Job Discussion Forums

paddyflynn · Joined: 13 Dec 2012 Posts: 26

Thanks for the replies.

As for BC, here in Hanoi they are known as the hardest center to get hired by, and that's even if you're there and available to interview with them personally. Also, there is the perception that Americans innterviewing with the BC start of with one strike against them. Furthermore, they tend to ask for teachers with 3-5 years of post-CELTA experience, and I only have 2. I don't think the BC in Hanoi would hire me. Would I really have better luck in Hong Kong?

As for how much I want to save, well, I have a hard time keeping my spending under $1,500 a moth here in Hanoi. I know lots of people who live for less, but I need at least 3 western meals a week, I prefer cocktails to beers, and I like to buy clothes. I could make $2k a month here and save $500 with a good standard of living. If I were to go somewhere with nothing to do, I'd like to save 1.5-2k a month.

I've heard of people going to the ME and making $5,000 a month plus an apartment. They also say that their students like to take them out for nice meals, and that there aren't many places to drink, so they either save most of their cash or blow it on luxury goods. That sounds great to me, though I'm not aware of any ME positions that are just for the summer.

Honestly, if there's somewhere on this earth where life is so not-fun that nobody wants to live there, and they're so desperate for teachers that the'll pay a lot for people to go there, that's where I want to go for the summer. I don't care how rough it is, I can deal with it for a summer.

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

Hod · Joined: 28 Apr 2003 Posts: 1613 Location: Home

Hands up who's done a two- or three-month stint in the Middle East? I've never heard of this, and it sounds a right palaver. As mentioned above, it's Ramadan time from 6th June, which changes things from tricky to downright impossible.

I wouldn't go thinking you're not worthy of the BC. They took me on after all. They're after 15 teachers for this summer, and it won't be so easy to get them. That IH job (9 teachers) also looked decent to me. I might even apply myself unless I can get a three-month part-time ESP course in Bhutan first.

peripatetic_soul · Joined: 20 Oct 2013 Posts: 303

Paddyflynn,

Sent you a PM about your thread on jobs in the ME.

As other have indicated, institutions in UAE do NOT recruit applicants for summer positions (not economical in terms of visa process). Instead, teachers under contract accept those short-term gigs, and in some cases, are mandatory (sans additional remuneration).

Regards

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Teachers on summer courses in KSA and UAE are teachers who are already there. No way do employers in that part of world look for "parachutists" to come in to teach short summer courses.

For those already there on contracts, summer teaching and evening classes are handy supplements to that petrodollar paycheque.

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

D. Amokachi · Joined: 15 Oct 2014 Posts: 60

Apollo English are also offering summer work in Vietnam.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

A university in Qiqihar in Northern China offered me a two-month summer stint a few years back. I did not go and sometimes regret that I did not take this opportunity. I do not think I would have made much money out of it but 8 weeksthere might have been a pleasant change from the Middle East.

Don72 · Joined: 02 Feb 2016 Posts: 8

Are you the scot 47 who claimed to live in Bulgaria for 20 years AND claimed to make a 100,000 K/yr. in Hong Kong? Just askin'.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=113271

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

I have never been in HK or claimed to have been there. Is there an impostor about ?

I went to teach in Bulgaria in 1991. I lived there for 20 years. From 1996, while living there I had contracts in the Middle East.

Some posters find it hard to grasp the reality of others people's lives ! I remember how often people had problems in grasping the reality of - "I am from Scotland. I live in Bulgaria. I teach in Jeddah."

The world is complex.

In the heat of the moment · Joined: 22 May 2015 Posts: 393 Location: Italy

I'm visiting Bulgaria as well as a few other Balkan countries, for the first time, in June. Any tips from an experienced expat there would be appreciated. I am from London. I live in [tba]. I teach in Riyadh.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Sofia is a hell-hole. Better are Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, and Russe. Burgas and Varna are swarming with the more unsavoury type of British tourists. The resorts on the Black Sea are worse than vile.

A week in Plovdiv would be nice. stay in the centre of town and enjoy the ambience. Head South for a taste of the Hills, avoiding the touristy places.

Forget about teaching there. Bulgars long ago saw through the "mystique" of the native speaker and do not need our services to learn English.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

I have many Bulgarian friends, colleagues, and students, and I agree with scot - they are not much in need of native speakers of English. Their own state school system does the job admirably. But a nice place to visit in many respects!

kpjf · Joined: 18 Jan 2012 Posts: 385

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Stunning scenery and stunning ladies. I am a teetotaller so cannot comment on the alcohol. I am told it is of high quality. As a Finnish visitor said to me ," Ah Bulgaria, the mountains are so high and the rakia is so cheap !"