Job Discussion Forums

[Noelle]

It stands for Institute for Cultural and Scientific Studies.

Does anyone know of this program? They are advertising for a female teacher and I just wondered what if any kind of reputation they might have as they seem like a franchise.

I am going to be pursuing my next teaching contract with an MA in TESOL and about 2 - 3 years of ESL/EFL experience... not the greatest but it's a start. I was wondering if anyone could offer some more advice on schools in the UAE.

This school is offering a local salary of 7,000 per month. Does anyone know what that amounts to in U.S. dollars and is this a reasonable starting salary in a place like Dubai?

Any feedback here would be very appreciated! Thanks in advance...

[Manny2]

Noelle

Yes it is a franchise and seesm to be new to the Dubai market. I too noticed their recent ad and as soon as I saw the 'qualifications' required I knew that pay and conditions would be pretty bad.

Native speaker (US/ UK/ AUS/ NZ)
- CELTA qualified
- Minimum 1 year teaching experience

It wants cheap labour and obvious as it only really requires a CELTA and no university qualifications so my first comment is that you are far too qualified for this job. And nobody with qualificaions would consider working as in teaching '30' contact hours.


It mentions vacation which you would be entitled to after one year ( as per UAE labour law ) but that could be 30 calendar days and not working days which is not good

And then wow a whopping ''Tax-free salary starting from AED. 7,000 per month ". The UAE Dirham is pegged to the US$ so the exchanges rate is a constant 1$ = DH 3.68 so that calculates to $1902 per month and out of that you would it seem have to pay for your own housing. Housing in Dubai is very very expensive.

So basically do not waste your time with this outfit. Even the IAT who do not have a great reputation pays more than that .

As you seem new to the board and obviously do not know much about the region then may I suggest that you spend some time reading some of the discusions re various organisations and pay/conditions etc. There is a wealth of information here for any novice to the area.

Hope this helps
M

[veiledsentiments]

Noelle,

M2 has it all correct - with an MA, you should be able to do better than this organization. I noticed that you have over 100 posts, so you have been on Dave's for awhile, but have been in Asia. A quick glance at your posting history I noted a post where you stated that you were interested in proselytizing for your religion in Asia.

If you are unfamiliar with the situation in the Middle East, I feel that I need to warn you that these kinds of activities would get you into deep trouble. Outside of Saudi Arabia, there are churches and your are free to practice your religion, but you would be required to keep your religious activities within the Christian expats.

I mean no criticism, but I just wanted to make sure that you understood the situation.

VS

[Noelle]

Thank you so much for the feedback. I will avoid this ICSS organization and do a bit more research on opportunities in the UAE.

As far as my faith is concerned, it will be evident to any future employer when they see on my resume that I attended a Christian college as an undergrad and majored in music and ministry. I also have a history of work with various Christian and church outreach organizations listed on my CV. I am not very familiar with the situation in a lot of these middle eastern countries but I can't imagine that it would be any less difficult for Christians than it was in China... then again... I could be very wrong.

Thanks again for the replies. I really appreciate it.
If anyone has any information on teaching opportunities for children in the UAE, please let me know!

[Stephen Jones]

[veiledsentiments]

As I said, you are free to practice your religion in your private life. There is no difficulty in being Christian except that you have to get used to the idea that Sunday is a workday - and the weekend is either Thursday/Friday or Friday/Saturday depending on the country. If you try discussing your faith in the classroom or with the local people, you can find yourself deported so fast that you will barely have time to pack.

SJ is correct for Saudi Arabia, but I don't think that the rest of the Gulf would be quite as strict about hiring... but maybe...

Just remember that the punishment for apostasy in the Quran is death... but it isn't fear of this that keeps them in their faith, the reality is that they are completely uninterested in the concept and think only in terms of bringing you to the reality of their belief.

As I said, if your goal in life extends beyond working with your fellow Christians to evangelism of non-Christians... stay away from the Middle East.

This is NOT China...

VS

[Noelle]

Noted.

Believe me, I will keep it in mind. Thanks again!

[stoth1972]

Noelle's CV sounds a lot like a friend of mine looking for jobs in the Gulf: MA TESOL, and a few years experience. There are schools that will hire you, but lack of a k-12 teaching qualification will limit your earning power. I'm not famliar w/ the school you've asked about, but most institutions like that will provide shared accommodation, or perhaps a very small studio (if they're really nice). Better paying teaching jobs taking you up a couple thousand more/month really do expect a teaching qualification and relevant experience, preferably w/ their established curriculum. A friend of mine in Dubai has almost 10 years experience and is qualified to teach K-12, yet still comes in under the 10,000 mark.

As for talking about religion w/ non-Christians (esp your students and their parents) Don't. Ever. Even conversations which you perceive to be friendly exploration into the differences between Christianity and Islam can put you in a very bad position. Just takes one person who doesn't like you, to complain. Only takes one complaint to put you on a plane outta here. Oh, how the words can be miscontrued...

[Noelle]

Thank you. I'm still debating about whether or not the UAE would be a good place for me. I may wait till I'm a bit older and more experienced...
we'll see...

I appreciate the feedback very much!