Job Discussion Forums

[wackford]

What is the minimum salary one should expect as an English teacher in SA?

[scot47]

MINIMUM is 7,000 SR a month, plus accommodation, plus 30 days' vacation plius tickets. Decent jobs pay 10,000 plus. Some will provide full board. Consider also that some provide tickets and accommodation for dependants and educational allowance or free schooling in International school in KSA.

[johnslat]

Dear wackford,
That ( salary ) depends to a great degree on whom you work for and what you bring to the table. If you have an MA and a fair amount of overseas experience, that can jump the " basic salary " ( 7,500 SR a month where I work, the Institute of Public Administration ) up a bit. The IPA gives an additional 350 SR a month for each year of overseas experience, so if you have, say, 5 years, your " base " goes up to 9,250 SR a month. Plus, we have all the overtime ( they call it " overload " at 123 SR an hour ) we want. I usually make about an extra $9000 to $10,000 a year on that. ( The contract " load " is 22 hours a week; I usually do 34 ). In addition, although it's against the contract in most places, many teachers do " outside work ", either tutoring or working in the local language schools. But perhaps the nicest part is that, since there's so little to spend money on here ( unlike, say the UAE ) you can save a large percentage of what you make - if you don't take a lot of trips outside during the year. I regularly save about 85% of my salary, which is around ( with overtime added ) $45,000 a year ( and, of course, no taxes - yet - and no bills every month ). But it's not such an easy place to adapt to for many. That's the way it usually works though: nice places = low salaries; not-so-nice places = better salaries.

[Albulbul]

My guess is that John is here in Saudi alone. Shopping as "retail therapy" and the whole consumerist business is big in Riyadh, Jeddah adn Dhahran/Dammam now. This is not only a phenomenon amongst Saudis but also foreigners here who give themselves the euphemistic title "expatriates". It sounds better than "Gastarbeiter" !

I do not just blame my wife and kids. I am guilty too. I cannot pass Jarir Bookstore without unloading a few hundred. Lots of things to spend your money on here ! Sound systems, cars, clothes, holidasy anywhere you want.............

The aim should be to have some financial goal and stick to it. Otherwise you run the risk of forgetting why you came here. This could easily lead to a total loss of one's marbles as PG Wodehouse might have put it.

[johnslat]

Dear Albulbul,
You guessed right, although I have been here with a wife - well, two of them, actually, although not at the same time. And having a family here IS definitely going to increase your expenses. For one thing, it's mighty hard NOT to have a car when your family's here. And you're right about consumerism being big - shopping and eating out are about the only legal diversions around. But I find the malls boring, filled with stuff I have no yen for and as for eating out, well, there's a great Turkish restaurant on Thalateen St. - reasonable prices, wonderful food ( especially the bread - and I don't even LIKE bread ). But most of the time I prefer cooking for myself. Holidays? I did all the traveling I'll ever want to do, saw all the places I wanted to see, back in the 80s, when Saudia was a LOT more liberal about stop-overs on the way out and back. I'd never buy clothes here - well, except maybe in Batha. You can almost always get the same stuff at home more cheaply, And although I do pick up the occasional book at Jarir ( and man, has that place improved since 1980 ), I usually can get through the year on what I bring back with me ( about 60 or 70 books ) and what I can trade for with other teachers. So, my expenses are minimal - and probably unusual. But, that's what I'm here for: the money, not the nightlife. Got to get that mortgage paid off.
Regards,
John