Job Discussion Forums

[scot47]

Travelbug-

The University job I had was a bit better than that. PYP teachers taught from 8 am to 10 am and then again from 1pom to 3 pm. There was also an "office hour" adding one hour to this. Outside that commitment there was no requirement to be on site. Those teaching Writing Classes to Engineering, Economics and Business students taught less than this 20 hours a week.

Teachers shared an office in the teaching block with one other teacher. Teaching duties were over two semesters running for 15 weeks each.

You still want tn go and teach for those dudes at BAe or Raytheon ? No thanks !

[Capricorny]

Wake up, Ahmed. Saif, sit up and open your eyes. Mohammed, if you fall asleep again, I'm going to write you up.

There's some activity by activity, page by page "teaching" but only if you have enough time between trying to keep the students awake. I've never seen a big that can milk four lessons out of a thimble full of language points. 100 pages of "This is" "That is" :These are" "Those are." He, she is, we you they are, I am.

[travelbug66]

lol Capricorn, your post brings back memories of teaching in the TSI. I dreaded the start of the week the most. The cadets would come into class, shuffling like the Walking Dead. Total zombies. I am quite sure some of them had been awake on stimulants the whole weekend, or had driven back overnight from Taif/Jizan, etc. Supposedly this problem of sleeplessness had gone on for 30 years, and probably will ad infinitum.
The funny thing is - you get used to it.
I don't think it would be an easy contract, but I'm sure there will be applicants who are lured by the filthy lucre.
On the plus side, you do get to have 2 weeks in San Antonio, Texas for your DLI training. Paid for by the contractors, which would be nice for UK applicants who have never been to the states. You do get at least $4000 a month, with free board and the holidays are quite generous.
But put aside all thoughts of a rewarding teaching environment.

[hsm]

[hash]

The horror stories associated with teaching at the Dhahran “Air Base” are really old hat. The exact same teaching conditions have existed and continue to exist in places such as Raytheon, Vinnell, Booz Allen, Litton, Bendix and so on for decade after decade…….. (Vinnell, for example, has been in the Riyadh area for going on 50 years by now….nearly half a century).

All of these current and former “military” contracts are interchangeable as far as the English teaching units are concerned, to wit, they are among the worst teaching jobs you can possibly have. They all use the same DLI materials (Dick and Jane ran up the hill while Spot waited for them to return), mainly because they are free, compliments of the US military something or other. You are not really there to “teach…..you are there to “train”, a totally different concept.

Remember too that you are not really wanted around these sites. These “training” outfits are forced to have an English language unit, so they have no choice but to establish a language unit……but they don’t like it…….not even a bit. As such, how you are treated is commensurate with their dislike and disdain (actually, their fear) of anything smacking of “intellectualism” – remember, you are going to be dealing with ex-military types, the so-called (or at least we used to call them) …..the “knuckledraggers”.

Nevertheless, I highly recommend these jobs for 1st timers in KSA. Maximum age, around 35-40. They provide superior $$ (which is what it is all about for everybody, no matter what is said in protest), they take care of all the paperwork and they provide an excellent introduction to KSA. But take heed of what has been said on this thread…..you really have to be aware of what you’re getting into. But if you’re smart about it, in a couple of years you can be debt free and likely have $50 thou plus or minus saved up in your hip pocket to do what you want with.

.

[yep]

I'm currently working on the air base. The above comments are a fairly accurate picture of what its like working here. It is very challenging work, but calm sees do not make a good sailor.
I'm in Saudi for the money and I've not seen a job that pays more. My plan is to stay for about 8 or 9 years, by which time I'll have enough to never work again.

[scot47]

10 years in that place will change you. Utterly. You may not like the person that you become as a result of your indentured servitude to the Military.

[laughingalltheway]

Hash, you can't say these military jobs are the worst jobs in the Kingdom. That is nonsense. Have you worked for all employers in the Kingdom? I doubt it. Some of the students at technical colleges and Uni PYP's are absolutely out of control, and management completely inept. I have worked at a military job, yeah, the materials aren't wonderful, but to say it's the worst job ever? No way, not a chance.

But the question is why B3H lost the contract, the contractors are NOT all the same.

[plumpy nut]

[nomad soul]

[scot47]

Plumpy has nowhere else to go. That is why he is so bitter.

[laughingalltheway]

Here is something really funny. The woman at B3H that was having a conversation with me, or interview, it wasn't exactly clear, actually asked me if I read the discussion forums on daveseslcafe. They asked me this point blank. It's like how unprofessional and what's the point? Maybe it was a sneaky way of trying to get me to badmouth an ex employer, get me to reveal if I had read anything about them, or some other reason I don't know. If and when they lost the contract this thread does not say. But it was strange to be asked this to say the least.

[scot47]

You should have told her that you are scot47's BFF ! That would scare her off !

[johnslat]

Dear laughingalltheway,


Just out of curiosity, was this women stationed in Florida?

Regards,
John