# IT pre-sales salaries/packages information



## Canlebguy (Apr 5, 2008)

Hi all,

I'm a Montrealer from Lebanese origins and I've been looking around for openings in IT in Dubai (professional level) and I had an interview for a Pre-sales position / Solution design and architecture position for a multinational.

I have no idea what the salaries and packages are for these positions, I would appreciate if someone in the same market can share some info please 
Job requires some traveling around the Middle-East and also to North Africa so one of required skills is to speak French to cover countries like Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco and I have that + 11 years in IT with a few years in Solution Architecture for IT infrastructures. Just FYI, not Microsoft solutions.

Anyone over here working for one of the hardware vendors and can shed the lights on the total package and benefits that you get for such positions please? 

A private msg will do if you don't want to open up in public 

Thanks!


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## Azmodeus_WG (Mar 18, 2008)

Check your Pm


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

Can we please keep as much info on the main board as possible please? That way other people will benefit for information. 

Thank you


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## hhhggg (Feb 5, 2008)

we will appreciate if we share more information on public ,for better exchange , and use of facility


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## Canlebguy (Apr 5, 2008)

Azmodeus replied to a PM I had sent him regarding his package that he posted here: (wouldn't let me post the url because I don't have more than 4 posts).
His thread is titled "Offer - Is this worth it?"

I will let Azmodeus add to that post. What I can say is that he's more junior with 2-3 years of experience and I have 10+. The companies that interviewed us are very similar but I have more responsibilities in my position.

Basically what I added up is that I shouldn't expect lower than 500-550k AED as a total package.
Salary, Car, Housing, and Schooling. Without calculating the cost of insurance, tickets back home, and relocation.


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

Hi Canlebguy

Thanks for sharing. 


_


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## Azmodeus_WG (Mar 18, 2008)

Hi guys,

sorry for leaving out the information Elphaba  

So, basically I was telling him that the IT industry is not how it used to be 5 years ago where you could go and make 140K/USD a year and having everything paid for; as the influx of skilled workers from India, Pakistan and other countries are coming with great education and very good techinical skills.

I did a search on GulfJobs and over half the positions for IT stated "Looking for Indians only", which goes to show the changing market. 

But he seems to have some great experiance, as well as having a couple languages, so he will be customer facing. I think he should be able to get a good package, somewhere between 367K AED and 440K AED as a base salary with out housing and car.

Well see it how it goes! Keep us in the loop Canlebguy!


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## emohit (Apr 15, 2008)

Thanks for the helpful information. Is there website that would give me a benchmark of salaries for various positions. I am currently in USA (an Indian) and am a IT Program/Quality/Service Manager. What kind of salary should I expect and/or accept for such a position?

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks.


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## pooji (May 20, 2008)

Hi ,
I dont think that the base package can be around 400 or 500K in pre sales IT positions as they dont pay a lot . my hubby got interviewed at couple of vender companies and he has 13 years of solid IT experience and is a soluton architect, and the base the companies were talking about were from 
234 to 250 k.also i found GBM extremely unprofessional.. opposite to IBM .


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## Canlebguy (Apr 5, 2008)

I'm still in the process of interviews, have been scheduled an interview with the hiring manager and the next step I think would be a trip down there to meet face-to-face in case the next interview goes well.

I had also asked the HR person about compensation, and got an idea about their packages from other internal sources as well.
The range the HR gave me was huge; 235,400 AED Dhs to a maximum of 455,400 UAE Dhs. I guess with 13y of experience (I have 12years), if they really want him, he should negotiate a base of around 400k/year + the housing, car, etc.. allowances.
Maybe the employer I'm in touch with is above average in compensation but I couldn't tell. This is information I'm getting left and right from people working in the same place.
For a family with 2 kids he should probably be looking at something between 550k to 775k AED per year in TOTAL package worth +tickets back home per year. Unless you think you can live with less than that, I don't know your lifestyle and where you live. 
All I can tell is that with my lifestyle (family included) in Canada/Montreal and the salary that I'm making over here, I'm way above average in the Solution Architect's salaries in the market, nothing less than 650k AED per year would make it really worth it for me to move down to Dubai. I hope the process goes well and that I get in return the value of what I bring to the table.

