Job Discussion Forums

shoosh · Joined: 21 Mar 2006 Posts: 31

Hello.

Some background info first: I live in Ontario, Canada. I'm 27, male, universty grad.

I am trying to decide where to teach and if I could go anywhere I would LOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVEEEEEEEEE to see Dubai. I heard you

can make great money in Dubai but as far as I know that's just exaggeration. Take everything with a grain of salt I guess!

Anyways, I would really like to make good money while living in an awsome place. Would Dubai offer this? Are there any other

places in the UAE (or the rest of the Middle East??)

I don't think that the UAE is in any political turmoil but I could be wrong. Anything going on there? How safe is it to live

there?

Another question is if I want to make good money should I be content with teaching in a elementary/secondary school or will I

have to teach at a univeristy/college? I have a BA in Kinesiology from my 3 years in university and my TESOL cert and no

prior teaching ESL experience.

I'm trying to decide between Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, or the UAE. Right now I just want to know where I would be better

off if I want to make decent money and live in a nice place which is safe.

Would I be better off applying through an agency or doing my own search? All of this seems like such a huge task for someone

with no experience so I'm wondering if it would be better to go through an agency to kinda relieve me of some of the burden.

Also, how intense is the work (ie. do they have you working 60+ hours a week)

Thanks for your help

Cleopatra · Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 9:41 am Post subject:

Afra · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 389

Excellent advice from Cleopatra.

stoth1972 · Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2006 7:38 pm Post subject:

Well, we've seen in recent threads that the Higher Colleges of Technology are lowing their credential requirements to a degree, but that seems to be for people with loads of relevant experience (i.e. university ESL).

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

Korea or Japan would be better fit for you.

Not to blow my own horn, my website might be of help to you.

shoosh · Joined: 21 Mar 2006 Posts: 31

Well after reading that lovely post by Cleopatra it sounds like Dubai is just unattainable!

BTW I wasn't demanding the right to pick anywhere I wanted to go. Dubai just happens to intrest me the most because I have heard so much about it. And as for my comment about "is anything going on there?" I was speaking in terms of their current events. I never hear anything about Dubai in the news at home and I wondered if they were affected by a lot of the crap that goes on in other Mid East countires (ie. the violence). I was hoping some people on here who are in Dubai or have been there could have commented on that but I guess I should have asked for thos epeople specifically.

I was thinking about it after I posted this and I wondered if Syria was a popular place for teaching. My girlfriend's family lives there and at least I would have a place to stay. I also have family in Switzerland but I don't know if people go there to teach or not. Something to look into I guess.

stoth1972 · Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:54 am Post subject:

Shoosh, if you are elementary qualified, then there are teaching opportunities in the UAE. The schools here do tend to prefer people with some experience, but it's not always the case. In my opinion, though schools teachers don't bring home the same salary as an MA holding uni teacher, they don't do too bad, at all, and I think the holidays and work days might actually be a bit shorter than your average HCT uni teacher. You could still expect to bring home around 9000+ dirhams/month plus accommodation in most good schools. The best schools (e.g. Rashid School for Boys and Latifa School for Girls) offer packages that rival the Higher Colleges of Technolgy. Easy to get a job in those particular schools? Not at all. You might look into applying at the American school, which hires a good dose of Canadians.

Cleopatra · Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 2:59 pm Post subject:

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

I'd say to give Syria a try... place to stay... and a country that is multiples times more interesting than plastic touristy Dubai. You wouldn't make much money, but worth a visit.

VS

Queen of Sheba · Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 397

I lived in Dubai a few years ago, and finding a job in Dubai may take a very long time for someone with little experience in teaching and no MA. So, unless you have money to spare to get you set up and an apartment, which you must pay 6 months advance on, I think you should rethink your strategy. Every Jane from Australia and Canada, and every Joe from America and England who appears clean enough to teach in an English school tries to get a job there. The qualified teachers get the good jobs and the others go to the first come first served lot, and those are usually moms and others who aren�t so concerned with the salary.

You can get other jobs doing other things, like a restaurant or an office job, but don�t expect to get a job before you go there in those fields. If you really do have your heart set on Dubai, with all the competition there, you have to be a specialist in your field or highly educated and qualified to stand out from the rest, otherwise its a gamble, and you better have money in the bank or no issues with taking the first odd job that comes up and getting trapped on that employers visa for awhile until prospects look up. The thing is Asians do those jobs for cheaper, and with minimal complaints.

As for safety, it may seem relatively safe when compared to Iraq or Southern Lebanon, however be aware that an earthquake in a neighboring country would sink the artificial city that's expanded with sand into the ocean. The Russian mafia have also diseased it with crime, money laundering and prostitutes every two inches, and the bad drivers and congested streets filled with conventioneers, tourists and underpaid overworked service workers get annoying. Syria is a country rich with history and lots of things to do, plus a mixed social and religious sector where most anything is accepted and available. So unless you really prefer the glamour of Las Vegas and the expenses of California, coupled with the nightwalkers of Moscow, the earthquake scares of Iran, and the drunken kids of UK pubs coupling with the occasional Arab, why not just visit Dubai when you are in Syria?

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Oh Great Queen...

That has to be the best description yet of Dubai... Cool

VS

Queen of Sheba · Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 397

This question gets old...

stoth1972 · Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 7:45 pm Post subject:

Is there a general post about the UAE for people to reference? At the top of all the threads?

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

It is true that the same questions keep coming back over and over ... and that has been for the last 10 years. It is an idea that hasn't happened much on this board... the idea of stickies with usual questions. I have often contemplated doing some, and Dave would probably be agreeable, but then... it would be time consuming and the pay is... err... non-existent. Laughing

Rather the same problem on the Thorntree. They did some 'usual question' threads and stick them at the top... but it seems that no one actually reads them. (like the ever repeated query about a ferry from Greece to Egypt...) They just keep posting the same Q's.

VS