Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Living overseas

Whether you're considering emigrating or an expat abroad, you'll find likeminds on this forum.

Moving and working in Dubai

13 replies

Pinkjumpingfox · 20/02/2025 06:52

Hello

Looking for advice on whether or not full time teaching with a 4/5 year old in Dubai is sensible.

My husband has received a job offer at a school in Dubai so it looks as if we will be moving. I was hoping to also find a full time teaching job but he thinks it will be too much with us all relocating to another country and my son starting his first year of school.

Can anyone advise on the teacher workload and what after school childcare is like. Do you think it can be balanced?

OP posts:
Fishfried · 20/02/2025 08:07

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

formerdxbteacher · 20/02/2025 17:03

It's tricky. I was also one of a teaching couple in Dubai and we moved there with jobs together in same school. Wrap round care is really tricky. It's just not a thing as the families have drivers and nannies. Unless your school has a provision for staff children then you will need a nanny if you are both teaching. But, nannies aren't a huge expense and the cost of living is a lot higher now. You would be much better off getting a role now whilst applying from overseas - some schools may pay you less im future if you apply in country as a 'local hire'. I would not want to live in Dubai on one teacher's salary - even if DH has a promoted post. 2 teaching posts with only one dependant will allow you to enjoy the benefits (eg weekends in luxury hotels in the other emirates and living in a major travel hub in school hols). The school days are long, start horribly early, and the workload is high. Much more so than other international postings ime, the inspection regime of KHDA is as bad/worse than Ofsted.

justasmalltownmum · 20/02/2025 17:21

Living on one salary will be difficult. Cost of living is very high.

Pinkjumpingfox · 21/02/2025 16:48

Thank you for the replies. Good to know about the work load, I was hoping it maybe more manageable than the UK but sounds unlikely. My husband would be going into more of a vice principle role and we will be having our accommodation paid for so hopefully that will help with the costs. Maybe I could find a learning support role if that’s something schools look for. Not sure I feel right getting a nanny before he’s really settled and especially as it will be his first year at school. I didn’t realise about the “local hire” do they not base your pay on your experience?

OP posts:
formerdxbteacher · 21/02/2025 21:29

Staff accommodation is provided for all teachers, most schools encourage/require new staff to take their provided accommodation year 1, but you may get a nicer apartment or even an allowance to choose own place on a Vice Principal contract. I know that was previously the case for friends in similar roles. That has its own challenges though, as can't sign a rental contract until employment visa finalised so they needed aparthotel to bridge the gap.

Typical packages have not kept pace with the cost of living in Dubai and vary widely depending on the 'tier' of school, but very roughly - if he will be on 30k+ AED per month then you can live quite comfortably (though not extravagantly) without a second wage. If it's more like 20-25k then it's manageable but you won't have a lot spare for fun or savings. (experienced class teachers now are starting on ca 15k or less) That's actual pay in the bank each month, accommodation allowance is separate - he will have that, health insurance for him and possibly children/you- some will charge extra to include dependents, annual flights, school fees. Visas for dependents may not be included, one of many set up expenses to be prepared for.

So yes, it will be much easier for all of you if it's possible for you take a year off to get everything set up and everyone settled in. Make sure you get all your own certificates and docs attested too as it's easier while you are still in UK and will make applications easier for you next year.

LSA work is poorly paid but could be a good way to get a feel for the school without additional hours beyond the school day. There is always demand for this as SEN support is limited and parents employ 1:1 LSAs directly. I did know of some teacher trailing spouses who were able to do ad hoc supply in their school.

Good luck!

formerdxbteacher · 21/02/2025 21:32

I didn't answer about the local hire - yes they will probably pay you the same actual salary but they might not offer the same additional benefits as someone being employed from overseas so be very careful on this. I've known people to get them but some who didn't. It's not always an issue- if you get them via husbands contract anyway as there are rules about double benefits and his likely to be better on leadership.

thornbury · 22/02/2025 04:44

Even if you work in a different school to your husband, they will expect you to be sponsored by him and for his employer to provide your health insurance. You won't get an accommodation or flight allowance. That is what is known as 'local hire' and it avoids 1 - duplication of benefits and 2 - additional costs for your employer. If you work in the same school, or for the same employer but in another one of their schools, the same rule applies.

Teacher salary would usually be in the range 12-16k/month, TA salary usually 4-7k/month. Days can be long as you start early (usually 7.15am) and tend to work until at least 3.30, with CPD/meetings/ECAs on other evenings. Most schools do a staff creche before/after school.

