# Abu Dhabi Salary



## hroch

Hi guys,
I know there are several threads of this kind, but you know, you always want more opinions when it comes to your own career...

I have been offered a job in AD, the offer is 17.5k AED basic + 19.5k AED allowances (37k altogether), medical insurance, 25 working days holidays, allowance for the air tickets. I am single. Do you think this salary is enough to enjoy good life in AD and also save some money? Is it a good salary, or more an average one? Or even poor one?

I am quite scared by the prices of apartment rentals you are mentioning in this forums, however when I browsed some websites offering accomodation, it didn't look that expensive. So I want to be sure of the situation, I don't wanna leave everything here and be unpleasantly surprised.

I appreciate any help, thanks.


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## alabatusa

hroch said:


> Hi guys,
> I know there are several threads of this kind, but you know, you always want more opinions when it comes to your own career...
> 
> I have been offered a job in AD, the offer is 17.5k AED basic + 19.5k AED allowances (37k altogether), medical insurance, 25 working days holidays, allowance for the air tickets. I am single. Do you think this salary is enough to enjoy good life in AD and also save some money? Is it a good salary, or more an average one? Or even poor one?
> 
> I am quite scared by the prices of apartment rentals you are mentioning in this forums, however when I browsed some websites offering accomodation, it didn't look that expensive. So I want to be sure of the situation, I don't wanna leave everything here and be unpleasantly surprised.
> 
> I appreciate any help, thanks.


What position is this for?


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## hroch

it's an IT company... is this somehow relevant?


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## alabatusa

hroch said:


> it's an IT company... is this somehow relevant?


Well i guess its relevant.. If that was for an executive position it would b low... But if it was for a teaching job itd be high...


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## hroch

Ok, got it... but what's more important for me is the other question - whether I would be able to live comfortably and save some money... comparison with salaries of other people won't help me to re-pay my mortgage...


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## hmdzi

seems to be low


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## -Tenshi-

You should have no probs at all if you are single. Even with a family you could live comfortable with this in AD. Though it depends a little on your lifestyle. If you are crazy like some people here in AD who spend like 3000 dirham every weekend just for drinks, you will have problems lol.

If the offer is average or not depends on the position. Though I think getting a pay rise in AD is much easier than in Europe (at least in local companies)


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## hroch

hmdzi said:


> seems to be low


I wonder how you can judge this if you don't live there and don't know anything about the prices & costs there (assuming from that you're asking about this on other forums


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## hroch

-Tenshi- said:


> You should have no probs at all if you are single. Even with a family you could live comfortable with this in AD. Though it depends a little on your lifestyle. If you are crazy like some people here in AD who spend like 3000 dirham every weekend just for drinks, you will have problems lol.
> 
> If the offer is average or not depends on the position. Though I think getting a pay rise in AD is much easier than in Europe (at least in local companies)


Thanks for helpful reply, I really appreciate it. In my case it's 2 years contract, so I don't know how hard/easy it will be with the payraise...


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## iansari

Personally, I think for a Single person this is MORE than enough. Your biggest expense in Dubai or Abu Dhabi is going to be the cost of housing. For a single person you'll probably want a 1 bed apt in a nice neighborhood. Frankly that should not cost more than 60K/70/year at today going rates in a decent area (best way to estimate house prices is to search for rentals on Property Real Estate for Sale and Rent. Jobs in the Middle East and North Africa , Free Classifieds in with Dubizzle.com)
So you are looking at 7K/month on housing. Food/groceries will be next and shuoldnt be more than 1 to 2000 AED per month. Utilities perhaps between 500 to 1000 AED. Transportation another 2/3K month if you rent, cheaper if you buy a car, keep it well and sell it at a good price before you leave.

The rest is purely up to you. You can spend as much as you want or as little as you want on entertainment.

The way I see it you can really splurge and still not come up higher than the amount allocated for you monthly allowance. So you really should be able to save the rest (17K).

Thats what I would aim. I know families with kids who live very comfortably on less than 37K a month. 

So IMHO you are getting more than enough to have a blast and save quite a bit. It will really be up to the lifestyle you want to maintain in the end.


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## hmdzi

hroch said:


> I wonder how you can judge this if you don't live there and don't know anything about the prices & costs there (assuming from that you're asking about this on other forums


@Hroch : you definitely don't know me so please don't judge me. It's the first point.

