Job Discussion Forums

elsteacherjasmine · Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 18

I got a job offer by Berlitz Oman as a part timer:
OR 350 basic salary + OR 300 worth accommodation including utilities
5 hours teaching / admin work for 5 days a week

After 3 months probation, I'll be hired as a full timer :
OR 600 basic salary + OR 300 accommodation including utilities and
a work visa, med insurance and air fare
8 hours teaching / admin for 6 days a week

Has anyone worked for Berlitz in Oman?

Confused

I'm not sure if this is good enough as I've heard that they pay well in Gulf countries. What is the average teaching salary and cost of living in Oman?

Pls advise as I have not worked in ME before.

p/s: I have a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics (English), a CELTA qualification and ~ 3yrs of teaching experience.

Thanks
Jasmine

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

This is obviously an entry level offer. Personally I consider 5 hours a day/5 days a week to be a full time job.

This is language school slave labor and only you can decide whether you will accept it. The MoHE jobs discussed on this branch have many problems, but the pay will be higher and hours lower.

VS

italihurr · Joined: 03 Oct 2005 Posts: 8

There are a lot of very greedy, unscrupulous and exploitative people in Oman, and you seem to have encountered one (or some) of them in the form of the person (or people) running Berlitz.

Whether you consider the pay to be 350 a month or 650 a month, that's awful (R.O.3.500 or R.O.6.500 an hour!) On top of that, accommodation in the capital area has become expensive, and for 300 a month you might not get much.

Don't be used! You're better off on a nice beach somewhere (of which there are plenty in Oman, of course).

elsteacherjasmine · Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 18

VS & Italihurr,

Thanks a million Smile

. I was wondering Rolling Eyes

before that these ppl Twisted Evil

may just be wanting a slave. Well, it is confirmed. I am definitely Mad

not going there to be used by them.

With my qualifications, could you recommend me any lang. centres / colleges that I could apply in ME? I tried applying in KSA but being a single female and not having a Masters, it was difficult to get a job there.

TQ Smile

Jas

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

You will have the same problem in Oman with your lack of an MA. You might try the small private colleges in Muscat like Mazoon and Modern College of Business and Science. There are others, but I don't know their names off the top of my head. Some of them will take BA+CELTA.

Your best chance is with the problematic jobs with the MoHE out in the hinterlands. It isn't a great place for single females, but you need a few more years of experience on your CV. You will really need an MA to get into any of the good jobs in the Gulf.

VS

mishmumkin · Joined: 01 Sep 2007 Posts: 929

University of Nizwa in Oman will take a BA + CELTA and experience. YOu'd likely start closer to 700 and they would provide housing. You should apply ASAP if interested.

elsteacherjasmine · Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 18

Thanks VS and Mishmumkin.

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 4:49 pm Post subject:

Besides, Berlitz (methodology???) are like Nazis. They bug the cubicles and if you ever leave the target language and they hear it...you're toast. How's THAT for job security!?!

NCTBA

italihurr · Joined: 03 Oct 2005 Posts: 8

The following is taken from a post on another thread. Veiled Sentiments probably knows more about this than I do, but aren't there jobs in the colleges for non-MA holders?

Only one out of the five has an MA. But there are not many MA's among the 45 English teachers at Nizwa College of Applied Sciences, so I don't know if that's a deciding factor.

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

Those are the MoHe jobs that I referred our OP to in my message above. Cool

VS

Sleepwalker · Joined: 02 Feb 2007 Posts: 454 Location: Reading the screen

Hi

Many of my friends are still working in colleges and institutes in Oman without Masters degrees so polish up that CV and apply - experience often counts.

lotsa · Joined: 21 Mar 2007 Posts: 68 Location: Oman

Not all teaching jobs require MA's, so don't let the proposition that MA's are required for all jobs stop you from applying as you see fit. There is no "golden rule" in Oman about an MA being the minimum for teaching jobs and any argument to the contrary is somewhat disingenuous. Don't limit your field of choice by the insistence that an MA is (in each and every case) required.

Put forth your CV outlining your experience as well as your qualifications, and allow any progress forward from there to happen. Berlitz jobs are either "love or hate" and from what I have heard from colleagues here, it is mostly hate!

elsteacherjasmine · Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 18

Dear lotsa,

Thanks for the advice-I appreciate it. I have applied to few other places in Oman and am waiting for a reply.

[Berlitz jobs are either "love or hate" and from what I have heard from colleagues here, it is mostly hate!]

Could you pls tell me more about it?

Thanks.
jas

lotsa · Joined: 21 Mar 2007 Posts: 68 Location: Oman

I've sent you a PM Smile

brucecrawford · Joined: 19 Mar 2008 Posts: 19

Berlitz jobs are either "love or hate" and from what I have heard from colleagues here, it is mostly hate![/quote]

Hi Lotsa,

Could you please comment more on that? I am currently based in Brazil but am willing to relocate to either Europe or the ME and one of the schools I am thinking of applying for a teaching job is Berlitz. I am not acquainted with their 'method, though.

You may PM me if you wish.

Thanks

Bruce