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akoo1
Joined: 06 Apr 2015
Posts: 87
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 Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 7:34 pm Post subject: General and specific questions about teaching in KSA |
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Hi everyone,
I am new here 
I just spent the last hour or so reading through the varied posts. Firstly, I have worked in several countries as an ESL teacher and now would like to really work in Saudi Arabia. I am aware of the restrictions in KSA however my superseding motivation is to maximize savings.
I have a Masters/BA in unrelated fields, 120hr classroom TEFL certificate as well as a Diploma in Journalism (but I don't know if the word Journalism is a plus or minus on a resume for KSA)?
I have over 5 years experience teaching mostly university/adult level General and Conversational English as well as Business English (to corporations). My specialization is pronunciation. I have good experiences and memories teaching Arab and Muslim students in Southeast Asia (and have myself traveled extensively in the Middle East). I speak six languages including Mandarin and European languages as well as learning intermediate Arabic (I already understand basic).
Generally, how many classroom hours per day/week? office hours?
What is the general termination fee/policy for teachers who do not pass their probationary period? Can they easily leave KSA? Or get a new job at another school?
Are there better sites with updated/extensive adverts for jobs in ksa. I find only recruitment agencies or adverts over a year old. Almost all the job adverts I found researching the net seem to be arranged through recruiters. Are there any direct hire jobs advertised online? Or am I generally at the mercy of recruitment agencies to find work? Normally my only resource for finding ESL employment is through the job sites (and google searches). Sadly, I have not yet discovered the more effective channels of finding work. I myself have never been hired through a recruiter.
Generally in KSA how many Non-Muslim English teachers vs. Muslim English teachers (as a ratio)?
Thank you for your time (and have a great week). |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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Male ? I ask because males find it easier to get a job.
www.kfupm.edu.sa
is one of the places where I used to work
also
www.dcc.edu.sa |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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| akoo1 wrote: |
I have a Masters/BA in unrelated fields, 120hr classroom TEFL certificate as well as a Diploma in Journalism (but I don't know if the word Journalism is a plus or minus on a resume for KSA)?
I have over 5 years experience teaching mostly university/adult level General and Conversational English as well as Business English (to corporations). |
Your unrelated university degrees pretty much limit you to contracting companies in KSA (i.e., the majority of ads posted on the Cafe's job board). Be aware that most of the teaching jobs are in university foundation year EFL programs, so you'll rarely see opportunities for private language schools like Berlitz. If you're male, there are also positions teaching military/oil contracts via a contracting company.
| and wrote: |
Generally, how many classroom hours per day/week? office hours?
What is the general termination fee/policy for teachers who do not pass their probationary period? Can they easily leave KSA? Or get a new job at another school?
Are there better sites with updated/extensive adverts for jobs in ksa. I find only recruitment agencies or adverts over a year old. Almost all the job adverts I found researching the net seem to be arranged through recruiters. Are there any direct hire jobs advertised online? Or am I generally at the mercy of recruitment agencies to find work? Normally my only resource for finding ESL employment is through the job sites (and google searches). Sadly, I have not yet discovered the more effective channels of finding work. I myself have never been hired through a recruiter.
Generally in KSA how many Non-Muslim English teachers vs. Muslim English teachers (as a ratio)? |
- Office and class hours will vary. Some job ads state the number of teaching hours, but you'll need to ask your interviewer about office hours. Additionally, some contracting companies may require teachers to be at the university/client site for most of the day. (These companies are middle men and get a commission based on the number of hours their employees work.)
- Contracting companies may subtract their costs for teachers who don't fulfill their contract term. This would be indicated in the employment contract.
- Leaving KSA depends on your visa type. For example, if you end up accepting a business/work visit visa, you can depart the country at any time because this visa type does not constitute legal employment. However, if you're on a proper employment/work visa (leading to a residence permit AKA iqama), you would need your employer's authorization for an exit visa. As for changing jobs, it's not as simple as transferring from one employer to another. I strongly suggest you scroll through this forum going back a year for threads discussing visas, transfers, and the Saudi labor law.
