Job Discussion Forums

[ghost]

Folks

Ghost has been shortlisted for a job at the Institute of Applied Technology in Dubai and it looks like an interview will take place soon.

Some questions.

1. What is it like working there?

2. What are the students like? Have been told that teaching in some places in the Gulf region can be 'challenging' because many of the students are not motivated.

3. Salary and vacation time.

Ghost possesses the following qualifications:
B.A., B.Ed., M.A., plus Post Grad. in T.E.S.L. and Second Language teaching.

Of concern is the fact that the website about the place gives zero information (yes 0 info!) about base salaries, vacation time and other relevant areas of interest for transplanted teachers, on which to base their decisions. Housing issues too, are of interest.

Please look at their website, for confirmation of the above!

www.iat.ac.ae

Has anyone on this board actually worked there?

Any information would be most gratefully received.

Also, last of all, if one is called for interview, will it be kosher to ask the above questions?

Ghost, McGill student, East Asian, and Oriental languages.

[Afra]

Do a search. This topic was discussed earlier this year.

[Manny2]

Hi Ghost,
If you are willing to earn as little as DH8000 and be given the paltry sum of Dh3600 or thereabouts as a housing allowance then go for it but my advice is to look elcewhere. The package is bad and the admin and management are not too hot either.

With your qualifications you would definitly meet the HCT requirements amd at the moment they are desperately short of staff both at the Dubai and Abu Dhabi campuses. They have been advertising all this week in the Gulf News and even have an ad now on Dave's job board.

[NadiaK]

Ditto what Manny said.

It's not only the Dubai and AD HCT campuses who are in desperate need of faculty either, so there are plenty of jobs going.

[Arab Strap]

Yes I'd like to know about IAT too, in particular their project with the UAE military.

They provide no information about salary or other benefits on their website.

Is there anyone out there in the know?

[hafniumite]

IAT are trying to recuit Australian and New Zealand passport holders. Their Head was recently at Griffith University in Australia trying to drum up support for his noble cause.

As to what they are actually prepared to offer, this is what I have been told:

Teachers for the IAT high schools:
All in AED (dirhams)
Monthly Basic Salary plus Monthly Housing allowance to total 15,500
Relocation Allowance, amortized over 3 years - 20,000
Return annual flight allowance to place of origin
Gratuity Payment of one month's salary per year served
Should the teacher have a dependant child accompanying him/her, then an annual Education Allowance is provided for each child.

This is approximate as it varies slightly depending on the marital
status, children accompanying etc.


In the end the person I knew turned it down as not only would one find it very difficult to find anything half decent in Dubai or Abu Dhabi to live, but it amounted to less than their current teaching salary back at home.

[Hannibal_the_Conquerer]

15,500Dhs a month?!?! Not a chance. I worked there last year and I was top of my school's pay scale and made 12, 800. I heard they had lowered entry level salary offers as well.

I won't slag the place, but from the qualifications you have, they would be wasted at the school. There were teacheres there with no EFL training at all and unrelated degrees (not to say that they were not very effective!) It is all about your attitude, paper certs won't help you at all there. I had fun some days, I hated it other days. They are not the best students in the Gulf, not the worst, but that is relative.

Try for one of the Uni's or HCT, better pay and better teaching environments. I know UAEU lost a lot of teachers last year, try there.

Good luck!

[Manny2]

Hannibal
The Dh15,500 mentioned earlier includes the accomodation allowance so then that number is not unreasonable. Ghost who has taken up an offer mentions in another post that he has been offered approx DH5000 for accomodation allowance with them in Al Ain and I presume with his qualifications he was offered at least DH10,000 salary if not more so his package could then well be in excess of DH15,500.

Plus if they are hoping to attract Australian /NZ passport holders through their recruitment by Griffith University and offer less than DH15,500 all in then they will not attract many candidates from that region.

Manny

[gstieglit]

The number of 15,500 does not sound that bad. However, I do not know the costs of accomodation for a family of 3. Can a family get decent place for around 900 US a month?

[Manny2]

Not in Abu Dhabi or Dubai...