Job Discussion Forums

[reberg]

Hello good people!

I'd like you to review offer I've been given and to tell me do you think it is
worth to go for it or not.

What I've been offered is:

- Salary: $4300 per month (tax free)
- Yearly flight to home country
- Relocation expense
- 22 days holiday
- yearly bonus (usually one months pay)
- medical insurance (50% rebate on all
medical bills)

To give you a little bit overview about my current situation. I'm married first of all, no kids yet. We'd be satisfied with 1 bedroom in a nice area. We would like to live in a close distance from my workplace which would be in Emirates Towers. I'll be negotiating a housing allowance while my
next talk to my potential employer. My wife is a lawyer (polish law) and we
are affraid it can be hard to find a job for her in Dubai. That's why there is a possibility I'll be the only person who would earn money for both of us.

I'll be thankful for your opinions.
Any advices?

Thank you,
Tomasz

[caliph]

What is the job? $4300. could be good or bad depending on the job.

22 days holiday is way too little, about half of what most teaching jobs offer.

50% medical, hope you're in good health, I'd say that's below normal.

With most employment medical insurance, you pay a flat rate 50-100dirhams when you see the the doctor, that covers all follow on treatment, including major surgery.

Negotiate hard for housing allowance, rents in Dubai are skyhigh and rising daily.

It's unlikely your wife could work as a lawyer with her Polish credentials.

[veiledsentiments]

I suspect that this poster is not a TEFL teacher.

Tomasz... Most people here would consider that a FANTASTIC salary, but you have to judge within your field, not ours. The key for you is to negotiate a decent housing allowance plus a furniture allowance. Dubai rents are not cheap... and rising rapidly. You might do a google to check on rental agents in Dubai to see how much you will need.

By the standards of the education field the holidays are very slim, but again you must compare within your own field. Same with the medical coverage. In education, we get more medical coverage, and 2 months off for the summer is the usual.

And I agree that your wife may have trouble finding work commensurate with her education. I would research to see what Polish companies may have offices there.

VS

[Capricorny]

I'd just like to add on to what V.S. has suggested about researching the rents here. Forget about the UAE English dailies. Those ads which seem to be within one's budget are usually bait and switch, i.e. if you happen to have a housing allowance of dhs 75,000 per annum, you might believe that, according to the newspaper ads, 75,000 is sufficient. Usually the response to the ad when you call is "Sorry, the flat we'd advertised just rented out this morning."

It's a typical gimmick used here in a cut throat housing market where real estate agents from India, Eastern Europe, the U.K and other places. have come to strike it rich quickly.

When the agent knows your housing allowance he or she figures you would be willing to pay an extra 20 -25,000 dhs out of pocket sooner or later. There is also an illegal 100 dhs viewing fee plus the ubiquitous 5% - 10% commission to the agent. And in many cases the guards (or doormen as they are known in the US) now want a hefty cut.

[veiledsentiments]