Job Discussion Forums

TheGood1 · Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Posts: 5

Hello,

I am a native of California with a Bachelors in Business.
I will complete 120-hour TEFL Online course through BridgeTEFL in April.
I have done minimal private tutoring in Arabic grammar and helped some Spanish speakers with conversational English. I am quite motivated and thought of volunteering at a reputable Learning Center and maybe even taking an ESL class just to familiarize myself with the setting.

Do I reallistically have a chance in landing a teaching job in Saudi (Riyadh,etc)?

My friend is teaching there and says to send him my resume after I get the certificate and he will try to circulate it. I am also thinking of travelling to Saudi in the June as I hear it is easier when you are there in person.

There is also an Oxford Seminar coming to my area in May, is this something I should look into?

Any sincere advice/recommendations are appreciated.

Thank you.

teflerlifer · Joined: 16 Mar 2010 Posts: 27

I am sure with your qualifications and experience you can get a 'wonderful' job in the kingdom working in IH House or Berlitz for $2000 a month. I would really reccommend it to you. Go ahead and have a blast.....

Seriously, why would you even consider working in Saudi with these qualifications? Get a job in a Chinese University or a Korean Public School, you will have a much more enjoyable time.

Of course don't listen to me, I am sure some other regulars on this board will advise you to accept the first shady recruiter who will send you to literally 'hell' for 9-10 months. Forget about holidays or 1 year bonus or proper housing.

Hey, perhpaps though you are a troll? This board has reiterated time and time again, you need a Masters in TESOL/TEFL/Linguistics and 5+ years experience before you can get seriously considered for a 'decent' job.

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

The better employers, those that one would want to work for, won't even recognize an online TEFL cert. In the employer's opinion, the whole reason to require a TEFL cert is that it provides supervised teaching. This would be impossible with an online cert... thus employers mostly won't accept them.

VS

Mia Xanthi · Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 3:47 am Post subject:

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 3:56 am Post subject:

Whilst the OP is quite considerate in his/her post, I must add Rolling Eyes

...and that is being polite as well...

NCTBA

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Good employers in KSA - and some of the bad ones - expect a minimum of 2 years real experience.

Your remark about visiting KSA suggests that either you have not done any background reading or that you are a troll. Maybe both.

If you are a Muslim thinking of pilgrimage be aware that you cannot freely travel around. Your pilgrimage will be to Medina and Mecca only.

TheGood1 · Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Posts: 5

Thank you all for responding. I have seen many of your replies while searching the site and will take what you have said into consideration.

I know that if I come for Umrah, I am not allowed to travel elsewhere, but I could technically apply in Jeddah right. What if I am able to come there on a business visa can I travel to the east and apply, does it improve chances of getting placement. I have family there that can sponsor me, but they might try to take advantage of me as well, that's why I won't go that route. Is it really that bad, Saudi's taking advantage of people?

I am muslim so I am willing to sacrifice a bit of luxury in Cali to be close to Makkah and relatives. However, if it's safer option for me to gain experience elsewhere then that may be what I need to do.

Just trying to be hopeful.

Thank you.

h-train · Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:03 am Post subject:

I am not trying to heckle you and I'm not one of the perpetually negative posters, but what the other guys are trying to tell you is that you are looking at terrible prospects in coming here. I applied for 2 years to get my current job, and I'm fairly well-qualified. I recommend you try teaching somewhere else and if you still like teaching after your first year, enroll in a proper TESOL program and then begin your search. Stay away from anything "online" in the future as most certificates and what not aren't worth the paper they're printed on. (This is coming from someone who did an online TEFL and had to redo it after many frowns and rejections.) A cv like yours in KSA is going to either get you nothing, or you'll wish it had gotten you nothing once you realize your working conditions.

Cleopatra · Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:21 am Post subject:

TheGood1 · Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Posts: 5

I speak some Spanish so might check out South America before Asia.

I think the postings on ESL Cafe are screened/legit right?

Thank you.

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

Not a bad idea... SA will certainly be more fun.

But, what do you mean by "the postings on ESL Cafe are screened/legit right"? Do you mean the posts here on the forums or the job advertisements? The ads are not directly vetted, but if they learn that it is a scam, it will be removed.

It is buyer beware just like the ads in the newspapers. You will find many legitimate websites that have ads at times for jobs that do not exist. That is what these forums are for... to check them out. Use the search.

We are pretty good at identifying the scammers for Middle East jobs. Hopefully the posters on the South America section of the board are too. But, I doubt that there are many problems in that part of the world.

VS

h-train · Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 6:42 am Post subject:

I've always been interested in South America, but the $300 a month salary keeps me away. You may want to check out Vietnam. I've not taught their personally, but I hear the climate/people/conditions are nice and the pay is on the come up.