Job Discussion Forums

[americanjoe]

They must be getting pretty desperate in KSA for teachers lately.
On Tuesday I had seven job offers in one day.
Not just the "Apply here" ones; no, the "We want to call you for a skype interview. Send us the time we can call" kind.
In fact, if you count the others, I got 23 that day!

From my experience, that (usually) means they are wanting to hire you.

And I'm 57 years old!
Now I do have a lot of experience and 4 letters of recommendation and completed contract letters etc.

But my feeling is that people are not renewing in KSA this year and some are just bailing out because of the news.

Anyway, looks like lots of work in saudi, even for oldsters like me...

[nomad soul]

That's not so unusual considering it's peak hiring season, and that more vocational colleges have been popping up. It also depends on which (and how many) universities, companies, or schools you've been applying to, especially if it's to recruiting agents with multiple clients.

Retirement is at 60. Your age of 57 may or may not affect your ability to get an employment visa rather than a business visit visa.

[americanjoe]

I imagine it would be more difficult, but I met many teachers way over 60 working in both saudi and Oman.

One lady at U Nizwa was a retired schoolteacher from Wisconsin.
She was 77!
Another guy at the same school was 71.
He would fall asleep all the time in the office and be snoring.
In KSA there was a guy from Alabama that was 69.
My impression is that now, at least for this seasons, teachers are bailing out because there is the likelihood of war, which is going on anyway, as it was when I was in Sakakka and they were bombing houthies 5 years ago then too.
I don't know, hearing the way people talk on these sites you might as well kill yourself as you can't work after 60.
But I've seen dozens and dozens of +60s and more than you imagine into their 70s working in the gulf.

[americanjoe]

Well, that was the funny thing too:
I had not applied to any of the schools that sent me the offers!

At the moment I'm teaching in an elementary school so never applied at any school.
I just have a profile on Serious Teachers and I get offers to apply just about everyday.
What caught my attention wa these were 7 of the 'we are calling you" ones, that and that I had not applied for a single job at all!
Maybe it's different, because I am now working as an elementary teacher back in the states and have state certification with a BA in English and a teachers certificate, but I swear every single day of the year I get the ones to apply somewhere in saudi as a univ teacher (I've got 6 years gulf experience in that) and/or offers to work in high schools in the gulf (I've got about 9 years experience in public schools here in the states.)
And I'm not bragging, I know I'm not special, but to me it seems like there is just a crazy amount of work in KSA right now and they sound desperate for teachers.

[akoo1]

perhaps you submitted your cv somewhere and it multiplied itself through the internet

[veiledsentiments]

Another factor could be that these are mainly from recruiters... many of whom are competing to fill the same positions.

VS

[joleen7]

I think there are a lot of jobs also because there is a huge turnover in Saudi, since it is pretty tough living and working here. Not sure if the political instability of this part of the world plays a part, since it is nothing new.

[akoo1]

Saudi openly going to war is new. Daesh is new. Perhaps these new phenomena also play a factor which is good for those not deterred by such things. It means more job opportunities if these folks decide to pack up and go. It's a good thing when supply decreases, right? Those who remain have improved prospects.

[nomad soul]

[Makkah]

[americanjoe]

Makka:
You are correct -- the pay they offer isn't overwhelming.
It does range between 3k-4, and mostly between the two.
I do every now and then get the "super" ones.
A couple years ago on a Friday evening while I was in an internet cafe my cell rang and it was a recruiter from the UK.
She smoozed me pretty good for a few days; the job was in Tabuk working for the saudi army.
I was to get a commission in the KSA army, a neat uniform (Cool, I thought!) a car and asalary of like $7000 US a month.
Basically, the saudi army had bought like 200 M1A2 Abrams tanks and there was no operator's manual in arabic!
So it was supposed to be me and a saudi writing the operator's manual for a US built tank that GM built but they could not supply the trainers (US has strange laws about selling military equipment but not showing how it's operated).
Anyway, we talked, we emailed, it went on and on and after a few weeks she quit calling me and sending emails.
If you have served in the military it's basically illegal to be in another armed service and not the US armed force.
So, I think I lost it to an ex-service man with M1 gulf wart experience.
It was cool, though.
I also was interviewed by Northrup Grumman but that's an old boy club now.
Anyway, at my age I have my condo paid off and am now debt free, so my total expense in the US are a little over $400, so I can live on $3500 and save alot too.
I came back last year after three years with a little over $80,000 but had some from the past postings.
My saving are down a little now because I'm only working part-time teaching the past 8 months, but that's ok.
I think I might go back but I want a really weird duty station so might wait until like september when they get like REALLY desperate and take something like down south on the border of yemen (got and office from some type of electrical company school a few months back there) or up by Ar'Ar again, or maybe at that military high school in Al Ain (?) and there was a pretty good paying one in Institute of Public Administration in Riyadh that wrote me a couple day's ago.
I do think these are the "good old days" of teaching in the gulf though.
To me it's like if you are breathing and have any teaching background at all, you can get hired.
It may not be this way forever you know...

[pooroldedgar]

Balqis, I'm afraid I can't give you any information. As despite being in good contact, the school I'm going through the process with has not contacted me for 3 weeks despite my emails. I'm trying hard to view that as simply Saudi being Saudi and not as me being rejected without word.