Should I accept this job offer?

Hey Samza,Well It's a pretty solid offer! as long as they take care of accommodation, Transport and give you baggage allowance (which are the money eaters in Kuwait) you have a nice offer! don't forget that you might be up for a raise in 3 months or 6 months max.
but I will recommend you listen to the opinions of fellow Americans or Europeans..

Wish you the best of luck

samza,,,,,,,,,,,,good offer lady, i think,,,,,,,,,,,if u look for a career for one or two year,take that offer ,,come to kuwait,,,,love u lot

its a beautiful offer.

Good Offer for new graduated teacher

Thank you for the insight thus far, more ideas or suggestions welcome....

i suppose it really depends on which school you will be teaching at, what grades you will be teaching, etc etc.

alot of the teachers i know, from both american and british schools, host ECA's afterschool for overtime, as well as schedule tuitions, another added bonus.

i can tell you that an hour of tuition atm is currently going for 15~20KD.

so thats another thing to think of.

which school will you be @? American school for girls, universal american school, bayan bilingual school, american school kuwait, american creativity academy (boys&girls separate), dasman model school?

I am an American living in Kuwait and have been here for 6 years.  I agree with legacy in that it could be a good offer...depending on which school it is for.  There are many international schools here and some are much better than others.  At any of the schools be prepared to spend quite a bit time on classroom management!

Salary wise your offer is decent.  Travel provided to and from the school...I would find out how far your housing is from school.  This could mean that you spend 45 minutes on a bus to and from school each day with your co-workers...some who like to complain a lot.  However, it is possible to buy and lease cars here but one has to be ready to take on Kuwait's crazy drivers!  What they are offering you for baggage allowance seems quite low. But the rest of the offer is pretty comparable with other schools here.

Like legacy said, there are many opportunities for teachers here to make extra cash on the side.  Many of the schools offer stipends to teachers who take on extra duties like coaching, running an after school club, etc.  Also, many teachers teach private tuition after school for about 20KD an hour.  This can really beef up your earnings here.

I moved here with my husband so it was very easy for me to acclimate.  However, some of my single girl friends have had a harder time adjusting.  It all depends on the type of person you are.  Those who do best here are people who are open minded, willing to accept others differences, and positive.  Kuwait is a pretty unique place and the culture can at times be very frustrating.  With that said, if you take the time to look beyond the surface it can be quite an experience.

Good luck with your decision!

single girlfriends? hello

rule of thumb for driving in kuwait, if u dont want to speed, stick to the FAR right of the road.

Hello everyone,

I am bringing back this thread because I have been advised by a few people not to take this offer as it is at Kuwait Bilingual School.

Apparent 750 KD per month is low pay for a trained teacher with a MA?

Thank you

Pretty decent offer, you will live comfortably in kuwait

plus, kuwait is tax free, so ur only overhead is ur personal transportation and food.

Samza: Lets try and give you some info you can work with.

Definition of a decent apartment(things you take for granted):

1.) The floor is level
2.) central AC (split units wont work well with our extreme summer temperatures)
3.) At least one shaded car parking spot thats exclusively assigned to you. (Trust me you dont want to play the parking lot game in 131 Fahrenheit)
4.) Water & Electricity and AC is fine
5.) Toilets dont want to make you consider suicide
6.) Enough living space, high ceilings, and decent sunlight 
7.) Not situated in a ghetto area

A decent Apartment will cost you between KD 250 - KD 350 /month.
(two bedroom), a lot of the single bedroom apartments you dont want to even consider cause more often than not their a total dump or have psychotic neighbors.

If you plan on buying a car: (KD 3000 minimum) brand new, so your gonna take a loan, and pay about 120-160kd a month over 4 years.

You can rent a car for the same value.

Its not advisable to buy a 2nd hand car, you dont want your car breaking down on you on a highway in the summer.

Fuel: Kd 3 full tank for most 4 cylinder cars so thats a total of roughly 15KD a month

Groceries: KD 120 month
Washer/Dryer: KD 200
Iron board: 10
Iron: 10
Cigs if you smoke cost .600 per pack

Monthly phone bills: Kd 30 on avg.
Broadband Internet:
KD 60 for phone line (required) Annually
KD 75 Broadband connection (DSL 512kbs) Annually

Going out:
Lunch/Dinner per person at a decent joint: 8KD
Fast food: McDonald's double cheeseburger meal KD 1.500
Starbucks Coffee: KD 1.500

So cost of living on average:
Monthly Expenses:

Rent: 280
Groceries: 80
Car: 180 (includes gas money)
Mobile: KD 30
--------------------------------
KD 570

Setup Costs:
Washer/Dryer: KD 200
Iron board: 10
Iron: 10
Basic Bedroom: KD 180ish (Ikea)
-------------------------------
KD 400

so if your getting paid KD 750 /month minus your monthly expenses would leave you with KD 180.


The bottom line is, KD 180 is certainly not enough to classify this offer as a good one.

Cause unless you plan on starving yourself at work, or preparing food to take with you, you will certainly spend at least KD 3 a day to keep yourself fed during working hours. And thats a total of KD 75

So KD 180 - 75, and voila you got KD 105 (USD 380) to bank, assuming that your not the social type and stay home, and you avoid shopping like the plague.

To live comfortably youd need at least a buffer of KD 300 once all your bills are paid for. Thats what id call reasonable. But hey some people might have a different opinion.


Hope the info helps.

P.S.

You should also consider that Kuwait is a "Dry country" no bars, no clubs, and virtually no decent places to hang out in. No cultural places to visit, no public libraries. Life in Kuwait is pretty much a reflection of who you know. Its the people that make your life here bearable or a total nightmare.

hey samza better u take the offer and come kuwait,,,dry but kuwait is kool baby

This is not a very good offer for americans,but starting salary is good,after you can find out good jobs here.so better to come and start your work

Stay at home and enjoy a civilised way of life with like minded people.

wanejn

@wanejn is that a joke ?

It is not a bad deal. They are paying for your flat and transportation so your only major thing you will be paying for is food and clothing.