Job Discussion Forums

[sledgehammer]

Hi everyone first posting here so be gentle LOL

I've received a contract to teach with Al Falak on behalf of KFUPM with a salary of 14758SR. I have to pay rent of 2333SR and 230SR each month for medical insurance. Overtime is at 150SR perhour. I have to pay my airticket there, and for my annual vacation, too. My provisional schedule will be teaching from 3pm to 11pm. I'll be based in Dharan and at the Al Falak res. compound.

Now, my questions are 1) is that a good deal? Would I be better off going to KFUPM direct in my application? 2) is it possible to make more than this teaching somewhere else in KSA? Where? Contact details if possible.
3) if i take up the contract, are these people good employers? i.e. pay on time? No other hidden deductions than outlined above? Is the compound safe?

Basically, I need someone who is currently working for these people to give me the low down regarding Al Falak and why I should or shouldn't work for them.

Please help.

BTW, I'm flying from London, so again any tips would be warmly welcolmed.

[waltertoo]

In order to work in S.A. you must have the appropriate visa or an internal passport. Different visas have different rights of entrance to and exit from the kingdom - and different rights of travel inside the kingdom
If a wife or dependent children will accompany you at a later date KFUPM DCC direct hires have sometimes found that visa for wife and children can take 6 to 9 months to arrange. KFUPM occassionally fails even to arrange an internal passport for their direct hires.
Al-Falak does not normally arrange internal passports. Find out what rights of exit and reentry the visa they will arrange has. With the wrong type of visa you will not even be permitted to cross the causeway into Bahrain.
Al Falak has an excellent reputation for arranging what they say, but you must nail down the exact terms before you arrive.
I have been told that several ESL teachers are leaving early and that one did a runner last month.

[Jim Bigelow]

Just some comments although it's far too late to be writing but I'll give it a shot!
Before any one can really advise you on the package you've been offered we need to know what you have in terms of qualifications and experience, but in general that sounds like a pretty good salary. They're offering you a salary of Sr14'758 per month, but is the amount you mentioned for rent, monthly or yearly? If monthly, obviously (with the medical ins and the cost of the tickets.) that brings you down to approx Sr11'860. Still not bad but again depends on what you're bringing to the table!
You mentioned your working hours are from 3pm to 11pm? Maybe you mean 11am till 3pm? How many teaching hours will you be contracted for and how many office hours.
The overtime of Sr150 per hour is standard for Uni over time here in Saudi and many teachers double their salaries with the overtime.
I would say that if you are entering with a BA and a few years experience then it's a decent offer (compared to what is generally on offer) but if you have a MA and several years (post MA) experience then it's still good but not that great.
From the Universities in Saudi I'm not sure if you could beat it but then again I may well be wrong.
Also, are you married,children? If so then the Universities help with air tickets and maybe more importantly,medical insurance may be a reason for trying to approach the University directly.

[sledgehammer]

Just a bit more info. I'm single, late 30s and I have a BA and CELTA. I also have 8 years experience teaching in London and South America.

Al Falak have promised to send a guy to pick me up at the airport where he'll drive me to the KSA embassy to process my visa.

Can someone tell me about the Al Falak compound? Does anyone know if the accommodation has cooking utensils, bed sheets what the power supply is i.e. 110 or 240v. Is is possible to buy a laptop over there at a reasonable price. HOW FAR IS THE COMPOUND FROM WHERE I'M TEACHING?

Gracias

[Gnome]

Last year Al Falak started to recruit for the DCC. I believe that if you did an archive search, you would find many answers to your questions. The money looks good on the surface, but expenses pile up. For example, you will need to rent a car to get you to work. As well, because you are not a direct hire, you will not be able take advantage of the DCC and KFUPM gym, etc. After 3 months you can switch over to being a direct hire, but you will then have to move and your salary will decrease substantially. All this is explained if you do an archive search on this board. The students at DCC are not the best to deal with and I understand that many instructors have done runners. But with just a BA and a CELTA, it may be a good to start if you want to break into the Middle East market. But I would suggest that you get a Masters as soon as possible. There are much better jobs out there than working at the DCC.

[Mark100]

I would take it if i was desperate but the students are poor to say the least.

Without a diploma or masters this is about as good as you will get in saudi.

With the fall of the dollar there are probably better options for you in Korea Taiwan or Japan and don't forget that Saudi is still on the nose with the ever present threat of militant action targeted against westerners.

Unless you are desperate don't go.

BTW I am still in Saudi in Khobar and have met a number of teachers from KFUPM via Al Falak and they don't last long.

