I stayed for the end of my probationary period and then got out of there. As long as working in Oman requires working through a recruiter company who by the way are not Omanis, I'm out. Jazzy

Jazisplayful are you sure this is the case? I have never heard of a country where the sole way to find a teaching job is through recruiters. it may be that you just do not know where to look, or it could be that many of the jobs are indeed being peddled by a recruiter. That said, I highly doubt that recruiters are the sole gateway to this, or other middle eastern countries. Check out the international jobs board here and you are likely to find schools themselves advertising, though I can't honestly say for sure. However I highly doubt your assertion in this regard. Many people think the same thing about China until they find out it is actually easy to get in touch with schools directly, they just didn't know how.

As to the job, I had the same thing happen when I first came to China, and I wish I had known what I know now. If you are left waiting at the airport, the first thing you should do is get a hotel room with an internet connection, This means you'll have to have some money with you, never go abroad without some back up cash, usually at least enough to buy a return ticket. Once you get settled in your room, use the internet to find another job locally. It will take you all of three days if you know where to look, and it'll be a lot easier now that you are in country. That's the case in China anyhow. Not sure of the visa restriction for the middle east, or this country in particular, or if you have a certain grace period before the visa expires, if you don't go to work with who you originally intended. However, not showing up to pick you up, don't work for that person, of if it's a recruiter, don't work for the school they found for you, period. If the recruiter is that bad, by association I would assume the school is as well. Not always the case, but better to be safe than sorry. This seems very proactive and extreme as reactions go, but your situation was extreme and required a firm hand. Sadly you went along with this fellow anyhow. You wisely withheld your passport, which showed you had some backbone and foreknowledge, thankfully. employers and recruiters will often test you with scenarios like this to see how much you know and how much you will take, you were wise not to hand it over automatically. As for all the other peoples passports ans visas on the floor of the car, don't know what to make of that specifically, except that it smacks of someone who is very unprofessional and irresponsible. I'd have split right away upon seeing that.

Some teachers feel entitled to stick it out once they arrive in country, where ever they may be going. That's a mistake, if anything the entitlement falls to the school, and or recruiter, as they are loosing nothing, and you are risking much. You spend a lot of money, they don't. You come thousands of miles, they don't. They owe you, you don't owe them. if you can't bring yourself to see things this way, you'll never be able to be proactive and stand up for yourself. If that's the case, you should probably just stay home. Trust me on this folks.

Sounds like most of your complaints were with the recruiter, also sounds like you had a lot of the. It's just not worth it having the constant stress and headache of dealing with such parasites. I see little use for such people personally, and I think most foreigners in the know share my opinion in this matter. If you have a degree and are qualified, there is no justification for using such a person. In China, where there are plenty of school that will hire you even without a degree, recruiters also seem next to useless.

I am sorry to hear about your bad experience, at least now you are forewarned, and forearmed.