SunSav

Hi All.

I am flying to Qatar this Saturday to be interviewed by the QIA in West Bay. Providing all goes OK, I'll have the option to rellocated to Doha as an ex-Pat...

I have a guarenteed new job in London so if I don't get the QIA role, I still have options. Yep - a great position to be in.

Questions.
1) Not into night clubbing, myself and the wife are far too old for that. What is family life like? We do have a 9 month old in tow (Nuseries?)...?

2) Have seen plenty of people saying 'there is nothing to do in Doha!!'... is it really that bad?

3) A base salary of 30000 riyals (negotiable) with all ex-Pat benefits is offered with the role... Is that 'OK' for a Senior IT Security analyst (Checkpoint/Juniper/F5/Cisco)?

4) Has anyone got any experience of working for the QIA?

Apologies if the questions seem a bit naive and vague... The opportunity only presented itself last night!!!...

Thanks.

SunSav.

co durham boy

1. Fairly good

2. Yes

3. Yes

4. No

kittycat1

Sunsav,

London vs Doha- hmmmm

If you take half a day after your interview to look around Doha you can squeeze all of the highlights in in about ooo 30 minutes. You can then spend the rest of the day trying to find the hotels that serve alcohol.


Personally you'd have to pay me an obscene ammount of money to even transit through Doha again - but I'm sure it works for some people. maybe really boring people who are antisocial and agrophobic and like sand.

Anyway good luck for your interview

abbey08

QIA is a fairly diverse company with Qatar and international interests.

They deal with internal funding of government and projects and also foreign investments such as the purchase of Harrods, London 2012 etc, they were rumoured to be making offer for the whole of the UK but apparently didn't fancy the council schemes up North. An offer for the whole of London (excluding Essex) was rejected.

They are a government entitiy but I was advised pay scale is not great and they do not pay a bonus (my wife was offered a role with them recently).

That said it will be a pretty secure role unless you get Qatarised which is where some f**k W*t qatari just out of school comes along and decides he wants to be the MD because his uncle knows the Emir - it happens a lot and QIA have this as a policy.

If you can make as much money staying in london then do not even consider Qatar - you come here only for the money and it has to be worth it.

gottheTshirt

Um! I am not here for the money and we are enjoying it. Deamading and interesting project. demanding and challenging useless client. Good friends and good social life. interesting and challenging driving.

QR 30,000 is a bit low. OK if everything else is covered.

Paracletus

This is heresy on the boreds. Your not allowed to be in the middle east not for money and enjoying life. Spare a thought for all the misreable ***** out there with big bank accounts and no life experience to talk off, please.

Debowing

Doha has supermarkets....I has a corniche, it has a fish and a vegetable market, it has some tennis stadiums, it has a motor racing piste, it has some bars in some hotels, it has roads with a little bit of traffic congestion, some eroded hills in the west of Doha, some sand dunes that sing, an inner sea(!), gas, sand, a big US military base, a supermarket that is near to the airport, safari supermarket near to the industrial area, a big industrial area called saniya, sheraton hotel with filipina dancers, HH sheikh palace, a big museum, some nice mosques, a road where all buildings are banks,2 carrefours, compounds, lots of stadiums from the 06 asian games, a big tower, a beach called sealine, a city where everyone seems to commute to called ras laffan but rather live in doha, blue salon, some nice lebanese restaurants - it's livable....but rather boring...If you have some friends then you can have a good time...visiting and socialising at each other's homes isn't bad.

london_lad

depends if your housing, etc is on top of that taking the whole package to 55 to 60 range. Otherwise, its too low.

mrblast

My Wife and I really enjoy it here. Despite there being flaws here (as there are in any location), people saying there is nothing to do here are just cynical idiots.

Kix

Who are QIA?

OleJanx

Quickly In Arrears....

Kix

PMSL, I could only think of the equivalent of ADIA so Qatar Investment Authority.

desert_dwellers

If you are english you will not be bored in the desert

Meow

Let's hope the OP isn't Scottish or Welsh then...

jackthehat

LOL!

Doha! - A City of Contrasts!

Light Beige and Dark Beige!