# Dubai Reality Check



## rmathew_99 (Sep 14, 2013)

Hi all,
I have visited Dubai for vacations from the US many times. Our family loves it here. Finally last year we decided we wanted to move here. I am an IT professional with 18 years of experience with large US firms. I started my job hunt in Dubai via online sites about 6 months ago. So far, I have been very very surprise at the response I have received. My resume is on Bayt, Monster gulf, Dubizzle, Linkedin and several at company websites such as Emaar and Emirates to name a few. But, so far I have zero interest. I also have a local Dubai number listed and have an investor visa. In the United States, I get contacted at least couple of times a week for new opportunities via phone and emails via LinkedIn. I know my skills are in demand and current but in Dubai it doesn't seem to matter. So, the question is "is it me or is it Dubai"?  :shocked: I mean is Dubai not a place for experienced IT professionals from USA? Should I just move on with my life in America or there is something else I can try. Please advice and share your thoughts. :help::whip:
Thanks in advance and best regards,
Roger


----------



## uberkoen (Sep 12, 2013)

Its not you. 

I experienced the exact same situation. While I was looking for a job in England I'd get contacted almost every other day whereas, in Dubai it took months to even get contacted. The thing is that thousands of people apply for a single job posted on the websites that you mentioned and its very difficult to get your CV to be seen.

Either you need to make your CV visually stand out so that if someone is looking through the CV's they find yours attractive and give it a look over or you need to find people on the inside who could forward your CV to the appropriate person because otherwise its just a waiting game hoping for your CV to get seen in the middle of thousands of other CV's.

My recommendation would be to contact recruitment agencies based in the U.S hiring for vacancies in Dubai or even recruitment agencies based in the UAE here. Its tough to get in touch with recruitment agents in the UAE however, once you get through to one its better than randomly applying for jobs on the sites you listed.


----------



## JL321 (Mar 23, 2012)

I have similar problems. If you read through this thread and others you will see that many others do too. It is really frustrating and it makes you question yourself. However, I think it is more just the nature of the local market than anything else. Doesn't make it any easier to deal with, but know that you aren't alone!


----------



## rmathew_99 (Sep 14, 2013)

uberkoen said:


> Its not you.
> 
> I experienced the exact same situation. While I was looking for a job in England I'd get contacted almost every other day whereas, in Dubai it took months to even get contacted. The thing is that thousands of people apply for a single job posted on the websites that you mentioned and its very difficult to get your CV to be seen.
> 
> ...


A big thanks for such a detailed reply and great insights. I am glad I am not the only one. :amen: I do have couple of friends in Dubai but they are in Accounting and Finance fields so not much help. It seems there are a lot of HR, Marketing, Finance and Accounting jobs. IT jobs are taken by a certain group who is willing to work for very cheap which has screwed up IT market in US and everywhere else. I have also sent resumes to top 10 recruiters in Dubai but still no response other than "thanks for filling up our resume database". 

In your opinion, do you think there are sufficient amount of high paying (15000 AED and above) jobs in Dubai? There don't seems to be many large corporations here in Dubai. I will be happy to hear your thoughts.
Cheers.


----------



## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi
A few comments on job hunting and working in Dubai.
I think most people forget how small Dubai is - population is only around 2.1 million peope (New York is around 8.4 million!!)
Dubai is really just a largish city.
When you combine this fact with the reality that people from many different countries want to come and work here - you start to realise what competition there is for the more "standard" jobs here.
This is then made worse by having to compete against extremely well qualified people from countries with lower costs and salary bases than USA, UK etc. - countries like India, Pakistan etc. produce highly qualified IT professionals, for instance.
All the above, plus an often less than ideal recruitment proceess make it really hard to get a well paid job in this country - that people percieve as being paved in gold.
Again, as a holiday destination everything looks great but when working 48 hour weeks (the norm here) it is not the same as being on a continual holiday!
Having said that, the relatively reliable weather (compared with UK!), great choice of restaurants, interesting buildings, beaches and cars here - do help to compensate for the long hours - once you find a job!
Cheers
Steve


----------



## uberkoen (Sep 12, 2013)

rmathew_99 said:


