Job Discussion Forums

[cheryl]

Hi everyone,

since i've been browsing Dave's Cafe, i've noticed that in the SA forum most of the posters are male. (since i AM a lazy butt, i'm not going to read every single post ever made in here therefore i won't say that there never ever was a female post)

My question is: How prevelant are women teachers in SA? are there many female EFL classes or are EFL classes mainly focused on men?

I'm an applied linguistics honours student with a CTESL graduating in a month...what are my chances for a job in SA??

Cheryl

[scot47]

There are jobs for women here. You would be teaching in a women-only environment. There are not so many jobs and a lot of competion from Saudi women. Teaching and nursing are about the only careers open to them here.

You would find living conditions rather restrictive. One place to try would be Dar Al Hekma in Jeddah.

[veiledsentiments]

You could probably get a job, but I don't think that you want to. Especially if this would be your first teaching experience in the Middle East. (and I'm not sure from your message if it is your first experience at all) Unless you are Muslim and married, it can be extremely restrictive and often unpleasant. Even my Muslim women friends who have been there, either working or not, disliked it.

If you wish to experience this part of the world, there are lots of places that are much more pleasant and interesting. If the money is what attracts you, the Emirates has many places that pay as well. But, most of them require experienced teachers.

[cheryl]

Thanks Scot47 and Veiledsentiments,

Sounds like SA is not for me, but i'll keep researching. Yes, this would be my first experience teaching in the Middle East, it would be my first experience teaching anywhere overseas actually. So far i've only taught in an outreach program (immigrants and refugees) where the students and lead teachers are more than happy to have me there.

One part of my lure to SA was the money, but the other part was the culture. I understand the restrictions women face but i feel i can deal with it. For me, (and i hope this doesn't sound too much like OPRAH) the only way to experience/know a culture is to live in it. Whether the experience is good or bad, it's the experience that counts. Anyways, thanks again for both of your responses, i'll keep them in mind.

[Alobar]

[veiledsentiments]

Hi Cheryl

If you really want to experience the Middle Eastern culture, the Gulf is really not the best place. About the only contact you have is your students. Gulf Arabs have so many family obligations that their social lives are almost completely tied up with their families. Saudi would be the extreme of an almost impossibility of really learning and experiencing the culture. Expats tend to spend their lives with other expats. People work there for 20 years and never even learn any Arabic!!

If you really want to live in the culture to learn about it from the inside, you need to go to a place like Egypt or the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan). They are also much more relaxed and comfortable with foreigners. Women can go out and about and you can even meet with a local woman and have tea in one of the hotels or go shopping. This is very unlikely to happen in the Gulf.

Of course, the drawback is that there are very few jobs that pay all that well. There's always a catch. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more specifically.

[cheryl]

Alobar,

i'm still fairly new to Dave's Cafe and haven't yet learned how to "cut and paste on here", i hope this works.

The worst experiences you can imagine as a presumably middle-class Canadian are nowhere nearly as bad as some experiences that actually happen to people.

[johnslat]

Dear cheryl,
Before my ( second ) wife came over here to Saudi Arabia, I spent weeks playing " Devil's Advocate ", telling her what it would be like for a woman,
deliberately painting the worst possible picture. Though all of this, she kept smiling, nodding her head and saying, " Well, I can handle that ". Two weeks after she arrived in the Kingdom, she came and asked me: " Why didn't you TELL me what it would be like? " . Some environments, it seems, can't be " fully appreciated " second-hand; only when you are actually IN them are you able to comprehend how they affect you. So forgive this " cautionary tale ", but it's meant to put you on your guard about what women here have to endure.
Regards,
John

[Stephen Jones]

Dear Cheryl,
As has already been pointed out, the main problem an expat woman will have in Sauid is being allowed to experience anything at all, pleasant or unpleasant.

Try Kuwait, Bahrnain or the Emirates, though if you want "different cultures" avoid the Gulf altogether.