BP3

Currently talking to a recruiter about a job in Doha and wondering if my expectations are unreasonable?

Currently live in Scotland working in a senior risk role earning just short of £100k basic, + 12% pension + healthcare & dental + 30 holidays + £4500 car + bonus (£10k or thereabouts). Total package about £125k

Recruiter told me they calculate pay in QAR by taking the tax I'd pay off my basic salary and adding 25%. Told him where to go as I'd almost be worse off after taking into account my benefits and the high cost of living.

I'm thinking of asking for 60k QAR basic, 15k QAR accommodation, £5k QAR car + 2x business class flights a year- is that unreasonable for a single guy in a senior role?


Thanks

Bahtatboy

Reasonable for who?

For you: The answer's up to you. You've already indicated that you want to be better off as a result of the move, only you know how much better off would justify the upheaval. (And there are two aspects to that upheaval: financial, which includes the loss of benefits you currently receive; intangible, such as loss of job security (if you have it currently) and your perceived level of shittiness in Qatar.)

For them: That depends on the market forces which apply to their business. How much would they have to pay to get someone else to do the job? If you give some more specific details about the role then someone may be able to advise what the going rate is, but that will only operate as a guide -- do you have a USP that will add value compared to other candidates, are they up shit creek and need someone desperately, and so on.

For general points (living costs and the like) there's probably a good deal of information already on the forum, but someone may come along and give you up-to-date info.

Johnnyboy11

What line of work are you in? Your current package is superb for Scotland, and there are not many expats in Qatar on a QAR 80k/ month deal. Remember to factor in:

(i) Zero job security, and a 2-year work ban at your Sponsor's discretion.
(ii) Full UK Income Tax and NI liability until you are confirmed UK non-resident (6th April 2018 at the very earliest), but status can be backdated to the day after you left the UK.
(iii) The majority of Western expats are gone within a couple of years of arriving in Qatar. It's a tough and frustrating place to live and work.

scot47

I cannot see why you would want to uproot yourself from Scotland. No guarantee that you will get back to a job paying at that level. Everything about working in the Gulf is dodgy. I did 17 years there but that was because I had nothing back home in Scotland !

scrubbedexpat141

What sort of risk? Risk Management in engineering / construction / aerospace etc?

Senior Risk boys in Construction out here can command 70-90k AED/QAR a month quite quickly. But there's only one senior risk role in the companies that are willing to invest that much in a role. So if there's 100 construction firms, only 30 will employ a risk manager and only 10 of them will be well paid enough. So it leaves your pickings slim.

DXBtoDOH

Just be aware that Qatar is really crap. It's not the UAE. It's nothing like the UAE. You've got the heat and sun but that's just about it, and it gets tiring after a while. Only go to Qatar if you're making substantially more and look at it as as 2-3 year gig before moving on.

Your current benefits are excellent. Don't give them up easily. You'll also likely have fewer holiday days in Qatar as 30 days is pretty rare. Most people get between 20-25. Are you willing to give up your current salary and benefits just for 2-3 years in Doha? In Doha?

I'm tentatively moving to Qatar later this year and although the office team in Doha is great, I'm still only looking at it as a 1-2 year gig, max, before looking for something else in the UAE or returning back to the UK. Doha just isn't worth wasting a few years of your life.

scot47

I did 17 years in Saudi. I lasted two WEEKS in Doha !