Job Discussion Forums

[zeke0606]

VS -

Thank you for creating a unique and special place in the TEFL world for me!

As I was led to believe... The ink hadn't dried after President Kennedy signed the Peace Corps into existance, that the CIA compromised the entire concept and infiltrated it. Truth or Dare -- I don't know!

I do know that many Peace Corps people were asked to leave Russia for this reason. I was thinking of teaching in Yekaterinburg a few years ago and contacted some of the teachers at the school there and others that had been forced out. They told me in very simple and plain language that they were accused of being spies for the CIA in the clothes of the Peace Corps and told by the FSB to leave.

Soooooo, maybe they are all in Saudi...............

Zeke

[veiledsentiments]

That is pretty funny actually. But, Russia is well known for its over-the-top paranoia when it comes to anything US. Many Americans, including myself, have been only half-jokingly accused of being CIA. Funny how non-Americans think of it as some kind of super efficient organization, while most Americans consider it a bunch of mostly bunglers.

And if the ex-peace corps people that I knew were CIA... well that would explain a lot. I found that the vast majority of them were anti-govt hippie types who got into it to avoid the military.

BTW... there are employers who consider having that on the CV as a plus. It does show some cultural flexibility. There is at least one Saudi employer that I heard about who gives preference to ex-Peace Corp people.

But... we again hijack... sorry Vinelli...

VS

[vinnelli]

There are and have been quite a few ex-Peace Corps people in the English section at Vinnell. I don't know of any CIA agents.........but then again I guess I wouldn't, would I? lol

[zeke0606]

With Vinnelli's permission...

VS -
I haven't noticed to many paranoid behaviors in Russia lately toward Americans....
The US government - yes! But the American people - no!
However, whenever I am in the USA, I get accused of being in the KGB!! Go figure!

Zeke

[Stephen Jones]

[ghost]

I looked at the website about Vinnell.

The vacation time information states "30 days" plus 9 holidays.

Does this mean just 39 days per year? It is not clear.

How much time off do Vinnell TEFL teachers get in summer and for the Islam holidays?

Thank you.

Ghost in Korea

[scot47]

Ghost, if you want civilised holidays and not a measly 3 or 4 weeks - head for academia !

[vinnelli]

[vinnelli]

according to the HEART Act that Congress just passed. All overseas companies that are at least 51% American owned (of which Vinnell is one) now have to pay FICA tax (social security). Starting 1 August 2008, 7.65% of our gross salary will be withheld to for this purpose with an additional 7.65% matched by the company. Thought I would share this information with you as it may affect your decisions (both positively and negatively) to accept a job with Vinnell

[Griff-James]

Do you only hire US citizens?

[johnslat]

Dear Griff-James,
Here's some recent (about 3 months old) info on Vinnell from a friend who's working there:

"1) Living conditions: We live in villas that we share with at least two or possibly three other people, depending upon if it is a three or four bedroom villa. Each person has his own bedroom and bathroom, but we share the common areas of living room, kitchen, and utility room (with washer and dryer). There is a TV in the living room that is hooked up to a satellite. We get CNN, Fox News, BBC, Orbit News, several movie channels, several sports channels, Armed Forces Network, The Pentagon Channel, several music channels, The History Channel and National Geographic Channel. There is also a channel dedicated to our compound that has announcements, etc. The kitchen has pots, pans, glasses, dishes and really everything you need. Some guys cook a lot, others don�t do much cooking at all. A lot of guys have bought TVs for their bedrooms, and I guess there is a TV hookup in each bedroom, though I really haven�t even looked for one in mine. I just use the TV in the living room when I want to watch.

Villas are designated �smoking� or �non-smoking�. Usually things work out fine, but occasionally a non smoker has gotten put into a smoking villa. If that happens, the problem can usually be resolved, though nothing is 100% certain.

It�s a rule that people who work together do NOT live together, so my villa mates work in Logistics and on the Firing Range, so you would not be living in the same villa with another English teacher.

There is internet hookup in each bedroom. Sometime it is good, but at times it goes down. The people who complain about it the most are those who download lots of things. I mainly use it for email and Skype when I talk to my wife, so I haven�t found it too frustrating, but some are always complaining about it. I guess it depends on your use of it.

2) Our housing compound: We live on the ROC compound. There are two swimming pools � one large one (maybe close to Olympic size) and a smaller one that is heated. I use the pools quite often, and many times I am the only person using it, so neither pool is crowded.

There is a small commissary, barber shop, 4 lane bowling alley, weight room (with sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi), Racquet ball court, tennis court and outside basketball area.

We have a restaurant that I think is very reasonable, which has daily dinner specials for SR 20. We have to pay for our meals, but we get a food allowance of $300 per month. It�s open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

There�s a room used as a �Fellowship Room� for church services on Friday. There are about 7 guys who take turns speaking. I�m one of them, and speak once every couple months. Though most of the guys are Protestants, there are some Catholics who attend, so it is quite ecumenical. There are normally 15 to 20 guys who attend.

