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MrWright
Joined: 27 Feb 2008
Posts: 167
Location: Arizona
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 Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 5:53 am Post subject: |
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| Was that your first year? And what kind of creditianls/experience does one need to land the first Gulf uni job? |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 1:53 pm Post subject: |
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| MrWright wrote: |
| Thanks. So if I went the uni route, at entry level, what kind of salary and savings would be realistic? I don't live an expensive lifestlye, but it would be nice to visit the states every year or two. Also, with an MA Tesol, but no other experience teaching adults ESL, is it unrealistic to get a uni job at all? How difficult is it to get that first position? Thanks for the advice. |
As is usual, the first job can be tough to get. Thus, best to think in the long term as to savings. The universities normally want to see a couple years experience after the MA. That puts you (and all newbies) in the position of having to take one of the less desirable jobs. You may be able to manage some credit for your secondary school experience. After all... Middle East universities are really nothing but glorified secondary schools. 
Your best option for a first job may be the smaller colleges in Oman. Read around the Oman threads and you will find the usual gripes about mis-management and living in a smaller village. If you are flexible and have a sense of humor, it is certainly possible to do a couple years. Part of the normal university contract in the Gulf includes a ticket home for your summer leave, but it may be included in your pay at some of the smaller places, so you can spend it or not. It is hard to save much the first year as one has to set up a home, perhaps buy a car, but the second year you should be able to save 50-75% of your salary.
VS |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 4:08 am Post subject: |
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| Beware of the consequences of the worship of the Money God. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:18 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, but many of us must worry about things like retirement. For instance, we Americans don't have a system back home to make sure that we have a roof over our heads, regular meals, and health care once we are too old to work.
VS |
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Badar Bin Bada Boom
Joined: 01 Jun 2011
Posts: 192
Location: Fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man
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| Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 4:54 pm Post subject: |
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| I wouldn't go that far. How come my mother gets $2000 a month in social security plus medicare/medicaid? |
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Middle East Beast
Joined: 05 Mar 2008
Posts: 836
Location: Up a tree
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| Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 5:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Badar Bin Bada Boom wrote: |
| I wouldn't go that far. How come my mother gets $2000 a month in social security plus medicare/medicaid? |
Because she contributed to the system for an extended period of time.
Those of us who work overseas and enjoy tax-free income (assuming we qualify under one of two options available in the tax code) don't contribute to SS or haven't contributed in decades and thus, assuming SS will be there when we retire (an assumption that is getting less likely), we will have reduced benefits at best--not enough to make ends meet.
That we'll have medicare is becoming another grand assumption--and remember, the medicare that's offered by the government does not cover all medical expenses. What's tragic for America is that we're one of the few countries among our "peers" that doesn't provide universal health care. That's disgraceful and inexcusable. I could go on about that for hours.
MEB  |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 2:37 am Post subject: |
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| Badar Bin Bada Boom wrote: |
| I wouldn't go that far. How come my mother gets $2000 a month in social security plus medicare/medicaid? |
How many TEFL teachers are fully vested in SS to get an amount like that? I don't even get half that. My mother who worked her whole life gets slightly more than half of that.
Even in a cheap rural area, neither hers nor mine would pay normal living expenses unless one is bill free, and very healthy.
Once one becomes elderly and unable to live alone, any type of assisted living or nursing home will cost from $2500 to $10,000 a month depending on condition and/or part of the country. My mother's monthly charge is $4300 a month. No one makes enough SS to pay this...
VS |
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huh?
Joined: 17 Mar 2011
Posts: 18
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:30 pm Post subject: |
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Most people in the ME could save a lot more if they wanted/needed to, but when you are making money it is fun to spend.
How much you save depends on your job, how you live, and how determined you are to save.
I work at a university and make a fairly good salary, have a nice but simply furnished flat, no car, take one foreign trip a year plus one trip home, eat out all the time - but at little Indian, Arabic and Filipino places, buy books at the used book shop, go to dinner and cinema with friends about once a week, and avoid Western restaurants and stores like the plague. I save between 40,000 and 45,000 USD a year. But then not everyone is as cheap as I am. |
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Badar Bin Bada Boom
Joined: 01 Jun 2011
Posts: 192
Location: Fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man
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| Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 5:42 am Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
| Badar Bin Bada Boom wrote: |
| I wouldn't go that far. How come my mother gets $2000 a month in social security plus medicare/medicaid? |
How many TEFL teachers are fully vested in SS to get an amount like that? I don't even get half that. My mother who worked her whole life gets slightly more than half of that.
