Job Discussion Forums

[kristina]

Hi, all. I've been searching through past posts but there's very little on Iran. Of course, Iran is currently on the US State Dept's travel warning list, so that makes me a bit uncomfortable, but on the other hand, I've heard from several people that Iran, while perhaps not friendly to the US as a country, is very friendly and hospitable to individuals. (That was a few years ago, however.)

Anyone have any information (or gut feelings) about whether or not it would be extremely bad for a US citizen to take a job in Iran at this time? Additionally, anyone know a site that has info about educational/qualification requirements to get a teaching visa there? (I recently saw a job announcement that said a 2-year degree was all that was required, and that sounds a little ... odd from what I've heard of the ME in general.)

Any info, opinions, pointers to other info sites, etc, hugely appreciated.

Kristina

[veiledsentiments]

From what I have heard, there are very few foreigners teaching there and the salaries are very low. That is probably why they are not asking for much in the way of credentials.

If you are American, you may run into difficulties with the visa. Americans on tourist visas are required to go with 'organized tours' which means doing it through a travel agency and hiring a guide. (much discussion of this topic on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree site)

I would say that you would be under less danger than any US city I can name.

You will find little help here since most teachers who have experience with teaching there did it before the revolution. To be honest, I don't think you have much of a chance of getting a job there. Probably the best way would be to go as a tourist and try within the country, but I'm not sure of the legalities of that step.

VS

[kristina]

Thanks, veiledsentiments. I'm actually not looking for a job there myself: I have a small website where part of it lets people post job announcements, and this one for Iran came through. I'm not entirely sure I want to post it because of all the anti-American sentiment and the US State Department's warnings, but I want to at least try to give the poster a fair shake before I reject it out of hand.

[abufletcher]

Perhaps you could ask the person annoucing the job to include information about a visa. Any reputable school anywhere should at least aid their teachers in getting visas.

That having been said, I think it extremely unlikely that an American could at this point in history legally work as an EFL teacher in Iran. A Brit might have more luck though.

[scot47]

Not all of us on this forum are US citizens or see things from the perspective of Washington, DC !

[abufletcher]

I'm a US citizen but I still don't see things from the perspective of Washington, D.C.

Years ago I was hanging out by the dhows on Dubai creek and was invited aboard a couple of Iranian crewed ones for tea and chat. They were quite friendly and said they'd be happy to take me over to Bandar Abbas for a couple of days and not to worry about anything.

I turned them down but I often wonder. When I just just finishing up my BA and thinking of getting into EFL, Iran was THE place to be and, in fact, I signed up for an Arabic class in college primarily because Farsi wasn't being offered. That was 1979.

[guangho]

I had one potential offer from outside of Tehran (don't remember which city)- 125,000 Irani Rials/month or U.S. $13.72, a bit low even by TEFL standards. Every Iranian I talked to at TEFL conferences and the like seemed friendly and agreeable but who knows what the daily reality is down there?

[veiledsentiments]

[kristina]

Thanks, everyone for your input!

abufletcher: I know what you mean about the perspective of Washington, D.C.

guangho: This one says "salary negotiable" but no range, which is often a red flag for me.

In general, job announcements for TEFL where the minimum qualifications are "High School" or "None" and the salary is "Good for the area" make me suspicious.

scot47, I am very interested in the perspective of non-US citizens as well. (I've actually gotten a lot of valuable insight from your posts in particular in various forums here, for which I thank you.) It's just that basically, I'm in the US, my site's in the US, and USians are notoriously likely to sue anyone or anything at the drop of a hat, so yes, I am interested in the safety of USians in particular as well as in the legalities of even being able to get a visa. Since my site's more of a personal hobby that got out of control, I don't charge for posting or viewing jobs and thus I don't really have any interest other than putting up jobs that I myself might like to apply for.

I have another announcement I'm also considering not posting, since it's in Nigeria, and from what I've read on this forum -- some from scot47 -- and elsewhere, that's not exactly a great place for westerners to go teach either, US or not.

Tough call. Maybe I should post such jobs, but refuse to display them if the IP address is in the US? Or just put a big giant red warning on them that, if you are in the US, you might not be able to legally work there.

Heh. For years I get nothing but Korea and China with the occasional Czech Republic and now this.

