Korean Job Discussion Forums

[naturegirl321]

I've tried doing a search for the past two days and it's not working

My question is, has anyone gone from teaching in Korea to the Middle East? HOw did they compare?
Are there any things you knew beforehand?

[Radius]

My God, with all of the uprisings going on in several countries over there now, why would you ever consider the Middle East? And you're a woman? Don't be mad at me, I know you're an adult, I'm just looking out for ya.

[hwarangi]

I don't have any specific information, but I'm replying because I'm interested in this topic, too.

I'm planning on going to the ME in 2012.

From what Ive heard (I know someone who made the move; and read a few posts on another msg board (which I cant find now)), it offers a much better quality of life for people, especially if you have a family.

[Konglishman]

Sometimes, I think that Qatar would be an interesting place to work. On a per capita basis, it is the second richest country in the world. And unlike some of the other countries in the middle east, it has a government which is already at work on turning itself into democracy. This was the king's idea actually. In fact, the king gives most of the funding to Al Jazeera (which has gone out of its way to give extensive news coverage in support of the protests in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere).

Further, the king's second wife (I think he has two wives... maybe more) has been very instrumental in promoting women's rights and education. Finally, for any Americans reading this, after Katrina came and devastated the gulf coast, the king gave a lot of money to New Orleans residents to have their homes rebuilt.

Of course, like any other country, Qatar does have its dark side. There are sponsorship laws there along with other difficulties that make life less pleasant for foreign workers. However, I understand that for more professional jobs such as university positions, this is much less of an issue.

[Sergio Stefanuto]

Discussed here: http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=198046&start=0

[oldtrafford]

The m.e is much better than korea in terms of work. You do however need good qualifications, a ba in woodwork will not suffice.

[naturegirl321]

[naturegirl321]

[tealeeds1]

i applied for a position in Jeddah in saudi, I taught alot of the students at the school at a camp in the UK and got on very well with their supervisors, who were the Head of English and Head of Development at the school in Jeddah.

The deal they were offering was �24,000 basic, overtime paid at double rates. They also said unofficial tutoring was permitted if it didnt interfere with school teahcing, and that it paid upwards of �50 an hour. If I stayed a second year, they would sponsor me to do a DELTA.

Accomodation wise, it was a two bedroom apartment in a private compund with free access to swimming pool, gym, and so on. the school would pay for a driver to take me to school and back each day.

As it was, there were visa issues with the school (each school allegedly has limit to the number of new foreign visas they can apply for a year, they used their limit) and so I didnt get it, however I maintain contact with the staff members. I hold hope for getting the job another year. It might be like living in a 5 star prison, but for one year, for that money, itd be worth it.

An incredibley good deal. I don't know if all jobs in Saudi offer this, the school I was applying to was a private school whose students all had blackberrys, private drivers, and so on.

[Sergio Stefanuto]

[cyui]

We had this discussion earlier. Nature Girl- Aren't you an American Citizen?

Think you can forget it unless you an some-how obtain a British Passport..

Are Irish passports' considered British?

[bucheon bum]

[cyui]

IDK just figured they would ask for UK before other nationalities for EU Visa.

Would this be a wrong assumption?

[bucheon bum]

[Caffeinated]

I've been considering this myself but I got a year to get through first.

Some job postings for the ME definitely state preferences for certain countries.