Job Discussion Forums

[grab-bag]

[quote="cowpoke"]From what I've seen on Facebook, this place looks like a blast. The teachers are really wild. So is this what they do at the weekend? I can't wait to join them! Party, party, party! It must be a great place to live. Those QU babes look hot to trot.[/quote]

Be careful what you post on Facebook. A certain man scans Facebook regularly to see what his staff says. Don't do it.

[veiledsentiments]

I'd suspect that the university is more concerned with the bad PR from a bunch of their teachers being photographed drunk and behaving badly on such a public forum.

Some very poor decisions shown in that whole debacle.

VS

[lollaerd]

Facebook spies?? How low can you go. This is a good warning to all teachers to never post anything about your job on this website. If QU has people spying on teachers' Facebook accounts, they must be pretty desperate for things to do or determined to catch teachers out. Just because one naive teacher made a mistake doesn't mean they have to spy on the rest.

[veiledsentiments]

Basically use common sense people... whatever you post online, whether it be on Facebook or Dave's is out in the public. Most employers in the Gulf... and in your home countries... are tech savvy and will be looking.

If you print something that will upset your employers whether you are in Qatar, the UAE, or New York, or London... don't be surprised if it comes back and bites you.

VS

[johnslat]

Employer spying is ubiquitous; if the topic makes :Readers' Digest," you KNOW it's widespread.

"There are plenty of valid reasons for companies to monitor their workers� computer use. Productivity is one. A 2005 survey by salary.com and America Online found that employees on average wasted at least two hours a day�much of it online�doing things other than work, at an annual cost to businesses of about $759 billion.

Improper computer use can also spell legal trouble. Downloading pirated music or movies onto a work computer can prompt a copyright-infringement suit. Viewing pornography or sending sexually suggestive e-mails can lead to sexual harassment claims. No business wants to end up like Chevron, which had to pay $2.2 million to female employees after male workers circulated offensive e-mails. (The message contained in one: �25 Reasons Why Beer Is Better Than Women.�)

Says Nancy Flynn, the ePolicy Institute�s executive director and author of books on workplace computing rules, �If a company gets embroiled in a lawsuit, you can take it to the bank that its e-mail will be subpoenaed.�

Security is another concern. Porn, gambling and gaming sites, for example, can harbor viruses and other malicious programs that load onto a computer secretly and allow outsiders to damage a network or make off with sensitive information.

Companies also have competitive reasons to keep tabs on workers. Dan Geer, vice president and chief scientist at Verdasys, a data-security company, recalls installing the company�s Digital Guardian system on the network of a company that makes video games, and catching a worker trying to steal the designs for a new game before its release. This worker, Geer says, had logged in to a credit union site, ostensibly to handle personal banking. What he was actually doing was opening the door to an accomplice who had himself hacked into the credit union�s network and was waiting there to swipe the game files.

Steve Roop, a vice president at Vontu, another data-security firm, says such a sinister scenario is rare. Most workers who leak sensitive information do it by accident: �It�s good people doing dumb things.�


"One product that monitors an individual desktop is NetVizor. It can record everything a person types, from bank passwords to the names of illnesses searched on WebMD. It also logs and monitors e-mails sent and received (including those in personal Yahoo!, Hotmail and Gmail accounts), instant message chats, and the names of documents opened or printed. It can even capture a snapshot of a computer screen, providing an employer with a replica of what the employee is seeing on his or her monitor. (Another product called Mobile Spy takes some of the same stealth surveillance to company-issued cell phones by allowing the boss to view a log of phone numbers called and see every text message sent.)"

http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/is-your-boss-spying-on-you/article44327-2.html

[keeping_it_real]

Starting salary for new hires this coming Fall semester is 14,700 QAR + all the usual Gulf benefits.

[merry_prankster]

Thanks for the salary information. As a current UGRU employee and soon to be ex-employee, that is very helpful.

[veiledsentiments]

In addition to that new higher starting salary, I heard that they have also finally decided to not have everyone start at the same number as has been the policy in the past. Sorry, I don't know the exact numbers, but the more years of related experience (IEP... in Gulf) that you have, the higher you could start.

VS

[scot47]

There is no job security in ANY teaching job in the Gulf. Assume that you can be "let go" on short notice. make preparations for your next move.

Having said that, I must point out that I do know some who are still with the same employer 25+ years after starting here.

[eha]

[stickleback]

Great job - they got the accreditation. But it's also important to remember the cea-dollies are in it for the money too. The more happy customers, the more clients. Good luck.

[idaho_potato]

One important question should be - will everyone get the same base salary or will only newbies get the new higher amount?

[landcruzer]

[battleshipb_b]

[veiledsentiments]

Discriminatory? Seriously?

Since when do any of the Gulf employers give a damn about something like this? And anyone that expects them to conform to their particular rules of hiring and management conduct should go home and open their own business...

It is the exception to the rule in the Gulf universities if there is a published pay scale that teachers can peruse and compare with their fellow teachers.

VS