WannaGetOut

I work in corporate finance for one of the largest hotel companies in the world at their corp HQ in the U.S. After having shown an interest in re-locating to the Middle East, I have been told the only way to do this is by becoming an assistant director of finance at a hotel in the region. So far, so good...

My dilemma is I would have to take a pay cut but if I do well, I will end up ahead in a couple year when I am promoted to Director of Finance at a property in the region... so I'm told...

There is a position open at a hotel in Doha and the offer is $3K per month net with housing and other benefits provided... I currently make $85K gross per year and reside in the Washington DC area.

Given the expected growth in the GCC and my wanting to re-locate... do you think I could live a decent life out there knowing that within a couple years I could be earning double that amount? I am married and we have a 2 yr old...

kittycat1

There are a few Doha based people on here who can give you a better insight than me, my experience of Doha is getting stuck there for a week when the volcano disrupted all the flights, I found there was little to do there- I did the old souk, malls, cinema, sealine beach resort, went for a walk round the city area, a week was MORE than enough for me and I don't plan on going back there other than when in transit...

I really wouldn't take a pay cut to move there! Maybe treble/quadruple my salary and I'd consider it! 3k US$ sounds low to me though even if you have accomadation provided and seriously promises are made here and they never happen! tread carefully if you are relying on someones word!

Good Luck

Kittycat
x

Millhouse

Not worth it buddy.

Roadking

Sorry not meaning to be rude but; you're being offered less than half your current salary to move to the Middle East AND you are in finance but yet still considering it?

Seriously?

Millhouse

in fairness, he didn't say if he was any good...

Roadking

LOL!

captaincaveman

You have made a classic identification ten t error.

WannaGetOut

lol... you guys are funny as hell...

I'm not really seriously considering it especially because of the low pay etc... I thought I'd get your thought since you all are already out there in the region. In my mind, this offer makes absolutely no sense. But I see why they pay so low - they are able to get cheaper, qualified accountants from Asian countries.

Oh and Millhouse, I'm pretty damn good at what I do... the only obstacle is my company doesnt have the corporate finance/acctg setup out there that would allow me to do there, what I do here! So either I move to a company that does and re-locate through them once I've proven myself, or I apply directly to the region but I have found that to be useless so far...

Millhouse

Why do you want to come? Most come for the money... if that is the case that has to be the sole driver. Doha is hardly a nice place - especially for a 2 year old.

If you are a pure bean counter then you will struggle - you need to find somewhere with a need so that you can set yourself apart from the bean counters.

If it's real corporate finance - then why not move into M&A in a bank?

WannaGetOut

I couldn't agree with you more. Essentially I gotta pay for kids' college (we plan to have more eventually, if we can afford them) and start planning for our future. I feel I could make more and save substantially more out there, over a period of time. My wife doesn't work and her family is from South Asia so this would allow us to be closer to them too.

My work is actually somewhere between bean-counting and M&A. I work with pure accountants but don't process J/Es, A/P, Billing etc. - they do! My work revolves more around managing the finances of a division which includes budgeting, forecasting, financial modeling for programs and initiatives and other long range planning activities for that division. I can provide a summary of my experience for anyone interested! (Always Be Closing! lol).

kittycat1

Whats bean counting? anything to do with coffee, sounds like unskilled labour to me- maybe thats why the salary is so low..

Millhouse

This answers your question.