> A big thanks for such a detailed reply and great insights. I am glad I am not the only one. :amen: I do have couple of friends in Dubai but they are in Accounting and Finance fields so not much help. It seems there are a lot of HR, Marketing, Finance and Accounting jobs. IT jobs are taken by a certain group who is willing to work for very cheap which has screwed up IT market in US and everywhere else. I have also sent resumes to top 10 recruiters in Dubai but still no response other than "thanks for filling up our resume database".
> 
> In your opinion, do you think there are sufficient amount of high paying (15000 AED and above) jobs in Dubai? There don't seems to be many large corporations here in Dubai. I will be happy to hear your thoughts.
> Cheers.


To be honest everyone will tell you a different story. Some get really lucky here and end up securing well paying jobs with large companies regardless of previous work experience and credentials and others with several degrees and years of experience struggle to find a job. I've seen both sides of the coin here. This happens regardless of which field you're in.

From my experience here, recruitment agencies tend to advertise jobs which don't really exist to collect a bunch of CV's they might need in the future. I've spoken to recruitment agents about this (I'm talking about international recruitment agencies here.) and they have admitted to doing so. Secondly, when an actual job is posted and they need to find say 10-15 relevant people they will only look through enough CV's to get that pool of people and after that they stop looking. So, its really dependent on your luck as well.

I know there are definitely high paying jobs for IT professionals in the UAE. A cousin of mine works for the Abu Dhabi government and earns around 40,000 per month. Your expectation of AED 15,000/month is not in the 'high' category. In fact, someone with 18 years of experience should be asking for a lot more. 

I would recommend you look at some of the Abu Dhabi and Dubai government companies. Specially oil companies such as EMCO, ADCO, ENOC. Use the jobs.abudhabi.ae portal to apply to government jobs in Abu Dhabi and have a look at the sites for the aforementioned companies as well. Within retail look at Alshaya Group and Al Futtain Group. They have lots of jobs but are really bad when it comes to replying. However, its worth a shot.

Best way, in my opinion, as I already mentioned is to talk to U.S based recruitment firm hiring for the UAE. Secondly, connect with recruitment agents on LinkedIn. They usually advertise vacancies on their linkedin profile. Its best to drop your CV in and give them a call to discuss the role.

All I can say it just keep trying. You never know when you're CV will get hit upon.


----------



## rmathew_99 (Sep 14, 2013)

Stevesolar said:


> Hi
> A few comments on job hunting and working in Dubai.
> I think most people forget how small Dubai is - population is only around 2.1 million peope (New York is around 8.4 million!!)
> Dubai is really just a largish city.
> ...


Thanks Steve.. So, basically you are saying that stay put in the US and just vacation in Dubai once in a while.  BTW, weather in Houston is not so shabby either.


----------



## rmathew_99 (Sep 14, 2013)

Dear Uberkoen,
Thanks for the encouragement. I will try these sites. I wonder if there are rules for Americans who work for foreign governments. In some cases it is not allowed and you can lose your citizenship. I will have to check on that. 
Cheers


----------



## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

rmathew_99 said:


> Thanks Steve.. So, basically you are saying that stay put in the US and just vacation in Dubai once in a while.  BTW, weather in Houston is not so shabby either.


No, I am not trying to put you off coming here - just trying to put a bit of perspective as to why you may be finding it harder than you expected to get noticed here!
In general, recruitment seems less professional here than in most other countries that I have worked in.
I think you need to do some thorough research and find a niche within your field that is sought after here.
You need to then become the expert in this speciality - so that companies are falling over themselves to hire you - the expert.
This, of course, may be easier said than done - but it is a strategy that I used successfully to get my present job in Dubai and my last job in the UK.

Best of luck!
Cheers
Steve


----------



## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

rmathew_99 said:


> Thanks Steve.. So, basically you are saying that stay put in the US and just vacation in Dubai once in a while.  BTW, weather in Houston is not so shabby either.


Its all right; being an American one privilege you earn is being able to laugh at any Brits who praise the "great weather" in this part of the world; that is as long as you dont come from Portland


----------



## ccr (Jun 20, 2010)

rmathew_99 said:


> BTW, weather in Houston is not so shabby either.


