Job Discussion Forums

Buur · Joined: 18 Aug 2006 Posts: 26

Hi all,
Someone was interviewed for math position at HCT for next semester.

How long does it usually take to get a respond from interview team?

What is the salary of PhD holder? Does HCT pay reasearch funds?

Thanks
Buur

hafniumite · Joined: 17 Aug 2006 Posts: 18

Please understand that as much as the HCT tries to "sell" itself as some high powered tertiary level institute, the fact is, as it has always been, is that one is employed to teach, and teach you will - all 20 hours of it per week! So if you think you can manage to fit in some extra time for "serious" research in between, good luck! They may talk the talk about research but they most definitely do not walk the walk. And as for providing research funding, please, spare me. You will be luck if they give you the time off to attend a local workshop/conference let alone one held abroad.

The HCT also does not pay more for PhD holders. Yes, they just love that "Dr" in front of your name and "PhD" after it, by they are not going to pay you extra for having it.

If you wish to do real research maybe you should consider applying to a real university.

Afra · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 389

You also need to think about whether you can teach primary level maths, which many students find very difficult.

Manny2 · Joined: 16 Mar 2006 Posts: 143

Interviews are a two way process so why did the 'someone' not ask for an indication of salary and ask re the research funds at the interview ??
and ditto what Afra said . Someone with a Phd is totally overqualified and if the someone is serious about their academic career and research the HCT is the end of the road.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

I too wonder why the person did not make any queries at the interview. It seems rather late to think about it now. Math teachers are teaching the basics... remedial stuff mostly... secondary level really.

If this person considers himself an academic and is looking for that type of position, he would do better to try UAEU or AUS or even ZU, which probably pays its PhD's better than HCT.

VS

tiberio · Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 56

there is no research budget and no time at all "allocated" for research and i have been considering looking for alternatives for this very reason (and for the reason of teaching 20 hours). i talked to people at UAEU and it turned out some of their salaries are lower than mine at HCT and their teaching hours in some departments just almost as high. plus you have to take into consideration that anywhere else one might have to prepare for teaching. i dont have to do that as the stuff i teach has already been tought over and over across the sytem, and for every subject i have received more material from previous teachers than i could use in ten courses. that is one side and either i have just given up and convinced myself to like it or it really is a good thing. take your pick.

as for the phd, i have one and i am certainly overqualified for what i teach there, but then again, it is all prepared for me, there is nothing i have to prepare for and i still have another 20 hours i need to sit at the office. i was very very frustrated about this when is started, but now i have found ways to use that time and one use is printing journal articles for my research, writing up stuff i need for my publications, etc. i have only been here a short time and i got more done on the research side than ever before in a comparable timeframe.

i still have my days where i think i made the wrong decision to take the job, but currently i am on the positive side again. the class sizes are reasonable, the students are very nice, the money is good, accomodation is very nice (at least where i am) and HCT is good at taking care of providing people with good equipment and technology support. plus, the chances for promotion are good and, as mentioned above, all you need to teach is already there. you really just need to read it to the students.

sw · Joined: 07 Aug 2006 Posts: 23

tiberio,
Which journals have published your research articles? I would like to read some of your publications.

Buur · Joined: 18 Aug 2006 Posts: 26

Tiberio,
Thanks for the details. How much does HCT pay for Ph.D.'s? is it true that AED 15,000 (month;y) is for Ph.D's.? what do you mean there is a chances for promotion,

Bur

hafniumite · Joined: 17 Aug 2006 Posts: 18

Buur,

As I mention previously, having a PhD in hand will not mean you will earn more than your fellow Bachelor/Master's holders. At best you may start a little higher up the salary scales, but understand that this scale tops out at an amount which is the same for all teachers. I believe for classroom teachers this is currently around the 16 000AED per month mark. The HCT did however offer a one off yearly payment of 4% this year for those at the top of the salary scale. This payment, however, is not added to your base salary. Furthermore, it is unlikely one would be offered a starting salary anywhere near the top of the scale. Lastly, even though you have a PhD, do not expect to have a "rank" above you fellow Bachelor and Master holders - the HCT does away with all such nonesense and treats all its teachers equally, as teachers (and is in fact what one is hired for).

ckhl · Joined: 20 Aug 2006 Posts: 214 Location: SE Asia

This payment, however, is not added to your base salary.

True, but the personnel officer at my college did say that the final gratuity includes the 4%.

Manny2 · Joined: 16 Mar 2006 Posts: 143

...and I will repeat Burr's question to Tiberio as to why he thinks opportunities for promotion are good at the HCT. It is my experience that there are very few promotion opportunities as those who get in to management positions will die on the job rather than leave as for most this is the best they would achieve and in some cases they would never get the opportunity elsewhere. Cronyism is rife when it comes to getting ahead, that is if they bother to consider you as an internal candidate they on average prefer to hire outside the system, despite the wealth of knowledge and experience inhouse it seems once you get hired this counts for nothing as one is constantly reminded that one needs to do better, teach better, improve etc etc ....if only one had the time for unlike Tiberio while there may be a wealth of material in the system that you can use and I do not know what area you teach in for the most part it is old, uninteresting and most end up doing alot of prep and alot of marking.
Obviously for some of us our teaching involves more than just 'reading material to the students'

football · Joined: 10 Sep 2006 Posts: 11

I too have heard very little about the possibility of receiving funding for carrying out PHd research at HCT. Anyway, why would you want to do a PHd if all you need to teach at HCT is a Masters? As for merely "reading the notes out to the students", I d not understand this comment. Teaching, no matter where you are, certainly involves a lot more than that.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

I have never seen any employer in the gulf who will fund someone to get a PhD. There would be no benefit to the employer for such a scheme. The reality is that most people who get a PhD are gone before the ink dries on their graduation certificate - saw it happen many times.

And I encountered a number of teachers outside of EFL who did nothing but recycle their old lectures... rather typical at the PhD level if I recall my days as a student. The ease of teaching academic subjects versus the slog of teaching EFL was quite a surprise to me. I taught a few business courses and the text came with all overheads (full color professional stuff), lecture notes, and a test bank which allowed you to do an endless supply of quizzes, chapter tests, section exams, finals. It looked to me it was 'get a PhD and never prepare for a lesson again.'

BTW, I have never heard anyone suggest that there were good advancement possibilites at HCT before... it certainly wasn't true when I was there - nor has it been suggested here on the board before.

VS

ckhl · Joined: 20 Aug 2006 Posts: 214 Location: SE Asia

it certainly wasn't true when I was there - nor has it been suggested here on the board before.

Ditto. Sounds like fantasy land to me, more of a personal reality to cling to than anything that truly represents the real state of affairs.

ckhl · Joined: 20 Aug 2006 Posts: 214 Location: SE Asia

The ease of teaching academic subjects versus the slog of teaching EFL was quite a surprise to me. I taught a few business courses and the text came with all overheads (full color professional stuff), lecture notes, and a test bank which allowed you to do an endless supply of quizzes, chapter tests, section exams, finals. It looked to me it was 'get a PhD and never prepare for a lesson again

Now this is INTERESTING.