Job Discussion Forums

[Sam.Paints]

Hello everyone!

I have TEFL, a BA and some teaching experience as well as quite a bit of travel and study abroad time, I am currently looking for a school in Kuwait that would pay well and not treat me like a doormat. Needless to say the contact I had with one school went sour and now I'm attempting to secure a contract for fall..whats a good school in Kuwait to start out at? Also, what is the pay for someone with some experience, a degree and TEFL?? how do I know if I'm getting robbed?

Thanks
Sam

[Starfell]

UK -

TES
KES
NES
BSK ..............ONLY

US-

AIS
UAS....................ONLY

ALL others are crap- WITHOUT exception, no matter WHAT anyone else says.

[clovis_jamaramashady]

I wouldn't go as far as

[bedwiya]

Travel and study abroad time don't count for anything. What is your BA in? What is your experience - kids? language institutes? K-12? Many schools here will take advantage of you if you don't go in knowing your rights and what you're worth. The better schools will usually only take teachers with proper credentials and certitfication from back home. There are others here who will take anyone with a pulse and a Western face, but you will encounter problems with them and not the best benefits. Do your research carefully and get contacts for current teachers at the school you are considering.

[kaleem97]

I personally had a very good experience at American Creativity Academy on Sharhabil St. It wasn't the best school in terms of salary and benefits, but it was decent. Most of the staff are Canadian/American and everyone was very friendly to one another.

You really have to take most people's insight with a grain of salt unless they can give you solid reasons for not going to a certain school. Saying other schools are "crap, sucks, or disorganized" aren't reasons enough to dissuade you.

I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that you're going to the Middle East, and you have to put aside certain "western" expectations. Research the schools as much as possible and go with your gut. Once your in Kuwait, you'll get to figure out which direction (i.e. schools) you want to go to.

Majority of the schools are decent. Some much better than others, but that's the risk in teaching overseas. I don't think it could be anyworse than teaching in any low achieving school here in the states. As a matter of fact, you'd probably end up better in a mediocre school in Kuwait than in some inner city school in a "Teach in America" program.

In any case, it'll come down to what you make of it.

[Robert3]

In Kuwait it really depends on: [a] who you work for, what salary they offer you and the fringe benefits that come with the job, i.e. (b) How good your Principal, head teacher is, AND - how the owners of the School treat the teachers and the management team. I worked in Kuwait for 2 and a half years. I had three jobs during this time. The first school I worked for provided, clean well furnished accommodation although it was a 20 min journey to and from the school every morning and afternoon That was a down side of the job. This was 6 years ago.
The second Company provided the same as above. Although the work location was closer to the accommodation. The management were bad and treated the teachers badly. The third job was OK. The accommodation was next to the School. The salary offered for all three jobs was on average: for teachers with an MA Ed and teaching experience etc. was around 750 - 800 per month tax free. That was 6 years ago. 750KD today is 2,729 US Dollars per month. (32,748 US dollars for a 12 month year.) If you are young are single that's OK. If you come as a married teaching couple then so much the better. Two incomes and no accommodation to pay for. I expect that the salaries have moved on since then. I would sincerely hope so! After the salary and the management issues are out off the way - Kuwait is what you make it. If you get a middle to good employer you are OK. Please consider the points mentioned above and below before taking up a job in the Middle East. If the opposite is true and you get a bad employer - your are in for hard time and will not like Kuwait. There were horror stories with some of the other Schools, companies while I was there. Again, this depends on who you work for. Personally, I liked the place, I made Kuwaiti friends there as well as Ex Pat friends. It was bit expensive there buying a Laptop computer, etc. Food Shopping at the Sultan Centre was expensive. There are cheaper places to shop than the Sultan Centre. Cash & Carry at Mangaf etc. You can pick up a good second hand laptop if you shop around for it. I got invited to Kuwaiti colleagues homes and met their families. I speak Arabic fluently this obviously helped me and put a completely different perspective on living and working in the Middle East. Some people who teach English just speak their own native Language - English, and expect everyone else to conform and speak English to them.
To people who are considering working in the Middle East - please try and learn some basic Arabic. It will put a completely different perspective on your social life. I would not condone the bad behavior and bad management of any employer - regardless of who they are. Personally, in Kuwait, I had a good experience followed by a bad experience, followed by a good experience. I am now at home in the UK. I have worked in the Middle East in Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for over 15 years. If you do not want to take the risk of having a bad experience in the Middle East - then do not take a job in the Middle East, it's that simple. Some people on the forum moan about this employer and that employer, school or University. Bad management, owners, accommodation, salaries offered, changing contracts after your arrive etc, etc. Rightly so. This is not fair on anyone, this should not happen but it does happen with some bad employers. It's not a perfect world out in the Middle East. This is par for the course when you take a job in the Middle East. Expect that it will happen to you at some stage. If you don't want to run the risk of having a bad experience in the Middle East - then stay away from the Middle East. I experienced a mixture of these things over the past 15 years in the Middle East, good, bad indifferent etc. Recognize that you are very likely to have a "Mixed Bag experience" similar to what I mention here and live with it until you move on to your next role or country. I sincerely hopes that this helps anyone who is contemplating taking a job in the Middle East.
Please do not ask me who 'Who did you work for" on this forum. That is not relaevant now as this was over 6 years ago. This was not my intention on posting this message. My intention was to shed some light on the fact that people thinking of taking a job in Kuwait or elsewhere in the Middle East, are likely to have a "Mixed Bag experience" and should prepare themselves for such an experience. There is degree of risk. If you don't want this - then stay at home in your native country.