Job Discussion Forums

fsam

Hello all, I am new here and I am an environmental chemist (PhD). I joined this group because although I am not ESL or EFL, it is the only place where I can get so info about universities in UAE.

I have been offered an assistant professor job at AUS, and I have a videoconference interview with HCT for the Abu Dhabi campus.

I am pretty sure I am leaned towards AUS, and just interviewing with HCT. But I want to make sure that this is the best desition. Should I ask about the package during my interview with HCT? I need to make a desition soon, as I almost said yes to AUS, but I do not want to regret this.

Any suggestions?

Asda · Joined: 01 Jun 2008 Posts: 231

Folk here may be able to verify this, but I heard that sharjah's a bit of a dump! Has water shortages and is quite crowded with labourers...is that true?

TABING · Joined: 20 Jun 2005 Posts: 123 Location: right behind you

Shahjah is rather unattractive but the plus side is that rents tend to be lower and villas are easily available. Also if you like SCUBA, the good dive areas are closer. Dubai is close, but the traffic is unbearable.

The AD HCT is one of the better campuses and the chemistry department is pretty good. As a scince teacher, you're considered to be of a higher order than ESL teachers. Oil, being the life blood of Abu Dhabi allows a big budget for chemistry and other engineering sciences.

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

From what I know of the two employers, I'd definitely choose AUS. Of course, you should get the package being offered from both to compare. Unless, HCT is offering significantly more (and I doubt that they will based on what I know of the AUS packages - which offer benefits that HCT does not)

I agree that Abu Dhabi is a nicer city to live in than Sharjah. But at least at AUS, you will live on campus and you will know exactly what housing you will get before arriving. (you can even check out the floorplans and pictures on their website) They stock their flats/villas so that all you really need bring is your clothing and toothbrush.

VS

fsam · Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:03 pm Post subject:

I appreciate your replies. And Yes I was able to see the floor plans of where I will be leaving and I contacted the person in charge of housing who told me that a lot of things were new or almost new. I also think that is an advantage to live on campus, and best of all there is a daycare on campus (about half of what I pay now in the USA). The one good thing I found was that I can do research also, and that is very important.

My interview with HCT is tomorrow, and although I am almost certain I will go to AUS i dont want to miss the interview.

Now, how about jobs for my husband? He has a masters in computer science, what are his chances of finding job? Is Dubai-Sharjah better than Abu Dhabi in this matter?

Nordic · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 22

One thing to be considered here is also the teaching load, which is much lesser at AUS than at HCT.

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

fsam · Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 8:07 pm Post subject:

Somebody mentioned teaching Load. Any idea what the teaching load is at AUS? And also for those that have relocated from the US to UAE, how is life there? and Vacation wise? I currently get only 2 weeks of paid annual leave, 2 weeks of paid sick leave and 11 US holidays.

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

The holiday and sick leave policy is on the website, but I couldn't find the annual leave for faculty. (staff gets 33 work days, so how's that for comparison to the US. Cool

) The usual is a couple months in the summer.

http://www.aus.edu/admin/hr/leave.php

The only thing I could find on contact hours said that it depended on the department.

VS

helenl · Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 1202

AUS has a beautiful campus and excellent facilities (pool, gym, etc.) From friends who work or have worked there, the vacation is similar to HCT in that they get 6-8 weeks in the summer, the Eid and other religious holidays, a 2 week semester break - so much better than what you're leaving.

As for HCT Abu Dhabi - do you know if you're being considered for the men's or women's campus? I've heard that the women's is best avoided and IMHO both should be just because of their proximity to the VC and his "crew".

One friend in the business faculty has between 8 - 12 contact hours per week - of course that may vary as VS said.

Life in Sharjah is what you make of it (as it is anywhere else). AUS is located in University City and when the temperatures are fit, you can go for lovely long walks/runs in the evenings. Traffic sucks. But careful planning can get you where you want to go eventually Laughing

. You will have easy access to the Emirates Road (lots of traffic) and also to the Ring Road, further out but much less traffic and I think now extends to the Al Ain Dubai road to get you to Dubai the back way.

Zoot · Joined: 15 Jun 2007 Posts: 408

Yes, sure, it's better to live in Abu Dhabi, but I'd be going for AUS as the preferred employer. It has a great name and life in Sharjah will not be greatly different to Abu Dhabi. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are easy to get to.

fsam · Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:44 am Post subject:

Again, many thanks for your replied. My interview is in 1 hour with HCT...So we will see.

Helenl, I think I am been considered for the men campus. It seems that HCT hires often, contrary to AUS.

Mia Xanthi · Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:06 am Post subject:

I agree with most of the others that AUS is your best bet.

For one thing, you will have students who are of a higher calibre. AUS students are from all around the world, and they have to do well on college entrance exams and make a high TOEFL score to get in.

As far as I know, the same cannot be said for the HCT students, who will be all Emiratis and fresh out of a school system that often teaches them little or nothing in the way of study skills or critical thinking.

Abu Dhabi is the better place to live, but you can find everything you need in Sharjah, plus you have easy access to the vices and virtues of Dubai.

AUS will provide you with a professional environment that is much more suited to a Ph.D. holder. You will be encouraged to do research and rewarded for it, and you will probably be able to progress up the academic ladder. This will not be the case at HCT.

I'm not bashing HCT. HCT jobs are good, stable, well-paying positions...but it can be a frustrating place to work because all academic and curriculum decisions emanate from a central system. For your purposes, AUS is (at least to me) obviously the best choice.

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

Sharjawi · Joined: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 5

I just returned from AUS after 6 generally very good years. I would definitely recommend it over HCT. In practice, vacation is usually about 3 months total plus 2 - 3 weeks of 'holidays'. Teaching load could be as low as 2-2, especially for environmental chemistry, but then there is an expectation for appropriate scholarship. The campus is great, and water and electricity supplies are generally pretty reliable. AUS is one of the Sheikh's pet projects and doesn't suffer from most of the problems that hit Sharjah proper. Faculty are well-respected and you'll probably have some very high quality students. Your husband should be able to find work as an adjunct at AUS, UoS, or HCT with a possibility of full-time at AUS after a while. Traffic is the biggest problem.
Best of luck.