Job Discussion Forums

[EFL Teacher]

Who has an MA (TESOL/TEFL/Applied Linguistics etc or teaching related) as well as a related BA and ten years' experience in the field of teaching?

In addition, this poll is not for those over 60. I don't make the laws but anyone who reads the job ads for KSA will realise that most of the current-day ads are asking for applicants to be younger than sixty and in some cases even younger which rules them out of the equation and hence the poll.

[veiledsentiments]

Why would someone with those credentials go to Saudi? Unless, for some reason they have become unemployable in the other Gulf countries? Perhaps curiosity to see what it is like there?

I actually applied and was accepted for a job in Riyadh when I had an MA + 11 years. I considered it as I had friends at the institution involved. But, I also had other offers and I chose to take one with slightly less money, but better working conditions - fewer contact hours and longer holidays.

I am still under 60, so even though I wouldn't go now, it would allow me to vote yes...

VS

[Gordon]

I'll vote 4 weeks early as then I will qualify for your poll. My answer is "No". Better countries out there with fewer restrictions. Money is not my God.

[GabeKessel]

I have an MA and I had 13 years experience when I went to the KSA. I applied at many places that supposedly paid well, in the US and in Japan. I continued applying but could not get work for a long time. I had to become a tele-marketer to support myself in the US. Then, I applied in Saudi and got an offer real quick.

The thing is an MA does not guarantee you will find a good job reasonably soon anywhere else. But in Saudi you can get work quickly and easily.

Also, as you get older you no longer want to teach in places where they don't pay well. It was fun to teach in Thailand for a while but I left with very little in savings. You can leave Saudi after a few years with $50,000, $60,000 or more.

And it's not as bad as they say. I liked it.