co durham boy

That depends on what specific industry you're in . What is important is that employers see your capability of adapting and completing the project , even better in different locations and working environments.

A lot of people fail just because they can't get the right Bisto Gravy or they can't get home for their Nanna's birthday.

There's a lot of people who talk a good job , very few who do it long term and back it up.

scrubbedexpat141

Amen.

Also, to the original poster - don't forget that the market out here is pretty tough right now. We've had letters cancelling projects with immediate effect in Qatar and UAE. WE aren't recruiting anybody locally and are having to serve notice on lots. The design/engineering firms are shedding staff like there is no tomorrow.

IT isn't boom time, so a decent offer is a decent offer but longer term, do your research on the outfit and think long and hard. It's expensive to get set up over here and expensive to just scarper.

DXBtoDOH

Agreed.

In the case of Qatar there's been a paralysis in the awarding of tenders that were submitted and even informally awarded last year, due to a combination of government agencies restructuring and the dropping oil prices. Design consultancies have kept their staff idle over the last few months waiting for those contracts to materialise, and while there's some indication of a thaw starting to happen the NTP for the big contracts still haven't gone out yet. I'm not naming names but I know of at least one consultancy that has already told its staff that if nothing improves in the next two months it's the redundancy hell.

Overhead in the Gulf is so expensive that it's hard for even the big consultancies to keep staff through the lean times. And when things go to the crapper, they're very quick to shut down entire teams and divisions.

If you have a stable job where you are, I'd stick with it instead of coming out here. Just too risky. Unless the job is specifically tied to a contract that's active and is critical to the client.

swansee

I understand your point and this is why I didn't go for the consultancy job even though the offer was good. The current offer is with an established company, and the job is tied to a contract and work is there for at least 2 years. I kinda feel things are going nuts out there, but the fact that Qatar has the world cup ahead, doesn't it mean investments shall not stop....

scrubbedexpat141

My only thought on the World Cup (from a negative) is that with a couple of years to go it could easily be pulled and held in Europe easily.

I think though, that it won't happen and it will carry on and it will be an utter shambles. Investment will come but I think the tour companies will just partner with hotels in Dubai / AD and do FIFO deals.

co durham boy

Investment is stopping and the big firms shedding people by the boat load . QP , QF , Qatar Rail . All the big guns are shedding people as they are just sounding money up the wall .

Remember all this plan was on a $100 a barrel not $32 . There is work but there's no security for no one only if you're a Qatari and they're gonna feel the pinch soon enough.

Qatar is one of the biggest white elephants on the planet mate . The big money has been made .

swansee

Sounds Alarmist but I know things are tough, though I guess they still need expats otherwise they go back to camel age. Last news, the company are willing to review my salary, looking forward to what they suggest

co durham boy

Consider the counter offer carefully as it could be a good deal for yourself . alarmist is not a word i'd use more realist to be honest . Ive just spent 5 years in Doha in the construction industry and have a pretty good understanding of how the Qatari machine in general works .

On the outside it seems that these guys have so much money and everything is a safe as houses . Well , it used to be and yes they do have a lot of cash but they've had a big body blow the last few years and a total rethink is now in process .

Don't be fooled by world cups and what you read in the media , there's work and money to be made but the fat's been trimmed and the cash cow milked. Just be mindful of that if you receive a revised offer.

Nobody is throwing cash about to expats now and haven't been for a while i'd expect deals and packages to shrink if I'm honest as the pool of people looking for work with experience is a lot bigger .

swansee

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I finally got a decent offer. My next move is accomodation. Do you of any compounds around Algharrafa, madina khalifa, Aspire, where I can find flats (2 bed flats...)?. Sharing a villa would also be an option, any website to look for villa sharing?
Big ups

co durham boy

Go for Al Waab , Abu Hammour , An Khalid or Al Saad , better areas to be honest . Al Gharrafa and Madinat Khalifa are awful .

Try Apollo real estate and homes to rent , both british run

jam25mack

Do you need a 2 bed flat? For me I would go with a room in a villa. You'll get some mates early on and it'll be nowhere near the big financial hit you'll get with renting a 2 bed right away with rent to be paid in a 1 or 2 cheque hit. And if you're looking for a 2 bed to be able to put friends a family up if they visit, its not worth it. The extra rent will more than cover a hotel for the few weeks you may have visitors and most likely you'd want to visit Dubai or elsewhere rather than Doha.

Best advise is to keep yourself grounded for the first year. Cheap(ish) one bed or room in a villa, rented or secondhand car. Don't go nuts and don't get in hock with the bank. They'll likely throw cash at you but that aint a good idea. Get established and then review, just keep it relitively tight at the begining. You never know, you may hate the place.

co durham boy

Also try Garvery's , they're really good GARVEY Properties

They're Brummie lads who have a great set up with a club and accommodation

swansee

Awesome guys, thank you
In fact I will look for a room in a villa at the beginning. Don't want to be tight to a contract

co durham boy

Garvery's have great temporary digs just too get you settled , plus good access to other parts of the city and they'll feed you so less hassle and you cn concentrate on the graft .

Plus they've got a canny boozer down in town The Rose & Thistle

scot47

I like this quote -
"A lot of people fail just because they can't get the right Bisto Gravy or they can't get home for their Nanna's birthday"
Some people just cannot take being in a foreign environment. Problems are compounded when there are dependants.