My Capital One card doesn't have an annual fee or a foreign transaction fee, so I tend to use it quite a lot. Sometimes I'll get local debit/credit cards, but sometimes I don't bother with it.

The "issue" (which really isn't that big of an issue - I wasn't complaining about schools that purchase tickets for you) is that not all schools operate that way. I've been at schools that most would describe as Tier 1 or Tier 2, yet they still don't give teachers the freedom to choose their own flight. It would be nice if all schools did, and it seems easy enough, but western logic isn't always used by HR personnel in other parts of the world.

"Assuming the school had professional competent staff and all other factors being equal are you claiming you would still prefer spending your own money as opposed to the schools when resolving your travel arrangements?"

No, I would't "still" prefer it. I never said I preferred it at all. I said I didn't mind. I'm not going to refuse a job, or automatically label a school as terrible just because they ask me to book my own flight. It doesn't bother me, because I can see the advantages of it. Assuming I'm heading to a reputable school, I'm not going to get worked up about something like the ticket purchase/reimbursement process.

I'm another one who has had to purchase my own ticket before, for "good" or "great" schools. We were always reimbursed in a timely manner. We don't mind buying our own flights because it gives us a lot more control over flight schedules and choice of airline - which affects frequent flier miles, baggage allowance, comfort, etc. I've also had tickets purchased by the school, and it was basically, "Here's your ticket. Deal with it." Sometimes even at a good school, the HR people are local and haven't traveled much internationally, so they don't understand how annoying unnecessary stops and very long layovers can be.

Granted, I can imagine scenarios in which bad schools do screw over new teachers by not reimbursing the whole amount or delaying reimbursement for many months. I agree with the advice to do your research and maybe try to ask current teachers about the reimbursement process.

I don't know what the general trend is like, but I know that for my two most recent schools, one's salary was overestimated by quite a bit on Search/ISS, and one's was underestimated by quite a bit. I think that those numbers are approximate and may depend on a lot of factors.

I'm not an admin, so this is just a guess - but I don't think many schools would be willing to negotiate with you because of the numbers listed on Search. Sure, maybe they negotiate, but I don't think that "Well, Search said XX,XXX dollars" would give you much of an argument that would sway. But maybe I'm completely wrong, so if you do try it, please let us know how it goes!

I agree...I'd ask. I don't think it's pestering if you write a polite, respectful email just telling them that you are still interested in their school, and that you are under a deadline to respond to an offer from another school. You can tell them that you would still like to interview if they are still interested. I've sent similar emails, sometimes that even started out with "I don't mean to be too pushy, but...." The majority of the time the principal/director got right back to me, sometimes with an offer.

Think about how you'll feel if you accept the other offer and then this school emails you the same day to set up an interview. Although, I guess it doesn't matter as much if the offer you have is your first choice. Either way, good luck!

I would think your chances are pretty good. You have a lot of experience at various grade levels, IB experience, you're single (I'm assuming no kids, right?), and you have an EU passport that could open up some doors. But get on it! The recruiting season for the next school year has been happening for months. :)

Well I can't tell you from personal experience - we don't have kids. But as far as I know, there is no company "policy" per se. There isn't the same issue of tuition and taking spots that others would be paying for. The schools are only for children of Aramco employees, and it's free. There are plenty of people on the compounds who have 3 or more children. I'm not involved in hiring so I could be wrong, but I've gotten the impression that Aramco hires the people they want without too much consideration of their dependents status (this is company-wide, not specific to teachers).

The time that having lots of kids could become an issue would be after the offer is made. Departments offer jobs to the candidates they want, then the candidate has to clear a bunch of contingencies before the offer is offical. One contingency is housing. They have to confirm that a house is available for you before they can extend the final offer to bring you over. I wouldn't think that 3 kids would cause a huge problem, but housing gets tougher the more kids you have. There simply aren't a ton of 4-5 bedroom houses on camp. 2-3 bedrooms is more common. (House sizes are assinged based on the number of children, plus the age/gender of the kids, I believe.) Housing is getting tighter because Aramco is going through a huge hiring wave, and camps are filling up.

Again, keep in mind that I might be mistaken on whether 3 kids would be an issue. I guess it doesn't hurt to try. :D

No problem! I can understand. Did they tell you if you should contact them again in four weeks or if you should just wait for them to get back to you?

I’m not going to spend my time debating Psyguy every time the ME comes up. If you've read the recent "Hi, I am new to ISR" thread you would understand why. What I AM going to do is continue to provide teachers with information based on my personal experiences in the ME. People deserve to hear different perspectives on a region – not just the perspective of someone who despises a certain region for whatever reason. I'm not the kind of person who would invalidate a person's own experiences in a place. If Psyguy had a bad experience, then he had a bad experience, and he is allowed to share that. What I don't think he has the right to do (but does anyway) is to imply that other people's experiences and opinions don't matter because they conflict with his.

