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[eddean]

Does anyone have any experience working in Kuwait? I have seen some recent announcements and have an interest but would like to know more about what it is like to live and work there.

[pantani]

I worked in Kuwait, left a few years ago.  Much depends on the university and your field.  Each has unique problems and benefits.  Remember Kuwait is a dry country (yes, double meaning attaches).  I personally didn't mind this too much, but some might.  Overall, education is much more in the politicos' minds, and this can create difficulty for professors and universities.  E.g., all private and public universities are supposed to be gender segregated, but level of segregation depends on a complex system, and whether MP's are of a mood to interfere in a given university or course at the university at a given time.  Most students don't like the segregation and have protested the segregation laws several times outside of the Assembly.

If you have children, Kuwait has a number of decent private schools:  the American School, the British School, International School, and employers usually subsidize the cost to some extent. These are not segregated --the gender segregation rules only apply to universities.

Even though Dave's ESL cafe is for ESL instructors, you can find honest assessments of the specific universities there, even PhD's in specific academic fields, like me, look at the country discussion pages before choosing to work at a specific university in the Middle East, although you will need to sort out the malcontents from those expressing genuine concern, and in turn, those told to protect their university by countering negative claims.

Traffic in Kuwait is intense, with high incidence of fatal accidents.  Living in Kuwait, overall, was pleasant for me, and I found working there comfortable. Petrol and electricity are highly subsidized and cheap, although rents can be quite high. 

[witness]

A friend of mine worked in Kuwait for one year.  On arrival at the university at which he was to work his passport was taken from him and he was told that he could have it back at the end of his contract, or, and only at the discretion of the university, if he went on a trip out of Kuwait (for which he would need the university's permission to make).  He was also told that he was contractually required to give ten months notice of intention not to renew the contract beyond one year.  He gave eleven months and twenty-nine days notice.  The rest of the year was, and I quote, a 'season in hell.'  the person in question has worked all over other world, including in Egypt, Japan, and Yemen, and stayed in all three of those countries for extended periods.