I am from Houston (left a long time ago ) and in my experience:

- Summer, Houston isn't as hot as Dubai. Humidity is similar
- Winter, Houston is cooler than Dubai
- Spring / Fall, Houston is way nicer

So not sure why someone would move from Houston to Dubai for weather reason, most did because of job/$.

- Cost of living in Houston is lower
- Lots of choices: restaurants, recreations, etc

If I have the same benefits that I have in Dubai, I will move back in a nano-second... 

(btw, I am not in the same class as Jynx as I don't hate Dubai like her)


----------



## rmathew_99 (Sep 14, 2013)

Stevesolar said:


> No, I am not trying to put you off coming here - just trying to put a bit of perspective as to why you may be finding it harder than you expected to get noticed here!
> In general, recruitment seems less professional here than in most other countries that I have worked in.
> I think you need to do some thorough research and find a niche within your field that is sought after here.
> You need to then become the expert in this speciality - so that companies are falling over themselves to hire you - the expert.
> ...


No, I didn't take it that way. I do appreciate your heads up and perspective. I agree with you that one must plan and thoroughly understand the market before jumping into a place such as UAE. I will keep your strategy in mind while working through my job hunt. 
Thanks again.. 
Cheers


----------



## rmathew_99 (Sep 14, 2013)

ccr said:


> I am from Houston (left a long time ago ) and in my experience:
> 
> - Summer, Houston isn't as hot as Dubai. Humidity is similar
> - Winter, Houston is cooler than Dubai
> ...


LOLz. Good one. No, I am not moving to Dubai because of the weather. I was just responding to Steve who compare it to UK. I am moving for change of scenery, have few friends here and giving my kids another flavor of the world besides good old US of A. I have a great salary in Houston in low 100's but will work for less. Call me crazy.


----------



## rmathew_99 (Sep 14, 2013)

Tropicana said:


> Its all right; being an American one privilege you earn is being able to laugh at any Brits who praise the "great weather" in this part of the world; that is as long as you dont come from Portland


lol! I do love Oregon. It is BEAUTIFUL!!!!


----------



## yvrpinoy (Aug 10, 2013)

I am also thinking of moving to Dubai. Weather and tax free are my motivators.

Been applying online here in Vancouver but no luck. I am a qualified accountant in Canada and I get a bit discouraged when I see qualified accountant (non-western nationality) posting a job wanted ad in Dubizzle asking for way way less money than I am willing to accept. I thought reading somewhere that there is a minimum salary for different academic qualifications e.g. master, bachelor?
Am I wrong?



rmathew_99 said:


> A big thanks for such a detailed reply and great insights. I am glad I am not the only one. :amen: I do have couple of friends in Dubai but they are in Accounting and Finance fields so not much help. It seems there are a lot of HR, Marketing, Finance and Accounting jobs. IT jobs are taken by a certain group who is willing to work for very cheap which has screwed up IT market in US and everywhere else. I have also sent resumes to top 10 recruiters in Dubai but still no response other than "thanks for filling up our resume database".
> 
> In your opinion, do you think there are sufficient amount of high paying (15000 AED and above) jobs in Dubai? There don't seems to be many large corporations here in Dubai. I will be happy to hear your thoughts.
> Cheers.


----------



## Jumeirah Jim (Jan 24, 2011)

yvrpinoy said:


> I thought reading somewhere that there is a minimum salary for different academic qualifications e.g. master, bachelor?
> Am I wrong?


You are WRONG..


----------



## ccr (Jun 20, 2010)

yvrpinoy said:


> I thought reading somewhere that there is a minimum salary for different academic qualifications e.g. master, bachelor?
> Am I wrong?


I hate to say this, but it is just the market here.

On the low end, I have people with MS degree working for less than minimum wage in the US as an example. And a big pool to select from at anytime...


