Job Discussion Forums

[bigdurian]

MOD edit

[casio]

I know some of the teachers who work for this contractor. Basically, they do the work we do but for less money. The pay might be proportionate to the qualifications and years of experience but that said 11k is very low. There are other language institutes that hire recently qualified people that pay a lot more. Cast a wider net!

[Gamajorba]

So now I'm out of KSA, I can reveal that I worked for Assrooh. Never had a single problem with them - they paid on time, provided what you wanted/needed very quickly (in my case, visas and documents for various things), provided more than the advertisements (e.g. cellphone, laptop) and are very pleasant people.

The 11k salary is true, but this is when you work in 1 position e.g. a military base. However I have heard people earn more than this per month. If one gets effectively 2 jobs, it's more like 21k a month, and I was the least experienced out of 4 who did this dual role. The dual role in Riyadh involves teaching at the air base in Al Kharj (45 min drive each way from Al Kharj where you live) and Saudi Electronic University in Riyadh (1.5 hrs driving each way from Al Kharj). Yeh that's 4-5 hours driving a day...

The jobs themselves are pretty straightforward - the Base gets you to teach the American Language Course (a series of 26 books) to classes from 2-14 students, where they get tested on a book they studied every 2 weeks, and a final test every 4 weeks, if they pass, they leave the course, if not, they stay on. And every final test written means the following Thursday off, so a day off for the teacher too.

SEU has its own syllabus, lesson plans etc all designed in preparation for the STEP exam at the end of the year (which can also be taken by students at any time, if they get above a cetain mark, they are exempt from taking the English classes of their prep year), whilst also encouraging them to do their online work on the EF platform. Those on the dual role do not need to be in on Thursdays, but those who don't usually do go in

The problems here don't lie with Assrooh directly - they're great. The issues are with the institutions. The Base has teachers from Dyncorp and Al Salam who get paid effectively double what Assrooh get paid (on a single job), and do far less work, period. Management is also somewhat crazy, especially after making classes SIX HOURS LONG. So that's 30 contact hours a week just at the Base. This is a recent development, as this time last year classes were only 2,which then went up to 4. Not to mention marks are frequently doctored in tests by management to get students in and out ASAP, and not always for the best students either.

University management can also be very erratic and last minute, with the necessary people failing to be around when needed, making very last minute demands, etc. The course material is largely irrelevant and poorly designed, students who have studied abroad and are quite fluent get put in classes with students who can't even say hello and there's nothing that can be done to change students classes, student support has been frequently complained about for not being of any use and the technology can fail spectacularly a lot (especially when the programs you need for the coursebook don't work). Not to mention invigilating exams when there are clearly more than enough people to cover all classes, so some are just there for seemingly no reason.

Unfortunately, I felt like I couldn't gel with most colleagues. I'll leave those opinions for PMS, and management in both places could be touchy to deal with (especially the Base who makes teachers get a replacement teacher for any day they want off, which works out as $100 a day from ones own pocket, but they and other companies vanish without a problem), and in the last few weeks, it was just generally unpleasant to work in.

Personally I would recommend Assrooh to anyone if they want quick and easy money, but they have to be able to put up with hours of driving and other s***

EDIT: I have also noticed that at least 2 of my (now former) colleagues have posted on this, one has spoken the truth about Assrooh, one is just a kiss up. I shall refrain from naming them. But goes to show how small the world is

[scot47]

So you took two jobs, which made you twice as miserable as you would have been with one ? Or does your dissatisfaction increase exponentially as your workload increases ?

[Gamajorba]

[scot47]

I have met some "Stakhanovites" in KSA but this wins the prize !

[Gamajorba]

[scot47]

Gamjorba
How long did you stick it for ?

I finished all my contracts in KSA, viz

1970-1972
1990-1991
1996-2002
2003-2011

Some of us are made of sterner stuff than you !
I have two daughters - one was born in KSA and the other did much of her early schooling there.

I can communicate with some ease in Arabic and am not a Xenophobe or Islamophobe.

What is your claim to fame, apart from teaching 60 hours a week and driving 5 hours a day for a few months ?

[nomad soul]

[Gamajorba]

I had an iqama. Out of the 4 of us who lived in Al Kharj, 3 of us had the Iqama, only the American had the business visa and was flying to Bahrain every month. And also (in my own opinion only) rather selfishly used the car for the whole weekend just to do that rather than get a taxi which would have been reimbursed.

I am only aware of about 2 people who worked for Assrooh based in Riyadh/Al Kharj who had the business visa.

[Gamajorba]

[scot47]

I thought you might be busy adjusting to the harsh realities of Moscow.