Korean Job Discussion Forums

[merkurix]

[tigerbluekitty]

[Muffin]

Be careful how you apply. I answered an ad in the UK to teach in an international school in Dubai and it turned out to be a recruiter who sent me to London to be interviewed. To my surprise I was interviewed for a primary position in Bahrain.

To get good EFL jobs in the Middle East you need the TEFL Diploma or an MA in TEFL. Having said that I have heard of people with less who turned up and looked for jobs on the spot and did okay.

If you haven't already, you should register on the main forum (your Korean forum ID doesnt work for the others) and post the questions on the General Middle East or UAE forum.

[Adventurer]

[Tony_Balony]

[merkurix]

[Leavingkorea]

Dave's still a fountain of misinformation. Why do people who've never even been somewhere comment on it? How empty is your life?

Dubai

Great city to live in. Loads of fun.

Pros:
You can drink and buy booze.
Loads of women (just not the locals)
Groceries are cheap
Eating out can be cheap or insanely expensive
Great nightlife

Cons:
Arabs make the worst hogwan owner in the world seem like an awesome boss.
Money is not as good as people make you think. Jobs in Dubai have seen salaries falling fast and hard for 10 years now because the city is not a hardship post.
Traffic is perhaps the worst in the world
No public transportation.
You will burn through loads of money because there is so much to do.

I worked and lived there. People who say you live in compounds are morons. There are no compounds in the UAE!!!!! You live in an apartment, house or like me in a suite at a hotel. I spent a year in a hotel suite. You can drink in many different establishments and you can buy an alcohol licence although honestly it's a lot cheaper and easier to just go to the hole in the wall black marketer in Ajman.

Abu Dabi pays more but is too isolated for my taste.

Pay ranges 7,500-12,000 D a month is fairly standard now. I knew a few Brits making 3,500 D a month. Which is a joke.

The real high paying jobs are in Saudi and Kuwait to a degree. If you can get a military contract job that has danger pay you'll get close to $200,000. Saudi is a compound country and is dry.

[Tiger Beer]

[Adventurer]

[contrarian]

I wonder of they would appreciate the Star of David that I replaced the Canadian flag on my bad with.

[Adventurer]

[Leavingkorea]

[Tiger Beer]

[merkurix]

[HapKi]

I just got off the phone today with a friend whose been working in UAE for the last 4 years or so. He works for HCT, the largest institution, since the education system was privatized a couple years ago. 14 colleges across the Emirates (1 male and 1 female campus in seven different locations). He says teaching men are easier, as the women tend to complain more. Teaching 3 40 minutes classes a day, for well into 60,000 USD a year. He has his MA and several years teaching in Korea, as well as one in Florida. When he first got there, they put him up in a nice hotel for several months, buffet 3 times a day. SWEET! (In fact, it was the same hotel the Korean Soccer team stayed at when they played there several years ago. He played ping pong with some of the players in the game room.)

He has plenty of time off, and the fact he is single means he can pocket some of the plane fare money that would otherwise go toward his spouse and kids a couple times a year during vacations. He's got a nice 3+ bedroom apartment, and was given a nice furniture allowance that you can either spend on furniture, or pocket. Many other perks, including free international schooling for children over 5 years old.

A country club just opened up in his city. He paid $1,800 a year membership fee, carts, lighted back nine. He said it's mostly for the foreign community, as the Arabs don't golf. In fact, he said the Arabs don't do much of anything. Hobbies are either falconery or 4x4ing in the dunes.