[sledgehammer]

Hi,

You said "BTW I am still in Saudi in Khobar and have met a number of teachers from KFUPM via Al Falak and they don't last long."

How long do these guys last on average? What are some of the reasons they have for quitting/running?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Sledgehammer

BTW, the dollar is of no concern to me.

[waltertoo]

Please refer to my original post. Without the proper documents you will be trapped inside the kingdom and you will not be permitted to make any any financial transactions. No banking, no money orders, no Western Union, nada. Without proper documentation no vacations.

I chatted with one DCC guy yesterday. He is leaving three months early. His paperwork never straightened out. Lots of promises. Said his buddy is leaving too. Never got a straight story from DCC about vacations or responsibilities. Said another guy leaving because KFUPM screwed up his paperwork so badly that they wanted him to fly back to USA and refile all the paperwork at his own expense.

If things don't go smoothly from the start, you may really get screwed,

Glad I am where I am at and I am not telling.

Good luck!

[guty]

Walter,
so who screwed up? DCC and KFUPM, or AlFalak?

[Mark100]

The problem is that lots of guys are put on visit visas which means they don't have an iquama which causes all sorts of problems.

Unless you can get a direct hire with KFUPM you are probably better off not going unless you are super desperate and don't mind a short stint.

I think Al Falak housing is also bachelor status which means you cannot bring any women back.

If you are on a visit visa no chance to go to Bahrain on the weekend.

Too many hassles.

[waltertoo]

Does it matter who screwed up? From what they say, KFUPM and DCC (really the same place) have a tradition of offering direct hires and screwing up the paperwork on a high proportion of hires so that people dangle slowly in the wind. They use Al-Falak to get bodies in fast, but do not care what happens to the guy when he gets there. People are not doing runners for nothing.
No more comments from me on this thread.

[sledgehammer]

Ok, thanks for all the replies so far regarding the original post. However, I want to post answers to some of the burning questions that I raised originally, and subsequent questions/answers posters have made in reply.

People have mentioned that Al Falak normally comes up with what it promises. Well, despite being on a Percentage Contract (where I have to foot the bill for everything), I have been told that Al Falak will be paying for my visa.

"Your KSA VISA will be processed in the Saudi Embassy in Bahrain. You will only be renewing your VISA in Saudi and you will not have any problems doing so. VISA fees will be fully paid by Al-Falak"

With regards to salary payments, I've been told that I'll be paid cash or it will be sent to a bank of my choosing.

"Your salary will be paid to you in cash or sent to your international bank account. The reason we are doing so is because of your VISA type (Business VISA). In order to open a local bank account, you will require to have a permanent working VISA which can't be issued for you at this time."

This doesn't factor in the possibility of dealing in the black market for dollars, or asking someone to send money on my behalf to somewhere else i.e Western Union etc. Please don't tell me it can't be done, because that only means it can be.

Ok, maybe I won't be able to go to Bahrain every weekend to spunk my money, but hey, I'm only here for the money not to blow it on hookers and booze and waste the rest

I think I've got a pretty good handle of what I'm letting myself into and accept idealism is a subjective matter. I know with overtime and the chastity belt firmly round my wallet with my wages inside , I will make a load of dough. Please let's not get into the subject of morals. I like teaching but if I have to compromise that to make bundles of money, I'll do it. Having lived in Mexico for many years, I can tell you that things never go the way you'd expect it to like back home in the "motherland".

All in all, perhaps I've only got a tenuous grip of the reality of what life is like in KSA. However, armed with some facts and some half-truths, I'm going to give it a go. Besides, you've never heard of a prostitute refusing a client, have you?

Sledgehammer

[Van Norden]

If they pay straight into your home bank that'd be good. And if you get paid in cash I'm pretty sure you can do a bank transfer even tho you don't have a KSA account. no need for black market forays.

[waltertoo]

Without a valid igama no money transactions can be made at any bank, any foreign exchange agent, no place, period.

If Al-Falak will send part of your money to home country bank account that would be good.

At my compound another DCC guy is leaving. He has been reliably informed that KFUPM/DCC has not paid A.F. in months.

[sledgehammer]

Hi waltertoo,

Thanks for replying to the thread. When you say KFUPM has not paid Al Falak for months, do you also mean that Al Falak is not paying any of their teachers that they have contracted with them presently? Why would Al Falak still be contracting more people if they weren't paid by FKUPM- DCC? I can't see the logic in that, can you?

Furthermore, are you also saying that Al Falak won't give me/process the Igama? They've told me very clearly that they will.

Do you work directly with KFUPM? Also, why is your friend leaving? Is it relevant to Al Falak?

Thanks in anticipation of your response.

Sledgehammer