Job Discussion Forums

lizziebennet · Joined: 24 May 2009 Posts: 355

Yaramaz if you are a native speaker with university teaching experience you should be able to get a job here in Oman. I was approved by the MOHE for three different positions with a BA, a TEFL, a CELTA and a few years’ experience. This was before I was accepted into an MA TESOL program.

One thing I can confirm is that you will definitely need a car if you live in a small town. There are no proper bus systems so the only way you can get around small towns without your car is via taxis and that can come with a host of problems. Most people have a certain taxi driver on call that lifts them to their workplace and picks them up but this is not a very reliable system as they are often left without a ride. Also, it is tough to get taxis at night. Here in our town if you walk around in the early hours of the morning the police who are patrolling will actually pick you up and take you home but that is not something to rely on.

In small Omani towns I would say getting an SUV is best because there are whole areas where you have to drive along dirt roads. This is also something to keep in mind if you are planning on spending time relaxing in the desert or visiting wadis. Buy second-hand and from an expat if you can. I picked up my SUV for OMR500 and have a great mechanic from Lebanon who keeps it in fantastic shape.

It is much easier to find nannies/ cleaners in Oman than in some other countries. You could even sponsor a full-time live in maid if you wanted to. The going rate is OMR60 to OMR100 a month but you have to provide flights, medical, food and clothing so it ends up costing a bit more. There are also a number of people that you can hire on a part time basis. We pay our Sri Lankan cleaner OMR5 to clean our villa but there are a lot of cleaners that will do it for less.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Just wanted to say "hi" Lizzie... haven't seen you around for awhile.

VS

MuscatGary · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:57 am Post subject:

We paid our Indian car cleaner 5 omr a month for cleaning the car every day. He did a great job too.

yaramaz · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 1:51 am Post subject:

Thanks, Lizzie! I really appreciate all your info. One thing that we've been trying to figure out the logistics of is the childcare. If we are both hired for the September start (and both Hawthorn and the TATI/Globnet colleges are aiming for that) then we need to somehow line up someone at short notice to be nanny for our little guy. I've tried searching online but aside from obvious Muscat agencies (and we don't want to go to Muscat), it's been pretty futile, especially as we don't know where we might end up and I'm assuming that most local agencies aren't exactly doing the bulk of their work online. We'd prefer to not have a live in nanny (we like our space) but not sure what our options are for someone looking after him while we are at work.

We're aiming to not end up in the tiny towns (Ibri, etc) for this (and other) reasons so if we don't get Salalah, Nizwa or Sohar (or others that might be ok for childcare and housing?), we'll likely try elsewhere.

lizziebennet · Joined: 24 May 2009 Posts: 355

Yaramaz, best thing to do is wait till you are on the ground. We have always hired people because they worked for other expats who could vouch for them. There are a lot of people here who are sponsored by Omanis but they actually pay the Omani for sponsorship and then freelance. I don't know anyone who has gone through an agency. The only reason you would do that is if you want a live-in carer who you would get a visa for.

How old is your little one? There are daycares if you don't mind Arabic, and then quite a few internationals schools (think Indian) which are perfectly adequate when your children are young but not really later on.

yaramaz · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 3:27 am Post subject:

Our little guy is just 16 months old. He currently has a lovely Vietnamese babysitter once or twice a week while I do my part time work here, but I'm ready to go back full time so we'll need a nanny, I think-- I'm totally fine with an arabic speaking nanny as long as I can communicate with her (even if only through a translation app!). I think he's still too young for pre-school (they start at 2 here) and not sure if they would cover our full work day. I'm very open to ideas though.

yaramaz · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 3:30 am Post subject:

Oh, and we just need the child-care for our working hours, not beyond. Happy to do our own cooking and cleaning and childcare when not at work. In Hanoi, you can hire nannies for 8 hour shifts (or 2 different ones for slightly longer morning and afternoon shifts if you need more time), 5 days a week, for about $3-400/month. They live locally so no need for live in.

lizziebennet · Joined: 24 May 2009 Posts: 355

Hi V.S,

Thanks! Hope all is well with you!

Lizzie

Muscat Gary, yes it is not difficult to find someone to clean your car etc for such a small amount of money. I know we pay our cleaner more than others do as our villa is not very large but we feel we need to pay her a fair wage. She has keys to our place and we consider her part of the family.

lizziebennet · Joined: 24 May 2009 Posts: 355

The maids that you will find here will most likely be from Ethopia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. They usually speak their own native languages with a bit of broken English/ Arabic.

I will try ask around about the 16 month old policy for day care. I don't have kids but know quite a few people who do.

I was thinking about your earlier comment about not coming to Oman if they only hired your husband but perhaps, you could consider coming with your husband as a spouse for the first year/ semester and then applying for a job in your area later on after you are both settled in. You would come in on a tourist visa with him and then have to fly out later in order to get your family sponsorship.

yaramaz · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 3:55 am Post subject:

Hi Lizzie,

If he's hired, we might still come, but if only I get hired we would rethink the plan due to the visa laws. We'll see what happens- we are interviewing this week- and adjust plans accordingly.

Can I get hired for the following semester if I'm within the country on a spouse visa? Some countries make you go home first before returning on a work visa.

MuscatGary · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 5:30 am Post subject:

balqis · Joined: 30 Jul 2006 Posts: 373

Yes, but in Hanoi a nanny will be Vietnamese, whereas no Omani woman will ever agree to do the nanny's job or work for an expat in any capacity, so you will have to employ a poor African or Filipino foreigner to Oman, who just like you, needs proper place to live and sleep.

In Nizwa there is an International Kindergarden, but I don't know what age children may join the place. I knew two foreign couples with a little child, and in both cases the husbands stayed home and looked after the child and only the women taught, and in general their situation was not easy. Unless you live in Muscat, then all is different, but I am talking about remote provincial areas of Oman.

balqis

madrileno · Joined: 19 Aug 2010 Posts: 270 Location: Salalah, Oman

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

That really might be the best option. Let your husband get the job and get you and your son there, then you will have a few months to get everything sorted as far as childcare and start working later.

Just be sure to avoid the smallest places.

VS

yaramaz · Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 5:41 am Post subject:

That's a good idea. We'll see what our options are as interviews are starting soon.