- As mentioned, your unrelated education is not going to qualify you for direct-hire university jobs, which require a TEFL-related degree (usually an MA in TESOL, Applied Linguistics, etc.). The ads on the Cafe's job board (http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/) are fairly current but there are other TEFL employment sites with up-to-date ads. Do an Internet search on tefl saudi arabia jobs for a variety of job sites. Contracting companies range in levels of sketchiness, so be sure to ask during interviews who the actual employer is so that you can check the company out before signing on the dotted line.
- In terms of the ratio of non-Muslim vs. Muslim English teachers, expect the number of non-Muslims to be a very small percentage given that KSA is the birthplace and home of Islam. Frankly, when I taught in KSA, I never asked (nor cared) what my teaching colleagues' religious leanings were, but I suspect nearly all were Muslim. Is this something that matters to you? |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:49 pm Post subject: |
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KFUPM and DCC? Even with unrelated degrees?
Males have more options, but there's always a need for female foundation year teachers. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:54 pm Post subject: |
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| What employers ask for and what they get are often different ! I have a degree in Social Sciences and a Certificate in TESOL. I was hired by KFUPM. |
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Hatcher
Joined: 20 Mar 2008
Posts: 602
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| Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:59 pm Post subject: |
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It depends more on you than the country.
I was in the KSA for two years.... on an hourly basis, the pay is very high and maybe the highest I know of. We worked less than 26 weeks a year and at most 4 hrs a day, usually 3.
I moved to China and work at an international school. I work privates and extra jobs. Now I make more than the KSA in total but not an hourly basis.
The freedom in China is so much greater than the KSA makes it worth it. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:59 pm Post subject: |
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| scot47 wrote: |
| What employers ask for and what they get are often different ! I have a degree in Social Sciences and a Certificate in TESOL. I was hired by KFUPM. |
But you're special. 
Plus, your vast KSA experience couldn't be overlooked. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 11:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Special ? Me ? How kind of you to acknowledge that fact ! |
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akoo1
Joined: 06 Apr 2015
Posts: 87
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| Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 11:25 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you everyone for your prompt replies
By contracting companies do you mean recruiters? For example Al Hussan? Is that a recruitment agency or contractor? Sorry i didn't understand the difference
What kind of people come to KSA on business/work visit visas? Under what circumstances will an contractor offer you a position on these visas (which seem to more desirable) because of the freedom. Can i forgo applying to jobs in advance and instead go to Saudi embassy, get a visit work visa, come to Riyadh and begin doing my own thing? It this possible? If so, how many people go this route?
To answer your questions I'm male and the religion of teachers doesn't matter for me either. I just wanted to know generally how many fellow staff members are from the West vs other places. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 12:07 am Post subject: |
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| akoo1 wrote: |
By contracting companies do you mean recruiters? For example Al Hussan? Is that a recruitment agency or contractor?
What kind of people come to KSA on business/work visit visas? Under what circumstances will an contractor offer you a position on these visas (which seem to more desirable) because of the freedom. Can i forgo applying to jobs in advance and instead go to Saudi embassy, get a visit work visa, come to Riyadh and begin doing my own thing? It this possible? If so, how many people go this route?
To answer your questions I'm male and the religion of teachers doesn't matter for me either. I just wanted to know generally how many fellow staff members are from the West vs other places. |
Some contracting companies do their own recruiting while others hire an outside recruitment agency for those services. The wording on some job ads make it are obvious there's a recruiting agent involved.) That's why you always need to ask who the employer (contracting company) is---the entity that would be indicated as "Employer" on your contract.
