wilko_1984

Hi All,

I have read a fair few articles on the construction boom that Dubai has been enjoying for many years and which is likely to continue for the next decade.

I'm a young quantity surveyor for a large main contractor. I'm currently at assistant project surveyor level working on a £30million 2 stage D&B.

I think i'd like to work abroad for a couple of years and am thinking about the middle east or the caribbean. From research I have done and people I have spoken to, the basic salaries do not differ too much from the UK, but there are great tax benefits and living allowances.

Is there anyone on the site who could maybe give me the lowdown on working in construction in this region?

All the best

Leigh

samanatha

Hi Leigh

My partner works in construction in Dubai and although he works for the same company he was working for back in the UK, he did apply with other companies and was offered jobs. He did actually have to resign from his job in the UK to come out here, but he left with no bad feelings. He applied for jobs through agencies in London, but you could check companies directly in Dubai through internet searches.

He does get a better salary then back home, probably an extra £500-£600 a month compared to back home, which isn't great as some people make ridiculous amounts of money here, but when you add all his benefits, it works out quite a lot. We get our accommodation paid for along with all the utilities (cost of rent is so expensive here!), and although we have a one-bed apartment, some of his colleagues do have two-bed villas depending on marital circumstances (we're not married). The only thing we have to pay for within our apartment is our telephone, internet connection and our TV package, which doesn't amount to much in comparison to all the bills we would be paying back home. He also gets a car (just a hire car and not the best one at that, but that doesn't really matter here!) and all his petrol paid for, 3 flights home a year and medical insurance. He is quite young too, and does not have many years experience behind him, he was a construction engineer back home and here he is a package manager so it's like he's progressed 10 years in his career just by coming to Dubai. He does find it stressful and he does work 6 full days a week, but he knows the opportunity is a great one for him. There are surveyors working here who only work 5 days, it all depends on the company and the job.

I would say that benefits differ from company to company so do your research and don't accept the first job offer. The first job he was offered was a higher salary but with a living allowance rather than accommodation paid for, which wouldn't have equated to as much as we have got now.

I hope this helps you!

Good Luck with whatever you decide to do!!

Samantha

wilko_1984

Hi Samantha,

Many thanks for the feedback.

I would definately like to give it a go out there, I would be coming out on my own so it would interest me to know what the social scene is like?

Do many construction management professionals share apartments/villas? What about nightlife? Is alcohol legal in Dubai?! I know they may seem like non-work related questions but all relevant to me!

You say you have to pay for your TV, do you get satellite and if so, do you pick up all the british/american channels?

On the construction side, what new developments are starting in the next 12-18 months and do you know the contractors undertaking them?

Sorry, so many questions!

All the best

Leigh

NorthernLad

Dubai is one big building site, no end in sight!

http://www.projectdubai.com/

samanatha

Don't be afraid to ask questions, if you're coming out on your own, you need to make sure you're making the right choice!!!

The social scene here is quite good, a lot of people come here with a partner or with their families, but I work with people and my partner works with people who've come out here with their friends or by themselves as single people or left their families at home. There are things for single people here like table for 6 (www.table4six.net) where you go to a restaurant once a week and spend the night with 5 others in the same boat as you, which is probably a good way of meeting new people, but you'll find that you'll make loads of new friends through your work. With regards to construction management professionals sharing accommodation, I'm not sure, I do know of 2 guys who share an apartment who work together, but it will depend on where you're working and who you're working with and what situation they're in. If that doesn't work out for you, there is loads of shared accommodation available, check websites such as expatriates.com and dubizzle.com for current listings.

Nightlife is quite good here, not many bars to go and have a dance, like us girlies like to do, but there are plenty of nightclubs, with different events going on throughout the week. There's quite a few concerts mainly in the winter time when it's a bit cooler, Fatboy Slim was due to appear (it was cancelled because of the death of the Sheikh) in January, Robbie Williams and Jamaroquai are here next month, and we've also had the old favourites such as Lionel Ritchie and Phil Collins. Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes, Destiny's Child and Black Eyed Peas have also played here, so everyone is catered for!! Nightclubs have more dance events such as Miss Moneypenny's, Groove Armada, Basement Jaxx, but there are a few R&B nightspots around.

Alcohol is legal in all the bars and restaurants situated within a hotel (which is just about all of them, if not all of them!). If you want to drink at home, there are also off licences situated in some of the shopping malls, but you have to have a licence to buy from them. You can go to Barrcuda, about an hour and a half out of Dubai, and buy alcohol there without a licence, and it's also cheaper from here as it's tax free.

We have Showtime package, and to be perfectly honest, we find the TV terrible. We have channels such as CNN, Paramount Comedy Channel, Style UK, Discovery Channel, MTV, VH1, and MTV is on most of the time!! Most of the TV is repeated from one day to the next. You can get Orbit channel which I think maybe a little better, as you get BBC channels on there I think. You get movie channels on both though. It depends on where you live as to what packages you're allowed too, we live in an Emaar building, so have to get all our TV/Phone and Internet through Dubai Internet City, but that's just an Emaar rule.

I wouldn't know what developments are going to start within the next 12 months, but my partner started his job part way through a development, and is contracted until 2007, so that may not be a problem for you. You're best off checking some developers websites and seeing from there. I'll ask my partner if he knows of any too for you!