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DD3
Joined: 28 Feb 2013
Posts: 9
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 Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 10:52 pm Post subject: Best university job for women? |
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Hello. I'm a Saudi newbie but I've worked in the Gulf before. I'm trying to save as much money as possible as fast as possible, so I'm wondering what the most lucrative job in the Kingdom for women is? I've applied to quite a few universities (I have 10 years experience and an MA in TEFL) and I'm starting to get offers but it's tricky to decide what to take. PNU offered me $4000/mon but I would MUCH rather live in Jeddah so I'm probably going to turn them down. I've read quite a bit on the forum and I'm hoping to get more like $4600. Is this realistic? Will other universities probably offer me the same amount? I have 8 years worth of employment letters.
Any advice is much appreciated! |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 11:26 pm Post subject: Re: Best university job for women? |
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$4600? I doubt you'll get much more than $4000 despite having eight years of verifiable experience. University employers generally cap experience, which means you'll likely get about the same as a similarly-degreed teacher with 20 years as well as one with five. Plus, salaries aren't as high as they were years ago.
Have you looked into unis in the Emirates? |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 12:22 am Post subject: |
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| Unlikely that you will get a starting salary of more than SAR15,000 monthly (ie US$4,000) |
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abayababy
Joined: 26 Dec 2012
Posts: 109
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 2:44 am Post subject: |
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| Teachers working in the EAP and ELDP programs at PNU make over 17000 SAR a month. Most of them have Masters degrees, but not all. All of them have well over 2 years experience as well. For PYP direct hire, the going rate is 14600 which includes a transportation allowance. Not too shabby, if you ask me. |
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Hatcher
Joined: 20 Mar 2008
Posts: 602
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 6:43 am Post subject: |
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So what is the attraction to the KSA? Before coming here, I read that it is among the toughest places in the ESL world to live and work... after being here, it is worse than I expected... and for a woman? At PNU, you really dont live in the KSA but on a compound...
A lady with a master's can do just as well in the UAE... why would you come here? |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 9:11 am Post subject: |
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| Some people do not like Do-buy and its satellite states ! |
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Hatcher
Joined: 20 Mar 2008
Posts: 602
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 10:47 am Post subject: |
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| Do you know that the OP has been to Dubai or Jeddah? Some maybe, but for the majority, the UAE ranks much higher than the KSA. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 11:02 am Post subject: |
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| The lifestyle in the Emirates is not for everyone. Give me Jeddah any day. |
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abayababy
Joined: 26 Dec 2012
Posts: 109
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 1:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Hatcher wrote: |
So what is the attraction to the KSA? Before coming here, I read that it is among the toughest places in the ESL world to live and work... after being here, it is worse than I expected... and for a woman? At PNU, you really dont live in the KSA but on a compound...
A lady with a master's can do just as well in the UAE... why would you come here? |
Dunno, I don't have my Masters yet, so I didn't get any responses to my applications for jobs in the UAE. Could be that it's a lot more competitive even for those with a Masters. I dare say, though, that those of us who reside in KSA would beg to differ with you that we "don't really live here". |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 1:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Trying to save "as much as possible as fast as possible" is not a good recipe for survival in Saudi Arabia - or anywhere else in the ME. You HAVE to soend money on making vthings better. Ortherwise you will end up as deranged as my colleague at KFUPM who proudly boats that he knows the pedestrian route from Heathrow Airport to Victoria Bus Station.("It saves me quite a lot of money.") |
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DD3
Joined: 28 Feb 2013
Posts: 9
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 3:02 pm Post subject: |
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| I am looking for jobs elsewhere; Saudi is my backup plan. I have one year to save as much as possible because I am going back to school in 2014. I worked in Qatar for 15 mos to save for my MA and it was fine. I would prefer to head there or the UAE but I haven't been seeing many jobs advertised for non-certified teachers. And I only teach adults. Also prefer to work at a uni. The main reason I'm turning down PNU is because I think I'll only be able to handle Saudi if I'm in Jeddah. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 3:52 pm Post subject: |
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| abayababy wrote: |
| I dare say, though, that those of us who reside in KSA would beg to differ with you that we "don't really live here". |
If they have ever lived and worked in another Gulf/Middle East country, they would agree with that quote. Having taught in Egypt, Kuwait, UAE, and Oman... and hearing volumes of communication from friends who lived and worked in Saudi for varying lengths of time, you "don't really live there." With no freedom of movement and action for women, I would have considered myself a prisoner of their dresscode and lifestyle. That said... many don't mind, and I have friends who actually liked it, but most left swearing to never ever return. And those that hated it most tended to be Muslim.
Positive experiences mostly come from males, for the obvious reasons that they are eligible for the top pay jobs and there are no restrictions on them.
VS
(PS... Dubai is the odd place out... it is merely one city... NOT representative of the rest of the Gulf... at all. I wouldn't have accepted a job there either.) |
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abayababy
Joined: 26 Dec 2012
Posts: 109
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 4:03 pm Post subject: |
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I have lived in other ME countries and I still beg to differ. I also know many Muslim women here and none complain so bitterly as VS would have you believe.
Last edited by abayababy on Wed Mar 06, 2013 4:11 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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abayababy
Joined: 26 Dec 2012
Posts: 109
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 4:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| The main reason I'm turning down PNU is because I think I'll only be able to handle Saudi if I'm in Jeddah. |
Not sure I could handle Jeddah's heat most of the year. It is a swell place, though. With all the vacations and weekends we have off, I'm happy to be based in Riyadh with the option to leave in my free time. I really do live here and plan to do so for quite some time. I will admit though, that many of my colleagues are counting the days till June and some definitely won't be returning next fall. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 5:18 pm Post subject: |
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| abayababy wrote: |
| I have lived in other ME countries and I still beg to differ. I also know many Muslim women here and none complain so bitterly as VS would have you believe. |
As I said, some didn't mind and some even liked, and you are free to have a different experience. What you don't have a right to do is suggest that my 15+ years experience of working in that part of the world with dozens and dozens of teachers who chose to completely disagree with you concerning their experience in the Kingdom is of no worth. Your experience is not the be-all and end-all. Their experiences were as valid as yours.
I was personally shocked at the extreme dislike expressed by the Muslim women who had lived and worked there - especially the non-working wives... mostly "other Arabs." More than a handful declared to me that they would divorce their husbands if they even considered another job there. 
VS |
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