Personally, I wouldn't rule out getting a job straight away. Although the days are long, the planning and marking workload is often lighter as class sizes are smaller and there are usually 4-8 classes per year group so planning is shared. If primary, as a class teacher you don't teach PE, music, French, Arabic (and in some schools, art or drama) so you have a lot of free periods during the day. You also finish work at noon on Fridays :)

formerdxbteacher · 22/02/2025 07:24

On the flip side my contact time and workload in a secondary core subject was worse than in England. I taught 24/30 lessons a week. Class sizes were mostly over 20. Worked for one of the well known chains of British/IB schools so a 'good' school on a decent package, but term time workload limited my enjoyment of life, so many evenings and weekends planning and marking as well as long days. Lots of meetings, cover and lack of flexibility (made to stay to an arbitrary time after school each day even when no meeting and DD waiting in the staff day care after being on site since 7am). Behaviour was also poorer than schools I've worked in in other countries - entitlement and lack of respect. It won't be like that in all schools but is in many - do a lot of research, contact existing staff privately (they won't say a bad word on Facebook groups etc as it's literally illegal to say anything negative about a company!).

gesturecritic · 26/02/2025 04:35

Disclaimer: I'm not a teacher. I do know a lot of them though.

@formerdxbteacher is the first teacher I've heard complain the workload is worse than England. I suspect it's subject/school specific but you don't hear of teachers leaving teaching in Dubai to go back to teaching in England for a better work-life balance! It's not the case that the workload is light or easy - ultimately a lot seems to be down to school/subject/individual. I did see someone recently say that they needed to get out of teaching because they were finding working 7.30 to 4pm too long hours and they were shocked that everyone else pointed out that standard outside of teaching in Dubai was 9-6 if lucky (i.e. longer) and without the holidays - note I'm not saying teachers only work school hours and don't do marking etc. This individual was specifically complaining that 7.30-4 was excessively long hours. I give this example not to say that @formerdxbteacher was only working 7.30-4 (it's pretty clear she wasn't!) but how subjective the concept of a high workload is.

I'm surprised class sizes above 20 is being brought up as a concern compared to England though - aren't class sizes normally closer to 30 for a secondary core subject (except maybe the bottom sets)? Even in Dubai my children's class sizes are more at the 25 level for core subjects at secondary. I agree that you're going to find class sizes are above 20. Same in primary, although you'll find having a TA as well is the norm (might be shared between classes in eg year 5/6).

In terms of jobs - plenty of teaching couples both work: for non-leadership it's not easy to survive off one teacher salary alone. That doesn't mean it's easy but it really depends on whether you personally want to work, or if you fancy taking a year or so off before starting. I say that because my reading of your post is that actually you do want to work, and you're immediately falling into a trailing spouse role where your husband has the big job and you are responsible for childcare etc. There's no problem with that if that's what you want but be conscious that it's very common for wives to move out here, decide they'll wait until the family settles to get a job, and then find themselves in a position where it's hard to find a job that justifies the impact to the family of them working. It happens in the UK as well of course, but if you currently both work why on earth wouldn't your starting point be you both work in Dubai! [Again - no issue if that's what you actually want, but this sounds like it's what will make your DH's life easier not what you want.] Personally I'd prefer to work and be able to have a helper at home to do the domestic work, and provide back up child care but this is very much each to their own. I like my job (most days).

What I'd do is apply and see what options you have. I don't know what subject/age group you teach but how easy it is to get a job varies massively - largely dependent on whether you teach a shortage subject (so similar to the UK) but also there are some subjects that are big subjects in the UK that aren't in Dubai (for example there is no RE taught in schools here). There's no point making a firm decision that you won't work until you know what work you could get.

Practically, is your husband's school an option? Very common for leadership to have spouses (usually wives because for some reason leadership is still overly male!) teaching at the same school - it's just convenient.

Another thing to be aware of (although there's not much you can do about this) is that if you decide you don't want to teach, either immediately or after teaching in Dubai for a while, options for teachers to get alternative employment at all are limited, and would normally involve a really material pay cut. I appreciate teachers face similar in the UK if they want to transition out, but a lot of the more basic starter office jobs (eg office administration) pay very very little in Dubai (way below UK minimum wage and long hours), and are employers are reluctant to take a chance on a career changer. You may find you it's hard to justify working at all outside of teaching if it would mean paying for childcare.

Final thing is that do be aware that education is one of the last bastions of the idea that 'if your spouse gets accommodation allowance then you don't]. You might be lucky that you and your DH both work in schools that don't apply this but it's the norm. I would therefore assume when looking at salaries that you don't get any accommodation aspect.

Biscuitsnotcookies · 26/02/2025 05:54

How much time have you spent in Dubai in the past op? I would think really carefully before making the move, it is a cultural desert. Very flash and the ex pat community like to party. It has become Benidorm of the Middle East in the last 15 years and is an odd place to raise children.

I would spend as much time there as possible before committing.

Truetoself · 26/02/2025 06:14

@Pinkjumpingfox if you want to find a full time teaching role then please do so. If it's too much in the dirst year your husband can donhis share and not leave it all to you.

In Dubai you are paid according ro your passport, in case you didn't know this before

gesturecritic · 26/02/2025 12:54

There is no world where anyone would describe me as flash or someone who likes to party 🤣

ohimightaswell · 07/01/2026 11:40

Hi OP,

Did you move? How is life now?

New posts on this thread. Refresh page