By definition, “To be a teacher means to enjoy the process my students have to go through in order to learn. To be a teacher means to acknowledge that teaching is a transformative process not only for our students but for us, teachers, as well.”…and that is what I (try) to do! As a teacher, we all know that there is a LOT more to it than that, but once you accept that teaching is a transformative process, the rest all falls into place.

My first job was as a Year 5 Class teacher in Luton, England. I STRUGGLED through the year there and almost failed my first term as an NQT. The senior management were checking my books when I went home to see if they were marked; telling me “I wasn’t what they hired” on observation of my class’ behaviour; expecting me to miss lunch times to read with those children who hadn’t made reading progress that year…the list goes on. I’m a sensitive soul at the best of times, but I felt I was drowning in that school. In the second term, my boyfriend and I started to apply for jobs in the Middle East and that MADE me toughen up and pulled me through the year, as I knew if I didn’t pass my NQT year, I couldn’t go teaching abroad.

Now, I’m in Doha where I started out as a Year 4 class teacher in 2016. It was a real shock to the system in the first few months. Because I taught in the UK for two years prior, the lack of pressure, deadlines and expectations really took me by surprise. There is still a load of paperwork (a lot of it unnecessary in my opinion) to do, but in comparison to the constant pressure breathing down your neck in the UK, the first few months for me were a breeze.

So what is life teaching in Doha like?

Busy, enjoyable, tough, rewarding, challenging…contradictory terms that can be applied to any teaching job around the globe.

While doing some research for this post, I noticed that the shelf life of teachers in the UK is now 5 years. 5 years! The amount of blog posts that I saw, entitled something along the lines of: “if you want a life, I wouldn’t recommend teaching in the UK”.

It’s a known fact, that teaching is a stressful job, that requires a lot more work than your 9-3 (or whatever) working hours. Teaching in Doha is similar, it’s just got more opportunities to live and have a healthy work/life balance.

Teaching in Middle East can be more easy going but not all schools are the same! That’s one thing I’m sure about over here.

A day in the life of a teacher in Doha…

Once you arrive at school on a Sunday morning, like any school, you are expected to be prepared, resourced and ready to teach your class. My school expects lesson plans for the week on the Sunday morning, for all subjects that we teach: Mathematics, English, Science, History, Geography, Art, Qatar History and Citizenship.

Any other subjects that I haven’t mentioned are taught by specialist teachers, in which I don’t have to plan for.

Below I have attached a snippet of a daily plan for English. As mentioned above, on Sunday, you are expected to hand in plans like this for each day, for each subject you teach that week.

Because I work in an International School, the year groups tend to be large. For instance, in the Year 4 cohort this year there are two other classes of Year 4 (this is considered small). Each term as a year group, we divvy out the planning so that we can share it and not have to plan all lessons ourselves. This term, I plan English and History and I use the planning from the other teachers in my year group for the other subjects, easy!

Working in Doha requires planning a lot of differentiation for EAL (English as an Additional Language) learners. Meaning lots of visual and physical representation, paired work, collaborative learning etc. Aim to minimise the teacher talk as much as possible and get them TALKING. That’s what we try to do. It’s not extra workload, it’s just tailoring your teaching style to meet the needs of your class. We keep our expectations high and challenge children from ALL ability groups, like you would in any school.

Throughout the day while the children attend their lessons that you don’t teach them, you are free to catch up on work, have a coffee, plan, correct work, put up displays…the list goes on. On average, class teachers get around 2 free periods a day in which you are free to spend as you wish (within reason of course).

This is why, there is much more of a healthy work/life balance! Your work gets completed in school (mostly). If you need to bring any work home, it’s minimal.

Due to the nature of the tax-free money, I often work late nights as I am also a private tutor. Yes, it is tough to engage in private tutoring after long working days, but at £50 an hour, it’s hard to turn down. But I get to go on fabulous holidays each year so its all fine, right?

What skills/qualifications do you need to be teaching in Doha?

• A PGCE/B.Ed/PGDE/MA
• Native English Speaker.
• Have Qualified Teacher Status/hDip completed. (desirable but not essential)
• Teaching experience in International schools (desirable not essential).
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to engage children and enable them to perform highly.
• Must be a team player, willing to help and be flexible.
• Self-motivated and enthusiastic.
• Hold a current Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure or equivalent for countries where you have lived.

I hope this shares an insight for any of you thinking about getting into teaching in Doha. As always, feel free to send me a DM on Instagram if you have any career or lifestyle related questions! Or check out some of my other posts:

What I wish I knew before moving to the Middle East

Staff Accommodation in Doha

The Best Things to do in Doha in the Spring

Weekends in Doha: What you could do.

‘Standing out’ from the crowd when applying for a teaching post abroad.