Teachers are intelligent and can make smart decisions. They can choose:

1. To believe to a person who admitted that he only spent 6 weeks in Egypt before running away. Perhaps he does not have the personality or social skills to deal with change and new cultures. Perhaps the culture shock was too much for him to handle. Perhaps he didn’t have the skills to get hired at a good school and therefore truly did have an awful experience at a terrible school that didn’t make life easy for teachers. We don’t know , and will probably never know. What we do know from his posts on this forum is that based on one tiny 6 week experience in ONE country in the Middle East, he has declared the entire region to be a “craphole.â€

Congrats on the two offers! Without knowing all of the details, I would probably go with the IB school in Europe. Assuming that you won't take on debt from being there, and it's in a location that you like, it would be a great chance to get more IB/MYP experience that will help you in your next job hunt. If the quality of life is worth the lack of savings, you might even stay for awhile. If not, you can always move on to a higher paying school. Good luck with the decision!

I'm another one who DID decide one day that I wanted to work in the ME.

Having previously worked in other regions, we wanted something new and exciting. Some people want to work in cultures that feel like home. That's fine for them. We didn't want that. We wanted something completely different. I found the ME intriguing and wanted to learn more about the culture firsthand, rather than only getting what the media gives us. We started our search looking in the ME. We lucked into jobs with Aramco, but money was not the motivating factor for looking in the ME.

Psyguy, you said that NO ONE dreams about working in the ME, and that people dream of working in places like France, Italy, Spain, and Japan. Please stop speaking on behalf myself or other teachers who have chosen other locations. I know it may be hard to believe, but there is a huge percentage of the population that isn't as close-minded as you.

Teachermama, the hubbie and I don't have kids, but I do know what you mean. Doing your homework is smart. :-)

And those "military trained" security guards are kind of a joke. Lol. The culture here isn't one of fear; it's actually very easygoing.

I agree with what Shadowjack said. I know that the Middle East in general (and particularly Saudi Arabia) sounds scary to a lot of people. Before I moved here, I too was of course concerned about safety. However, I can't even express how safe it feels over here. There is very little day-to-day crime, probably because of the harsh penalities. Like Shadowjack, I feel safer here than at home or in almost any other country I've lived previously. Saudi Arabia is actually quite a stable country. It was one of few countries in the ME not to experience turmoil during the Arab Spring.

I can understand feeling like a target working for Aramco; I used to feel that way too. It's helpful to remember that Aramco is now a Saudi-owned company; it is not an American company in the middle of Saudi Arabia. The royal family and the people in general have a vested interest in protecting the company and its assets. It is a respected company within the country, and I have experienced nothing but positive feedback from Saudis when I tell them that I work for Aramco. Sure, there's always a chance of a major incident. In fact, we had an Iranian "attack" on Aramco this past fall, but it was a cyber attack. For us teachers, it was nothing more than an inconvenience. The chances of a major incident that would put my safety in danger are probably not much higher than the chances of getting attacked in most of the world.

Let me first say that I am not a Middle East basher who will come here and tell you that the whole region is terrible and that's why nobody wants to teach here. I am working in Saudi right now, and I love it. I love the whole region. The people are warm and friendly, it is safe, travel opportunities are great, expats form close bonds with each other, and yes the money is great. I understand that ME sounds "scary" to many, but those of us that have spent significant time here know the truth - that it can be an amazing place to live and work for some teachers. Sure, there are negatives, and it's not for everyone. But that is true of every single country/region in the world. Also, the ME isn't one homogenous area. You can't paint the ME in one broad stroke just like you can't with Asia, Europe, South America, or Africa.

Now that you know perspective I'm coming from, I will tell you that I would be VERY cautious with that school. My guess is that there aren't reviews because they haven't had too many foreign teachers. I did a little research on the school, and it sounds like one of those schools that Shadowjack was talking about. The school's own website says that 95% of the kids are Saudi, and the other 5% are Arab. It was previously an Arabic-only school that is trying to move into a more bilingual school, but I'm skeptical of how that actually looks. If you take a look at the staff list on the school's website, almost every single name appears to be Saudi (or Arab). So you would most likely be one of very few western teachers. That could be very isolating, both professionally and socially. The main language used at school will most likely be Arabic, and you will have a huge learning curve when trying to adapt to Saudi customs and ways of dealing with issues. They do things very differently, and it can be maddening at times. I have previous experience adapting to local cultures when I was at other schools, but Saudi takes the cake. From what I've seen, behavior seems to also be a huge problem amongst Saudi kids, so I would be nervous about working in an all-Saudi school. I know that personally, I don't think I'd be happy in a school like that. Part of what I love about my current job is the diversity in the study body and the camaraderie with colleagues (who are all expats). Finally, since it's a Saudi school, I'm wondering if you would be living in the city iteslf (vs. a compound). If that's the case, the differences in culture will be right in your face, and you will not be able to enjoy the freedoms that westerns have on compounds.

On the flip side, there are a few positives I can think of. One, Search shows quite a few positions, so maybe they are expanding the English program. You will most likely become very close to your western colleagues. While the school has Dhahran in the title, it is not actually in Dhahran (an Aramco camp). It is in the adjacent city, Dammam. Because of Aramco and other companies, there is a large expat community in the area. You would be close to the causeway that connects Saudi to Bahrain, which is a fun city for shopping, partying, drinking, etc. Some people living in Dhahran/Dammam/Khobar head over to Bahrain just for dinner or a movie after work, while others spend their weekends there. You're also close to two international airports, so you can easily travel on weekends and breaks.

Either way, good luck with your job hunt. I don't mean to discourage you - I just suggest that you ask a lot of questions and think about it very carefully to make sure it would be a good fit for you.

Hallier, I can, but where are you from? That makes a slight difference in the benefits.