Job Discussion Forums

[veiledsentiments]

beatles? Sorry, had sudden visions of my youth.

Do you mean of the cockroach variety? They are pretty common across the Middle East. I was never sure which was worse... the creatures themselves or the unregulated insecticides used to control them.

VS

[newbie147]

Lol thanks for that just what I need to read few hours before flying out to riyadh. I was a bit more relieved after reading commenters post until I read that last. You couldn't wait a day? Lol.

Oh well I shall report back within a year. Hopefully I can look back at this and laugh one day�

[DeApple]

Good luck if you can make it that long with them ............ everyone looked at the few of us that made it past the first year with awe

Lots of patience, optimistic outlook and self sufficient attitude helps a lot but you�ll end up getting tired of the same crap that never gets done or fix. Hardest part the first six months, if over it you�ll most likely stay longer, as you�ll get use to the restrictions- some of us never did and are actually very happy back in the free world.

[Commenter]

DeApple,

I'm not advertising anything. I am perfectly entitled to a valid opinion, which is exactly what I gave.

You say that you were there for two years, but when did you finish? I've been working in Saudi for around 9 months, and I'm just stating my honest opinion on how I've found things so far. Just like any company in any other industry in any part of the world, senior staff change from year to year, so do policies and so do employee experiences. It's perfectly possible for companies to improve themselves, just as it is for them to get worse.

I never said that Saudi was a bed of roses, but it's not the evil place that you're making it out to be either.

You imply that you were discriminated against because you were Christian, but ironically, it's well known that many of the companies in KSA specifically prefer to employ white, suited and booted non-Muslims. Outward appearance is a important thing in Saudi, and I know for a fact that people who fit the previously mentioned profile are given better treatment than many of them are ever prepared to let on.

I know non-Muslim teachers who have been dismissed for not doing their job properly, but still end up being given privileged positions elsewhere rather than being sent home. These teachers were certainly NOT being cheated out of money. Rather, they were still getting paid, even though their standard of teaching clearly wasn't good enough.

Again, to repeat my point above, Saudi is certainly not a perfect dreamland where everything runs smoothly. But It's not a doom and gloom death trap full of people trying to make you suffer, either. I said in my initial post; in order to live and work here, you need buckets full of patience, which is not something that everyone has. I firmly believe, and have no problem telling people, that if you look at the full experience with a balanced, impartial eye, you will see that most, if not all, of the people who criticise teaching in Saudi harshly are just plain wrong.

It's also rather silly, to say the least, to try and imply that an English teaching company had something to do with getting this site blocked in Saudi or tampering with your connection at a compound. What does your internet connection or the sites that you visit have to do with a company who's paying you to teach English?? This is a general thing that everyone in Saudi has to deal with, not just expat teachers. Everyone. Whether you're an English teacher or an IT technician. If you live in another country, you have to respect that you're a guest, and that they have their own rules and beliefs, rather than try and force your own wishes and ideals down people's throats.

You talk about higher living standards than what you were given, but maybe that's the problem. Honestly, when I read some of the complaints on these types of forums, they come across with a big whiff of elitist snobbery. Some people expect to be given the penthouse suite at the top of the Kingdom Tower with two maids and a butler, with anything less than that somehow becoming offensive. Maybe you would have been better off teaching in Switzerland or Monaco in the first place... You also imply that you were living on a compound (where you say your connection was changed to insecure), but I've certainly never heard of a compound with shoddy apartments and insect infestations. If that's the case, then at the prices that those compounds are, I'm sure you could have afforded to move somewhere a bit more upmarket. Unless of course, you're just failing to mention that you were able to move to some accomodation that you were happy with, as I mentioned was possible in my first post.

You also talk about resources at the uni, but I know that this is not a simple case of the AETG not supplying you. The uni is a seperate institution, which is responsible for it's own supplies and resources. I'm not making excuses for AETG (I can see that it might read like that), I'm just being fair. I agree that lack of resources is definitely a problem, but there's not only one company that's to blame. I think that you'll find that other companies supplying teachers at the same uni have exactly the same problem.

You also completely contradict yourself when you say that staff there are mistreated and overworked, so they spend all day drinking tea and talking on the phone! How can they spend all day relaxing if they're overworked and mistreated!? I think that you'll find that this inaccurate description is just down to your general misunderstanding of Saudi culture.

It's also interesting that you're writing a book about your experinces. I suppose it wouldn't be such a good read without the exciting, controversial claims, would it?

Again, I'm just stating my opinions here. You and anyone else is perfectly entitled to agree or disagree. However, I, and many of my fellow teachers, genuinely do love living in Saudi at the moment, which isn't really something that you can dispute. From what I've seen personally, and from what teachers from other companies (EDEX, ICEEL, Bell, etc) have told me (based on our experiences this year), AETG is a typical company to work for.

Obviously, I can only speak from a male teachers perspective.

[DeApple]

Commenter,

Waste of time trying to discuss anything with you, you�re obviously a troll !

[Commenter]

Great.

Thanks for the unprovoked and completely unnecessary (not to mention inaccurate) insult.

It speaks volumes about you.