Job Discussion Forums

[shebab]

Sorry MLI Vet, but I have to agree with Big Cheese on this one. While the ECSSR may not have the 300 days vacation and 2 contact hours a week that the universities have in the Emirates , it has what is comparable to a position in Corporate America. For the same pay that the ECSSR is probably offering (after taxes), one slaves away here at an executive job for 60 hours a week doing things after hours that are not officially in the contract but are nonetheless expected from "team players". Additionally, vacation days are accrued, meaning you won't be able to take a full month of leave until after you complete a year there-similar to what you say is the situation at the ECSSR. Furthermore, you have to worry about paying utilities and rent!

Having dealt with both the corporate and ESL worlds for many years now, I think sometimes teachers forget just how good they really have it in terms of "work-life balance" when working in the Gulf. If offered the position, I am prepared to deal with whatever office politics are thrown at me in the same way I would working at Eli Lilly or RJ Reynolds. Besides-more free time in the day and more vacation in the year means more money spent on frivolities like CDs and cruises-and less money saved for that nest egg in the sky.

[mli_vet]

Good luck! If you do take a post, here's hope that it works out for the best for you. I've got my doubts about this place which have been posted already from relatively informed sources. Is the salary significantly higher than what MLI has to offer? You'll be doing quite a bit more work than what MLI expectations are, both in terms of time and performance, so I'd negotiate if they do want to make an offer. All the best!

Helpful hint--don't think "corporate" as you're going into this. Rather, think "tribal", think "sheikhdom", think "local law rules" (even compared to broader UAE law), think . . . "master-slave relations" even. Think "I've gotta kiss the big, chubby toe of Lt. Col. so-and-so, and lick his sandals clean, and everything will be A-OK." It's nowhere near corporate anywhere. And one more thing, I've heard that ECSSR "employees" don't get the lighter Ramadan hours unless they are Muslim, so you might want to ask about this as well. Ask your questions now, cause they won't be allowed later. Again, all the best.

MLI Vet
Over and Out

[shebab]

[mli_vet]

Quote:
"I've got my doubts about this place which have been posted already from relatively informed sources."

I meant simply that my doubts about this place, based on what I know from my MLI colleagues and from people who have worked at the ECSSR (both MLI and non-MLI) have already been expressed in this forum on this thread. That's all. Again, best wishes. Hope it works out for you.

MLI Vet
Over and Out

[dunesweeper]

Dear Shebab, and anyone else who may be interested in working in the UAE,

Pay no mind to the negative rantings of people like MLI VET.

According to my own sources from both the MLI and Zayed Military College in Al Ain, where MLI VET used to work, he has a long history of over-embellishing and over-reacting to just about everything. In fact, I have heard from extremely reliable sources that he is, indeed, delusional and extremely paranoid. One such source has mentioned that while at the MLI, Mr. VET sent an e-mail to all staff members, suggesting that they keep a baseball bat by the door (as he did), just in case a stranger knocked!

Let me add that in the many years that I have lived in the UAE, I have never felt anything but safe, and at no time have I ever felt so threatened.
And I'm certain that most expats who live here can attest to that.

Be that as it may, if and when the offers come in, your choice is your choice. Don't be influenced by the maniacal ravings of those who have left the UAE for whatever reasons.

Those of us who have chosen to remain do so because we actually enjoy being here. And though I, personally, have no experience with ECCSR, the people I know who have worked there have given the same mixed reviews that are being bandied about, regarding virtually all other educational institutions, both here in the UAE and in other parts of the world. There will be good days, and there will be bad days, no matter where you go.

However, ultimately, it will be your own perspective and personal experience which will determine whether the place you choose is good or bad. Listening to the excremental drivel that MLI VET is so desirous of eschewing will only make you judge a place before you've even set foot in it. And that might prevent you from embarking on a very worthwhile adventure.

Again, bear in mind that MLI VET is no longer in the UAE. Whereas, there are vast numbers of teachers, even at the MLI, who have chosen to continue on here.

What does that tell you?

Best wishes in your job search.

[grand fromage]

Dunewsweeper, are you sure the "vet" is the H***? I had my suspicions, but could never figure out what drives a man (probably not a woman as they have only been at the MLI for a year or so) to be so bitter, but if it is indeed him, than it would make more sense. But let's give him the benefit of the doubt, and a chance to relate to this assumption. I knew the man who you spoke of personally and quite well after he was suddenly moved to MLI a few months before he left. However, I thought he was somewhere in S.E. Asia writing a book or something like that.

