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Beginner Teacher considering Egypt as a first
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PierogiMonster



Joined: 17 Jun 2010
Posts: 148

PostPosted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 11:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

VS: a year here has been enough for a career boost but I don't see myself settling down here and enjoying a particularly rich life. And, after all, Pierogimonster's no spring chicken: these things need to be planned.

I believe the Spanish for pierogi is either 'el pierogi' or, at a puch, something called tapas Wink
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william0dark30



Joined: 18 Jun 2013
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have worked here in Egypt for 2 years without a work visa.
I came here without a college degree, no teaching certificate or experience.

What I lacked in credentials I made up for with passion and enthusiasm.

My first year at an international school I was paid dirt. (3,500 pounds) You can live off this, but don't make it a habit.

The next year I ran off to some village dubbed Shebeen El comb which payed me a handsome salary of 8,000 pounds, plus a furnished flat covering utilities, internet, the works. Oh yes, nanny service was also included along with my own office and computer.

Now I am in the process of getting a job that will pay me close to 2,000 dollars cash, complete with lodging and 6 weeks payed vacation. During my interview I wasn't even asked if I had a college degree or a CELTA.
I suspect that most of these sensible college graduates have abandoned this sinking ship. (HMS Egypt)

Every day I regret not getting my degree. However, that does not stop me from cashing in on Egypt's current predicament. Cairo is peppered with International Schools that are dependent on native English speakers. Without us they would go out of business. Native English speakers are becoming a rarity now days so our stock is rising. Build up experience and refine your negotiating skills and you will go far here.

Be passionate about your work along with a cheerful disposition. Try to serve your students well, and show yourself worthy.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 9:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

william0dark30 wrote:
Every day I regret not getting my degree. However, that does not stop me from cashing in on Egypt's current predicament.

Now's the time to address those regrets and consider saving toward a degree; that wave you're riding may carry you only so far. Given the ups and downs of the current socio-political situation in Egypt, your fortune can change for the worse and you may end up struggling to find work (wherever) without a degree and teaching qualification. In other words, you need a safety net.
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william0dark30



Joined: 18 Jun 2013
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 6:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I will try to be positive and see where the wave will take me. Hopefully, College. Cool

I don't want to end up being one of those guys with years of teaching experience minus a college degree. How embarrassing.

Maybe one of these days I will wake up and do what must be done so that I can be eligible to teach in Saudi. $$ Wink $$
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fahiza



Joined: 20 May 2014
Posts: 2
Location: London

PostPosted: Fri May 23, 2014 1:51 pm    Post subject: Starting in egypt now in 2014 Reply with quote

Hello,
just wondering if you did eventually end up in Egypt.

I've been teaching and tutoring in London for 5+ years and now I've completed my TEFL and I would like to teach in Egypt.

Is it still a dangerous place for young females ?
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Fri May 23, 2014 2:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The danger level varies by where you are, but for the young and inexperienced, the danger goes up. The danger is knowing where to go and where not to go... and when. The last few years have loosened the societal bonds that in the past kept the more obnoxious young males under control... with the high numbers of badly educated and unemployed. I doubt that Cairo will ever be the very safe place that it was in the past.

It needs common sense and street smarts... justcolleen is the poster here who is on the ground right now, but outside Cairo. Hopefully she will pass through and add her advice.

VS
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justcolleen



Joined: 07 Jan 2004
Posts: 654
Location: Egypt, baby!

PostPosted: Thu May 29, 2014 12:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm settled in a rather boring location between Alexandria and Cairo and this is where I'll stay.

For the moment, I wouldn't recommend Cairo to a newcomer, particularly one traveling alone. Alexandria? Maybe. But not Cairo.
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santi84



Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea

PostPosted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 12:14 pm    Post subject: Re: Starting in egypt now in 2014 Reply with quote

fahiza wrote:
Hello,
just wondering if you did eventually end up in Egypt.

I've been teaching and tutoring in London for 5+ years and now I've completed my TEFL and I would like to teach in Egypt.

Is it still a dangerous place for young females ?


I was 23 when I first arrived in Cairo (2007, just before things turned) and it is not a place I would have recommended even then for your first abroad experience. I would suggest another location and then make a decision later. In 2007, the men would verbally harass but the idea they would touch you was totally taboo. As other posters have suggested, particularly in Cairo, those social constraints are questionable now.

It is hard to believe that only seven years ago, I could walk around Tahir Square and only fear the traffic.
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justcolleen



Joined: 07 Jan 2004
Posts: 654
Location: Egypt, baby!

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 5:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh, hold on! There's a new president and *gasp* men are no longer allowed to be froggy with the ladies. The news reports (in Arabic, not English, which is primarily for western consumption) arrests and convictions - prison, with labor - pretty much every day, as well as these fellas' names and pictures so their families are publicly shamed. Methinks another couple of weeks of this and the gents will be outright terrified to be in an open space with a female in his range of vision. The table has turned.

Not only that, taxi drivers are wearing seat belts. Sometimes I have to pinch myself because it's hard to believe this is the same place. Well, then the lights go off for the 3rd or 4th time and I realize, yes, I'm still in Egypt.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 5:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

justcolleen wrote:
...I have to pinch myself...

Instead of those randy men pinching you! Laughing
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santi84



Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea

PostPosted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 9:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seatbelts in Egypt? Is this a belated April's Fools?
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justcolleen



Joined: 07 Jan 2004
Posts: 654
Location: Egypt, baby!

PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 6:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, seatbelts! But, wait! There's more: no more loud vehicles, no more vehicles that blow back smoke, there are now hefty fines for drinking/drugging and driving, and speeding tickets are being passed out like candy. As if that's not enough, bad parking now results in a boot and/or tow. It's hardly the same place!
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 2:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ya Salaaaam... mish maoul...

And how long will these new rules be enforced? Laughing Laughing

Just the bad parking law should support the state forever...

VS
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Big_H



Joined: 21 Dec 2013
Posts: 115

PostPosted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 10:41 am    Post subject: Re: Starting in egypt now in 2014 Reply with quote

The seatbelt law was always there. One time -7 or 8 years ago-, the authorities decided to enforce that law strictly on all cars' front seats.

That one year was a proud moment for Egypt; even taxi drivers had their seatbelts on and fixed some kind of sash/rope that was tied only on the upper end so that passengers can fling it over their shoulders and look like they were wearing one. At least you knew that in case of an emergency you could always tarzan your way out the side window.



fahiza wrote:
Is it still a dangerous place for young females ?


Fahiza, I'm not gonna lie to you...



*ends the sentence and walks away*
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justcolleen



Joined: 07 Jan 2004
Posts: 654
Location: Egypt, baby!

PostPosted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 11:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was just out and saw there has been a turn/pedestrian/bike lane, lane markings, and speed bumps (complete with red and green flashing lights) installed on the very busy street near my home.

Whole. New. World.
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