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[Travelling Jones]

Hello All,

I have been invited to interview for a faculty position at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman.  I understand that this is the top university in Oman, but that's about all I've been able to learn; detailed information about the position and interview process has been hard to come by.  Does anyone have any personal experience or advice they could share?  Many thanks!

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[bge]

Hmm, top university in Oman.  This implies that there are other universities in Oman. I'd be surprised.  Libdex (a web site with links to academic libraries all over the world) lists one entry for Oman: http://www.libdex.com/country/Oman.html

It is by no means complete for other countries, but all the same...

[iamwithyou]

What about teaching at Dhofar University in Oman.  Is it a "good" university in which to work?  What are some good and bad points?  Would you work there?

[mara_corti]

SQU is the top uni in oman, and yes, there are other ones: Nizwa Uni, Sohar Uni and Dhofar, though they are all private and therefore pay even less. I have no figures for SQU, I only know I had an offer last year from a private university and they offered less than 1000 OMR (= $2600) excluding housing and such.

I gave up applying for jobs in Oman after that and took a significantly better deal in the UAE, but I would be very interested to hear about what SQU really offers, I am afraid it wont be much more though and you have to take into consideration that inflation is in the double digits in Oman...

[abuflletcher]

I worked at SQU from 1988-1994.  Many things have of course changed and the student body is much bigger now but there's no doubt that SQU is the top university in Oman.  All the others are little more than tertiary "private schools" in it for the money.  Think University of Pheonix.  Many of them have major organizational problems and directors come and go.  Some can't even seem to manage to get you your salary on time. 

In short, SQU is absolutely the best option in Oman in terms of salary as well as location.  Salalah is interesting as a place to spend a long weekend but I can't imagine living there.  And that goes doubly (triply?) for Sur.  SQU is located about 30mins away from the "downtown" areas of the capital area and only 5-10 minutes away from the beach. 

In terms of the job, I found SQU to be one of the most professional places I have worked (I also worked in Saudi and Kuwait, and after the Gulf in Mexico and now in Japan).  Sure there are going to be all the usual office politics nonsense -- but that's the same anywhere.  At least when I was there SQU had state of the art fascilities and the students were pleasant and respectful.

If salary is your only or even main concern, the UAE or Saudi are going to be better bets.  But Oman is one of the most  stunningly beautiful countries in the Gulf and the UAE is, IMHO, once of the least interesting.  I loved the time I spent in Oman and nearly everyone who's worked there says the same. 

of course it's possible that my experience there is now dated but I do still have friends at SQU -- some who have been then for over 15 years so it can't be too bad.

[abuflletcher]

I should point out that I worked at SQU as a "lowly" EFL instructor. Faculty positons were much better paid and with more perks.  In fact those of us the Language Centre were more than a little jealous (and yes even resentful) of English profs often teaching the same sort of EFL classes we were (with a lit or ling twist vs our science or business twist) but at nearly twice our salary. 

When I was there, turn-over in the English department was virtually nil. 

[abuflletcher]

Maybe being an EFL teacher I don't know how to read economic information but the information here doesn't suggest any serious inflation problem.  In fact Oman ranks 202th out of 214 countries listed in terms of inflation rate.

http://www.indexmundi.com/oman/inflation_rate_(consumer_prices).html

One VERY key fact though is that the Omani Riyal is officially pegged against the dollar so Americans have been getting the same exchange rate for decades.  Brits however were getting killed with a fluctuating exchange rate and were leaving in droves.

[ronnieg8888]

I was given a starting salary of $45,000 per year.  What do you think?  I also have to pay for my own housing and electricity and internet.  Let me hear from all, please. 


SQU is the top uni in oman, and yes, there are other ones: Nizwa Uni, Sohar Uni and Dhofar, though they are all private and therefore pay even less. I have no figures for SQU, I only know I had an offer last year from a private university and they offered less than 1000 OMR (= $2600) excluding housing and such.

I gave up applying for jobs in Oman after that and took a significantly better deal in the UAE, but I would be very interested to hear about what SQU really offers, I am afraid it wont be much more though and you have to take into consideration that inflation is in the double digits in Oman...
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