Second point is that you don't need to be in there to know abu dhabi/ dubai costs of living! As you probably know, this forum is full of 'here what i pay for....'. Furthermore, dubbizle is your friend and anyone in the world can have a realistic idea of what an apartment costs. I can, from my side, estimate all fees from the schooling to the dew a, furnitures or car renting

The third is related to my post. If you read it more slowly, you'll be able to understand that my previous questions were not about costs of living but about SALARIES in my professional domain. Furthermore, i have a idea of that point but need more accurate information....

Last but not least i said in this post 'SEEMS to be low'. I'm sorry but i'm french and probably don't speak as well as you. In my mind, the word 'SEEMS' is not an affirmation but quite an opinion. I'm sorry i was not very precise so i'm replacing my previous post by :

In My MODEST OPINION, this package seems to be low. I need to add that without more information about the exact position ALL OUR opinions are just OPINIONS.

Thks for reading Hroch


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## -Tenshi-

I have a good example for living here as a single. A friend of mine, came here 6 months ago, he gets 8000 dirhams basic salary, and he has a 1 bed apartment paid by the company + water and electricity paid by the company. He pays 360 dirhams for 16mbps internet. He is going on parties every weekend and sometimes even on weekdays and spends at least like 400 dirhams every week on that. He is also allowed to use a company car, but has to share it with another person, so he has to use the taxi quite often. In the 6 months he never even thought about saving money, but he told me that he still managed to save 35000 dirham unintentionally.


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## Pete79

I earn 35k and manage to easily save 15k a month. My rent is 90k a year and I live in a new flat with pool and close to my work. I don't drive so I get taxi's everywhere but they are cheap.


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## Shahzadee

I posted this on the dubai thread but will add here too since no replies yet.

I admit I've asked before out office jobs, PA, adminsitration, that kind of thing. However the only interest I have been shown so far from all my applications is for management positions.

I have for instance an interview next week for a store manager in Dubai, being held by Al Tayer group (not sure what the store is as it wasn't advertised but sounds like fashion stuff)

My research has only shown that store managers get paid between 2.5k and 30k a month (AED)...so I know the lower end will be Asain nationals and the higher end large companies....but I don't know what realistically (as a British national) I should be asking for? 9yrs work experience including 2yrs as manager, 1yr as supervisor.

I would rather be in AD than in Dubai because there is a room my family can crash in whilst we sort out housing, if we move to Dubai we'll have nowhere =(

How are benefits working these days as well? People tell me they are just giving lump sums now and not breaking it down. We want to get housing, schooling & family medical. We are hoping to also get either flights home or relocation allowance. I'd sacrifice the flights to have some money to settle in with!


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## ahmed36

hi Shahzadee,
how did your interview go?
I was looking at Al Tayer myself, and was wondering wether to pursue a career with them or not.
im from the UK aswell.

hope your well, and good luck.


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## Shahzadee

They were quite friendly on the whole 

Very clear and a tad confrontational about the level of person they ideally want (they had several vacancies as well as the one that they'd responded to me about but most where top end management/purchasing).

However instead of doing the 'shrinking violet' routine due to my lack of experience I stood my ground and answered all the questions confidentially and with a smile. I pointed out that I had lots of transferable skills, showed some knowledge of what the UAE seem to be asking for skills wise at the moment, and that I have already visited the country so knew what I was getting into. 
That seemed to go down well after the initial confrontation about skills.

I think on the whole if I don't get a position it's down to lack of experience.

They are apparently one of the biggest groups in UAE to work through due to all the stores they have.


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## ahmed36

Shahzadee said:


> They were quite friendly on the whole
> 
> Very clear and a tad confrontational about the level of person they ideally want (they had several vacancies as well as the one that they'd responded to me about but most where top end management/purchasing).
> 
> However instead of doing the 'shrinking violet' routine due to my lack of experience I stood my ground and answered all the questions confidentially and with a smile. I pointed out that I had lots of transferable skills, showed some knowledge of what the UAE seem to be asking for skills wise at the moment, and that I have already visited the country so knew what I was getting into.
> That seemed to go down well after the initial confrontation about skills.
> 
> I think on the whole if I don't get a position it's down to lack of experience.
> 
> They are apparently one of the biggest groups in UAE to work through due to all the stores they have.



that sounds very encouraging for you.
hope it goes well .
was your interview in dubai?.

I dont know wether to go to dubai for a week and see Al Tayer there, or apply via their website first.
but from what I hear- UAE groups respond very slow, and im impatient .

what do you suggest?

thanks


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## niran

very good and comfortable salary


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