[mli_vet]

Say and think what you like. I've got no problem at all with me or you or anyone else working and living in the UAE (other than the "typical" expat gripes now and then which we all have on occasion). BTW--how do you know I'm still not in UAE? I may be closer than you think. Or what if the MLI Vet is plural--accepting applications now for more Vets to help in the enlightenment/truth-seeking process? (send email if interested)

I do have a BIG problem w/ how the military has handled certain issues--which as I've stated before have to do with salary (paid on time, 10% withholding, etc.), accommodation, health benefits, and general management practice/condescending attitude toward teachers. This has not been my experience alone, and the problems go beyond just one person.

Some of these issues have been taken care of to an extent, others not yet. A common sentiment seems to be that teachers wished they had known this or that before making the final commitment for employment. It just doesn't leave very good feelings to know that you've been lied to or been hoodwinked by management slicksters combined w/ the ineptitude of the local military bureaucracy.

This is not a recruitment forum, so you won't get the management spin on things from me at least. But I also won't say an absolute "Don't do it" either, because there can be positive aspects to working at even a place like MLI/"branch locations" (which I've also mentioned previously). But on the other hand, there are other options, better contracts to be had, and lots of questions which should be asked before that final commitment. It's better to make that commitment, knowing some of the bad press in advance, rather than being lied to (will this stop now that AMIDEAST has moved on? I highly doubt it.)

By all means, consider working here in the UAE. But ask those questions ahead of time, especially in the case of the MLI/ "branch locations" /ECSSR.

Reminder of the rules: This is not a recruitment forum.

MLI Vet
Over and Out
[email protected]

[grand fromage]

OK Vet, you're listening; congratulations. But you didn't answer the question if you are the H***. So which is it?

[mli_vet]

Cannot be revealed for reasons of confidentiality. I cannot tell you my/our military ID(s) either, or location, or DOBs, or political affiliation (s), or what brother (s), sister (s), or parent (s) do for profession, or if ever employed by other armed force (s), or if attempts have been made to recruit by foreign entities, or if agents have asked to purchase special equipment to monitor expats (especially Westerners), or about travel (s) to other countries, etc.

Whatever you do, do NOT use webdings or translate this into any other font! Haatha Mamnooa! Forbidden Big Time, Man, You Know That!

(How'd your weekend go?)

MLI Vet
Over and Out
[email protected]

[yvan]

Hi all,

I found very little information on the ECSSR in this forum.

Any recent input?

I am supposed to have a job interview with this center, and I wonder if the situation has improved over time since earlier comments appear quite negative.

Thanks

[blues clues]

Yeech! You guys DO have way too much time on your hands..Grow up gentlemen.

[grand fromage]

Wow, what a blast from the past! I can't believe I got so drawn into that thread . Three years later, I don't have anything to add to it as I am not in touch with anybody still working there. Maybe someone that stayed on with CERT will have some info.

[globalnomad2]

[Mulder]: "Scully, what's this about aliens in the bathroom?"

"Some silly thread on a website for ESP people, or ESL, or something."

"Extrasensory perception?" Kew-wl!"

"English for specific purposes."

"Oh. And this MLI stuff? What's up with that? More silly acronyms? Mulder Licks Incorrectly?"

"Forget it, Mulder. Go back to sleep."

"Who's at the door?"

[Scully opens the door]. "Deep Throat! Where have you been?"

"I was first struck by the absence of time, having depended on it so completely as a measure of my self and my life; moving backwards into the perpetual night it consumes purpose; indeed, all passion and will. I come to you, old friend, with a dull clarity of the dead, not to beckon you but to feel the fire and intensity that still live in you... and the heavy weight of your burdens which I had once borne. There is truth, you know, friend, if that's all you seek, but there's no justice or judgment, without which truth is a vast... dead... hollow. Go back. Do not look into the abyss or let the abyss look into you; awaken the sleep of reason and fight the monsters within and without. Trust no one, Agent Mulder."

[veiledsentiments]

Three year old threads...

If anyone has any new information on this place, why not start a new thread rather than digging up this one....

VS