Job Discussion Forums

[Lavender122]

Hello everyone,

Has anyone here worked for any of the CoE? Cant seem to find much info. Is there a reason for the lack of information/comments? Wondering whether prospects in such places are good and worth trying for...

thanks

[murray1978]

I worked for a COE from Aug 2014 to June 2015 in a small town called Al Wejh which is in the Tabuk province. I liked my management team and colleagues but the students were a bit of a drag.

My students were Bedouins who didn't take the school seriously and got their stipend regardless if they went 8 percent of the time or 80 percent. I thought the books were too high of a level for them because the majority of them were A1 or false beginners. We used American Headway.

At the time, my salary was 16,000 SAR a month but I am not sure what they would be offering now that salaries are lowering due to the oil crisis's.

From what I can remember, we had a professional development course in March of that year and I met a lot of teachers who taught at COE colleges and they were all in rural places.

[nomad soul]

[Balzac]

[nomad soul]

The Lincoln COEs closed and shouldn't even be advertising for teachers. Anyway, always research the specific employer before accepting an offer. In fact, do your research before sending off your CV.

Since you have a BA in English, try Prince Sultan and Prince Mohammad Universities for direct-hire openings.

[Balzac]

[nomad soul]

Yeah, but that facility is for males -- not useful for the OP.

[Balzac]

[Amerrycan Muslim]

[Balzac]

[Lavender122]

thanks all for your responses.

I have been offered a position but have been waiting around for my visa (for what seems like ages). The agency guy is very good and responds very promptly to any question or concerns I have. My issue is with my prospective employer. I was offered a position at location X but then was told that my location will only be confirmed once the visa process has been completed! Also, they dont even respond to emails promptly and have said nothing about the delay in visas apart from 'sorry'. Am I expecting too much to be given details about how the delay will impact students and teachers? Term has already started but they have said nothing about it......

I am new to the Saudi way of doing things, you see

[currentaffairs]

The CoEs are an okay gig. The horror stories are from specific providers and not all will be the same. Saying that, you can expect delay and uncertainty but that is the same with almost any job in Saudi. The visa delay is the norm and I have always had to wait for around 3 months from start date to get over to the promised land...

[nomad soul]

[leggeymountbatten]

Currentaffairs is correct - not all CoE's are uniformly bad.

There are some variations.

The best policy is to hope for the best and plan for the worst.

Or as the late Jimmy Savile would put it, "clunk click every trip, now then, now then, now then."

[rustyrockets]

Out of curiosity for those who have worked at any of the CoE:

Do you see this initiative as viable in the long run? I heard that some have already closed and many of them have a serious problem recruiting teachers (they are unable to find people with the standards they want and nationalities they want who are also willing to live in remote villages of Saudi, additionally some teachers end up running away)

Also taking into consideration the current oil crisis. Do you think that eventually the Saudi government will cut the cord?

Providing that these institutions provide education for what Saudis consider "simple jobs", Is there an actual interest among locals in following these careers, or do they do it mostly for their student check?