Job Discussion Forums

[scot47]

I have been in KSA but I have never been a woamn. I am a bit surpriswed that a desire tro go to medical school would take you to KSA. How much do you need for that? How much do you imagine you can save in a year in KSA ?

[SENTINEL33]

Usually, when someone mentions he “welcomes constructive feedback”, he (generic “he”) is actually saying:……… kindly don’t reply unless you agree with me.

That is not going to happen here…..completely out of the question. There's going to be disagreement from the get-go.

You’re an exceptional writer, to be sure, and quite convincing. Nevertheless, your goals and plans belong to the Realm of Oz – they’re grounded in pure fantasy peppered with pie in the sky notions that have no basis in reality.

It’s an astonishing display of naïveté from which you have to wean yourself away, difficult though it may be.

1. Your very first statements confirm that you are not really a teacher…you’re an amateur, a dabbler with no real interest in the ESL field. It’s just a gig on your way to something bigger and better. You have absolutely no preparation in teaching and have bought - hook, line and sinker - into the notion that “anyone can teach English overseas by getting a TESL certificate”. Keep dreaming.

2. The days when an English teacher could work in KSA a couple of years and then go home and buy a condo with his petro-dollars have long since receded into the sulphuric mists of history. That couple of years has now become at least a decade long. So the idea that you can work in KSA “teaching” English for a couple of years and then – SHAZAM – you’ll be able to afford your med school tuition is delusional. It’s not going to happen – no matter how much you want it to.

3. The idea that KSA is an “extreme” country has always struck me as laughable. It’s a complete misnomer and totally mischaracterizes the country. In fact, KSA is exactly the opposite…..it’s not extreme. Instead, it's an immobile, mute monolith, fossilized in space and time, peering out at the rest of the world in disbelief, horror and fear. A westerner’s greatest danger in KSA is not the “laws” and all that. Instead it’s the menacing, creeping, clawing state of utter boredom that can leave the unsuspecting in a lobotomized trance for the duration. Nothing of fundamental importance has changed in 2000 years – and there are no real prospect of that changing anytime soon.

4. “ It would be “nice’ to learn Arabic.” Prepare for a 10 year sojourn then, because that’s how long it’s going to take to reach a basic speaking level.

5. I just want to be safe in terms of having a boss who possesses integrity. I don't want to get cheated or be forced into a distressful situation that makes me want to leave. I don't want to be in a shady situation with co-workers who are out to get me.

Nobody can guarantee this or suggest ways to avoid it. Not just in KSA but anywhere. This is just another pie in the sky notion of how you feel the world should be (rather than how it is).

I strongly suggest a complete change in direction for you. If you’re truly bent on going to med school, you’re simply wasting your time in this field and in this part of the world. It’s not what you think it is….not even close.

[bootita]

Hi!!

I say just GO. Go and try it. listen to your heart and give it a shot because why not?????
What doesn't kill you....

and if you want to be a DOCTOR????? then you need to be tough. Go to KSA, even if its with a shady contractor....because again, why not??? everyone is looking for the perfect situation...well it doesn't sound like that exists in KSA especially "nowadays"...
it might suck and you might have to leave early somehow, BUT it might (and probably will) be one of the most amazing experiences of your life.

JUST DO IT.

good luck.

[johnslat]

Dear bootita,

"JUST DO IT."

You're not the same person who gave me the same advice about joining the Marines in 1963 - just before the Vietnam War started escalating, are you?

Regards,
John

[Gulezar]

[lcanupp1964]

Ya see that big ol’ dark, deep hole out yonder in the middle of nowhere? You know the one I mean. It’s the hole that has that ridiculous warning sign. Do we really need the sign all lit-up and fancy like in bright neon? Walk towards the screams. You see it now? Great. Jump. Just do it. Have a little faith my brother. Ignore the chipped bone fragments and dried blood you see incrusting the jagged edges of what we people in these parts call “The Mister-Happy Fun Hole of Naivety”. Dive right in like a ravenous learning disabled otter chasing after a plump, tasty catfish. Why do you need a “perfect situation” like having knowledge, experience and the advice of countless others that have told people to stay away from that teacher sucking vortex? Who needs crazy things like safety equipment, rope, food, water – just close your eyes. Don’t waste all those precious minutes reading and asking questions. Studying is for wimps and solid, reliable research is for docile-tiny-little-baby lambs. Yes sir! Three bags full! All that silly information about that hole and how many people (they all kind-of remind me of you, actually) have plummeted to their demise. Just do it!

[SENTINEL33]

[cmp45]

Interesting comments...worth considering all the opinions; much of what has been stated up this point is all very valid ...do your research as thoroughly as you can.

blind risk(just do it) Versus a calculated risk(doing your research first and weighing the pros and cons)

I think most sane people would choose the later strategy; however, to be fair...Part of being sane, is being a little bit crazy(Quote by Janet Long). Just do it!?

[fledex]

I'm a "just say yes and do it" kind of guy, and 95% of the time it all works out great; never look back. Getting to the other 5%, I have to say that the time I spent with Edex (especially in Qassim) has to be the worst, most regrettable, waste of time in my life, and downright dangerous at that. I like adventure, but there was no adventure in it, just boredom at best.

[lcanupp1964]

I wonder if some of the newer posters with zero experience teaching in KSA might feel that we are trying to trick them in not coming because we want all the riches to ourselves (???).

Even through this place has warped my since of humor a little, I sincerely hope that everybody thinking about coming over here truly realizes that it will take incapable amounts of sweat, tears, moments of rage (hopefully in the privacy of ones' apartment), utter boredom, and gushes after gushes of frustration.

It took me more than half my teaching career to figure out the secret to my success. It's only one easy thing; you just have to figure out which of the billions of things it could be and tailor that one thing to you.

[plumpy nut]

[teacheverywhere]

[sicklyman]

I hope she (and you) understand that the logical premise of her point of view is that the problem with the world is men.

Unsurprisingly, I've yet to find anyone in Saudi who has espoused this idea of female protectionism while also confessing that this is an essential feature in any society with endemic perversion of the male.

[mzuri]

[teacheverywhere]