Korean Job Discussion Forums

tigerbluekitty · Joined: 19 Apr 2007

I stumbled upon this job ad on WorkNPlay's website and was wondering, since many of us foreigners face a great deal of xenophobia and racism in Korea, that it'd be a better idea to go work in Dubai?

To be honest after reading this ad, I'm kinda considering about leaving grim Korea to work in Dubai. I know it's a popular vacation spot for rich people and celebrities, but I'm really curious if this ad is legit and also wonder about the pros and cons of living and working there.

Has anyone been to Dubai and know how it's like?

princess · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: soul of Asia

The ad said 6 hours per month for $2500-$4000 a month? Count me in . Ha! I'm sure they meant 6 hours per day. No one will pay this salary for 6 hours a month. I say be careful. You think girls are at the bottom of the chain here, but what about the middle east?

butlerian · Joined: 04 Sep 2006 Location: Korea

tzechuk · Joined: 20 Dec 2004

6 hours per day in the detailed ad.

Alyallen · Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 7:46 am Post subject: Re: Living and Working in Dubai?

Adventurer · Joined: 28 Jan 2006

I have never lived in Dubai, but I have known people who lived there and they say it is a great city to live in. The majority of people in Dubai are actually foreigners not locals. So it would be like the Koreans being the minority here, if you can picture that. However, as I understand the good jobs are on the university level, and you need a master's. I am not really sure about teaching on the high school level. You don't need a master's, but the kids will probably not be as disciplined as the Korean children. You can stand to make more money than you do in Korea. The social life would definitely be better, but I am not quite sure about the jobs. That's where I am kind of hazy, but the city itself rocks from people who lived there, visited there etc...
It is not really so Middle Eastern. It has tons of Europeans and North Americans. It is not like most Middle Eastern countries and alcohol is perfectly legal there. Lots of women work there. That's not a problem in Dubai. There are some bad schools there be sure of that...International schools if you have a certificate should be good...

butlerian · Joined: 04 Sep 2006 Location: Korea

cangel · Joined: 19 Jun 2003 Location: Jeonju, S. Korea

On another ESL board (sorry, can't remember righ now) a former Dubai instructor says they were basically confined to a gated community with armed guards. I also haven't been to Dubai and while I do believe it's one of the more moderate Muslim countries, you won't see my western @ss there. That being said, my coworker's parents just prior to visiting their daughter in Korea, visited Dubai and loved it and said they felt perfectly safe. They're from South Africa so that may explain things.

Adventurer · Joined: 28 Jan 2006

bonanzabucks · Joined: 09 Jun 2007 Location: NYC

I've never lived in Dubai either, but I have a friend who lived there and recently moved away. He worked in advertising, not ESL. The money was fantastic (triple what he made in Canada, but that doesn't say much...lol), the company paid for most of his expenses (like apartment, transportation, but not food, which he said was was really expensive) and he saved most of his income because there are no taxes there. But of course, that's an expat salary for a multinational. Most people won't get it so good.

As for it being so open-minded, not really. Of course, it's way better than Saudi, but it's not as liberal as Israel. You can drink in some of the hotels and clubs, if that's your thing. And to the above poster who said alcohol is perfectly legal: that's not true at all. Not even close. You need to be a guest at a hotel to drink alcohol or you require a special liquor license, which you can only get if you're not Muslim, if you are a foreign resident. Of course, you cannot drink on the street and during Ramadan, even drinking in hotels and clubs is severely limited. And let's not forget that homosexuality is illegal, if that's your thing.

One thing he complained about was the dating scene. It sucks. It sucks all over the Middle-East if you're a foreign guy. In the UAE, the ratio of guys to girls is 3:2. You can't touch the local women. If you like Filipinas and Russians, then it might be for you. He was there for one and a half years and wasn't able to get a single date. He's a really good-looking guy and a perfect gentleman, but...no women because there were so few available.

Also, there's quite a bit of censorship there and some things, like Skype, are illegal. Skype is illegal because the local telecom companies love ripping off foreigners for internet calls and they want to keep that monopoly.

And yes, 70% of Dubai is comprised of foreigners. But from where? These aren't the educated expats from the UK working in engineering (and sure, there are quite a few). Most of these guys are from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, working 14-hour days like dogs building all these skyscrapers. That's what most of Dubai is. These guys are treated like garbage too. They also have no rights.

Anyways, my friend said that Dubai was a very interesting place and the fact that it's expanding and building so fast was phenomenal. Just don't expect to live an open and free life like you would in Korea.

Tiger Beer · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

I'd consider working there someday. Seems ideal for just saving some good coin for a year or two.

Doogie · Joined: 19 Jan 2006 Location: Hwaseong City

normalcyispasse · Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 11:06 pm Post subject:

merkurix · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Location: Not far from the deep end.

For those considering working at the uni level in Dubai and in other Middle East countries, a wonderful idea is to become a member of TESOL Arabia and try to attend their international conferences to network and apply for on the spot interviews there.

http://tesolarabia.org/

I have quite a few friends who are seasoned veteran teachers who cycle between Korea and UAE regularly. My friends tell me that a paying for flight from Incheon to the conference shows them that you are serious about working there.

Tiger Beer · Joined: 07 Feb 2003