----------



## mehranR (Jul 27, 2013)

I was in Dubai last week and I had a job interview with a dental office in healthcare city but I realizes that healthcare city is too small, job offer is low paying ( I know I have to take a pay cut to move to dubai and I am doing it for family reasons, but this is 1/5 of what I make now) they couldn't offer me more than 20k a month. I walked into so many offices and asked to speak to someone in HR dept and no one had time for me to even give them my résumé. So I realized where I was looking for a job was a small market and have to now look beyond the healthcare city. Competition for dentists is huge in certain areas like jumeira rd, al wasl rd and in healthcare city. Sometimes looking beyond certain areas may be beneficial.
Ask your friends to give you recommendation, it might work out better when resume comes from
Someone internally. It sure is a different market and sometimes it is very discouraging and disappointing but if you really want to make the move to dubai for change of scenery then you can overcome that


----------



## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

rmathew_99 said:


> LOLz. Good one. No, I am not moving to Dubai because of the weather. I was just responding to Steve who compare it to UK. I am moving for change of scenery, have few friends here and giving my kids another flavor of the world besides good old US of A. I have a great salary in Houston in low 100's but will work for less. Call me crazy.


 If you do have better luck in the future, I hope you do a thorough study of costs in Dubai vs Houston, which is probably the lowest among major cities in the US; I am talking mainly about housing and schooling both of which are very expensive in Dubai and any package that does not cover the majority of these 2 costs will not be worthwhile


----------



## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

rmathew_99 said:


> ...IT jobs are taken by a certain group who is willing to work for very cheap which has screwed up IT market in US and everywhere else...


It consistently pisses me off when I read comments like this... these "certain groups" are usually more qualified than the people from "The West" who whine about the fact that others are willing to work for less than what they consider acceptable...

Here's an idea... don't work in IT... get a job working in a field where these "certain groups" are not qualified for...

Wait... there is no such field...


----------



## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

imac said:


> It consistently pisses me off when I read comments like this... these "certain groups" are usually more qualified than the people from "The West" who whine about the fact that others are willing to work for less than what they consider acceptable...
> 
> Here's an idea... don't work in IT... get a job working in a field where these "certain groups" are not qualified for...
> 
> Wait... there is no such field...



You are countering one generalization with another.

A never ending race to the bottom in terms of wages is never good in the long term no matter what some economists tell you; Singapore and the US are just 2 places which have faced this problem recently

Some people from certain groups are more qualified, while others are not as qualified but make their absurdly low salary demands their USP. 

One can always argue as to what constitutes "absurdly low"
I dont have a set of formulae but I do know that a CA job going for 10k all inclusive, or engineering jobs paying less than 6k are all low-paid considering the living costs in Dubai


----------



## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

"certain groups" have nothing to do with it... it comes down to what the market is willing to support... its basic supply and demand... you provide a service at a price, and its up to the buyer to determine if he is willing to pay that price... 

the fact that someone else is willing to supply the same thing at a lower price has little to do with his race...


----------



## QOFE (Apr 28, 2013)

imac said:


> It consistently pisses me off when I read comments like this... these "certain groups" are usually more qualified than the people from "The West" who whine about the fact that others are willing to work for less than what they consider acceptable...
> 
> Here's an idea... don't work in IT... get a job working in a field where these "certain groups" are not qualified for...
> 
> Wait... there is no such field...


Yes, it's not just IT where this is happening. It's not good for any us that salaries get pushed down due to people accepting a lot less than they should. 
We've all seen what's happened with manufacturing of electronics, clothes, shoes, bags etc etc etc. 
Obviously the big multinationals are laughing all the way to the bank. So are many smaller companies here too.
As there aren't any unions, a set minimum salary people get used and abused.

Also, qualified on paper doesn't necessarily mean qualified to do a job.


----------



## rmathew_99 (Sep 14, 2013)

I am not against any nationality but there is a certain group who has saturated all job markets with cheap labor. Its a shame that many times than not they are just good enough and not exceptional. I have many consultants in my organization that we struggle with in terms of interpersonal skills and communication.


----------



## rmathew_99 (Sep 14, 2013)

ccr said:


> I hate to say this, but it is just the market here.
> 
> On the low end, I have people with MS degree working for less than minimum wage in the US as an example. And a big pool to select from at anytime...


Some parts of the world MS degrees come by just showing up. I have a friend from India and that's what he tell me. lolz. There are some good colleges in India but more than 50% are just good enough to get by. No offense intended to my Indian friends.


