| fledex wrote: |
| Do you know what will happen with your classes, travel, etc after the Spring term ends? We never did. |
My contract ends in June, at the end of the spring term. I plan to return to the UK, do some travelling, then possibly return to KSA with the company. I've been told that I'll remain at the same university if I return in August, provided the university decides to keep me for the new academic year. It's now standard procedure that new teachers in Riyadh have to do an interview with either PNU (with the university's EdEx coordinator) or KSU. If for any reason they are not accepted at either of these universities, they are sent to other projects. Hence, the mid-semester, middle-of-the-night moves mentioned on this forum seem a thing of the past - well, at least for the teachers based in Riyadh. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
|
| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 12:44 am Post subject: |
|
|
| MENA_chica wrote: |
| fledex wrote: |
| Do you know what will happen with your classes, travel, etc after the Spring term ends? We never did. |
My contract ends in June, at the end of the spring term. I plan to return to the UK, do some travelling, then possibly return to KSA with the company. |
Since you started with EdEx in October 2014, if your contract actually indicates an end date of June 2015 (9 months later), is the company to pay you for part of the summer or will June be the last month you're paid? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
bigdurian
Joined: 05 Feb 2014
Posts: 401
Location: Flashing my lights right behind you!
|
| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 12:53 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Been in Riyadh 3 years and I'm still positive about the place. Just wish my wife was too. Yes, the work environment can be chaotic and a shambles but I don't really care anymore. I do my bit in the classroom and that's what is important ATEOTD.
Got some datemead in the fridge ( pure class in a glass) so all is well with the world.
Wondering about the invite free compounds though. We visit friends at the weekends on different compounds and we always have to get our names and car reg. put down with security, but maybe that's coz I'm dodgy! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
|
| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 3:07 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| bigdurian wrote: |
| Wondering about the invite free compounds though. We visit friends at the weekends on different compounds and we always have to get our names and car reg. put down with security, but maybe that's coz I'm dodgy! |
Different rules for different compounds. But it could be because you're male, even though your wife accompanies you. (Or maybe it's because you have a woman with you.) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
MdSmith
Joined: 15 Nov 2012
Posts: 67
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 12:19 am Post subject: |
|
|
Sounds good, congrats! BTW, just a couple of queres below:
"with 2 years' experience, a CELTA, BA and MA (both unrelated to TESOL)"
I was under the impression that one needed an MA in TEFL/TESOL to obtain a visa to teach in Saudi? Did it all go smoothly?
If you ever felt like moving on from Edexcel, do you think that you will be able to try for other uni jobs in Saudi, or would you need a related MA? I'm just curious since my MA is unrelated to TESOl too.
Cheers |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 2:44 am Post subject: |
|
|
| MdSmith wrote: |
| I was under the impression that one needed an MA in TEFL/TESOL to obtain a visa to teach in Saudi? |
Not true in Saudi or any other Gulf country and never has been.
Some employers require a related MA, but that is pretty much direct hire university jobs. Nothing to do with the visa/iqama.
VS |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
MENA_chica
Joined: 28 Sep 2014
Posts: 82
Location: Middle East
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:56 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| nomad soul wrote: |
Since you started with EdEx in October 2014, if your contract actually indicates an end date of June 2015 (9 months later), is the company to pay you for part of the summer or will June be the last month you're paid? |
I started in November. I'm entitled to 30 days holiday per year, pro rata, which will be taken in June at the end of my contract. Hence, July (part of it) is the last month in which I'll be paid.
| bigdurian wrote: |
Wondering about the invite free compounds though. We visit friends at the weekends on different compounds and we always have to get our names and car reg. put down with security, but maybe that's coz I'm dodgy! |
It's great hearing that you're having a positive experience as well. Whenever I visit compounds, I'm always required to leave my iqama with the security, and I'm given a visitor's pass. I suspect the fact that you enter with your vehicle is the reason for your car registration number being taken. You haven't actually said whether or not your compound visits required invitations.
| MdSmith wrote: |
I was under the impression that one needed an MA in TEFL/TESOL to obtain a visa to teach in Saudi? Did it all go smoothly?
If you ever felt like moving on from Edexcel, do you think that you will be able to try for other uni jobs in Saudi, or would you need a related MA? I'm just curious since my MA is unrelated to TESOl too. |
As Veiled Sentiments pointed out, an MA isn't required to obtain a Saudi work visa. My visa application was done through a visa agent in London, and it went very smoothly - I received my visa 5 days after submitting the application.
When I move on from EdEx (not Edexcel) in 2016 , I hope to apply for a direct hire position. All of the direct hire positions that I've come across ask for a related MA. However, I know of a few direct hire teachers without one. It's always best to have a related MA if one plans to make TESOL a career. Last year, I started an MA Applied Linguistics & TESOL via distance learning, but I've since decided to take a year out (2017) and do it in-class. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
bigdurian
Joined: 05 Feb 2014
Posts: 401
Location: Flashing my lights right behind you!
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 6:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Yeah, my compound visits nearly always require invitations. We normally visit Najd, Ru Maison, Arizona, Al Hamra. Ru Maison is the worst because you can't even drive in. It's a long old walk through some of these places to get to where you want to be.
Before I leave this place I have to get a photo of my family with the National Guard guys at Najd with the semi-automatics just to show folks in other places what a Friday night out involves here!! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 7:20 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| MENA_chica wrote: |
| When I move on from EdEx (not Edexcel) in 2016 , I hope to apply for a direct hire position. All of the direct hire positions that I've come across ask for a related MA. However, I know of a few direct hire teachers without one. |
You might check with those teachers to find out what their specific qualifications are. Both of the non-MA holding, direct-hire teachers I worked with in KSA have a related BA, several years of US public school teaching experience, and a teaching license. They've been teaching in the Kingdom since 2010---requirements have gotten a bit tighter over the years. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
jaffa
Joined: 25 Oct 2012
Posts: 403
|
| Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2015 3:05 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| It's an edex stooge. I can smell them from here. They're no doubt on a female recruitment drive and resorting to last ditch efforts before another contract gets ditched. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
lcanupp1964
Joined: 12 Dec 2009
Posts: 381
|
| Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2015 9:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Watch out jaffa...  They're gonna kill ya with kindness to prove they are not on a recruitment drive, but just expressing good ol' positive thinking. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
fledex
Joined: 05 Jun 2011
Posts: 342
|
| Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2015 5:15 am Post subject: |
|
|
| jaffa wrote: |
| It's an edex stooge. I can smell them from here. They're no doubt on a female recruitment drive and resorting to last ditch efforts before another contract gets ditched. |
Kinda interesting to see that the buffoons have gotten more sophisticated. Has me thinking that maybe there really was some change. Will have to ask around. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