Talking about professionalism?  I don't know where you live and the level of professionalism that you're used to, but let me tell you that even IBM or the others that I've dealt with lately have not been as professional as I've seen anywhere here in North America. The current employer that I'm talking with is the most professional I've seen in the region so far in respect to communication, delays in returning emails and information requests. I have high hopes for this opportunity as I see it as the perfect fit for both me and the company. I just hope to get along with the team and the environment, that's still one big concern that I hopefully will be able to figure out if I get to go forward with a face-to-face meeting.

PS: I am only talking about what I've gathered so far in terms of package and compensation so please take it with a grain of salt and don't let your husband negotiate in the range I mentioned above, do your homework and try to get in touch with someone who worked there, or someone who works there who can give him some insider information, people are friendly and willing to help.
For a solution architect position, I just don't think that the compensation package for a family with 2 kids should be less than 540000AED per year at ANY employer.

Good luck to your husband.


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## pooji (May 20, 2008)

Good show if you do get the 775K you are looking for. I personally think that would be great
I have looked at the Solution Architecture space and I think in the ME area the definition of solution architecture is very skewed from what we have here in NA. Yes I am also a fellow Canadian working as a solution architect for one of your major consulting companies here in TO. SA roles defined by the vendors i.e. H/W folks and all are mostly sales or pre-sales oriented and I have seen that they come with base compensation + benefits + sales %age sharing as well and usually they are more geared towards infrastructure, very opposite to our definitions here.

GBM, HP, Teradata etc that I have spoken with and have been offered by seem to be around 25 to 30K marks, which obviously is not enough. My salaries here in TO range at $150K + benefits + perks. I am not a pre-sales guy, i am a DW/BI solutions guy so for me the options are working out better with a couple of other non-vendor organizations, yet though it seems like the overall packages do not seem to go beyond 38 to 40K per month as an overall package. One of the interesting things I have been told a few times is that I am not old enough at 32 which causes the orgs a bit of an issue, do not know how truthful that is. The other flip in my case is that ME still has BI/DW in it's infancy, people reading books specially at GBM think they know what it is about but seriously no clue. I assured them as a fellow under the same umbrella that they are not correct but guess they do not appreciate criticism too much. Any how I think BI being in infancy probably affects my value as well. I am currently looking at an overall package of 550K or abouts, final numbers to be decided . 

With regards to professionalism, being a consultant for 13 odd years I have dealt with many an organization around the world. By far I think the most unprofessional of the lot would be your Vendors in ME. I do not know which one you have been dealing with and maybe they have just rubbed against me the wrong way but do take it with a grain salt as well. These are just my experiences.

Anyhow has been a long post, just wanted to feed you and share with you my experiences which have been interesting to say the least.

I sincerely hope you had good news come your way.


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## Canlebguy (Apr 5, 2008)

I didn't say I want 775K  It would be great I know. I think I mentioned that 650K is the minimum, anything above that is great.

You'll get the age comment from local companies. Multinationals don't have this practice, it's about what you know and what you offer them.

They may not take criticism the way you address it  almost like everywhere. You should not think as the ME market as an inferior one, believe me they get the hardware/software/technologies before we do (for QA purposes? lol).
Seriously, I see them as two different mentalities with two different ways of working. I have worked with solutions back in 98-99 in the ME that were more advanced than what we have here in NA. I came to Canada in 2000 and one of the reasons I got hired was the expertise that I had on the solutions I had implemented in the ME. Technologies like Internet portals, E-commerce, ISP infrastructure, etc...
So the new technologies argument is not always valid, it's two different markets, different sizes, and different needs. 

BI/DW exists but is a very small niche if I'm not mistaken. You should be able to find some interesting opportunities over there with Oil/gas, banks and the finance sector in general. Unless you're more into consultancy and like working on multiple and different projects.

Regarding the salary/budget, you should figure out how much you currently spend in TO, and to be honest the exact factor for figuring out how much you would need to carry the same lifestyle in Dubai is 1.65. I have done my research and I also have buddies who lived here and went down to Dubai/Abu Dhabi. They also have 2 kids and are maintaining the same lifestyle.

We spend around 100-110K Cdn a year, so if you do the math you should be making around 165K US a year to have the same lifestyle - in Dubai. Don't you want to save a bit? it depends on your plan.

I hope this gives you an idea.


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