# From South Africa interviewing for Abu Dhabi job



## Optimistic33 (Apr 5, 2014)

I am considering moving to the UAE - specifically Abu Dhabi. I’m a software engineer and wondering:
1) what a great salary would be for a software engineer with 7 years exp? (I don’t really trust glassdoor, payscale etc data)
2) living conditions/social life/general treatment from citizens of foreigners there?

A financial firm from there is head hunting me. 
I wanna have my numbers straight for my interview next week. I currently earn around 30k AED cost-to-company per month.

Thanks


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## psychopomp1 (Aug 5, 2021)

Optimistic33 said:


> 1) what a great salary would be for a software engineer with 7 years exp? (I don’t really trust glassdoor, payscale etc data)


That's a bit like asking "how long's a piece of string?" as there are lots and lots and lots of variables/factors. FYI most employer's have pay structures (bands) for posts so you will get offered whatever the employer's offering....not whatever the applicant asks for. Sure, there can be room for negotiation but from experience its minimal.



Optimistic33 said:


> 2) living conditions/social life/general treatment from citizens of foreigners there?


It depends purely on your lifestyle. You can either shop at Waitrose every day and have caviar for breakfast/lunch/dinner or have beans on toast.



Optimistic33 said:


> I wanna have my numbers straight for my interview next week. I currently earn around 30k AED cost-to-company per month.


A sensible approach would be to ask for a *minimum *of AED 30k /month.


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