Job Discussion Forums

[Flowers]

I am an Australian female, with 5 years experience, applying for teaching jobs in Dubai. I have a few questions:

Can anyone give me info about Beacon Education schools?

What about the Australian International School in Sharjah?

What about positions offered through Select Education?

Are there any 1 year contracts out there or only 2 year?

Is $36,000AUD (102, 044AED) a good salary?

Thanking you!!!

[peterpan13]

Is accommodation included as part of the contract or is there an accommodation allowance?
You will need to consider this as Dubai is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and rental costs are skyrocketing!
It's fairly common in the Middle East Gulf countries for rental accommodation to be paid yearly in advance so check this out!
Have you checked the UAE Forum? There should be some existing threads there that could help you or even re-post your notice there, you might get a lot more replies especially from those currently in the UAE.

[Flowers]

Yes, this includes fully-furnished accomodation, return airfare and medical insurance.

[peterpan13]

Ok - then that makes a difference in relation to your salary question.It should be a good experience for you.Before making a final decision, try to make contact with some other teachers at the same school and check on the accommodation and other relevant issues related to the teaching situation.Air-conditioning is a must for the Summer months - check this in regard to your accommodation. Be prepared as things don't work as smoothly in the Middle East as things do at home in Australia.Toilets, stoves and air-conditioners etc regularly break down - check to see who is responsible for this sort of maintenance at your accommodation. I tend to "lay my cards on the table" in an interview situation and ask if they are happy to supply some of these contacts as you wish to ask some general questions.
Dubai is a large modern city rapidly expanding and Sharjah is a bordering Emirate (they virtually run into each other), there are immense traffic problems in peak times so you might need to check on the transport situation.
Good Luck

[younggeorge]

The salary's not great but OK.

Beacon Education is well established and, since I haven't heard anything bad about them, I presume they must be OK.

The Australian International School in Sharjah is brand new, I think. The only evidence I have of them is a couple of very showy banners on one of the peak traffic hot-spots - looks as if they have money for advertising anyway.

Never heard of Select Education.

There are definitely 1-year contracts out there - they used to be standard - but the trend seems to be to seek a longer commitment these days, with a lot of institutions going for 3 years. There will normally be a get-out clause, though, and the first year is often probationary on both sides so it should be possible to leave without penalty after a year. You'll have to check the details of any contract you're offered.

[Van Norden]

Bear in mind that if you're paid in Dirhams your salary will be fluctuating in Australian Dollar terms. 3 or 4 years ago Dh102,000 would've translated into more than AUD$50K. Be prepared for a roller-coaster ride with the currencies.

As the Dirham is tied to the fragile US$, any change over this year is more likely to be to your disadvantage even though the AUD is currently at 5-year highs against the Dh/US$.

Roller-coaster: http://au.finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert?from=AUD&to=AED&amt=1&t=5y

[tedkarma]

Somewhat of a low wage for the area. There are international schools and then there are "international schools" - I'd try to figure out which category this school fits in to.

If you have the credentials (graduate degree?) - there are schools that pay quite a bit more. Try the Colleges of Higher Technology and the Petroleum Institute.

[younggeorge]