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[still_searching]

Actually, the Foreign Income Exclusion is now $87,600 - see IRS pub 54 for details:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p54.pdf

If you are *not* working for an American university, you won't need to pay FICA/Medicare either.  But keep in mind that absolutely everything you make - whether it's called salary or allowance - counts as earned income.

[femrhetor]

Dear Seeking:

My experience may be slightly different, as I am teaching in Kuwait (not UAE), but thought I'd add to others' responses.  I have been in Kuwait for 4 years and have signed another 3-year contract at a locally-owned liberal arts university.  After earning my PhD in 2005 I had 2 assistant professor offers: one from a very reputable university in Illinois and one from the university in Kuwait.  Because I do have research interests in the Middle East, and because I wanted the chance to travel, I chose the position in Kuwait.  Although I do not regret that initial decision, I admit that I was particularly naive in terms of what I'd be able to accomplish once I got here.

My initial contract was for a 4/4 teaching load, which has since been reduced to 4/3.  I also immediately took on very heavy administrative duties, as well as served on numerous (10+) committees over the past 4 years.  This is a fairly new university and one that is still in the process of building its administrative and academic structure.  It demands lots of service. While I have managed to revise and publish 2 articles form my dissertation while here, I have not been able to find much time to begin new research projects.   

After finishing my 3-year contract, I went on the job market and did not receive an offer.  I signed a 1-year contract and went back on the market the next year.  I did not receive an offer so have decided to stay in Kuwait another 3 years. 

In general, search committees viewed my reasons for taking a position in the Middle East positively because A) my research is in this area; B) I did initially have a job offer from a US institution that I turned down. I did have campus interview invitations at 6 different US universities and 1 video presentation.  I paid for my flights to DC then the universities paid for my trip from DC to their campus.  However, 1 university actually paid my flight ROUNDTRIP FROM KUWAIT!  Four of these universities were research 1 universities.  I believe the primary reason I haven't been successful is that based on my publication record (1 article in peer-reviewed journal and 2 essays in edited collections spanning 4 years), the search committees have not been confident that I can get a book ready for tenure.  Fortunately, my university provides excellent professional development funds so I have fully-paid conference travel to present papers at least once per year.

So, some advice:

• Find out the real service demands of the university. How much committee work is not just required, but really expected? Will you have any serious time to devote to research?
• If you're research isn't in the MENA area, will you be able to access resources for an active and on-going research agenda?
• If teaching is your love, will you have opportunities to teach upper-division courses of your design?  This might make a difference on your CV if you can show search committees the relevance of your teaching, especially since you're looking for small liberal arts position down the line.
• How important is the money?  It's great, as others have pointed out, but in my experience here there's been a big trade-off in terms of a social and intellectual life. It's particularly difficult if you're a single woman, not in terms of harassment or anything, but in terms of social activities.

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