Dear all,

It is nice to meet you all - this is my first post here. I have been offered a role with a PMC company as a Project Manager. I am in my early 30s, and was offered a monthly salary of SAR55,000 in Riyadh, total.

Advantages of the offer:
1. First month of my accommodation is covered.
2. 1 annual return flight home is covered.
3. Paid overtime.
4. 2 months of notice (had 1 month before, always a plus).

Drawbacks of the offer:
1. 21 days off / per year.
2. Single status visa (meaning, that I would have to cover bringing my family here). - I don't have kids. But this is a major drawback in a long-term perspective.
3. Bonus scheme undisclosed.

Basically, I'd have to cover all my expenses from my pocket, but I do live alone here for now, sometimes my family visits me on a visit visa.

Could you please advise whether the above offer is attractive for a PM position ? I know a lot depends on lifestyle, but you could assume that most of the day would be probably spent at work

Thank you - appreciate your guidance.

How does the salary compare to what you currently earn?
Have they offered it as a "basic" salary, or are flight allowances, housing, etc added to make this a total of 55k? Not that it really matters. We all get paid at the end of the month, how we chose to use it or not is entirely personal.
For your age, and status..I'd say the offer is probably pretty good..without alot of detail.

Riyadh isn't a cheap place to live. Compounds all seems to be full of very expensive. Many of us have settled in apartments in various neighbourhoods now. It does appear 1 bedroom apartments are difficult to impossible to find..a mixture of cultural reasons..you shouldn't live on your own, you only move out once married. And a ton of expats have shown up. 2 and 3 bed apartments are a thing. Plenty of house sharing going on if that's something you'd tolerate. I've got a 3bed in a reasonable neighbourhood for just north of 100k a year. Had an option for a lodger, but turned it down. That's probably your biggest monthly expense. Your other expenses to consider is a car (3-4k for a totally average rental - you can get cheaper). You can spend as little or as much as you want on pretty much everything else. You can eat out and feast for 40 riyals, or 400 riyals. It's a city with a huge income disparity, and carers for all.

Ilovegregggs gs It is a 20pct of a hike. I did work at remote location of Saudi before. I will be there on my own and want to do a year.

Thanks for your support and advice!

With regards to the single status visa and "covering to bring your family here" - make sure you properly research this. As far as I'm aware without your company supporting I'm not sure how you'd get your family over on anything other than a visit/tourist visa (outside of your partner getting local employment). If you're going on your own with your family just visiting you then I think you should be ok.

Forgot to ask. Do they offer public holidays? Many enjoy an additional 10 days for Eid.

Hi Sandworm

21 days holiday is normal in a lot of companies here especially when you first join them even for local Saudis, just make sure that you time it well:
for example, make sure you take it from a Sunday to a Thursday, it will be counted as 5 days off and you have the weekends before and after the 5 days so you actually took 9 days off.
If Eid AlFitr is on a Monday then usually the companies will give Sunday off, so you will be off Thu to the next Sat, however if the company proclaims a work day on the 4th day of Eid (Thu) you can take a day off out of your 21 days annual leave, or you can just go punch in sit for hours doing nothing or minimal work cause all is out of the country.
Another option is to take the next week off so you have around 16 days off but you took 5 days only on the records
Again make sure you know when are the official days off from HR, because office schedules and on the field schedules are different sometimes (PM).
(I believe your contract is 40hr/5 days a week if I am not mistaken?)

As for lodgings, it really depends where your office/work site is located. If you take a place in the south it could take you around 2 hours driving to get to your office at the north (horrible traffic jams), or you can opt for the metro (try it you might find a way to save on money and time). Plus take your time to learn how to drive in Riyadh, it is much better than before trust me.

Wishing you all the best

Ilovegregggs Yes, of course - they did offer 10 national days off (Both Eids, National Day and Sports Day).

Thanks for the advice - I have researched that the offer is quite okay for my age and skills.

Hi guys,
Is anyone employed by Parsons? Do they support your family with visas?

Depends on which program. I used to work for them in a remote location, and they only offered single status. Though one did bring his family over..