wwinit

I want to point out some issues as follows:
1. KSA is not a gold mine for western expats anymore. Most universities make use of private companies or set up their own units to recruit TCN faculty members, esp. from Egypt or India. In case of general teaching, but not in specialised areas, they prefer cheaper workforce and do not care much about your western expertise. That is why you can see very few Britons, American or western staff in PMU or other KSA universities.
2. PMU is a private university for rich kids in Al-Khobar and across the country, but staff's salaries are usually kept 10 - 30% lower than public ones, e.g. KFUPM, UD, etc.
The basic monthly salary for assistant professors in a public university is in the range of SR 5K - 20K, depending on your passport, experiences after your PhD and credentials or specialty. With your western passport and fresh PhD graduation, your salary would be around SR 10K - 12K; however, it can be increased up to SR 15K with 5 year experience. In healthcare or medical specialties, the salary may be negotiated up to SR 20K and rarely can you get it above SR 20K.
In case of PMU, please expect around 10 - 30% lower. I think with your 5 years after PhD just forget about the dream to have a basic monthly salary equal or greater than SR 20K.
3. You may be able to negotiate your basic salary after receiving the first offer about 10 - 30% of the proposed. Then you will need to answer the question "Take it or leave it?".
4. Please be prepared to work with Indian, Egyptian, Pakistani or Jordanian faculty members with or without western education background. They really like to play politics all the time.
Good luck with your PMU adventure.

Toyota2011

This is surprising, i thought of PMU as paying more than KFPUM. In Washington I noticed lack of professionalism among management and staff. It might be general for the whole region not only PMU. Have you lived there or worked for some time?

scot47

Salaries are not high at PMU. As an earlier poster has already remarked the golden days are over. In fact they have been over for 30+ years but the myths of all the money to be earned in KSA continue.

VictorBC

@Koder1
May I know if you have accepted the offer and what's the latest status? I have accepted an offer in humanities 4 months ago, and still waiting to receive a contract and visa. The recently mentioned they are facing difficulty issuing a visa for me. I am supposed to join my work in August (15th or 16th) with my family, but I am very surprised and worried as I still did not receive the contract and visas. Did they tell you when are you going to receive the contract? Any info would be highly appreciated.

koder1

I have accepted in principle but still haven't received a finalized offer via courier that I can sign off on, and I don't think I can even start the Visa process until after that, so I'm concerned about the timeline here as well.

wwinit

The new semester will start on Sunday, 31st August. Ideally you should be here around two weeks prior to that, i.e. 20th August, and your contract will begin from the day you set foot in Al Khobar. However, you can come any time and discuss with your Chairman the teaching and research workload. I have made a checklist for the Saudi work visa application in the UK as shown below. It may be slightly amended due to the latest regulation, so please check it again.

1. One completed application form (downloaded from the Saudi Embassy webpage), duly completed and signed by the applicant.
2. Two passport-sized photographs with white background, i.e. one affixed to the application and the other to the Medical Record
3. The passport should have two blank pages facing each other, and must be valid for at least six months.
4. Applicants applying by post should enclose a PREPAID SELF ADDRESSED ENVELOPE (special delivery envelope), REGISTERED / RECORDED for the return of processed passports, please ensure that you have enclosed the correct postage (please allow One Week for the return of the processed passports).
5. Please register your application online, visit https://enjazit.com.sa (print confirmation, as a payment ref), or apply through a visa services agents (listed on www.saudiembassy.org.uk, consular section). A visa fee of ($16?) per passport is payable online at https://enjazit.com.sa – Visa registration form and a receipt of payment.
6. Applicants should provide a Medical Report (printed out from the Saudi Consulate webpage) duly completed by a competent medical authority, i.e. GP or private company, and authenticated (ligalised) by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO - check the new website and pay online).
7. A letter of introduction from the Sponsor in Saudi Arabia – 3-page letter from Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau in London
8. Copy of employment contract – the official offer letter from the university (print-out of the letter/offer received via e-mail)
9. Copy of attested PhD certificate (attested by the Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau in London)
10. Current C.V.

Send to:
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia Consular Office (Visa Section)
30 Charles Street
London
W1J 5DZ

Good luck with your academic life at PMU.

VictorBC

@Koder1 Thanks so much! Appreciate it.

VictorBC

May I know if PMU gave you an idea of when they are going to send the contract?

koder1

Things are a little unclear on my end - just sent you a private message.

koder1

Thanks wwinit. Since you seem well-informed, do you know if it is possible to initiate the visa process without the official letter having been signed by both parties? I was under the impression that the letter had to be delivered by courier and signed by me before I could initiate the visa procedure, but I'm now wondering if I should attempt to initiate it using my last official offer letter received via email.

wwinit

You need to contact the HR officer who deals with your application. In the UK, the Saudi Embassy does not require a primary contract, but simply a copy of offer letter via e-mail will do. However, applicants from Australia or other countries need to sign the contract to confirm their job acceptance. In case they did not turn up in KSA, they would be blacklisted or scrutinised for the next job application in this magic kingdom. Actually you need to sign an official contract as soon as you get a magic card 'Residence Permit' (Iqama) within three weeks after arrival; that is another process you have to go through. Usually the HR officer will, first of all, inform SACB in London (Mr. Ali?) about your academic post and job at PMU so that you will be able to proceed your visa application. The visa process might take at least 2 - 3 months. Unfortunately Ramadan which will probably start on 28th June is likely to slow down this traumatic process. My suggestion now is to contact the HR officer responsible for your case, as they might implement a new policy on the expat recruitment.

VictorBC

Replied to your private message. Please check.

travelin

Hi there,

Did you get a new offer? Were you able to negotiate successfully? Please offer some insight, thanks.

travelin

Could you please tell us if everything was included in rent or had to pay electric and TV, internet and so on. Also, what is the budget for food, is it expensive? I am trying to figure it out monthly expenses.

Thank you so much for any help.

scot47

At KFUPM, phone and internet were extra. Accommodation was provided by KFUPM on campus, sandwiched between ARAMCO and the US Consulate.

PMU are building accommodation but it may not be ready. Coming from Europe, shopping for groceries etc seems very cheap. Coming from the US that would not be the case.