Job Discussion Forums

[patchwork]

Hi all,

I'm curious to know if any of you have run into other expats who work in computers. If so, do they get paid a lot more than English teachers? What kind of education/background do they need?

thanks, and sorry for being off-topic.

[veiledsentiments]

Patchwork

I ran into dozens of expats who were working in computers, but they were all from the subcontinent and likely earned significantly less that EFL.

India is turning out IT workers by the millions... and most of them I dealt with knew their stuff.

The expats that are earning the big bucks are engineers and/or in the oil business.

VS

[Afra]

Yes, Irish and South AFrican and they earn much more than teachers!

[Stephen Jones]

There are a fair number of Western expats working in computers in the Emirates. The salary differential is probably the same as in the US or UK, that is to say they are likely to get between 50%-100% more.

The qualifications and background depend on their job. If you are thinking of a quick career change forget it! There is considerable unemployment among IT professionals in the UK, the US and particularly Canada. Only professionals with qualifications and considerable experience under the belt are likely to be considered.

That said, there is a shortage of trainers for ERP systems such as PeopleSoft, so if you have experience with ERP systems and training experience you might find a niche for a couple of years.

[grand fromage]

there was an IT guy hired by AMIDEAST to work for MLI. Funny thing as he had the sam initials as..., well never mind Really nice guy, but left when AMIDEAST got the boot. I'm sure he was pretty comfortable, but he was paid by a US company-not the army.