Job Discussion Forums

[08mansoor]

Hello,
I have been following Dave's ESL Cafe for over a year, and it might be the first time posting something on the thread. I will be graduating from UCSD as a Communication major at the end of the summer. Is that related to English? My school states that a Communication degree is equivalent to a degree in Journalism, but I am not sure if it is regarded as equivalent to English. What do you guys think?
Thanks,
Mansoor

[nomad soul]

No, a degree in communications (or journalism) is not considered relevant to English language teaching. You might want to take a look at this long-winded, related thread: "Best Master's Degrees?" (http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=102569). Also, many current job ads for the Kingdom specify which majors are acceptable.

[08mansoor]

I heard that Education Expert was able to convince the Saudi Embassy to change its policy on giving out visas for English related degrees only. Now unrelated degrees are also accepted. Is that true?

[nomad soul]

I have no clue about EdEx's wheelings and dealings, but if a job ad states unrelated degrees are okay (plus whatever else is required), then your degree should be fine if you meet all the requirements. On the other hand, if you apply for a position that explicitly indicates a TEFL-related degree is necessary, then you're likely out of luck. The other component to getting a TEFL job in the Kingdom is whether an unrelated degree also fulfills the visa requirements for the profession specified. That seems to be a gray area at this point.

You didn't state if your soon-to-be-completed comm degree is an MA or a BA, but if the latter, your qualifications are a bit low on the TEFL radar for this region. Employers expect applicants to have teaching experience gained post-degree/TEFL qualification.

[08mansoor]

Its actually a BA. I know its not great and my qualifications are pretty low. But I am not sweating too much, because I know some people in Saudi Arabia that has a few connections. Granted the pay is not great (3K), and supposedly the place where I am completing the TESL has connections with certain schools in Saudi. Thanks for all the help Nomad. You seem to know a lot about Saudi. You probably traveled a lot in your life based on your name

[currentaffairs]

Usually, a related degree will include fields such as Linguistics, TEFL and Education.

[Beaker]

[johnslat]

Dear Beaker,

"I actually recently heard that this is not true, that that sort of advice goes against KSA recruitment and needs to stop being given out. Pre-MA experience (in KSA) is taken into account when being offered a job, although the wage offered I'm guessing is on the lower end of the scale."

Since this goes against ALL previous experience in Saudi, it would be nice to know who you "heard that this is not true" from.


Regards,
John

[nomad soul]

[Beaker]

Well, if it's you guys experience, then so be it. Guess we're seeing different things. That said, I also didn't comprehend what the four visas were before coming here, due to no clear explanation on this forum, even frequent mis-explanations.

[plumpy nut]

[johnslat]

Dear plumpy nut,

So, by "taken into account," do you mean that those pre-MA years were included in determining your salary?

If so, it would be interesting to know if any/many others have had that happen since it would mean a MAJOR (and welcome) change regarding the salary-figuring policies in Saudi.

Regards,
John

[Beaker]

I said "offered a job" and then went on to say it was likely lower end of the wage scale. Did you miss that? I think we can all agree a choice job with a lower wage is a better situation than 'just' a job and that a foot in the door is the ideal situation.

Still, there'll be loads of openings soon for the new academic year, particularly considering those who are finishing their contracts never to return and those who are running at Eid.

[plumpy nut]