The International Schools Review Forum

Hi,
Can anyone tell me what is considered a typical salary for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia?
I have been made an offer at Kfs, which seems pretty standard - flights and visas for me and the trailing family, medical cover, summer pay, accommodatlon, some shipping allowance, end of service gratuity,blah blah. I have previous IB and overseas experience and the job is head of department
For Saudi/Riyadh what range should the salary be? How much wiggle room is likely or even possible?

Hi Nomad,

KFS might have wiggle room. Make your demands/requests and see what happens. If you are an experienced teacher and making less than 16,000 riyals a month, (package should include medical,flights, housing), then ask for more. The riyal is 3.7575 to the dollar, but things are cheap in Riyadh compared to elsewhere. Of course, things are also as expensive as you want them to be, so you have to judge where your line is.

hope that helps,

shad

For HOD, Id ask for 20,000 riyals.

The offer salary is a tad over 16,000, the end of contract bonus is a rather paultry 2 weeks rather than one month.
Not what I would have hoped for given the location and it scrapes in within my minimum requirement
Contract is one year renewable and the visas/flights are family friendly.
I wonder what the staff turnover is like.

Nomad,

standard in Saudi for the first five years is one month salary for every two years of service up to five years - so end of contract indemnity is standard. 1/2 month for 1 year.

16,000 is not a bad starting salary - that is $4200 a month with your housing flights medical covered. Food and other entertainment can be as cheap or expensive as you want. You will live on the DQ and get access to US embassy functions through work/work colleagues.

Keep in mind with the USD strengthening, it makes it even nicer. Where I am the USD valuation gives me a 20% raise in home currency.

just my 2 halalas,

shad

Also keep in mind--Saudi is pretty sterile. We live in the Eastern Province so we have easy access to Bahrain (relatively, given causeway traffic) and if you go there every weekend, you'll spend for hotels, drinking, eating, shopping. Other than that there's not much to spend money on in Saudi. We basically spend on groceries and bit of eating out--every couple weeks but that's just our style. That gives us quite a bit to save, even with travel. If your housing, flights and utilities are covered, the salary is good and it's up to you to decide how much and what to spend.

Many thanks for your replies. I have a very young family (pre-school) so we are home bodies for the time being. Neither of us are the partying, drinking types and I have been so long in the ME I don't miss booze and pork. We aim to live quiet and save the maximum whilst we are there so i think it will be just fine. Thanks again.

@Nomad68

Youre getting ripped off. The package is fine for a teaching position but not an HOD. They are making it just high enough to not be an insult. You are essentially doing the TLR for nothing. Id come back with 20K for salary no bonus and settle for 18K and a full months bonus. Otherwise walk, because they will be smiling behind your back the entire time, and they will never respect or value you.

I've got 5 years teaching experience and work at a "british" school and your salary is way more than mine! It's upto you, I alwYs ensure when I take a new job that I'm getting more than what I was in previously. If your happy with it, accept it. We all have different expectations and plans, only you know what's good for you and your family.

@Marz31

Youre being under compensated is not a valid or rational cause for anyone/everyone else being under compensated.

TEFL teachers with CELTA can get 4000usd per month working in the universities in the KSA - together with accommodation and flight.

I consistently hear of ITs in the ME that left IE to teach ESOL.

Well, it is a one year contract. If they don't budge now and I take it I can always renegotiate when contract renewal comes up, based on what they can see I achieve in post. If they stick at the original I have no qualms about looking elsewhere - I think Saudi on a CV says a lot to recruiters in terms of what you have put up with.
I agree that one should always try to upscale on salaries but I can not find anywhere paying more than my current post (which has not been renewed) so i have to bite the bullet and take the best deal i can find. It is now quite late in the recruiting season to be too picky.