----------



## rmathew_99 (Sep 14, 2013)

imac said:


> It consistently pisses me off when I read comments like this... these "certain groups" are usually more qualified than the people from "The West" who whine about the fact that others are willing to work for less than what they consider acceptable...
> 
> Here's an idea... don't work in IT... get a job working in a field where these "certain groups" are not qualified for...
> 
> Wait... there is no such field...


Wow dude, chill out. It is the truth. How do you make the assumption that they are more qualified across the board? I have been in IT for past 18 years and I have worked with almost all nationalities. Most of my experience is from companies with more than 100, 000 employees. I would like to differ with you on this. There are people who might be good technically but leadership, communication (big issue when defining project requirements, speaking with customers etc) and interpersonal skills are just as important and many people lack these skills. I am speaking from experience and this is strictly a intellectual conversation. Please don't take it into a wrong direction.


----------



## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

rmathew_99 said:


> ..There are people who might be good technically but leadership, communication (big issue when defining project requirements, speaking with customers etc) and interpersonal skills are just as important and many people lack these skills....


True enough... there are... but not all of them belong to your "certain group" as you contend...


----------



## rmathew_99 (Sep 14, 2013)

QOFE said:


> Yes, it's not just IT where this is happening. It's not good for any us that salaries get pushed down due to people accepting a lot less than they should.
> We've all seen what's happened with manufacturing of electronics, clothes, shoes, bags etc etc etc.
> Obviously the big multinationals are laughing all the way to the bank. So are many smaller companies here too.
> As there aren't any unions, a set minimum salary people get used and abused.
> ...


Just to add, remember west spends most $$$ on R&D and education which translates into innovation. That is the reason for higher cost. Why these countries don't share that cost? I know most of my foreign co-workers learn on the job. They use the experience and information gained from the west and then compete with lower cost which is not fair. This is what we are saying.


----------



## rmathew_99 (Sep 14, 2013)

imac said:


> True enough... there are... but not all of them belong to your "certain group" as you contend...


CORRECT! Now you are getting it now. I was not mentioning one nationality although majority is from India. But, same criteria (week soft skills) goes for some Americans, Chinese, Koreans etc etc etc. But, just by being cheap does not mean you are "Qualified" is what I struggle with. Dubai seems to be having this very issue where there is a lot available but not really exceptional. 
BTW, I am not saying that I am exception. lolz


----------



## rmathew_99 (Sep 14, 2013)

Ok, so much off topic discussion. Lets get back to my original question. Any more thought? 
All who have responded with suggestions I thank you all again. So kind of you and God bless.


----------



## mehranR (Jul 27, 2013)

It all comes down to perception of value. How much is one worth to an institution or a company. Almost everyone can het the job done, but what's important is if the Job is done right.
As a dentist, I have options of using labs in US or in China. What I get from china usually cost me half to tenth of us labs depending on the case and it looks the same and functions the same, but the quality of material is different. The reason being not everyone is held to the same standards. Not everyone needs to stay on top of new technology and infact some ignore it. I saw that first hand in Dubai as well. 
I am very fortunate to see patients from united
States, India, Iran, Mexico. There are a lot of beautiful work that is being done in those countries but I was told that they paid top dollars for the procedures. I have seen crappy work from the same places too. They were very cheap. In reality, not everyone is held to the same standards and people are not held accountable for what they do. That's where Cheap labor comes into play. Jobs where people clock in and clock out, there is no decision making and there is no creativity. And believe me it is not certain group of people and I can tell you for sure that the laziest people I have seen are in US, and they think they are entitled to get top salary with the least amount of work.


----------



## Desert_Fever (Apr 13, 2013)

Going back to the original question, other than begging the recruiters, competing against millions of overly qualified people, dealing with local office politics, and since you already have an investor visa that allows you to stay - just go ahead and look for that dream telecommute job in the Good 'Ol USA. I know many people who haven't stepped a foot in the office in years and all they need is a phone line and a solid connection. Your hours might suck but then you'll have days to spend on the beach. It's really possible - just need transparent communication with the employer that your remote.


----------

