The International Schools Review Forum

Am I the only one who would worry about being a target working there?

Teachermama, Saudi is an extremely safe place to be. Statistically speaking, you are safer walking the streets of Saudi Arabia than most large cities. After 2003 the authorities got a grip. I am at greater risk of being a crime victim back home than here in Saudi.

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.

@shadowjack. My parents lived in Abu Dhabi for a few years and I spent some time there. It was about 15 years ago, but I wasn't ever worried about crime. When I was thinking about Aramco, I was more thinking about major incidents. They have military trained security guards for a reason, right? Not trying to be alarmist, just hoping for people in the know to give me some idea about whether I would ever want to apply there.

@expatteacher99. I guess you are right about major incidents being possible anywhere, and that is really what I was thinking about. Sandy Hook was tragic proof of the fact that nowhere is guaranteed safe, just the parent in me trying to figure out the best odds for my kids, you know?

Every school we have worked at has had armed guards at the school and provided them at our home. Our next school will as well...just sayin'...

We taught in KSA and would jump at the chance to work at Aramco.

All the best on your search!

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.

@expatteacher99
Hey expat, just wondering if you remember how long after your interview before you heard back from Aramco? The suspense is killing us! We interviewed a few weeks ago and they did tell us it would be at least four weeks...we are trying not to think about it as it is out of our hands but the not knowing does get to you. Thanks.

@expat
This is to apologize for asking same question twice...we are so anxious I forgot I asked you this question earlier...my wife reminded me right after I showed her the post! Never mind...will keep you posted.

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?

@gbr1964, I would send a follow up e-mail. I know 3 families (2 single teachers with dependents, and 1 teaching couple) that have been hired since December. It never hurts to let a school know that you're still interested.

@expat99 and wntris
Yes, I did send a follow-up immediately after of course and also to provide reference letters which were not in our original file. I just sent those out over this weekend...Thanks for getting back to me and for your patience. We are just really excited at the possibility. Will keep you all posted.

@expat. Can you tell me about aramco's dependents policy ie is it even worth us thinking about applying sometime if we have three kids?

Thanks

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

@expat99
One of the interviewers did suggest I should keep in touch with him in the event there is nothing available this year...he suggested there would be something next year in my certification. Fingers are crossed for this year of course. They also said that this year is unique due to unexpected growth of school enrollment.

@teachermama

I read on another forum of two individual families hired as teachers with four children...did not get ages but if did sound as if all four were school age and coming over with parents. I would not let it stop you from trying for sure. Good luck.