NathanM101

Hi guys, I have already posted this in the is it worth it thread, but there doesn't seem to be much traffic there, so thought I'd try here as well.

I have a couple of questions about an offer I have received for Doha.

I am a single, 25 year old guy. The job is an electrical engineer, in the general construction sector.

The offer looks good to me; QAR 30,000 pm (10,000 is accommodation) plus QAR 2,000 car allowance, health insurance, 6% pension and QAR 6,000 per year towards flights home.

Firstly, what sort of accommodation will I be realistically looking at for 10K? And which areas should I be looking at? The job is in Wadi Al Sail.

Secondly, should I be negotiating to get more than 1 flight home?

Are there any obvious pitfalls I need to be looking out for with the above package?

What am I realistically looking at for QAR 2,000 pm for a car?

Thanks

Nate

co durham boy

It's a decent deal for a young guy at 25 but obviously relative to your current situation back home .

1 Flight per year is standard terms , 2000 is a basic pitch for the car and the living allowance will get you a decent apartment in Al Saad or you might fancy a villa share with someone else , pitch in and you'll get a decent place .

Don't worry too much about location , you're going to have to travel wherever you pitch up .

One piece of advice , benefits are usually set in stone and are difficult to negotiate , if you want to negotiate try an uplift on your basic but all in all i reckon it's a canny deal .

Good Luck

NathanM101

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. The offer does look rather good, and all adds up nicely in the is it worth it spreadsheet.

Debowing

In a similar offer I got 3,000 QAR transportation allowance, this means that I would need to buy/lease a car right?

co durham boy

Yes mate , better off buying if you're here long term as well.

Debowing

I just need to verify that when they give you transportation allowance, it means putting in your own wheels, buying or renting...

co durham boy

You get the cash and you do what you wish with it , buy , rent or long term lease , there's various good deals around but it depends on how long you're going to be here .

Id rent for a while then gauge what you really need not what you want , there's a big difference and a lot of cash in it !!

Britexpat will point you in the right direction as he's in the game here .

scrubbedexpat141

I'd suggest not to worry too much about what the value of the allowances might be. 10k housing and 2k car are roughly par for the course at the level you're talking.


If you spend 3k on a car and 11k on housing to make sure you have nice versions of both, it's not the end of the world. If you can spend 8k on housing and 3k on car, you're even better off...if you get my drift.

30k + 2k car + 500 flight + medical is pretty good. Just to make it even easier for you:

32,500 QAR = ~65,000 GBP. To earn that you'd have to be paid £99,756 in the UK.

Yes, it's not that simple, but it doesn't sound like I need to go into great detail for you as you've clearly done some research. The easiest comparison you can do (which is probably more helpful than the above) is:

Current UK take home (per month)
- Housing cost
- Car / Travel card cost
= 'basic'

Qatar offer 32,500
- 10k housing (let's keep it nice and round)
- 3k car (get something decent)
- 500 flight (this might just get you 2x per year, but let's say it gets 1)
= 19,000 remaining ('basic') for bills, food, beer, whores etc.
(= ~£3,166)

Now, I'm no expert, but I reckon your 'basic' after housing and travel in the UK isn't over 3k GBP....

expathopeful

[QUOTE=Scamp;11294201]Qatar offer 32,500
- 10k housing (let's keep it nice and round)
- 3k car (get something decent)
- 500 flight (this might just get you 2x per year, but let's say it gets 1)
= 19,000 remaining ('basic') for bills, food, beer, whores etc.
(= ~£3,166)

You never told me about the whores when you gave me advice a year ago........ I blame you for my financial ruin....

NathanM101

Thanks for the advice guys!

Well I have accepted the offer, now have a few months in the UK, then out to Doha!

scrubbedexpat141

[QUOTE=expathopeful;11296163] You gotta budget for slap and tickle my friend!

Debowing

what in Doha? Who would have thought that?