Most women (well all the ones I've met so far) have come here because of their husband's job. And, one has to admit, there is not a huge amount to do here as a woman, beyond the pool and various leisure activities on the compound, and going to shopping malls (which are plentiful and varied, but still). There are lots of coffee mornings on offer, at other compounds, and a fair amount of socialising. For many, this is an attractive life, and very satisfying. But if you want to escape, as I do (and a few others), the expat bubble, you need determination and a bit of good luck. The few women that do manage to break away, turn to teaching. There is a huge demand for english speaking teachers, some schools don't even require any qualifications. And of course the hours make it easy if you have children. I could turn to teaching, I was in fact informally offered a job (I speak english and look respectable, that was enough). And although I quite liked the idea (teaching 4 to 5 year olds, not too threatening) I really felt I should leverage my internet skills. Plus I liked the idea of being different.
My first opportunity presented itself a couple of weeks ago when we received a note from school announcing the redesign of the website. I contacted the principal to find out if they needed help, and after a pleasant meeting, it transpired that they would welcome my input, and I felt certain I could add a lot of value by helping the school manage the project and their web agency. I was told that there was a real shortage of internet skills here, and whilst there were good programmers and designers (mostly Indian, Pakistani or Filipinos) they were weak in the areas of account/project management, communication (language and cultural differences) and strategy. I was encouraged to hear that my skills would be in big demand and was even told that I should I set-up my own business! So an encouraging start. Plus internet day rates here are some of the highest in the world... Very encouraging indeed.
However now, for the first time in ages, I have serious work to do. I need to look at competitors sites, review draft designs, digest the brief and prepare myself for a meeting with the web designer. Although I'm procrastinating, I'm actually quite excited, and ultimately hope to make a good impression and gain some references, to then move onto (highly) paid consulting work. Sounds simple enough...
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