# Social work, NGOs in Dubai



## rossovulcan

Dear expats,

I would like to consult ab


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## rossovulcan

Dear expats,

I am a 27 year old male interested in moving to Dubai and working in the field of social work. I'd appreciate to receive some information and tips on the matter.

I have a bachelor degree in social services and have about 3 years of work experience in child protection. I am aware of a few NGOs working there, but overall require more information on how diverse the job market is in that area because it appears very limited in the web. I am interested to do youth work but am open to any social work positions. In addition, I am a professional mixed martial artist and a licensed gym instructor but lack experience in the later. I wonder what my possibilities are to seek employment?

Very thankful for the pointers!


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## nomad37

I am hoping someone will help on this post as I am in the same situation except with 10 years experience in SF bay area with child protect services and my friend in Dubai states there are plenty NGO's in Dubai. I am having trouble getting info on net about them. Any ideas out there? I am coming to Dubai in late March for visit and was planning to visit some organizations in person perhaps:?


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## md000

NGOs here are a weird breed. In my experience, there are two types:

Type 1: Local-serving. These are primarily government-run organizations with mostly local staff to serve the local population - and maybe some expat population. Your chances of finding a job there are pretty minimal.

Type 2: Regional-serving. There are quite a few of these here, but they are the service base for regional efforts. Numerous groups support Africa, Afghanistan, Iraq, Middle East, etc. from the UAE - but those are usually senior level management positions, whereas the positions you are looking for, line positions, are on-the-ground in these locations.

In addition to the NGOs, the concept of "social work" or "child protection" isn't well regarded here or in the Middle East. It is a newer field that will require many years of mind/perception-changing. As an aside, your research should show that the majority of the population's first language is not English - do you speak Arabic? Hindi? Urdu? 

Good luck with your search, but, in my opinion, you won't have much success here in the UAE. 

-md000/Mike


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## nomad37

Thank you. I am not surprised by your response at all. I was initially looking at my legal secretary/paralegal background (my earlier career) as a more transferable skill than social work but a friend in Dubai was suggesting that I would find something with NGO's (and while I speak several languages, Arabic,Hindi and Urdu are not one of them). Your response reflects exactly what I found on the net and I think I am better off looking at more secretarial/office admin work. Thank you for your info.


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## md000

nomad37 said:


> Thank you. I am not surprised by your response at all. I was initially looking at my legal secretary/paralegal background (my earlier career) as a more transferable skill than social work but a friend in Dubai was suggesting that I would find something with NGO's (and while I speak several languages, Arabic,Hindi and Urdu are not one of them). Your response reflects exactly what I found on the net and I think I am better off looking at more secretarial/office admin work. Thank you for your info.


I would rephrase what you said

"secretarial/office administration" in Dubai generally means low-paid Filipino/Indian/other southeast Asian country labor

"executive assistant" or "personal assistant" generally means relatively well-paid westerner

That said - many times - the work is the same.

Phrase as such in your resume, as well.

-md000/Mike


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## Eng.Khaled

NGO's are just like hell! It's mainly controlled by one person who is always with the right opinion, who works for something and do the opposite... and this NGO is simply used to make this person well know in the society... NGO's = Hell!


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