KSA has a very strict sponsorship system; every expat must be under a Saudi sponsor regardless of the type of visa. Therefore, you can't just "do your own thing" by going to the nearest Saudi Embassy to get a visit visa and then flying to Riyadh for work. It doesn't work that way because you can't enter the country without a sponsor. Employees are generally hired from abroad and brought in once they receive their visa while still in their home country. As for the visa type, it's determined by the sponsor. But they should be requesting an employment/work visa and not one that indicates "visit."
Again, take time to read through the forum. |
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akoo1
Joined: 06 Apr 2015
Posts: 87
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| Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 12:28 am Post subject: |
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Ok it is becoming more clear thank you
Are there English teachers in Saudi who are sponsored on a work/visit visa arrangement? I am just trying to figure out if English teachers all come in on the same visa class or if there are exceptions?
I understand now contractor companies are the employer which means I should contact them directly if I can? Since they are not educational institutions perhaps my unrelated degrees will be of less importance to them?
Are these two sites a good place to start contacting contracting companies?
http://www.bayt.com/en/saudi-arabia/companies/
http://www.teachsaudi.com/list_companies/page4/ |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 12:38 am Post subject: |
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A contractor employs you and then hires you out to another company at a daily/monthly rate. Aramco moved over to a system of using contractors a long time ago. many other institutions, including universities now do that.
The flakier ones will bring you in on a "Business visa" which has drawbacks. Some of its advocates claim that it is better than an Employment Visa, but technically it is illegal.
A recruiter simply hires you on behalf of another organisation who will be your employer. |
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MuscatGary
Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 1364
Location: Flying around the ME...
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| Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 12:51 am Post subject: |
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| scot47 wrote: |
| What employers ask for and what they get are often different ! I have a degree in Social Sciences and a Certificate in TESOL. I was hired by KFUPM. |
Quite agree, I have a degree in Pschology, PG Cert in Social Sciences and a Masters in Educational Technology plus the usual tefl 'get me on the bus pieces of paper' and some aviation English qualifications. I've never had a problem with the unrelated degrees. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 12:53 am Post subject: |
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| akoo1 wrote: |
Ok it is becoming more clear
Are there English teachers in Saudi who are sponsored on a work/visit visa arrangement? I am just trying to figure out if English teachers all come in on the same visa class or if there are exceptions?
I understand now contractor companies are the employer which means I should contact them directly if I can? Since they are not educational institutions perhaps my unrelated degrees will be of less importance to them? |
Based on your questions above, it's clear you didn't thoroughly read the discussions per the links nor the comments posted so far on this thread. Seriously, don't make this harder than it needs to be by wading through a long list of Saudi companies. Just head to http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/ for current job ads for KSA. Easy breezy.
- Direct hire employer: Generally a Saudi government or private university that hires EFL teachers directly for the uni's foundation year program and is indicated as the employer on the employment contract. The requirements for direct-hire positions are high and salary and benefits tend to be better than what contracting companies offer.
- Contracting company: A business that operates like a staffing agency. It employs teachers who then end up teaching for the company's various clients (usually in university foundation year programs alongside direct-hire teachers). In other words, the company has a contract with the universities to supplement staffing needs. Some contracting companies also provide instructional staff for the Saudi military. There are foreign contractors as well. The contracting company is indicated as the employer on the employment contract. However, there's a sketchiness factor---companies can range from tolerable to avoid at all costs. Additionally, Saudi contracting companies should employ teachers on an employment visa per the Saudi labor law.
Read the links I posted for more info and to answer some of your questions.
Last edited by nomad soul on Tue Apr 14, 2015 1:24 am; edited 2 times in total |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 12:56 am Post subject: |
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| MuscatGary wrote: |
| I have a degree in Pschology, PG Cert in Social Sciences and a Masters in Educational Technology plus the usual tefl 'get me on the bus pieces of paper' and some aviation English qualifications. I've never had a problem with the unrelated degrees. |
Although you never taught in KSA, your Ed Tech degree would be considered relevant. (Two of my teaching colleagues---a Saudi and a Brit---had Ed Tech master's degrees and were direct hires.) |
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