# Working In Saudi??



## newboy

Hi i have been in talks with a couple of different companies in Saudi, i have an interview next weekend in England with a view to move out to Saudi to work in Automotive.

Does anyone have any advice on living and working conditions?
An expected OTE?


Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance


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## synthia

Welcome to the forum! No information on Saudi, except that the employer holds your passport so you can't leave.


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## brendanbrady

*Similar circumstance*

*Hi Newboy,
I hasve been offered a similar circumstance.
Did you move and if so how is it?
What are the pros & cons?
Any advice?*







newboy said:


> Hi i have been in talks with a couple of different companies in Saudi, i have an interview next weekend in England with a view to move out to Saudi to work in Automotive.
> 
> Does anyone have any advice on living and working conditions?
> An expected OTE?
> 
> 
> Any advice would be much appreciated.
> 
> Thanks in advance


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## ndustire

*Saudi*



newboy said:


> Hi i have been in talks with a couple of different companies in Saudi, i have an interview next weekend in England with a view to move out to Saudi to work in Automotive.
> 
> Does anyone have any advice on living and working conditions?
> An expected OTE?
> 
> 
> Any advice would be much appreciated.
> 
> Thanks in advance


I worked over there a long time ago. There was general agreement among expatriates that working in Hell was a better deal. The Saudis do not honor their contracts, and will even try to get you to sign another contract after arrival. This will not work in your favor. The hard core religious groups control all aspects of life and they do not like western expats. I strongly advise you to talk to someone working there now prior to jumping on a plane. Saudi is one miserable place to be.... Due diligence in researching what the conditions are will pay off. The money over there is not so good anymore either.
I have been back for visits (Based out of Dubai..) in the last couple years and while it has lightened up, it still is the antechamber of hell...
Fair Warning!


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## lambo

I am living in Riyadh at the moment, Im here with my husband and we are both registered nurse from australia. I have to agree with everything the above post states. Our agency back home promised us everything and when we arrived and signed other contracts they are different. We are wanting to leave. Yes they do hold your passport. If you want any information let me know im happy to inform you of things that i know.


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## shazuk

*Saudi nursing*



lambo said:


> I am living in Riyadh at the moment, Im here with my husband and we are both registered nurse from australia. I have to agree with everything the above post states. Our agency back home promised us everything and when we arrived and signed other contracts they are different. We are wanting to leave. Yes they do hold your passport. If you want any information let me know im happy to inform you of things that i know.


Hello

I am just waiting for a VISA to enter Saudi to work at a specialist hospital in Jeddah, also as a registered nurse ..... So I would be very interested in what you can tell me ..... On the forum or privately


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## samfurah

well !i dont live in saudi but i know saudi is definetly not a place for western...no bars ,no pubs, no clubs, no drinks, no G.F, you can only see women all covered and you have to communicate only in Arabic, in short no much freedom...............so good luck buddy but hey!you can make big money though.....go for your savings......


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## MaidenScotland

samfurah said:


> well !i dont live in saudi but i know saudi is definetly not a place for western...no bars ,no pubs, no clubs, no drinks, no G.F, you can only see women all covered and you have to communicate only in Arabic, in short no much freedom...............so good luck buddy but hey!you can make big money though.....go for your savings......






Arabic is not the only language spoken in Saudi..


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## MaidenScotland

Yes they keep your passport.. so make sure you have a copy of it and you register at the British embassy.

Jeddah is more relaxed than Riyadh.. still strict mind.


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## lambo

shazuk said:


> Hello
> 
> I am just waiting for a VISA to enter Saudi to work at a specialist hospital in Jeddah, also as a registered nurse ..... So I would be very interested in what you can tell me ..... On the forum or privately


Well if you are going to work there, are you going with a recruitment agency ? If yes they should organize your visa. You can't just get a visa and then go to Saudi to look for work, itMUST be arranged early. Arabic is definitely not the only language spoken, most do speak it but english is the main one spoken in the hospitals. As for making lots of money, well that depends on what your getting paid in, it's not as good as what it was in the early 90's. Which hospital are you going to ?


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## tonytraceybrady

Hi lambo 
Can u tell me more I am looking to go to Saudi and have been offered a contract . What agency was it ? Am a nurse and would appreciate your advise 
Many thanks 
Tracey


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## MaidenScotland

I am in Jeddah and love it!!! Yes I wear an abaya when I go out but so what it saves having to change from house clothes to going out just to nip to the shops plus when you drop something down it you are still clean when you take it off.. treat it as a big bib. There is no need to cover you head in Jeddah so if you have a choice take Jeddah.

