Job Discussion Forums

[stoth1972]

The single mom situation may affect this even more, but I think others might want to weigh in on this. My experience has been that you could easily earn enough to legally sponsor a child on your visa, but paying for education or even day care of a child on those salaries in the UAE is unheard of (please don't think I'm the bearer of bad news! ).

I have known a few divorced women in the UAE who worked in international schools, and therefore received a discount on their children's admission(this varies from school to school, but Sabis in Egypt paid 100% while Sabis is the UAE paid 25% the first year, 50% the 2nd, etc), Those women generally had an ex-spouse in the UAE who earned an education allowance to put towards expenses. If you had a teaching certificate or even a masters, this would be viable, but I fear that these variables (your credentials, your experience, and the fact that you have to support a child) together make this nearly impossible.

Dubai is westernized to a degree. Divorce is expected while people reside there, but mothers with kids born out of wedlock are forced to either marry or leave the country. Someone posting recently said they had to have a signature from the father, or some proof of his existence before getting the visa. I can say that I only met one divorced woman there, and the school was hiring her back, rather than bringing on a new teacher. Those women working in the universities and with good K-12 schools do get educational benefits to pay for schooling and child care.

Honestly, from a financial standpoint and the ability to support a child (whether in school, day care, or whatever) I would recommend North Africa. You will be able to earn enough to support your child, and still enjoy life. Taxis are much cheaper than in the UAE, and the general cost of living in exceptionally lower. I worked with many single mothers in Egypt. I found the Egyptian schools were more sympathetic to family issues than in the UAE. Paychecks came before the holiday break, concessions were made, the school gave a bigger discount towards the teacher whose children attended the school, etc.

I think some other ESL teachers who've been in the UAE should weigh in on this, though. I have not put a child through school there, but I have seen the tuition rates, and am familiar with what my more qualified friends at the universities are getting in terms of compensation.

Yes, the illegal work on being in Europe. Many of us have done that! Well, I wouldn't recommend Europe if you have to support a child. The money is just enough to get by, but not great. Please PM me if you are interested in Egypt. I could make a recommendation or two. I hope some others in the UAE can provide additional insight. Good luck to you!

[yavannah]

Honest iadvice is better than sugar-coating. I'd rather hear it now than make a huge mistake and find myself in a jam.

I've heard good things about Egypt. I'd actually be interested in going there. I just wasn't sure how the single mom thing would work. I saw a post in the Job Forum here for a school in Cairo, but they wanted someone like 1st of September or something and I don't think I'd be ready by then. Shame as it sounded like a nice package. They didn't even require a TEFL certificate, so I'm not sure if that's the sign of a bad school or the sign that I'd have a decent chance of getting a job.

I've heard a little bit from single moms in Dubai on another forum. The ones I talked to were pretty happy, but not sure what kind of jobs they had.

I suppose it would have made more sense to post this on the Middle East board, but I started out just asking for general advice and ended up getting into specifics. I've gotten more here than from my post on the UAE board asking for info about IAS. Go figure.

[stoth1972]

I've never heard of IAS until recently on this board. Most of the people here tend to be teaching at the uni level, rather than K-12. For the decent jobs that aren't your average language institute jobs, you really would need to be ready to start immediately(egypt and elsewhere). There are some schools in Egypt who require nothing more than a BA, and while the CELTA is appreciated, it is not often required. There seems to have become this extremes in the Middle East for educational requirements. Outside of the schools that want actual teacher certification, the rest of your possible employers either want nothing (scary) or a Masters (scary and expensive).

I did work for a school in Cairo in which 60% of my colleagues were qualified teachers, while another 20% were unqualified but experienced with a TESOL cert/CELTA, and the remaining 20% were recent grads with no experience.


Some schools will be doing late hiring in the next month, and again a few hires to start in January, but this isn't much to count on. If you want to go soon, now is the time. Otherwise, you could wait a year, perhaps starts a diploma in TESOL, or if you're serious about going abroad, then get into a masters programme. i know there are colleges in the US which have fellowships for MA TESOL students. YOu teach some ESL, they pay for your degree and a little stipend. Not too bad!