Job Discussion Forums

[Slingshot]

Hi.

I'm a male in my 30s with a BA in English from a large American state university, a CELTA (as of August 2012, it will be two years of adult experience post-CELTA) and a total of 4 years cumulative teaching EFL overseas, one of which has been at a university in Asia and another at an adult language school in Asia where I taught a variety of ages, professional backgrounds, etc. The other two were spent teaching middle school students.

I'm interested in the UAE due to the lifestyle factors, but I also realize that without an MA in a related field, it might be difficult to get a decent job and then second, really pay off debt like I want to.

I'd be coming to the Middle East for the money, sure, but also for the travel and curiosity component (1/2 of why I do this), so I'm not just interested in the paycheck. I enjoy teaching and traveling a great deal.

However, I do have debt I need to get rid of right now, like most, which I could do fairly easily in the KSA given the payscales I've seen.

I don't need a lot of external entertainment, can deal with massive cultural differences (I've read and heard plenty of the specifics of KSA and UAE, culturally) and I'm great on my own, so KSA wouldn't necessarily bother me for a year.

So, should I just aim for Saudi for a year to rid myself of debt completely, then, if I still am interested in staying the ME, at that point I could have enough debt paid and extra money to upgrade my skills and CV (DELTA, maybe MA etc.) and possibly work in a different Gulf country or elsewhere? If I am primarily interested in paying off debt this year and next year, would KSA be better for me than UAE given my credentials?

Thanks in advance for any help from those over there who might have traveled a similar road.

[veiledsentiments]

[Slingshot]

Grazi, Veiled.