Maiden


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## lambo

tonytraceybrady said:


> Hi lambo
> Can u tell me more I am looking to go to Saudi and have been offered a contract . What agency was it ? Am a nurse and would appreciate your advise
> Many thanks
> Tracey


Hello, there is so much to tell you about Saudi. Firstly are you going to Riyadh ?? That's where we are, and I will tell you this, its **** I hate it and left there only recently. The money really isn't there anymore. The locals hate westeners, they are rude people, fat, lazy, uneducated twits. All people do there is eat, sleep, pray and shop. Our compound was crap, we were told we were going to one compound and when we got there we were at a different one that had the same name and wad 10 times smaller than the other. The managers of the compound were using the spare sets of keys left at reception to go into peoples villas and steal from us. We had 2 iPhones stolen, others had a SLR camera, iPod, printers, money all stolen while out of the compound. You can't call the police there coz they already hate westerners and they will find you in the wrong and you will end up in the watch house. It really is a **** and unsafe place to live. Are you a single female or male ?? As for the hospitals well that is another whole story, just shift. When are you going ? Which hospital have they offered you ? How much have they told you you will get paid ? Is it is Saudi local dollars ?? Which recruitment agency are you going with ?
Hope this helps. All else I can say is think long and hard about it. I went with my husband who is also a nurse and it was he'll for both of us, I can't imagine going there alone.


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## shazuk

lambo said:


> Well if you are going to work there, are you going with a recruitment agency ? If yes they should organize your visa. You can't just get a visa and then go to Saudi to look for work, itMUST be arranged early. Arabic is definitely not the only language spoken, most do speak it but english is the main one spoken in the hospitals. As for making lots of money, well that depends on what your getting paid in, it's not as good as what it was in the early 90's. Which hospital are you going to ?


Hi

I am going to the King Faisal in Jeddah. However its not through an agency. I approached them directly and applied. It has all been organised properly and I have the papers, invitation from the Ministry of Foreign affairs, formal job offer, documents attested, medical certificate etc etc and now a visa processing agency is about to lodge my visa application with the embassy here. That takes 5 days and then the hospital will buy my flight out there. All in all though it has taken about 4 months from interview.

As for salary, it may not be what it used to be but I am very happy with my salary and what with it being tax free, and minimal expenses (food, internet) and not much to spend on I will save plenty in 2 years.

I am looking forward to it, have done my research and am going with a fairly open and positive mindset and am well aware of the customs, traditions, rules etc so hopefully, if I respect these things, it will be a rewarding experience for me .... and if not, well it will still be an experience lol. Time will tell

Sharon


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## lambo

shazuk said:


> Hi
> 
> I am going to the King Faisal in Jeddah. However its not through an agency. I approached them directly and applied. It has all been organised properly and I have the papers, invitation from the Ministry of Foreign affairs, formal job offer, documents attested, medical certificate etc etc and now a visa processing agency is about to lodge my visa application with the embassy here. That takes 5 days and then the hospital will buy my flight out there. All in all though it has taken about 4 months from interview.
> 
> As for salary, it may not be what it used to be but I am very happy with my salary and what with it being tax free, and minimal expenses (food, internet) and not much to spend on I will save plenty in 2 years.
> 
> I am looking forward to it, have done my research and am going with a fairly open and positive mindset and am well aware of the customs, traditions, rules etc so hopefully, if I respect these things, it will be a rewarding experience for me .... and if not, well it will still be an experience lol. Time will tell
> 
> Sharon


Well I wish you the best of luck. We also did a lot of research and we also have family that live in Saudi working as nurses, they have been there for 12 yrs in managerial positions ( which is very different from hands on nursing), and it's like nothing you can prepare yourself for until you get there. I also found that my nursing clinical skills were not being used to the full ability that we are use to. The equipment just isn't there, more than often you are flushing a pts cannula with water, that is just not accepted. As for saving money, this is very debatable, there isn't a lot to do there, so everyone does a lot of shopping and also Internet shopping is huge over there. You also spend a lot on taxis, even though they are cheap, you literally have to get them everywhere.one last recommendation, google attacks on westerners in Saudi, there were girls that got stoned outside a shopping centre in July last year by the locals, the security that was outside the shops and saw this, didn't offer help just told them to hurry up and move, 4 of the 6 girls were hospitalized. I wish you all the best. You will soon find out what it's like. Think long and hard and do look up attacks on westerners.


