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saud86
Joined: 12 Feb 2014
Posts: 2
Location: Canada
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 Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 5:51 am Post subject: looking for first ESL teaching job |
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Hello everyone,
I have recently completed the TOSEL certification course and I will be finishing my undergrad next month. I am aiming to get my first ESL teaching job in next 6 months. Does anybody have any suggestions for me? What are the chances of getting a first ESL job in Saudi Arabia?
Thanks,
Saoud |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 7:25 am Post subject: |
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| Poor. Most Saudi employers - even the cowboys - expect at least 2 years experience. |
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lcanupp1964
Joined: 12 Dec 2009
Posts: 381
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 11:22 am Post subject: |
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Many people just like you were able to start in Asia - I like Japan and South Korea - in order to get the experience needed for a position in the Middle East. It is also a cultural issue. In East Asia, they prefer to work with and supervise younger teachers. They seem embarrassed to manage someone older than themselves. In the Middle East, they prefer older teachers for reasons too many to list here. That's why there are so many "old farts" on this forum. Me? I'm just a "upper-middle aged old fart".  I would spend some time on the South Korea and Japan forums. For the most part, one still needs to “pay their dues” before being able to get a “good” gig in the Middle East. It took me almost eight years (three years in Japan, two years in South Korea and 18 months in Taiwan) before I started making the money I thought I was worth. You would make around 2,000USD a month in Japan and South Korea, but in a few years, you could double your salary once your are ready to start teaching in the Middle East. |
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cmp45
Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Posts: 1475
Location: KSA
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 2:37 pm Post subject: |
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| lcanupp1964 wrote: |
| Many people just like you were able to start in Asia - I like Japan and South Korea - in order to get the experience needed for a position in the Middle East. It is also a cultural issue. In East Asia, they prefer to work with and supervise younger teachers. They seem embarrassed to manage someone older than themselves. In the Middle East, they prefer older teachers for reasons too many to list here. That's why there are so many "old farts" on this forum. Me? I'm just a "upper-middle aged old fart". I would spend some time on the South Korea and Japan forums. For the most part, one still needs to “pay their dues” before being able to get a “good” gig in the Middle East. It took me almost eight years (three years in Japan, two years in South Korea and 18 months in Taiwan) before I started making the money I thought I was worth. You would make around 2,000USD a month in Japan and South Korea, but in a few years, you could double your salary once your are ready to start teaching in the Middle East. |
I suppose you could just pay your dues in KSA with bottom feeder outfits, and try to work your way up into better positions, but in my opinion it is better to pay your dues in another country first. You are more likely to find better employers with more experience. I paid my dues in the UAE (3 years at a horrible technical high school for local students that were low achievers trying to learn a technical trade to fast track into the workforce; very un motivated undisciplined students). After that wild and crazy experience, I was able to find a decent position at a Government run college and continued up to my third current position for a total of 14 years in this unreal magical kingdom. Plus was already approaching middle age back then. Save KSA for when you are older and have experienced and managed a range of classroom situations  |
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saud86
Joined: 12 Feb 2014
Posts: 2
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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thanks guys for your detailed responses. I know somebody personally who was able to get in without any experience but that happened sometime back  I wanted to get an idea about the present market and it seems like requirements are a bit strict now. I will still go ahead and give it a try. Do you guys have any suggestions how should I look for the jobs? Are guys aware of any recruiters or anything that can help me? |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 6:45 pm Post subject: |
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| saud86 wrote: |
| I know somebody personally who was able to get in without any experience but that happened sometime back |
The problem with getting hired with zero experience is that you'll only catch the attention of the dodgiest of contracting companies.
| and wrote: |
| I will still go ahead and give it a try. Do you guys have any suggestions how should I look for the jobs? Are guys aware of any recruiters or anything that can help me? |
There are plenty of recruiters to choose from; just apply for those positions you feel might overlook your lack of experience and newly-minted BA. But again, dodgy... |
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