Job Discussion Forums

april81 · Joined: 02 May 2009 Posts: 4 Location: USA

First of all ESL Cafe is an awesome website. It seems like a place that has very good information without the spam and confusion of some other boards. I really appreciate the experienced posters who continue to post here, thank you!

I've got one of those ADEC Teach Away interviews in just a few days, it is coming up very fast. Shocked

I'm hoping for one of the 1st or 2nd grade positions but the recruiter said that secondary placements are also a possibility.

Salary expectations: I have a Master in Education, quite a bit of coursework in ELL in the BA, state teaching certificate, but only two and half years in the classroom. This is because I've spent the last three years selling educational materials, and I'm sure it won't be accepted as teaching experience. With this background I'm getting the feeling I may be offered towards the bottom end of the 11000-16000 dirhams? Do people really only work from 7:30am-2pm? That doesn't seem like a full working day.

I am my late 20's, married but no kids. Does that mean that one of the positions in Al Ain or Al Gharbia would actually be ok for us? My husband is a computer programmer and I'm hoping he'll be able to find something.

Regarding health care; I understand that the Ministry of Education pays the premiums and the health care is most often arranged with private providers. I've got a health condition that comes and goes and I may need to see a specialist doctor from time to time. What happens when I come back to the States? Will a USA insurance company accept that I had previous coverage while in the UAE or will I go into the "pre-existing condition" black hole? Some more feedback on this would be hugely appreciated!

These new ADEC jobs sound challenging, I want to go into this with my eyes wide open if offered a position.

sciencegirl · Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 4:26 pm Post subject: I have an interview, too

During the phone interview, I was told that ADEC was looking to hire secondary teachers, too. I told him that was great because I was not interested in primary. I had emailed some followup question but didn't hear back, yet.

carlen · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 172 Location: UAE

sciencegirl · Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 5:29 pm Post subject:

I have to agree about the 11000. While I understand that they are trying to get the most for the least, I will have obligations at home to still cover. You mentioned a provisional contract, can you give some more info on that?

carlen · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 172 Location: UAE

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

Zoot · Joined: 15 Jun 2007 Posts: 408

ADEC is water-tight, so don't worry about a contract with them. Because of the length of your experience in the classroom, you will probably be offered the bottom end of the pay scale, which won't be enough to save on here in the UAE if your husband is coming and can't get a job. You also need to consider very carefully where you're going to be living if you have a health condition. You need to be in Abu Dhabi if taking time off for treatment is going to be an issue.

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

Good point Zoot... the major cities have good medical care, but I wouldn't want to be too far out in the desert if it is a condition that requires immediate help...

VS

haopengyou · Joined: 02 Mar 2009 Posts: 197

I will add my 2cents worth here also. I have not tracked this issue down to the nitty gritty details but it might help you get a little further on down the road (I also have an interview for schools in the UAE).

There is some kind of standard that true "health insurance" in the U.S. must adhere to. It is called HAP (or something similar- I am too lazy to google it up.) I talked to an insurance agent about this, and the way it works:

If you buy a policy in the U.S. (that conforms to these standards) and get some kind of illness (preexisting condition), and you need to change insurance providers (change jobs, etc) the new company must accept you because the prior insurance company met the HAP stuff. If, however, you are involved in some kind of "other kind of" insurance that is not HAP certified, you develop some kind of condition that becomes a pre-existing condition, and you try to get insurance in the U.S. you will be out of luck. You have a pre-existing condition and they will charge you accordingly, if they will accept you at all. Again, my details are probably not on the money but I believe the principle is correct.

What I am THINKING of doing: finding a policy in the U.S. with a relatively high deductible - maybe $20K - to keep the monthly payments low and try to live off the policy in the middle east. When I return to the U.S. to live, if I have developed some kind of pre-existing condition in the middle east I will have also been covered by the U.S. policy, even if they didn't pay a cent for the health care. The U.S. policy is HAP certified (or whatever) so I will not be SOL. I have bounced this idea off of some medical insurance people and they have said that it would keep me legit. The problem, however, is going to be finding some reasonably priced insurance in the U.S. that will cover me while in the middle east, even with a high deductible.

april81 · Joined: 02 May 2009 Posts: 4 Location: USA

Thank you very much for the responses regarding medical and husband's outlook, and good luck to sciencegirl for your upcoming interview.

Personally I'll have to turn it down if offered 11,000/month or close. Hopefully the MEd and ELL coursework will account for something considering that some of these candidates are BA only. I'm just going to do my very best at the interview and see if they even offer a position and at which rate.

Thankfully the medical condition is not terribly serious, it just has the potential to be so I need to make sure that I have access to good medical if needed!

Iamherebecause · Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 8:40 am Post subject:

Iamherebecause · Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 8:44 am Post subject:

One point I forgot .
OP said

Zoot · Joined: 15 Jun 2007 Posts: 408

There won't be any BAs hired for these positions - they're all certified teaching positions. They like pieces of paper over here, but the greatest interest for these particular positions is the length of service.

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

I have never heard of HAP and all one reads about here is people who are unable to leave their job because they or someone in their family have become uninsurable with a pre-existing condition. Or have to leave and then can't get insured. I assume that if things go as usual here, all ins. companies will choose to not be HAP so they don't have to comply... or just ignore it and not comply. I went from one name ins. company to another a few years back and had to go through the same exclusion of pre-existing. What I am saying is don't count on this... These companies are in the business of NEVER insuring sick people if they can wiggle out of it.

Actually I didn't bother with US insurance - until I was nearly 50 - while I was overseas since my employers always provided health care. I bought travel insurance (from a British company) whenever I traveled back to the US. If you do find a reasonably priced policy in the US, I just wouldn't bother to tell them that I was living overseas. The less they know about you, the better. (I LOATHE the horrid US medical insurance vampires... just wait until you see what they do to your premium the year you turn 50 and then double that theft the year you turn 60. My insurance premium is more than my rent...)

VS

huriyyahsmum · Joined: 14 Dec 2008 Posts: 16 Location: Maryland, USA

FYI: They are offering a lot more than what they first stated. The high end of this range is now their low end Smile