[ricefigaro]

anybody else try responding to this ad? I've run across it on a couple of boards and sent emails to the account listed (something at yahoo.com) but have not heard back from either.

[kristina]

For what it's worth, the person who submitted it emailed to ask me why the announcement wasn't posted, so I replied with my concerns and asked if she would give me information on working visa arrangements and so forth. I never received a response. I don't know if that means that she did not care to reply, or if some spam filter somewhere ate it, but I ended up not posting the announcement because of it.

[Brooks]

there are Americans paid to play basketball in Iran.
Maybe it is a matter of time before Americans are allowed to teach English again.

A former professor of mine taught in Iran in the 70s and he had good memories of it.
Good luck.

[Bebsi]

In case you haven't noticed, one or two minor changes have taken place in Iran since the early 70s!!

With all their world travel, why is it that EFL teachers are among the most naive people on this planet?

[redafiya]

I have worked with , and been very close friends with Iranians for about fifteen years now, and I have to tell you, I have found them to be some of the loveliest poeple I have ever met -- generous, kind, cultured, well read, sincere , supportive and gentle -- Of course, this is only the perspective from those I have known, but this is my sincerest impression of them.

I like Arabs too, but remember, these are Persian people, and the psyche is quite different.

Having said the above -- I have never taught Iranians in Iran, just abroad.

Re their views of Americans and Brits -- every single Iranian I have known , every one, had the good sense to differentiate between hating US foreign policy and US soldiers , and their usually very optimistic view of US and UK people, face to face.

But having said that -- I was recently surprised to meet a bunch of early 20's Iranians who , wait for it -- willed Bush to invade and bomb Iran so they could be free from the Mullahs and the oppressive Shia regime....

So there are some weird, surprising diverse currents going on there , and don't expect "one size fits all" Iranians. Over the last fifteen years, I have known 1. apostate anti Muslim Iranians who couldnt wait to escape the "fetters" of religion . 2. Anarcho communist Iranians. 3. Very trad shia clerics. 4. Young kids into Metallica and dancing. 5. Very, very cultured Iranians into poetry, classical and modern art, Zoroastrian tradition and so on...

Lovely, fascinating people....but i have no idea how living there would be in the current climate.... But i think you may be surrpised by some wild underground scenes going on there -- a close Iranian friend of mine recently told me all kinds of "sexual licentiousness" goes on , freely and willingly, underground at hidden parties etc, and there have been reports that there is a trend for young men to , wait for it -- dress up as austere mullahs ( ! ) , whilst their girlfriends wear black shrouds -- but once they get behind closed doors -- off comes the fake mullah gear, worn to conceal suspicions, and out comes the booze and the metallica cd's! Bizarre, but true ( Do a BBC search, it may be there....)

So -- real change is going on there -- but whether that is good or bad change depends on whether you are talking to an Iranian communist, strict Islamic cleric or a Iranian fashion icon clubber...strange times indeed....

I am no defender of the current PM -- i neither like him, yet nor do I have any reason to object to him -- but the press seem to whip up hysteria, to want to smear and savage him any way they can..I think the US neocons, hawks and pro israel lobby and the UK poodles want to destroy him, any way they can.

Now, some of the Iranians I know would invite his destruction and would love to return to a kind of hey day Shah existence -- but by no means all would want that....by no means....

Adjectives I would use to describe the many close Iranian friends I have known over 15 years would be -- very passionate, very sincere, polite, kind, gentle, righteous, cultured, serious about religion, politics, poetry etc, well intentioned,generous, sensitive, inquisitive, trying to be broad minded...

So, you can see my view of them....but my only caveat would be -- I have only known Iranians OUTSIDE their home country, and that can be a whole different ball game for sure....

For example -- I knew Koreans pretty well for about five years before going to live there, and I was deeply, deeply impressed by them, but that was turned on its head when i went to live there -- qualities I took to be passionate and emotional turned out more often than not -- to actually be signs of resentment and prejudice -- impassioned political consciousness I had respected often turned out to be reactionary xenophobia and nationalism etc....so , keep that very real caveat in mind.... context makes all the difference...

[redafiya]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1740617.stm


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3486779.stm


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2563413.stm