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WomanPondering
Joined: 31 Aug 2010
Posts: 3
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 Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 6:53 pm Post subject: Women Working in Saudi Arabia |
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Hi - I am an American woman considering working in Saudi Arabia. What are the realities? I hear you go to work and come home. Basically unable to do anything but stay in your apartment as everything else needs a male chaperone. Is this true? If you are a woman that has worked in SA I would love to hear more details.
Thanks! |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 7:36 pm Post subject: |
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| I hear you go to work and come home. Basically unable to do anything but stay in your apartment as everything else needs a male chaperone. Is this true? |
No it is not. I have lived in KSA as a single woman for years and have rarely if ever needed a 'chaperone'. As a woman you can go out alone, take taxis, go to restaurants and cafes, go shopping, to the gym and... that's about it really. But then, nobody ever said KSA was exciting. You can't drive of course - but I assume you already knew that
Last edited by Cleopatra on Wed Sep 01, 2010 7:47 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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WomanPondering
Joined: 31 Aug 2010
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 7:46 pm Post subject: Thank you |
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So you can go to a gym? I was told there weren't any for women.
What do you do there? I am looking at ESL teaching jobs as I hear they pay very well and most places cover most of the cost of living. What is your experience? |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 7:50 pm Post subject: |
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| So you can go to a gym? I was told there weren't any for women. |
By the same person who told you you needed a male 'chaperone' to go anywhere? I don't go to gyms myself but I know that there are plenty of women's gyms in the major cities.
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| What do you do there? I am looking at ESL teaching jobs as I hear they pay very well and most places cover most of the cost of living. What is your experience? |
There are some good jobs in KSA, but there are also many lousy ones. To stand a chance of getting one of the former, you'll need at least a few years teaching experience and good qualifications, preferably an MA in a relevant subject. |
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WomanPondering
Joined: 31 Aug 2010
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 7:57 pm Post subject: Do you like living there? |
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So, do you like living there?
The person is a guy - that has been telling me everything. He has worked there for the last couple of years at a university.
I do have a MA and teaching experience - not ESL, but I've taught youth and adults in various subjects.
I have been looking and the salaries seem decent if you can save 90% of it.
What are your thoughts.
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 8:08 pm Post subject: |
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| The person is a guy - that has been telling me everything. He has worked there for the last couple of years at a university |
With respect, a lot of men are not very well informed on the reality of women's lives in KSA, especially if they are working in strictly segregated workplaces.
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| I do have a MA and teaching experience - not ESL, but I've taught youth and adults in various subjects. |
Teaching 'various subjects' won't impress employers, certainly not the better ones. Unless you have qualifications and/or experience specifically in ESL, you won't get a decent job in KSA.
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| I have been looking and the salaries seem decent if you can save 90% of it. |
LIke I said, there are some good jobs where you can save a lot of money if you put your mind to it (might make for a dull life though). However, they're not just there for the taking: If you want a decent job with good pay and conditions, you - guess what - have to be qualified to do it. |
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Mia Xanthi
Joined: 13 Mar 2008
Posts: 955
Location: why is my heart still in the Middle East while the rest of me isn't?
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| Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 7:12 pm Post subject: |
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I have known many single women who worked in KSA. Some survived, some thrived, some broke down and got the hell out of there as fast as they could. However, NONE of them saved 90% of their salary. To tolerate the boring life in KSA, one has to be able to do two things: shop and travel. There is nothing for a woman to do except shop in KSA, and the extensive breaks (and the mind-numbing lifestyle) make foreign travel irresistable. If anyone saved half of their salary, they were doing extremely well. Some left with little more than their end-of-service gratuity.
Also, I agree that going to KSA is worth it only if you get one of the decent university or government jobs. To get those jobs, one must usually have qualifications, at the very least an MA and three years of serious experience teaching ESL/EFL to adults. These jobs are not desperate for unqualified teachers. Those days are loooong gone.
There are many jobs that ARE desperate for unqualifed teachers. I would sooner spend a year in the state prison than take one of them. |
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