colonel

I have been offered a position with a salary of 35,000k per month [Package].

My family and I are expats from the UK and have been in Australia for nearly 11 months.

We are now looking to earn the "big money" in the UAE...

Is this a good salary ?

james1966

I suppose it depends what you do

Bahtatboy

First get your atlas out. Doha isn't in the UAE.

Great offer if you're a taxi driver, crap if you're a CEO.

colonel

My profession is Senior Quantity Surveyor/Commercial Manager. I am a Chartered Surveyor [MRICS] with over 11 years experience.

I have been told that I should be aiming higher...and based on your comment, I assume he is correct !

Jackwow

You should definitely be aiming higher. As a fellow QS who has been in the UAE for over 12 years, I would say you should be looking for at least 45K but preferably over 50K.

Bahtatboy

Err...what's the location, Doha or UAE?

colonel

Hi fellow QS [!],

We have been looking at Dubai/AD however, the agency steered us towards Qatar and hence, here we are !

I am in two minds with regard to the offer and after having done some research, do agree that 35k/month is a little light !

I shall negotiate it further and see where it takes me...

In the meantime, what is the market like in Dubai/AD and do you know of any decent agencies that I can make contact with ?

I am also a Chartered Civil Engineering Surveyor [MCInstCES] and have experience in infrastructure/Oil and Gas/civils/construction etc...

colonel

Doha...my bad !

Bahtatboy

Is that 35 all-in (ie from that you've got to pay for house, schools, car and so on)? Will your company provide nothing?

colonel

35 all-in mate....not good I think !

Gonna tell them 50 or nothing....is that about right ?

Bahtatboy

I'm in UAE and am not sure about Doha costs, but there has been debate on here recently, so do a search.

My approach would be to calculate how much you'd need to spend on decent accommodation, schools, car and so on, and present that as a structured cost to your putative employer, and then ask them to propose what they consider to be an appropriate salary on top--then work it up from there. If they're not open to that sort of debate, do the same sums yourself and know what you need--and then try to get them to increase their offer until it at least matches your aspiration.

Again, I don't know about Doha, but I'd have thought you should be looking at a salary (salary alone) of at least 35k pcm.

colonel

Okay mate....will do that

co durham boy

Aim for the the below

Salary -30 ,000 plus QAR per month

Housing -12,000 plus QAR per month

Schooling - As per rate

Flights - Minimum 1 ticket per year for family

Transport - 3000 QAR per month

Medical - Fully covered

Annual Bonus - 0-3months

Visas - fully covered by company

Jackwow

The job market for QS's in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is not good at the moment so if you want a job in the Middle East then Qatar and SA are your best bets.

As for agencies, the only one I'm familiar with is Macdonald and Company.

colonel

Okay excellent guidelines...ideally, I want the Company to pay for accommodation, flights and education. Will put this forward to them as a proposal.