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## Michelleandme

*Are you In Saudi Now*



shazuk said:


> Hi
> 
> I am going to the King Faisal in Jeddah. However its not through an agency. I approached them directly and applied. It has all been organised properly and I have the papers, invitation from the Ministry of Foreign affairs, formal job offer, documents attested, medical certificate etc etc and now a visa processing agency is about to lodge my visa application with the embassy here. That takes 5 days and then the hospital will buy my flight out there. All in all though it has taken about 4 months from interview.
> 
> As for salary, it may not be what it used to be but I am very happy with my salary and what with it being tax free, and minimal expenses (food, internet) and not much to spend on I will save plenty in 2 years.
> 
> I am looking forward to it, have done my research and am going with a fairly open and positive mindset and am well aware of the customs, traditions, rules etc so hopefully, if I respect these things, it will be a rewarding experience for me .... and if not, well it will still be an experience lol. Time will tell
> 
> Sharon


Hello Sharon are you in Saudi now? How are you feeling working there and what are the pro's and conn's you feel you have faced till now?


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## NikkiMeyer

newboy said:


> Hi i have been in talks with a couple of different companies in Saudi, i have an interview next weekend in England with a view to move out to Saudi to work in Automotive.
> 
> Does anyone have any advice on living and working conditions?
> An expected OTE?
> 
> 
> Any advice would be much appreciated.
> 
> Thanks in advance


Been living in Saudi for 3 years.
It has not been a great experience. I am here with my husband and two daugheters. If you are coming on your own then not too bad, if you are coming with a family - it is HUGELY restricting for women and if your children are sporty or have a special talent like music or dancing - that can not be nutured here.
In my opinion this was the worst move we could have ever done in terms of development for our children.
However as i said i believe the singles have a blast here!!


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## BostoGuy

What about singles with dogs? How are dogs treated?


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## jrp928

Coming in a bit late here, but..
We lived in Riyadh 94 to late 2002. Some in a dingy 1 bed flat in town (employed by a govt body), but most in good wsetern compounds , employed by western company branches. No kids with us, but they visited a couple of times. Re housing - one expression was if you want to rent a villa on a housing allowance, "if you can afford it, you dont want it, and vice versa". Many people we met ganged together to afford decent houses.
Dogs - we did see expats bring dogs in, but you would need to find a good vet by trial and error, or recommendation (we found a couple). Note that there are VERY few dogs there - they are unclean to Muslims, and generally not liked at all. you would NOT let one off a leash in the open for sure.
Apart from Her having to wear abaya outside compound, and only being able to drive in secret (early Friday morn in remote areas of city, or in the desert), we had many great times there. Once you find a circle of people you can get on with and are comfortable, life can be very good. Many great desert trips in the winter, cheap to fly to Europe, US, etc. We drove to Jordan a couple of times, to SW Saudi mountains, up the west coast, Hejaz railway etc - great scenery, and most people you meet are very hospitable, but this was nearly 10 years ago now, so dont know how much things have changed. My wife did some part time work, met somebody who worked for a Prince, got connected with his kids, my daughter got to do some work for him, had Ramadan fast breaks with him, wonderful guy. Camped on the beach near Khobar, Coast guard rolled up in a pick up, asked if we were OK, drove out and got fresh water for us - wanted to practice their English. 
When i finished I was getting SAR17k/mo + housing - started on 12k/mo in 1994. In that time I ran two households (one there, one back home), travelled Europe and Saudi, Jordan, Egypt, and saved in total ~SAR750k over 9 years. If your employer provides decent housing, your only outgoings will be long distance phone calls, groceries, entertainment, and car related stuff, so you can save a lot.
Dont believe anything agents tell you, they use either outdated info, pics, videos, or outright stolen stuff. Most employers use a 90 day probation system, so if you cant hack it by that time, just tell them thanks, but No Thanks.
Happy to answer questions.
jrp


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## catch-it

Hello,
I am looking forward to finding a Job in middle east. Is saudi a place where you must look for opportunity? I know this has been answered many time in the post. My questions are more towards following:

1) What is the scope for poeple from financial services industry?
2) Is it difficult or easy to get Job there as compared to other Middle Eastern nation?
3) Apart from Dubai, what are best possible places to work in middle east?

Thanks
Catch


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## catch-it

One follow up questions, I heard that money is good in Saudi as compared to other countries. As per housing, There compounds according to expats. Any support or denial on the two would be great. Thanks


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