Job Discussion Forums

[TouchDownTexas]

I am a newbie here and need some advice from you experienced veterans (please!).

Why are all the salaries in Kuwait so high? On Search Associates, all of the Middle East schools pay around $50 K a year (or so) with housing...but in Kuwait salaries are more than twice that. What gives??

Does anyone you know anything about these six schools?

Fawzia Sultan International School
American International School
Al-Bayan International School
American School of Kuwait
Khalifa School
American Creative Academy

Two other schools (Universal American School and Kuwait National English School) had horrible write-up reviews on the International School Review web site so I have eliminated those two. I have heard those are nightmare assignments.

I am leery of going to Kuwait but the almighty dollar is certainly motivation to ignore my wariness. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks everyone!

[sharko]

Among other reasons, salaries in Kuwait are high due to the proportionally high cost of living. Also, take into account that a chunk of the salary is viewed as a "hardship supplement". Life in Kuwait is not what one would call interesting. Everyone has different points of view, but in general, life in Kuwait is not the best.

If you have a MA, try applying to one of the universities...

Good luck!

[15yearsinQ8]

first of all, i don't know your qualifications or position you're applying for but 50k a year for a teacher (kg-12) is only at the very, very, very top of the pay scales i've seen (perhaps you have a phd and 20+ years of teaching and you would be head of department and get paid extra for year book advisor, graduation master of ceremony, etc)
are you a highly qualified and experienced special needs teacher?
someone's feeding you a spoon of bull
second, universal is a good school
third, it's doubtful you'll get your school and job of choice as vacancies fluxuate year to year and school to school - take what you get
forth, school 'personalities' vary widely - you may like school x but hate school y and teach the same thing
pm me for more

[15yearsinQ8]

50k a year is 1150 KD per month
i don't know of any school teacher (kg-12) who has cleared that after housing

and american bilingual school SUCKS

[veiledsentiments]

As 15yearsinQ8 says, something sounds fishy. I'm wondering whether this is a scam website. Be very very careful of agents and recruiters and websites. Be wary of any job ads where they advertise supposed value of the whole pay package... go by salary only so that you have some comparability. The rest of the pay package is not that easy to make a clear value as it would differ by teacher. (families get larger flats, ticket values differ by number of dependents and where your home base is, etc)

Opinions seem to vary as to whether Kuwait's cost of living is higher or lower than the rest of the Gulf. It likely depends on lifestyle. Salaries discussed here on the board have also been similar to places like Saudi and the UAE.

The best way to get jobs in the Gulf is to learn the names of the better employers and apply directly... or attend a job fair in the US so that you can network with other teachers and actually meet the employers. Avoid agents and recruiters. Use the search on this board to see if places have been discussed.

VS

[middleastman]

sounds good to me. 50K is a little above average but i know many teachers who work for good international schools (none of the schools on your list fall into that category) who earn salaries in that region. They are not right at the top of the pay scale as previous posters suggest. God knows where the posters on this thread live, but i dont think its Kuwait.

[veiledsentiments]

[middleastman]

Sorry. Misread OP. Thats a load of rot.

[miski]

[miski]

All the schools you mention seem fine- with the exception of fawzia Sultan which has had a bad write up over the past few months.

[Wildcat2001]

Hi there! I'm a teacher in the US looking to teach abroad. I would like to teach in the Middle East. One of the schools that has a job I was thinking about applying to is the American Bilingual School of Kuwait. From some of the posts, I'm a little leery. Would it be possible for anyone to expand on possible reasons to watch out for this school? Also, any advice on things that trip up new "overseas" teachers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[webcafe52]

I have been teaching in Kuwait since August 2004. I previously taught at the American school Kuwait for four years and I can tell you that the salaries you mentioned-$50k or even double, do not exist here for any teaching jobs. I currently teach at an International College where the entire package: salary, living allowance, and flight home during the summer total $56,185, ( the Kuwait Dinar fell for the first time ever against the dollar last year so this total reflects the current exchange rate. When I started last summer it was closer to $60k). That is probably the top end of the scale and is 25% higher than what I made at ASK. The cost of living is not as high as some people have suggested, though flights out of Kuwait to Europe or the Middle East have almost doubled in the past four years. Kuwait is not for everyone, but experienced overseas teachers can usually do three years or more. I know an American who has been teaching here for 28 years!
The American schools mentioned on your list are okay, but the salary is probably around $32k plus housing. There is no tax in Kuwait. When choosing a school here, or anywhere, it is best to ask someone who teaches there.