# Reasonable salary offer?



## chris_uel (Oct 30, 2011)

Hi all.

I have been offered a teaching position for about 12000QR a month. I will get accommodation paid for and bills but not phone and Internet. No travels allowances included.

It will be just me and the wife. Is that amour a decent amount to live on?

Thanks all.


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## Steve McH (Dec 13, 2011)

Hi all.

I have been offered a teaching position for about 12000QR a month. I will get accommodation paid for and bills but not phone and Internet. No travels allowances included.

It will be just me and the wife. Is that amour a decent amount to live on?

Thanks all.[/QUOTE]

 Hello,
I was working in Qatar last year - so here are my words of wisdom
Your salary level of 12000 for a UK expat seems low, it is just over £2k, comprible to the UK but not any more.
Here are my thoughts on what should be considered
1.do you have bills at home? family, mortgage, car, dog, old loans????
2 Are you interested to boost your balance, clear the decks, new experience or to keep in work? ( I know - I have spent quite a few months on the dole in Blighty)
3. Will your employer provide a car? Doha is a car city - no tube or railway system and it does have traffic jams. Car rental I guess will be QR2k a month or more. Petrol is very cheap
4. If you are outside Doha you need a car to travel to Doha - Qatar is a bit of a one horse town.
5. There is good night life in Doha but it is all in 5 star hotels because they are generally more detached and comply with the laws for liquor licences. It is £7 to £9 a pint. A single mans night out of dinner and a few pints costs a lot. Double for a couple. Taxis are not too expensive but you have to be carefull, especially after a few jars
6. Telecom costs are about the same as uk, although power is cheaper.
7. I thought all employers must provide at least one flight home a year, most provide 2 or 3
8. I spent more when in Qatar than I had planned
9. A reasonable guess on salary is 1.25x uk salary or more then the tax free status will allow you to save a bit
10. It is good your accomodation is paid for because it is expensive. 12 to 15 K (QR) will get you a decent 2 bed furnished flat with access to a gym and pool. Is your employer providing or paying for? the difference is in who pays the 3,6 or 12 months deposit and is responsible for the minimum 1 year lease.

There is a lot here to consider? I hope it is helpfull

Steve


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## chris_uel (Oct 30, 2011)

Hi Steve. Many thanks for the reply...I have answered the questions in red. I do agree that 12,000QR is low. Lower than I am on now before tax but more after tax is deducted.

1.do you have bills at home? family, mortgage, car, dog, old loans????

I don't have a mortgage, but I will be leaving a dog at home. As for old loans, only to my brother so that is in hand. I have a car but will sell that.

2 Are you interested to boost your balance, clear the decks, new experience or to keep in work? ( I know - I have spent quite a few months on the dole in Blighty)

I would like a new experience, I would like to save and have comfortable living.

3. Will your employer provide a car? Doha is a car city - no tube or railway system and it does have traffic jams. Car rental I guess will be QR2k a month or more. Petrol is very cheap

I won't be giving any car/transport allowance. I was hoping to use taxis to commute to and from work. In time, I would consider getting a car.

4. If you are outside Doha you need a car to travel to Doha - Qatar is a bit of a one horse town.

I have no idea where the one bedroom apartment I have been offered is located!

5. There is good night life in Doha but it is all in 5 star hotels because they are generally more detached and comply with the laws for liquor licences. It is £7 to £9 a pint. A single mans night out of dinner and a few pints costs a lot. Double for a couple. Taxis are not too expensive but you have to be carefull, especially after a few jars

I am not a drinker so no real problem there!

6. Telecom costs are about the same as uk, although power is cheaper.

At least it is not BT!

7. I thought all employers must provide at least one flight home a year, most provide 2 or 3

One flight is included but not for my wife. They will get her on the same flight but I will have to pay the fare back in instalments.

8. I spent more when in Qatar than I had planned

Sounds like me already.

9. A reasonable guess on salary is 1.25x uk salary or more then the tax free status will allow you to save a bit

My current salary is £31,775 before tax. This amounts to £1900 a month after tax. So what should I be looking at?

10. It is good your accomodation is paid for because it is expensive. 12 to 15 K (QR) will get you a decent 2 bed furnished flat with access to a gym and pool. Is your employer providing or paying for? the difference is in who pays the 3,6 or 12 months deposit and is responsible for the minimum 1 year lease.

