Job Discussion Forums

[carolross1968]

Hello All, I am really interested in teaching in Oman. I have over ten years experience in Teaching English as a Second Lang. and a Masters in ESL. What unis should I consider and what should I avoid.

[veiledsentiments]

IMHO, the best choice is Sultan Qaboos University. I have no idea if they are hiring right now, but check out their website. Go to the language center page and there is a link to employment - but it just gives you the address to mail your CV. You rarely see them advertise. At this time of year, any hires would be for 2nd semester after the first of the year.

I would avoid any job that hires through agents. These are mostly for branch universities of the Ministry located around the country, and many of them are hiring people with limited experience. It really is a crapshoot with these places as you will have seen reading around on the board.

SQU is getting pretty large and bureaucratic, but it is a predictable employer who will cause minimal aggravation. They have decent furnished housing, a staff clinic in the university hospital, and the standard benefit package. Pay is one of the highest in Oman, but naturally lower than places like the Emirates or Qatar.

VS

[denise]

There's no harm in applying to jobs through recruiters. If you rule them out, you rule out a lot of options. As I've stated before, I'm quite happy with CfBT! Some of that has to do with being placed in Nizwa, though. I don't think I'd be quite as happy in their other locations. True, not everyone is happy, but the same could be said of any school anywhere under any sort of management.

d

[Tazmin]

Well said Denise.

The problem is that many people who have never even experienced certain things feel obliged to give an opinion and act as an authority.
I have worked all over the ME and for 4 educational companies / Ministries in Oman. In my current job i was actually contacted by the Ministry via a recruiter. It is the best contract i have ever had in Oman. Problems and queries are sorted out immediately, the contract is simple and precise with no areas open to interpretation and you are given plenty of time to consider if you want to renew your contract or not.
The reason the Ministries have been turning to recruiters is because they usually coinsist of long term educators and people with masses of experience in hiring and recruiting. The Ministries themselves felt that they A) did not have the time to recruit and interview batches of people and B) they were making way too many mistakes. My husband used to work with the Ministry in Muscat (he is now retired) and he used to dread getting involved in the recruitment process. He was a Ministry inspector, but as he said, that did not make him a good recruiter or interviewer.

Isn't it interesting that the majority of people who diss the recruiters and the teachers they employ either don't work in the ME or have not actually had experience with recruiters. In my early years some recruiting companies were not the greatest - however as we all know, times change and things continue to improve.
If you don't have personal experience of something, please don't rubbish it or put it down, you are commenting on an area of which you have only hearsay knowledge - and hearsay is no better than rumour spreading.

[veiledsentiments]

You may notice that I started my post with IMHO... and that is exactly what it is. Based on 15+ years in 4 Middle East countries and 2 contracts in Oman, I think I have right to have an opinion. Add to that the many friends who have also added their experiences to mine in PMs and emails... which is not 'heresay.'

If one spends a few hours reading around on the Oman board, you will quickly come to an obvious conclusion: the problem jobs in Oman are those in the hinterlands in which hiring is done by various recruiters. Even if we take it for granted that many, if not most, of the whiners caused their own problems (and they were hired by recruiters), one fact has jumped out at me. There has been too much said about people being hired with limited educations and experience, both in management and as teachers. Too many recruiters care more about their commissions than actually hiring experienced people.

Denise has pointed out that cfBT is turning things around for their hires and I'm glad to hear it. Those lovely Omani students deserve better than they have been getting for the last 5 years. But it sounds like Bahwan is still messing about, as is Majali or whatever his name is...

For our OP. who has an MA plus 10 years of experience, she shouldn't have to take the risk of these rural universities unless she has particular interest in avoiding Muscat.

You have every right to your opinion too, but most mature adults try to do it without 'dissing' those who may not agree with them.

VS

[Duffy]

VS,

Though I agree with most of your last post, I can only speak from experience when talking about "Mr Majali". I did not know him previously, nor have I ever met him.

I was recruited by him via his advert in "tefl.com" and though his telephone interview with me was not very "in depth", his organisation of my recruitment went very smoothly.

I received an offer quite quickly and after querying his status ie, was he recruiting direct for the Ministry or Hawthorns? He readily admitted it was for the latter and went on to say that after I signed with MoHE, he had no more financial interest in me, which I thought was an honest answer.

Since then I have spent two very happy years in Oman and plan to stay as long as I can, as does my wife who was recruited by CfBT.

So, my experience of Mr Majali? I had no problem.

Duffy

[veiledsentiments]

Glad to hear it Duffy, and he may very well have cleaned up his act, but there have been dozens of posts over the years about problems with his management and recruitment. In fact, not more than a week ago there was a thread started warning about him... it got pulled by the MODS.

Right now the majority of jobs in Oman require the use of a recruiter to get in. I was fortunate that with an MA and many years of experience I never had to jump into that crapshoot. Personally, my problem with the whole recruitment system is the fact that once you arrive and get settled, they do have no further interest in you... whether you do well or not... whether they had actually checked out your credentials or not.

I personally saw what happened when SQU tried the recruiter route some years back. It was an absolute disaster and they never tried that again.

VS

[denise]

[Duffy]

I was told upfront that as I was to be employed direct by the MoHE, it was they who were going to be responsible for my welfare.

Ok, everthing was and still is done the Omani way, took a while to get sorted, which it now is and I can live with it.

The way I see it is that there are Sinkers and Swimmers in the ESL profession.

The Sinkers, never research the company hiring them, never research the place they are going to work and live, so when they get there they go into culture and work related shock. They whinge and whine to their employers/agents and demand that the "perceived" problems be dealt with immediately.

They work themselves into a frenzy of recrimination and then sink into either an achoholic haze or a depressive state that sees them just pack there bags and slink off leaving more dedicated teachers struggling to cope with classes that have had little or no tuition because the absconder just didn't have the experience or qualifications.

The Swimmers DO research, like joining this forum and others like it. They find out about the culture they are going to and prepare themselves, they are professional teachers well experienced and ready to put up with the incompetance and shilyshallying that is endemic in the Middle East. It is they who swim through their time here in the Middle Esat, taking all in their stride and enjoy their life here.

Duffy

[SandyMan]

I agree, Denise. I feel that CfBT has done a good job for us here in Nizwa. Like yesterday (public holiday in Oman), they found someone to fix my gas within a few hours - while my landlord was away in the UAE.

On one occasion, teachers directly employed by the MOHE in my office got paid over 10 days late. That has never happened with CfBT.

I realise that the situation might vary depending on location and recruiter, but I still feel that I'm better off with CfBT than my colleagues that are directly employed by the MOHE - in spite of the salary difference.

[veiledsentiments]

How much is the salary difference?

VS

[SandyMan]

I think it's about OMR 340, but I'm not sure. We get furnished accommodation and private health insurance, which MOHE teachers don't get. For me personally, I just think that the housing we've got is absolutely fantastic (way, way above what I got at KFUPM in Saudi for example). And little things like a road pass in a day or two, or all the documents you need to apply for a liquor licence, all ready in a folder for you to take to the liquor office.