Job Discussion Forums

[ElizabethBennett]

Anyone know about this school on tefl.com? From previous posts its advertised salary of 200 dinars plus �700 does not sound that much compared to some offered there. Any views?

[thrifty]

Shite pay-why ask anymore?

[ElizabethBennett]

Thanks Thrifty - obviously not a good wage relative to some offered there but possible to live on without saving I suppose. Your advice is appreciated.
EB

[Apps]

If accomodation is provided for, how is 200 pounds a WEEK not enough to live pretty well in Libya. Am I missing something here?

[ElizabethBennett]

Apps thanks. I had looked at posts on this Forum under the topic "Tripoli cost of living", from September, which said �700, as the sterling part, was not a good wage considering the conditions, and that �2000 is the going rate. I think I may have misinterpreted that as saying that �700 plus say 250 dinars is not enough to live on. However maybe it would be enough if I broke into the sterling amount every month! Can you confirm then from your experience that the sterling plus local currency amount would be enough to live on, assuming I wouldn't intend to save? Maybe it is easier to hear your estimate of how much you need to live on if accommodation is covered by the school, if that is OK - thanks!

[Apps]

Actually I'm in a similar situation. Am about to sign contract to start in Sept for International School, Tripoli. Have been informed that most teachers there live well on 5 or 6 hundred USD a month (basic living, not including travel). I can't see how this wouldn't be the case. General living expenses don't seem high at all, similar perhaps to where I am now (Karachi) and I probably spend about that much here, and that includes wasting a fair bit on alcohol!
7 / 8 hundred pounds a month probably does sound a bit low though, but unless you're feeding a cocaine habit I can't see how you wouldn't live pretty well and have some left over. Let's face it, most 'socialising' in these parts of the world revolve around dinner parties around other peoples houses.

[ElizabethBennett]

Thanks Apps. Congrats on the new post - sounds exciting. Does the school cover your accommodation? I suppose maybe a job like yours, is it based in Tripoli all the time?, would differ greatly from other Libyan jobs mentioned on this site which involved being stuck in the desert in a shack with an oil company for weeks on end. These were the kind of conditions others were saying merit vast compensation.

[hadEnough]

elite is a fairly well set up school, has all the accreditations you'd hope to see and has a high proportion of long term motivated students. However the money is appalling.

I 'lived' in Libya on a similar salary and managed to do very little while I was there and not through any want of trying. I'm quite stoical and have done a decent amount of travelling but even stretching 5 dollars over three days in Laos pales into insignificance beside the experience of Libya.

Before I went, I read all the negative posts on the forums and thought that it couldn't be that bad. It is. Don't go.

If you are going to Libya try the British Council - it's where one of directors of elite jumped ship to.