3) Work time: We have to be at work at 5:30 am. When I drive (we take turns driving) I leave the house at 5:00 and usually pick up 2 or 3 other guys. We are at work until 2:15, and usually back to the housing compound by 2:45 or 3:00 or around that time. We work on the National Guard base and the school is about a 20 or 25 minute drive from housing, depending on the traffic. There are three major places we go. 1 � housing compound 2 � the Base 3 � Camp Vinnell where the mailroom, finance office, travel agency, and other major offices are located. Each day we can sign up to go from work to either Camp Vinnell or back to housing. There are normally vehicles going both places.

4) Contact hours: We teach anywhere from 4 to 6 hours each day. The ideal is 4, but with a shortage of teachers (when people go on vacation, etc) sometimes we end up teaching our labs, too, which are two hours. The classes are 4 hours in the classroom and 2 hours in the lab each day. When there are enough of us, there are assigned lab teachers who teach those periods. The past couple months I�ve been teaching 5 hours each day � my four class periods and one lab period. There have been a couple sessions when I�ve taught 6 hours each day. For now classes begin at 7:50, so we are at work from 5:30 to 7:50 before students come. It gives plenty of time for preps and to do whatever you want to do, but, there is no internet connection at school. In fact, there are not even telephone lines coming into the school. Some of the guys are now getting these phones that hook up to your computer and connect you to a satellite, so with that, internet is possible, but you would have to take your own laptop to school, as we are not supplied with computers.

Our classes are supposed to be limited to 10 students, but this time I�m teaching 14, and there is another class with 15, but that is kind of unusual. They try to keep it to 10. We have a group of students for 2 weeks (in which we complete one DLI book), then we change classes. I like that, because we never have the same group for more than two weeks at a time.

The students are actually pretty good, and fairly motivated. When they graduate from our program, most will go to the DLI school in San Antonio at Lackland AFB. We have teachers who have taught with Raytheon, Aramco, TINs, and all kinds of other military programs, and they all say our students are the best they have taught. They are all officers (1st Lt � Capt), though we are supposed to get a group of NCOs in a couple months.

Vacation time is flexible, though more than 2 people can�t be gone at a time. We work during Hajj and Ramadan, but get compensatory time off at a later date (which we can take in conjunction with vacation). Or, you can also take leave during the Ramadan or Hajj break when there are no students.

5) Pay: We are paid in US dollars. Even though we kind of work for Northrop Grumman, Vinnell is a majority Saudi Owned company, so we do not pay into Social Security. This isn�t an option for us. I have most of my money direct deposited to my stateside Credit Union, but draw some of my money here. (I get a $ check and cash it at our pay cage and get riyals). You can allot any amount to be sent home. Once you make an allotment, that can be changed, so if you see you need more or less money here, it�s not hard to adjust.

About salary: I know that some guys have negotiated a higher salary, but when I came, salary wasn�t that important to me. I wanted to come back to Saudi and work a year or two, so I just took what they offered. I know some guys make more than me, but we don�t discuss it (It would probably make me upset). Anyway, this will give you an idea of what to expect. My base salary is 39,000. We get 25% hazardous duty pay, and $300 a month for food allowance. We also get some travel allowance, but I must admit I�m not exactly sure what it is. Last year my take home pay was a little over 55,000. Of course that�s tax free, so I�m not sure what salary you�d need to make in the states to bring home that amount. Some of the guys, when they get to complaining, say that many other companies pay more. I always wonder when they say that, �Why aren�t you working for them instead of here?�. But one good thing, they always pay on time and you can be sure your money will be deposited to your stateside account in an efficient and timely manner. That�s a real plus as far as I�m concerned.

Working conditions: Most of the staff get along very well. There are a few eccentric people, but working here, we�re all a little eccentric. Generally the staff is very helpful and cooperative. I try to keep a positive attitude and not get into complaining, but at times the management is a little �screwy�. I try to keep my eye on the goal of a pay check, and keep realizing that I really do love the teaching part of the job. Although all my teaching colleagues get along, there are some personality conflicts with the chief trainer that some people seem to have. I�ve not really had any problems, but I try to be congenial no matter what. It�s all a matter of perspective, I guess.

6) Mail: We can receive mail and magazines via APO, but the things we receive must be under 16 ounces. Anything heavier that that must be sent to another address in the States, and it is shipped here in a container.
All this information will be supplied by Northrop when they send an initial packet to you. I haven�t had any trouble (at least not that I know of) with the APO mail, but again, some people have had problems. I actually send lots and lots of letters. In fact, I wouldn�t be surprised if I sent out the most mail of anyone here, and all my letters have seemed to have gotten through."

From what vinnelli wrote, I guess the Social Security situation will soon change.

Regards,
John

[veiledsentiments]

Hey John... good information, but it doesn't answer the question of whether they only hire Americans. If they hire non-americans, would they still deduct FICA?

VS

[johnslat]

Dear veiledsentiments,
I must admit I don't know about whether they hire non-Yanks; maybe vennilli can answer that.
But if they do, taking F.I.C.A. out would be, well, crazy, wouldn't it?
Regards,
John

[vinnelli]

Vinnell is not prohibited from hiring non-Americans. There are in fact a few non-Americans on the contract now. Canadians, I believe. There might be some others that I am unaware of as well.

[veiledsentiments]