Job Discussion Forums

[Tomton]

I am going to be in UAE for a couple of months on a private visit and am thinking about doing some part-time teaching at one of the many institutes. I'm a native speaker, with a CELTA and 6 years experience and just want to know the approximate hourly rate. Any ideas?

[stoth1972]

Part-time teaching is a bit unusual in the UAE since most are brought in on full-time contracts. Since you will be a visitor there, anyone who hires you will be breaking the law, as you will, too. Will they hire you? It's very likely at some of the smaller institutes, but I would not expect much money. Places like Berlitz do hire part-time teachers (thought I'm not sure they do so without acquiring a labour card). If I recall, Berlitz paid somewhere in the range of 75-100 dirhams/hour. Not much at all, considering parents of children in primary school would likely pay a tutor 100-150/hour. The smaller language institutes listed in the yellow pages would surely pay less than Berlitz if they hired you. I seem to recall my old boss at Score Plus/Princeton Review offering someone on this board part-time work. That's not a recommendation of a good place to work, but an option. I think someone on this board also said they worked part time for AmidEast. You might try there, but the fact that you're only there for a few months and you're on a visit visa might present a challenge.

[Tomton]

Thanks for the reply. I realise that the employer and myself would both be 'breaking the law' if I am working without a labour permit. It's a chance I'm willing to take. The reason I want to do some part-time work is simply because I'm unsure where I want to work in the longer term. I've looked at the Gulf News website and there are always companies advertising for English teachers. The trouble here is that often they just give an email address or a fax number and I have absolutely no idea who the employer is and I have a feeling some of them are schools or institutes teaching children. I only wish to teach adults.

[Gordon]

The employers who want to break the law are not the ones worth working for. You are unlikely to have a positive experience unless you work for someone who is highly recommended by someone you know and trust.

[veiledsentiments]

You didn't mention your credentials, but you are right to be wary of the employer ads that you are referring to. Many, if not most or even all, of these will be the 'bottom of the barrel' jobs.

One problem with your idea that I see is that if someone hires you within the country, they will likely only offer a local hire contract. It is impossible to live on a local hire contract unless you have a spouse that has a foreign hire contract. The ads that you are referring to in the local newspapers will likely ONLY be offerring local hire.

But, it would give you a chance to test the water.

VS