I am unsure of the answer to this. All I have been told is that it is a one bedroom apartment and have been told what is in there, even down to the number of mugs.

I guess I need to contact the head and find out more really but I need to do my research before I just plough in to it. From reading, 10,000 to 13,000 QR is about right but still seems a little bit low for 8 years experience and I am at the top of my current payscale (M6). This position would put me down to roughly M3 or M4 - a big decrease! 

My other concern is whether 12,000QR is the salary or is that the value of the package I am receiving a month. They do say I get health care but from research, that comes as standard and is different to medical insurance.

Do you think I should push for more or am I at risk of losing the offer? I have emailed to say that I would accept the offer and have not signed anything as of yet. I get the sense that I am being told of a wonderful school but I am not sure that is the actual truth.

Thanks!


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## nathunt (May 5, 2012)

Now, that's a man I could use as my CPA


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## karim2012 (May 17, 2012)

Hi everybody,

I am planning to go work in Saoudi Arabia, I have a Master degree with three years experience. I would like to know the average salary for my profile in Saoudi Arabia. I am waiting your suggestions. Thank you. 

Kind regards

Karim


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## chris_uel (Oct 30, 2011)

Could I suggest you make your own thread as that may generate more response.


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## Sandscorpion (Jul 6, 2012)

karim2012 said:


> Hi everybody,
> 
> I am planning to go work in Saoudi Arabia, I have a Master degree with three years experience. I would like to know the average salary for my profile in Saoudi Arabia. I am waiting your suggestions. Thank you.
> 
> ...


Yes if you generate your own thread then you will get more responses especially as you are asking about a different country. Be warned salaries in KSA are based on your nationality ie where you come from. It is not racist just someone from Switzerland has a much higher expenditure than someone for a third world country. 

If I see your new thread I will try and give you an idea.


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## Sandscorpion (Jul 6, 2012)

Chris Uel Not enough. You need to be getting around 18,000pm +housing and transportation to maintain the same spending power that you have in the UK on 31K.

Also ensure both you and your your wife have medical insurance coverage at your company's exppense.

Only my opinion of course.


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## socialoutcast (Apr 17, 2012)

*Good offer for fam of 4?*

Hi Everyone,

I haven't been on here in a while because we thought my husband wouldn't get the Job he was interviewed for. Turns out the process is just long and he received an offer was made today. Would you be so kind as to tell me if this is a decent offer for a family of four. We have a 2yr old and a 7yr old. 
Basic salary: QR 24,000pm
Accomodation allowance: 10,000pm incl utility bills 
Car allowance: 2,500pm
Flight Allowance: 1,600pm
Medical covered by the company. 
We have one credit card and two cars that we still need to pay for back home
but not mortgage or loans. We can prob pay off the credit card before we go. 
Can we live comfortabley on this salary? I would appreciate your feedback! 
Cheers!


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## Sandscorpion (Jul 6, 2012)

*.....*



socialoutcast said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> I haven't been on here in a while because we thought my husband wouldn't get the Job he was interviewed for. Turns out the process is just long and he received an offer was made today. Would you be so kind as to tell me if this is a decent offer for a family of four. We have a 2yr old and a 7yr old.
> Basic salary: QR 24,000pm Good if this does not include any of the allowances you mention. Also his job if he is a white collar worker or teacher etc. If is going to be CEO of a multinational company then no
> ...


 I put my answers in your post in red hope it helps


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## socialoutcast (Apr 17, 2012)

Sandscorpion said:


> I put my answers in your post in red hope it helps


Thanx so much for your response. He is a manager working in construction (surveying). The basic salary excludes the Accommodation, etc. and the flight allowance is for him only. 

Not knowing Qatar very well, I'm not sure which are to concentrate on when it comes to finding accommodation. But the average rental seems to be around QR9,500.

Thanx again!!


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## Sandscorpion (Jul 6, 2012)

Just google property rental Doha. This will give you an idea. You will not be able to rent until you get there anyway.

Here is one place to start Apartments for Rent in Doha - Mubawab


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## socialoutcast (Apr 17, 2012)

Sandscorpion said:


> Just google property rental Doha. This will give you an idea. You will not be able to rent until you get there anyway.
> 
> Here is one place to start
> Apartments for Rent in Doha - Mubawab[/url]


Thanx for the link. I will check it out. He will go over first so I'll have to trust his judgement when choosing a property.


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