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Is the ME really worth it these days?
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Unheard Utterance



Joined: 02 Aug 2018
Posts: 55
Location: On the road

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 8:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

EFL Educator wrote:
To The OP

Seems everyone I know who is a native English speaker is heading to China these days.....ASIA'S LAST EFL Frontier......except for 20 + or 30 something year old Brit and American Muslim converts who will always head to the Middle East in search of work in Arabia! Shocked


Another thought-provoking and worldly post Educator. I thank you for your wisdom and insight into all things EFL.
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Hemlock32



Joined: 14 Apr 2017
Posts: 69

PostPosted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 1:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My answer to your title is affirmatively YES.

I moved to Qatar one year ago and this is the richest I have ever been! I came from the US where I was poor, living with mom and dad and begging for cookies after class just to make it to the next day. Not even my bratty Chinese girl students would give me a spoon of their hotpot, but here my students give me donuts, treats, local food, and Starbucks coffee. It has been fun, but I wish I could've taken some classes on "Middle Eastern culture/expectations in the classroom," because I've had plenty of surprises.... Shocked

However, I will say if you cannot adjust to differences you'll have a tough time and you won't last long.
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Hemlock32



Joined: 14 Apr 2017
Posts: 69

PostPosted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 2:05 pm    Post subject: Re: Is the ME really worth it these days? Reply with quote

Unheard Utterance wrote:
As someone who's never worked in the ME, I can only base my assumptions on second-hand knowledge from colleagues who've worked there before and from reading forums such as this.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but generally speaking, would the following assumptions be true?

Wages have stagnated or even decreased;
The students are unmotivated, argumentative and entitled;
Cushy oil jobs are few and far between;
The torment of living in the ME with a lack of alcohol and other vices is simply not worth the money being paid;
Many teachers in the ME are somewhat odd and not in a good way.


Stay in Asia or head to the ME?


To answer you specifically, I think it doesn't matter what wages in the region are doing. All you need to know is what your wages are doing. This year is my second year post-MA experience and it was quite a jump from being an adjunct goof ball at a small university in the states. Not to mention the other stresses of the states, such as driving back and forth on an anthill constantly.

Regarding the student morale, sure many, many are a handful. You just gotta be calm and be easygoing. Some groups of students will do homework, some won't. Here, the teacher needs to adjust. Many students will play all kinds of games too. Again, for me it's just not worth it for fighting students because they committed some type of transgression. We all know why we are here: flooz (money).

I live in downtown Doha and access to booze is not a problem. At any time (outside of the holy month of Ramadan of course) I can walk to any hotel and get a drink. Many things that are haram are allowed in hotels here. This can cost you a bit, but if you need your fix you can get it.

Regarding the kinds of teachers here, I have met plenty of easygoing people that have made Qatar their home and will continue to, despite the childish nonsense at school, the heat, and other types of blatant perfidy (I'm thinking of physical confrontations with teachers because the student got caught cheating...yes, this happened.)

I have also met many disgruntled teachers who have nothing better than to gripe and whirl themselves into a flurry over petty things. The best remedy for this is "look away".
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bulgogiboy



Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 803

PostPosted: Thu Dec 12, 2019 5:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Unheard Utterance wrote:
As someone who's never worked in the ME, I can only base my assumptions on second-hand knowledge from colleagues who've worked there before and from reading forums such as this.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but generally speaking, would the following assumptions be true?

Wages have stagnated or even decreased;
The students are unmotivated, argumentative and entitled;
Cushy oil jobs are few and far between;
The torment of living in the ME with a lack of alcohol and other vices is simply not worth the money being paid;
Many teachers in the ME are somewhat odd and not in a good way.

I'm a long-term Asia vet who's in need of a change; it would be nice to put my head down for ten years and retire in Thailand.

Non-related BA, Delta, CELTA are the quals; done pretty much everything in relation to EFL.

Stay in Asia or head to the ME?


Wages stagnated or decreased? I'd say yes, but there are still jobs out there that pay quite well.

The students behaviour? Depends on the country. I'd say that definitely describes Qataris and Saudis but not Iraqis. Omanis? It varies. There are a lot of nice Omani students, but the rotten apple syndrome sees that classrooms are frequently spoiled by 1-2 problematic people (usually guys).

Cushy oil jobs? I had a few in the ME, and they paid pretty well, but the stress and/or harsh camp environ made them less than cushy. Plus jobs in that industry just seem to be permanently unstable these days (if they ever were stable, I'm not sure).

Torment without alcohol? Some could argue you're better off in the dry countries, lest you turn to the bottle too frequently... But if you need it, you can get alcohol legally in Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and most of the UAE. It quite often costs a fortune though, especially in the 5-star hotel bars. Sober or drunk, there's a fair amount of torment though, yes.

Teachers odd? Hell yes, but aren't they like that everywhere?


Very Happy
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