VS |
right. I was referring to the general population. Your first post suggested nobody gets any benefits. My mother gets my father's death benefit plus her own retirement one. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 1:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Badar Bin Bada Boom wrote: |
| right. I was referring to the general population. Your first post suggested nobody gets any benefits. My mother gets my father's death benefit plus her own retirement one. |
Not true. When one spouse dies, the remaining get the highest of the two - never both. Thus, when my father died, my mother's SS income was immediately cut in half. Of course, the only bill that was cut in half was her food bill... everything else pretty much stays the same. Fortunately this is not her only income or she would have been in financial difficulty immediately because the SS income would not cover even her very low living expenses.
If your mother still receives your father's benefits, they have apparently not been notified of his death. I hope the SS never realizes that they are doing it. They WILL make her repay everything they paid to her over and above her eligibility of the higher of the two amounts only.
Besides I did not say that "nobody" received benefits. I was talking about EFLers who return to the US... many are not vested and will get nothing. Even for those who worked all their lives and made higher than average incomes for their areas can barely cover the bills.
VS |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 3:37 pm Post subject: |
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As an SS recipient who's done a lot of research on the benefits, I concur with what veiledsentiments wrote.
Regards,
John |
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Badar Bin Bada Boom
Joined: 01 Jun 2011
Posts: 192
Location: Fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man
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| Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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Ahem--doctor, do you concur? Indeed, doctor, I concur. You know my doctor, right? Dr. Vinnie Boom-Botch. He told me I'm a hypochondriac. I said I want a second opinion. He said "OK, you're ugly too." I know I'm not handsome--you should have seen me when I was a baby. Are you kidding? When I was born the doctor slapped my mother.
Well I'm sure you two know more than I do on SS: I'm not eligible yet for years   . I thought my mother got two benefits. Actually, come to think of it, since she lives in Luxembourg but never paid into any European system, I think she gets about $1500 from the US and $500 from Luxembourg. And of course she doesn't need to worry about Medicare/Medicaid. However, I am not impressed by the quality of her local physicians, judging by my father's experiences there. As long as I have my current employer, I like our private system in the US because I can go to any doc and any clinic I want including the world's most famous ones. Were I retired now, I think Medicare and supplements would be a fairly affordable and adequate coverage system. Five years down the road, who knows--we may all have to emigrate to Thailand or Canada. (No more Europe for me).
Last edited by Badar Bin Bada Boom on Thu Aug 25, 2011 10:43 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Middle East Beast
Joined: 05 Mar 2008
Posts: 836
Location: Up a tree
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| Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 5:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Badar Bin Bada Boom wrote: |
Ahem--doctor, do you concur? Indeed, doctor, I do. You know my doctor, right? Dr. Vinnie Boom-Botch. He told my I'm a hypochondriac. I said I want a second opinion. He said "OK, you're ugly too." I know I'm not handsome--you should have seen me when I was a baby. Are you kidding? When I was born the doctor slapped my mother.
As long as I have my current employer, I like our private system in the US because I can go to any doc and any clinic I want including the world's most famous ones. |
You're lucky to have a great health plan from your employer--it's unusual these days. I hate our private system. I pay an enormous monthly premium for private insurance with an astronomical deductible--thus, I'll never get any benefit from the plan unless something catastrophic happens. Our system benefits insurance companies, doctors, and hospitals.
Oh, I left your stand-up comedy bit here...it's cool! Write on!
MEB |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 1:27 am Post subject: |
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Hey Bader Bin... didn't know that you were old enough to have worked in the Catskills. Definitely a routine from that era.
I'm with MEB... our medical system totally sucks. My premium is astronomical... now much more than my rent also with a huge deductible. It is a heavy price to pay for protect myself from the fact that all of us here in this country are only a week or so away from losing every penny we have spent a lifetime saving... to the medical system. All it takes is one car accident or severe illness... and you're in bankruptcy court.
VS |
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Badar Bin Bada Boom
Joined: 01 Jun 2011
Posts: 192
Location: Fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man
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| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 9:21 pm Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
Hey Bader Bin... didn't know that you were old enough to have worked in the Catskills. Definitely a routine from that era.
VS |
Catskills? Yah. Some crowd, what a crowd. That was a rough neighborhood. I come from a rough neighborhood, too. Are you kidding? The other day I was watching a fight on the street corner and a hockey game broke out. |
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