Job Discussion Forums

[William.]

folk legend has it that if you want to save money teaching english, saudi arabia is the best place to do it (the trade-off being the drastic cultural differences..)

how much truth is there to this? I think I'll probably want to get my TEFL certification this summer before trying to teach abroad (i'm leaning towards S Korea right now)...

just thought I'd ask about Saudi Arabia. trying to consider all my options...

[Mia Xanthi]

That used to be true, but not any longer. Salaries here are not very high, and the cost of living is going up day by day. And if you don't have a Master's degree and three years of post-MA experience, your chances of making any significant money are those of the proverbial snowball in hell.

There is better money in the UAE, but the cost of living problem is much, much worse there. You would probably do better starting off in Korea. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings.

[lall]

From what I've heard, AUC in Cairo pays well, though a plain TEFL certification may not open doors there.

From what I know, you can save in Egypt.

Hope this helps.

[veiledsentiments]

AUC requires an MA and significant experience. It has always been a tough job to get into because few people leave.

VS

[William.]

Cool, looks like I'll probably stick to Korea. Just figured I'd try and research as many options as possible... thanks!

[ghost]

In Saudi on an 'average' salary of $3000 u.s. per month, it should not be difficult to save at least half of that salary, or around $1500 u.s. per month. I am sure many save more - especially those eccentric guys who are part of a club hell bent on minimalism.

The advantage of Saudi over Korea, for example, is that the utilitities in Saudi are paid for. In Korea - utitilities are not paid for, and it is easy to spend $200 u.s. or more on air con in the summer and heating in the winter (per month).

Korea is not bad - I saved over $20,000 u.s. in a one year job as a teacher trainer, and in Saudi, I have heard of some teachers saving close to $30,000 per year, in lucrative posts. Some of those teachers later invested in real estate and took early retirement (age 45-55), living on the money from rental units that they have.

I am now in France - beautiful country, food, ya da da da - but no jobs, and worsening economic situation, reaching almost crisis level. Also, the euro economy is a big problem for those who have their salaries pegged to the dollar. Those savings from Korea, look distinctly less impressive when transferred to euros - big shock there. In France, the 'average' salary is only around 1200 euros per month, and many teachers have to spend well over 50% of their salary of more on rent. Big problem here.

People keep on commenting on the decreasing savings potential of the Middle East region, but compared with most everywhere else - you can save a bunch of money. Let's be honest here - few people would choose to teach in the region, if the salaries and savings potential were not high. If you have the right qualifications - it is an employees' market, and there is always a job somewhere.

Ghost

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Amen, ghost, amen. Let's continue to keep the secret. The ME is a "bad and dangerous" place to be.

NCTBA

[scot47]

The question is a bit like asking "How much does a sandwich cost ?" "It depends," is the answer.

There are variables. I have colleagues with wives and children. They clearly have a lower propensity to save than the minimalist bachelors.

Some colleagues never use cars - not even taxis. Others zoom all over the place at 20 SR a pop in taxis.

Some colleagues leave KSA at every opportunity spending 4 or 5 thou a time on plane tickets.

On my salary I COULD save US$2,000 a month, but do not.

[Mia Xanthi]

Many people who come over to save end up saving very little just because the life in these parts is intolerable to many. They come over with big plans to save, but then find that the only way they can manage to stay over here is by leaving frequently on expensive vacations. Then they end up staying longer than they had planned just because they haven't saved enough yet!

Another version of this problem is the person who has to be comfortable in order to stand it long enough to save money. This person buys the big screen TV, the nice car, the good computer....then ends up staying longer in an environment in which he is miserable just because he hasn't saved any money yet.

[trapezius]

The key is to realize that being in Saudi places you in a very good place from which to take cheap (but still exciting) vacations.

Oman
Yemen
India
Pakistan
Cyprus
Turkey
Iran
Jordan
Lebanon
Syria
UAE
Egypt
Ethiopia
Sri Lanka
etc

Tickets to such places cost between SR. 1,700 and SR. 3,000 at most.

[William.]

Thanks for all the very helpful replies!

I could see myself being drawn to the Middle East, I would love to learn arabic (or farsi/turkish for that matter)... the travel options are definitely seductive, and the pay seems to be great. From what I've heard, it seems like Korea is the "beginner's" market for teachers. Being fresh out of college with essentially no money saved up, perhaps that would be a better choice for me. I've looked into some jobs in SA and UAE, and it seems that most want 2-3 years experience. In fat, I have 4 years teaching experience working full time for middle school-high school ages, but not teaching ENGLISH (was music, which I COULD argue is teaching a second language as well ... at any rate. in my situation, being so young, with not experience, perhaps only going to be TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certified this summer, perhaps now isn't the time to ship out to the middle east? Or is it not unheard of for newbies like me to be able to head over there and be able to save some cash?

[ghost]

I thought most teachers in the region get a yearly return ticket home for the summer (long) break, so they would only need to spend money for the two other leaves during the year which are shorter in duration.

In Korea, the university positions offer 4-5 months paid vacation (I recently turned down 2 such offers, as I am honoring my commitment to come to Saudi in September), but Korean Univ. positions don't pay for the summer annual ticket home.

Another problem with Korea, is that most University posts have a contract for 2 years maximum, and then you are asked to leave. It is a revolving door policy.

Also in Korea, there are so many second and third tier Universities that can't find M.A. holders - that they take people with B.A's, which would be difficult in the M.E. Some of these 'Universities' are nothing more than vocational schools which are extensions of high school. Since Koreans are so keen on education, they have to produce 'Universities' which cater to those who are somewhat less than talented in the academic arena. Standards of scholarship are dismal in those places. I was going to teach at one of those places in North East Seoul, but decided against it, when I visitited the campus and noticed that all the students had simply thrown away their interchange books at the end of the semester. There was no intrinsic interest in learning English - it was just a requirement - and those who don't object to teaching students who spend more time sending text messages in class than listening to the teacher would do well there.

University positions in Korea are sometimes low on the pay scale, with some barely offering $2000 per month, but some people like the long vacations and short working hours (12-16 a week).

I am looking forward to Saudi. You have to look at the positives. Korea can get old very quickly especially as a foreigner with few social opportunitites.

Ghost

[Stephen Jones]

[isabel]

[trapezius]

Since January 1, 2008, I have been keeping track of the money I spend everyday, accurate down to SR. 0.50. Everyday when I come home, I enter the amounts into various categories, such as taxis, gorceries, restaurants, etc., into MS Excel.

I intend to present my research here at the end of May.