Job Discussion Forums

[TT-Kira]

Anyone recently taught in Algeria or Algiers itself???

Interested to know in particular if there are any females on here who've taught there & how they were perceived???

Would love to know cost of living etc ... accomodation is covered but general day to day expenses???

Any other info happily received!

Kira

[yamina]

Salaam!

I'm not currently in Algeria but will eventually be moving there permanently (I spend 4-6 weeks there each year) with my long-time Algerian husband. I've been sending my family and friends to check out possible future places for me to try and get some work!! A few questions - do you need to know prices in dollars or pounds as my brain would need a bit of time to work out the conversion rates? Have you lined up a job and if so do you know which area the accommodation is in?

Generally living is pretty cheap, most people get taxis which cost maybe �1-2 to get through the city or �3-5 to get to the airport (depends if it's an illegal taxi or not - I once had an argument with an illegal taxi driver who tried to charge me 20 euros for the trip!).

Food is pretty cheap - do you have somewhere to cook because if so you can pick up couscous, vegetables etc quite cheaply. If not, there are loads of little fast-food places where you can get a whole gorgeous pizza for a couple of quid, (including a drink). If you want the names/addresses of any eating places or markets then just let me know!!!!!

In Algiers the atmosphere is quite relaxed when it comes to clothes/westerners etc. If you're teaching then the people who come to the school will probably be quite cool about it all (the really conservative people wouldn't go to a school to learn English in case there are mixed classes etc etc). Also some of the schools cost quite a lot so most people won't be able to access them, just a privileged few who are likely to be quite keen to learn. As with everywhere, there are those who want to learn and are really enthusiastic, and those who really don't care.

Also Algeria is pretty laissez-faire when it comes to structure, infrastructure and daily life, so it will depend on your school how well organised things are and what they expect you to do.

Overall, Algieria is really friendly, the food is great, the people are chaotic and wonderful, and you'll have a great time! It is a fascinating blend of influences, languages and cultures - on the same street you will find a mosque, a fashion clothes shop, beggars, bread-sellers, a pub, a bath house, a dodgy hotel, an up-market jewellers' and some guy selling knocked off Gucci shades................ You find old men in Jilebas, women with jeans and dyed hair, other women in full niqab (face-veil), guys with armani tops, businessmen and women in headscarves. It's great!

I would say though, whilst people there tolerate women either wearing or not wearing headscarves etc, they REALLY dislike women they see as "hypocrites" - wearing a headscarf with tight jeans etc. There is also a slight tendency to think that all Western women are a bit 'loose'. Hmmmmm. But I think that in the arena of teaching, you will be respected as you're providing a professional service.

I'll be there next March/April for a wedding party so let me know if you're around!

Yamina

[Muslim expat]

Yasmin is very spot on with her comments about Algiers and though I am a male I work with 2 women who are married to Algerians and they are not Muslim. The schools here are fairly unorganised and are not run with the same degree of professionalism as the schools in Australia where I previously taught and studied. Having said that the students are used to this and as a teacher I am the one who is not happy with the way the school I work in is managed (I use the term "managed" loosely). Some schools are better than others though I don't want to comment about individual schools on this forum. My contact details are posted so if you want to send me an email I will be more specific. It's good to see more interest in teaching in Algeria as the level of English use here is minimal and the old colonial French is lodged hard and fast in the psyche.

[smedini]

Hi All

I'm planning to head to the middle east teaching next year, with my family in tow. I am looking toward working in the UAE but I would love to consider moving to Algiers for a year beforehand. My husband is Algerian and, due to some insurmountable immigration issues, he has only been able to return home once in the last 16 years. Now that those issues have been resolved and we are finally beginning our life overseas, it would be nice to do a year in Algiers before, after or in between our years in the mideast.

So, after all that, let me ask: what kind of money could I expect to earn in Algeria? I am Canadian, have a few years' experience teaching ESL overseas (in Korea, mostly), I have an undergraduate degree (BA) and (soon) a Masters of Applied Linguistics. I currently teach Business English to adults, can teach introductory Spanish, have worked as a writer/editor for the last ten years and have published two books. With these credentials and experience in tow, what kind of job could I get (i.e. in what kind of institution could I expect to find work) and how much could I earn?

Thanks!

~smedini

[Muslim expat]

I can understand the immigration problems. Algeria has a distinct negative attitude towards its own people. This is one of the cultural aspects i find very confusing.

Earnings are not good in Algeria. This is why now that i am married to an Algerian who wants to travel and spend some time abroad we are looking to the Middle East as well. It sounds like you have excellent qualifications and experience so my question is ... why a year in Algeria??? I would suggest a few months visit while you look for the good job in Dohar or UAE where you can expect to earn more than double what the highest pay is here. If you want figures the average pay in Algeria - for an expat on a contract solicited from their home country - it is 1000 to 1500 euros per month. As an expat who now lives here they are trying very hard to treat me like an Algerian and give me the lowest pay possible If i needed acceptance i would consider this a good sign but like most of the people of Algeria i am fighting to get a small apartment and a consistent income. And like a lot of Algerians i have to go overseas to accomplish this.

I hope this helps and was not too cynical because i love Algeria and Algerians. They are the most giving people i have met so far in all my travels. They are also very practical and down to earth people.

[smedini]

Hi Muslim Expat;

Thanks for your reply; very helpful and informative .

Actually, his immigration problems weren't on the Algerian end of things; they were held up by pure bureacracy for a few years in Canada and then came to a bloody screeching halt after 9/11.

I was thinking a year in Algiers just because I thought it might be nice for my husband. As I said in my earlier post, he got to go home just about a year ago for the first time in 16 years. Sadly, a year earlier, four days after things were cleared on the Canadian side of things (note we still had to wait for a year for things to work out on the Algerian side) his father passed away. He never got to see him, and was only able to say goodbye over the phone. It was so hard. So now that we are about to move overseas, I thought he might like to live home for a year, spend some quality time with his elderly mother before she passes as well.

As for money, I'm not interested in making tonnes of it, especially since we're heading to the Gulf sooner or later . I was just wondering if we'd make enough to manage for a year. I'm sure we could live with my husband's mother (she lives in El Biar) so finding a place probably wouldn't be a hassle.

Yes, I do have some good qualifications (thanks for the shout out!) so I wouldn't be interested in working with young children or even in a language institute (unless if was of very good repute). I'd prefer the University of Algiers teaching EAP or ESP (Business) or even a high school.

Hub's a little worried about safety, though. Of course he's been away for 16 years, do the math...he fled in '92 and it was a much different Algeria back then. Nonetheless, I'm sure he'd like to consider it if I were to get a decent offer.

Thanks again!

~smedini