Tash2

Hi

I am thinking of moving to UAE as a university lecturer. I am a British born and have been in the U.K. all my life.
I have been offered a post and they are offering me the following-

Salary in range of 13, 500 Aed , is negotiable but they are now asking what I am expecting? Does anyone have any idea what a realistic salary for university lecturer would be? I have over 10 years experience in the UK. I need a decent standard of living and want to save some money whilst out there.
In addition they are offering:
Housing allowance, 11 600 aed month
Schooling for children 80 000 aed annum but this is not applicable for me. Can I ask them to give me this as an increase in part of my salary?
Medical insurance
Relocation allowance about 19000 aed
Air fares for annual leave include relocation tickets for family

I would appreciate any guidance.

archie159

Since no-one better-qualified has answered, here are some thoughts. I have no direct experience of university salaries, so these are more general comments.
25k salary and housing is not great for most expat jobs, though I think secondary teachers can be on that approx package - which is why many of the teachers either seem to be young and single, or experienced but relying on their spouse for the primary salary.
Where would the job be located? Housing is not cheap in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, especially the central parts, so if you will be lecturing in those cities you need to factor that in to your calculations.
Are you married? Would your spouse accompany you? What is the chance of him/her getting a job over here also? Clearly you need to compare the total family income in UK versus the UAE - many people come over here confidently expecting their spouse to find a job, but who subsequently struggle badly when they realise the differences in the jobs market.
How does this package compare to your UK package? I would definitely not come out here unless you are getting a significant increase. Universities in the UAE are mostly well below the standard (academically) of UK universities, so they won't look so impressive on your CV. I have met several lecturers in various UAE universities, and it can be quite stressful in some of them - chaotic admin, arrogant students whose influential parents bully lecturers for good grades (sometimes supported by craven university leadership) etc. Some universities seem to be a lot happier places than others.
I would be surprised if they will transfer the schooling allowance (which is a good allowance, by the way) into a salary increase - you could ask, but I doubt they will say yes.
Relocation allowance is OK if you don't intend to move an entire house over here.
Hope some of that helps.

scot47

They will not increase your salary because you are childless.

carcajou

Most of this, yes.

25k would be very high for a secondary teacher - think 12-17k, though in many cases that includes housing. Some very prominent private secndary schools top out at 14k.

Middle Eastern university lectureships will not, at all, be like European ones. In any way.

In no manner whatsoever will you be able to parlay it into a lectureship at a serious UK university down the track.

25k is OK. Not great. But you will be able to life comfortably on that. Is it a serious upgrade from what you are making now? They should be paying you, at minimum, a 30 to 40% premium.

So the question would be - is your goal to be a lecturer or a professor at a UK university? If so - this will do nothing for you except waste time. You need to be in the UK publishing, researching, networking and so on.

If you just need a job, or just need to be out of the UK for a little while, OK go for it.

archie159

Which was why I used the word package, and not salary, and made it clear that I was including accommodation in that figure.

carcajou

Relax. I am agreeing with you, not arguing with you, and that point was just sidebar to OPs question anyways.

Tash2

Dear All

Thank you so much for your comments and this information has been really useful for me.
At this stage I will probably not go as I don't think the grass will be greener out there for me right now. Maybe sometime in the future.

Thanks again.