Job Discussion Forums

[nomad soul]

[sammysez]

Can we stay focused on the Aramco interview?

What to expect? What will be asked?

What is the living situation like in Saudi?

How often do they fly you home?

Mandatory overtime or not?

Thanks

[sicklyman]

Interview: grammar, classroom management, how to deal with behaviour issues/activity/lesson outlines for various scenarios (e.g. Teaching writing to pre-intermediate learners, teaching present-perfect with elementary learners etc)/use of tech in the classroom (curriculum is delivered on iPads so knowledge of that and using iBooks will help)

Living situation depends greatly on where you are. Too generic a question. Ask for specifics (e.g. Walking to work ) if you want specifics.

You fly home twice a year - every six months you get a flight.

Mandatory overtime is quite likely and will be dependent on the time of year. You should be prepared for it. OT means teaching more than the standard 5 periods a day.

PS... don't complain because the answers to these questions don't line up with your preferences. This is the reality. If you don't like it, don't take the job.

[sammysez]

The job or our start date isn't until November for ARAMCO?

Aren't they starting classes in September like the rest of Saudi students?

A very long time to wait. That's months without a paycheck.

[nomad soul]

[marklor]

doing what? picking beans? few employers will take people on for 3 months,
certainly not well paying ones. Apropos, what kind of medical tests does one require for an Iqama? Are we talking ten fingers and toes or intensive proctology exams? My contractor didn't stipulate but I presume I'll be paying for it...with my bean pickin' money

[nomad soul]

[sicklyman]

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

MOD EDIT: Several postings have been deleted. Rude, unhelpful, insulting and other varieties of inappropriate postings have been known to end tenures here.

Just thought I'd mention this in case anyone is interested.

[dragonpiwo]

As sicklyman has pointed out, this is vocational training. This means they are adults, they may have some skills, the instruction is job related (not always at low levels) and there are no terms. Oil companies are notorious for springing surprises on people, so you will need to be flexible.

At the 5 or 6 I've worked for you could expect some of the following: courses being shortened or lengthened, unexpectedly being told to design a course and teach it in a week's time, a lack of appropriate materials, mixed ability classes, big classes, broken smart boards, rowdy trainees, trainees who do nothing, trainees who sleep, trainees who are really good but you can't fast track, technical teachers who want you to teach ESP but won't help you make materials that help them, cancelled leave, last minute leave, general unfairness caused by wasta, nastiness from colleagues (usually those from the poorer ME countries), alcoholic colleagues, incompetent colleagues who you'll have to carry, office hours even when the trainees are on leave and so on. You'll also have to learn a new lingo. We talk about trainees and instructors, we have superintendents not DOSses, we have leave not holidays. Added to that, you'll have to learn a lot about the industry if the programme's a really good 1. For example: What do operators do? What is static equipment? What is rotating equipment? What is gas process? What are utilities? What's organic chemistry and how does fractionation/distillation work? What's PPE? What tools are involved? What do you do if there's a fire or H2S alarm?
Aramco use I-pads and you may need to brush up on smart classrooms.
If you haven't worked in the industry before, there's so much to learn.
So my advice is very simple. Take the job, don't moan, be thankful for the money and listen to the people who know how to do the job and more importantly know how the place really operates. Noone likes a newbie smartass and from my experience, they usually mess things up for everyone. Arrive, breathe and learn. The least of your worries is the start date.

[scot47]

Dragonpiwo -
The Voice of Experience and Reason !

[sicklyman]

[scot47]

The SciFi novel "Dune" was written by a guy who worked for years for Aramco. Oldtimers used to say that it gave some understanding of how that organisation functioned. I never goit that close - though I did sometimes use the facilities on Aramco Main Compound. A weird place. Very few EFLers are accommodated there now. Teaching staff at the schools within Aramco are, but that is a whole different game.

[timmytopee]

I have worked in a two-tier system before (HK) where some teachers were on a great contracts with all the benefits (more annual leave, housing, better pay, fewer teaching hours) and I was on the contract that sucked, paid my own housing, no education allowance for kids, etc.

In my experience, that breeds resentment over time in even the best of teachers.

As far as SARAMCO, some instructors would be working with co-workers who go home to beautiful compounds, security, movie theaters and free food... while others basically "go local" -- always looking over their shoulders (let's face it... those compounds have guards with M-16s for a valid reason) ... in the end, I've decided NOT to accept the SARAMCO deal. They should be honored that a professional would even WANT to go to KSA to teach for them. I'd rather not live seeing others "live the good life" while I'm budgeting to send money (yes, I know, quite a bit) back home. I would eventually grow bitter. Life is too short.

In the end, I got a great job at KOC university in Turkey for 10K Lira a month, free housing, educational benefits for children AND annual ticket back home.

Don't settle...

[dragonpiwo]

Just about all oil companies have this 2-tier system. Even more so these days.