# Serious about the UAE



## UAEwannabe (Apr 14, 2012)

Hi all,

May I introduce myself, I am a 36 year old Brit and along with my wife of 37 yrs we are hoping to make he move to the UAE in the next couple of years. Obviously it's a big hop to make and I'm gathering as much info as I can In order to ensure we are well equipped to make the move. We have 3 children, 7, 4 and 1.

I am an IT technical engineer of 10 years experience with the last 2 being more of a network engineer (Cisco certified). My wife is a newly qualified primary school teacher. 

So I suppose my first post to forum is to get the general consensus on our professions in the UAE - is there a big requirement for IT Network engineers and Primary teachers? Will those roles pay enough In the UAE to support a home and our childrens education? 

Any advice or recommend links/ reading will be greatly appreciated. Thanks


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## mrsm (Aug 5, 2011)

Hi, lots of primary jobs advertised in the TES but you need 2 years post qualification experience to teach in UAE the good schools offer free places but usually only for 2 children, others offer a discount on the fees. I don't know about IT jobs but I would like info on that too as I am a teacher and have a job starting in August and my hubby is in IT and so far can't find anything. Good luck with whatever you decide


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## UAEwannabe (Apr 14, 2012)

Hi mrsm, thanks for the info. My wife has a friend who's a teacher in Abu Dhabi and she had mentioned the 2 years experience. Looks like that's a pre-reqreusite. This isn't too much of an issue as we expect it will be 2 years till we're ready. Do you know what the average salary would be for a primary teacher with 2 yrs exp? Once again thanks for the info and I'll let you know what I find out about IT.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

You should repost your question on the Dubai specific forum which gets far more traffic than the UAE general forum.

In response to your original questions: 

Teacher salaries do range but the typical offer is usually around 10-14K a month with housing provided. Most teachers seem to be quite young, in their mid-late twenties. Some schools will provide a housing allowance in lieu of the free housing but it's generally not enough to rent the equivalent type of property.

But it's also a common practice for schools to hire expat wives on the flat 10K a year with no additional benefits or housing allowances on the understanding that the husbands will already have a housing allowance from his employer. There are plenty of expat wives in Dubai who accept the relatively low salaries (or even lower for minor administrative positions such as librarians) because it's only 'pin money' that supplements a much larger income from the husband and the work keeps them occupied. 

As for you, your industry is primarily dominated by expatriates from the Indian subcontinent and as such wages aren't necessarily that great. Having said that, skilled westerners are still recruited for senior IT management positions with relatively high salaries. I would not recommend a western expatriate family to come to Dubai unless they are able to secure an overall package value of 45-50,000 AED/month inclusive of housing allowances and school fees. The cost of living in Dubai is exceedingly high and maintaining a basic middle class lifestyle is not cheap as you must pay out of pocket for many services that are provided for free in the UK. 

I don't know enough about IT to know which speciality you're pigeonholed in and how that affects your chances in finding financially credible employment in Dubai, but as I mentioned earlier, repost your queries on the main Dubai forum and people will be able to help out.


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## UAEwannabe (Apr 14, 2012)

Thanks Tallyho, this is exactly the kind of info I'm after. I'll take your advice and post this on the Dubai forum, I selected this forum as I am unsure where in the UAE we will


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## UAEwannabe (Apr 14, 2012)

UAEwannabe said:


> Thanks Tallyho, this is exactly the kind of info I'm after. I'll take your advice and post this on the Dubai forum, I selected this forum as I am unsure where in the UAE we will


(oops - iPads are murder for editing, specially when the send button is close to the text you're editing!!!) anyway as I was saying, we're not sure where we will end up we're quite open depending on the opportunities, though I feel my wife is angling towards Abu Dhabi being as her friend is there.

My job isn't management however I do have certifications which tend to carry you quite far in the UK so hopefully that will transfer to the UAE. I also have over 10 years technical experience and an additional 5 ins support and sales so hopefully that may be a trump card for me. I will continue to collate the info I find here and elsewhere on the forum it maybe handy for others as well. 

Cheers


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

AD is more expensive than Dubai and is far quieter. Dubai has a great deal more social and recreational opportunities.

Then again, jobs in AD pay more.



UAEwannabe said:


> (oops - iPads are murder for editing, specially when the send button is close to the text you're editing!!!) anyway as I was saying, we're not sure where we will end up we're quite open depending on the opportunities, though I feel my wife is angling towards Abu Dhabi being as her friend is there.
> 
> My job isn't management however I do have certifications which tend to carry you quite far in the UK so hopefully that will transfer to the UAE. I also have over 10 years technical experience and an additional 5 ins support and sales so hopefully that may be a trump card for me. I will continue to collate the info I find here and elsewhere on the forum it maybe handy for others as well.
> 
> Cheers


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## mrsm (Aug 5, 2011)

UAEwannabe said:


> Hi mrsm, thanks for the info. My wife has a friend who's a teacher in Abu Dhabi and she had mentioned the 2 years experience. Looks like that's a pre-reqreusite. This isn't too much of an issue as we expect it will be 2 years till we're ready. Do you know what the average salary would be for a primary teacher with 2 yrs exp? Once again thanks for the info and I'll let you know what I find out about IT.


Hi, it looks like anywhere between 10 and 12k is on offer, the old established schools in Dubai that are not for profit pay more and have their own pay scales. If your wife gets a job first she will get accommodation included, flights, visas and medical for the family (at a decent school, others will only pay for her) but if you get a job first they will expect her to go on your package.


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## amerifren (Apr 22, 2012)

UAEwannabe said:


> Hi all,
> 
> May I introduce myself, I am a 36 year old Brit and along with my wife of 37 yrs we are hoping to make he move to the UAE in the next couple of years.



Sorry, this isnt important, but you said ur 36 and u've been with your wife 37 years


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## UAEwannabe (Apr 14, 2012)

amerifren said:


> Sorry, this isnt important, but you said ur 36 and u've been with your wife 37 years


Lol.  feels like it sometimes!!!!


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

amerifren said:


> Sorry, this isnt important, but you said ur 36 and u've been with your wife 37 years


It's the way it's written, his wife is 37 years old 


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