hanen

Hello everyone,
I got this initial offer from a university in Kuwait :
- Salary: between 2300-2500 (either Assistant or Associate professor level)
- 30 days leave annual
- No accommodation allowance
- 40 hours work including 12 hours teaching load.
- Insurance
I am in the beginning of the process (first interview) and HR needs to check my qualification to assess the right level for me.
I'm single with no children so there will be no further allowances for children school etc.

I have a PhD in CS, 10 years of teaching experience and a good research record with some industrial experience and certifications as well.

Do you think that the salary is good for my profile or should I negotiate more ? what are the usual (medium and high) salaries for both assistant and associate prof.(according to what I red on Internet salary seems good to me but it has no extra allowances for accommodation...).

The 30 days annual leave seems low for me, and the 40 hours office work is high !! it is a standard way in all Kuwait universities to keep professors during working hours outside teaching or it can be negociated too ??

I have no experience with ME universities, It is my first interview so all your advise are welcome.

And, by the way, I am a single woman. Is there any considerations regarding living lonely in Kuwait ? (most safe area to live for a single woman, type of accommodation etc).

Many thanks,

hanen

Seems there's no faculty members working in Kuwait here at all

mikewot

Perhaps narrowing it down a little from "I got this initial offer from a university in Kuwait" might help. Also there is no bat searchlight to light up the sky when someone has a query, 3 days is not a long time between posting and getting an answer as many posters are not plugged in 24/7 ;-)

hanen

Do you mean that there are other relevant details that I should have mentionned about the job ? what I wrote above is all what they told me till now and I have a second interview in few days, if you think of other important details that I should ask them about, thanks for advising me.

Maymona

What university? KU, GUST, AUK?

Mentalist2015

Hi Hanen

I don't think it's a good offer at all given your qualification and experience.
Assistant professor of Kuwaiti origin are receiving 3500 plus !!
It's totally unfair and you deserve better.

Dineshraj

On a similar note, can some one tell me what an experienced Professor would earn in UAE, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar. Thanks

Mentalist2015

Oman is not a economically rich so I dont expect high pay. however the Omani people are very nice and friendly.

Kuwait, Qatar and UAE are economically rich.

I am not sure about the pay in UAE though.

Qatar has got "University of Qatar" and Qatar Foundation affiliated/funded Universities ( Such as Texas A&M University, Weill Cornell Medical College, Georgetown University,...etc).

Now with the University of Qatar, unfortunately its not high pay and dominated by Palestinians who have formed some sort of Palestinian gangs or network for recruiting and taking over and they will make sure your life is hell if you get through.

Qatar foundation universities probably better compensated because QF has its own generous fund from the government plus the Western culture.

Kuwait basically has the governmental "University of Kuwait" and the Private universities ( Australian American,..).

I am not familiar with the private universities in Kuwait. But I can surely tell you about the University of Kuwait; At the level of Assistant professor dont expect less than 3000 Kuwaiti Dinar per month (that's 9 to 10 thousands American Dollar per month) otherwise you have been fooled. Full Professor receive about 5000 plus Kuwaiti Dinar per month !!

I hope this will help.

Dineshraj

Thanks, that's very informative. Does the 5,000 plus that you mentioned for full professor include accommodation and other benefits or these are provide in addition to the salary.

Mentalist2015

They used to offer accommodation in the past, not sure if they still do. The salary exclude the additional benefits such as traveling tickets and school fees for the children.

The best thing to do is to contact them for more details and you can always negotiate the salary package.

In case you had a background in public health, they have recently launched a faculty of public health and they are recruiting loads of PhDs with background in health sciences. Initially they had most of the salary information uploaded on their website later on it was removed ?!? Health Sciences Center - Kuwait University

Dineshraj

That's great, thanks for the information.

Dineshraj

I see Professor Salaries in Kuwait are quite generous. What about UAE (say UAEU). What would typical total monthly salary be. Thanks.

scot47

How many Professor posts are held by foreigners ? Precious few I suspect. The work of academic teaching will be farmed out to the foreigners, who are predominantly from South Asia and other Arab states. Being "Professor" like being the "Mudir" is for Kuwaitis !

SamHash

Hi Hanen,
Have you made your decision regarding moving to Kuwait as an academic? In fact I've been offered a position in Kuwait but I am not sure if 18 hours/week of teaching is reasonable?