Job Discussion Forums

[chinalindyhopper]

I want to thank all the people who have taken the time to post so much valuable information to this forum. I have spent some time reading but have some additional questions:

What are general conditions like in university teaching jobs in KSA?
I have been seeing some references to split shifts and 6-day work weeks; are these common?
How many contact hours per week are generally expected in university teaching jobs?
Are university instructors usually expected to keep all-day office hours or do other administrative duties when not in the classroom? How much time would these normally involve?
Is it usual for a single teacher to be expected to share provided housing?

Thanks if you can provide some information!

[veiledsentiments]

Conditions vary by employer... the better your credentials, the better employer you can get and the better conditions. According to your other post you have an MA + 5 years of university experience. (though your MA is not in TEFL or Applied Linguistics... it is darn close )

My advice to you would be to expand your search beyond KSA into the rest of the Gulf. There you will find that many of the negatives of KSA are much rarer. (like 6 day weeks, split shifts, and shared housing) An expanded search gives you many more choices.

It might help people to answer if they knew if you were male or female.

VS

[chinalindyhopper]

Thanks, VS!
Yes, you are right, MA in Curriculum and Instruction, major: ESL. Five and a half years' experience teaching EFL at universities. I also have JD from Georgetown; maybe that doesn't help.
The MA was conferred in December, 2008. An American professor told me search committees might discount my experience because most of it was before I got my "training." This surprised me. I certainly felt I was learning about TEFL throughout my experience, even if I didn't yet have courses under my belt. And when I finish this contract, I will have had two solid years' experience after completing my coursework -- I researched and wrote the thesis while teaching fulltime.
I am female, 55, and divorced. Will any of these work against me?
I would really appreciate some advice on this: I read ME universities fill their vacancies in January or February for the following September. Should I expect that I can find something reasonable between now and this September or should I take an offer in China (thin paycheck, but reasonable conditions) and start looking earlier next year?
By other gulf countries, I guess you mean UAE, Oman and Yemen. Any others?
Thanks so much for any information and ideas.
CLH

[veiledsentiments]

First off... if you are looking for this coming Sept, send off an application to this ad:

http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/index.cgi?read=19617

If you are not looking till next year, head over to their website. Also, Zayed University, American University of Sharjah, UAEU, or ECAE. You can do a search of these on the UAE section.

Your professor is correct that some employers tend to put you back to zero every time you add a new degree... but that usually refers to your pay level. You started at... say BA+5.5 years teaching... then suddenly you are MA+0 (or is it 2... on top of the 5.5). But, they still look at that 5.5 years and it should be considered when they are weighing candidates. For instance, it will certainly be to your benefit if you are applying for a similar university position. (is it IEP? That is good on the CV... stress teaching of writing if you have it...)

Divorced? Not an issue. You are getting close to the age limit for some employers, but once you are in and can do the job, there are teachers there who are pushing 70.

Does that give you a start?

VS

[chinalindyhopper]

Yes, thanks!
I have applied with HCT and Zayed (this morning.) I will check out the others.
VS, I appreciate your insights. Anyone else want to chime in with thoughts on any of these issues?

[Cleopatra]

I would say that things such as shared housing, split shifts and six days weeks are still quite uncommon in Saudi universities. However, there does appear to be a noticeable - and rather disconcerting - trend among employers all over the Gulf to cut back on benefits and introduce some unpleasant clauses such as having to work split shifts. It seems that, as more and more employers find they can 'get away' with such deals, others are following suit. However, for the time being, being forced to share housing or work weekends remains the exception rather than the rule.

[Raju]

You could do worse than give PMU in Al-Khobar a try. I expect they are still recruiting for September 2009.

Regards,

Raju

[veiledsentiments]

Err... she might be able to do worse, but with her credentials, she can also do significantly better.

I wouldn't recommend the place very highly, especially for a newbie to the Middle East.

VS

[Evan2009]

Raju, What's wrong with PMU?

[Mia Xanthi]

[chinalindyhopper]

Thanks, Cleopatra, for the helpful information, and Raju, thanks for the tip. Since I am late in applying this time, I am not sure I can afford to be choosy. Of course I don't want to have a bad experience, and I am eager to hear advice that might keep me from that.
I am puzzled by the post about the exodus in July. Could someone enlighten me?

[veiledsentiments]

Ah... that is an easy one to answer even when one has never been there. It means that is when teachers are leaving for summer leave or for good... and once they are out of the country forever, they feel free to post more informative specific details. The sort of things that one says about one's employer that can get one... not-renewed. (which is the usual way people are fired in the ME)



VS
(employers read these boards too... )

[Chthon]

This is probably my curiosity getting the better of me, but...what exactly are the reasons for this exodus which will supposedly take place in July?

[isabel]

[Pikgitina]