• English Teaching

Teaching English Jobs

Qualified English teachers in Saudi Arabia can realistically expect to make $1,500 - $3,000 tax-free a month with benefits including airfare to and from the assignment, health insurance, and even furnished housing. Saudi Arabia offers the largest number of teaching positions in the region, with a large numbers of job opportunities available to highly qualified (and typically) native-speaking English teachers.

Because of the number of vacancies, and the challenges of attracting young westerners in their 20s and 30s to such a restrictive environment, schools are more likely to accept teachers with less substantial qualifications than in neighboring countries like the UAE and Qatar. Salaries and benefits can be excellent, but teachers must be prepared to live in society governed by very conservative Islamic law and customs, which bans the use of alcohol and movie theaters, and dictates that most public institutions, including schools are segregated by sex.

Most teachers are hired in advance from their own country and have their visa processed prior to their departure for their teaching destination. To receive their visa, teachers should expect to pass a physical and an HIV test, and in many cases, academic transcripts and a criminal background check may also be necessary. Expect the interview and visa processes to take 1-3 months.

English teaching jobs are concentrated in the cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, Medina, Dammam and other larger cities.

English Teaching Requirements in Saudi Arabia

Interesting Facts About Life in Saudi Arabia

• Many words used today originated from Arabic; among them alcohol, alkali, admiral and alchemy.

• The Saudi Company, ARAMCO, is the world's largest producer of oil and Saudi Arabia is home to 26% of the world's total oil reserves.

• The first university in Saudi Arabia was founded in 1957 and had twenty-one students; now there are seven universities and ninety-four colleges with more than one hundred and seventy thousand students.

• More than 98% of the area of Saudi Arabia is desert; less than two percent is fertile.

• Approximately 2.5 million Muslims visit the holy cities of Mecca and Medina each year during the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage that Muslims are required to make at least once during their lifetime.