Job Discussion Forums

[Al-gandol]

I am considering a position as a Senior Economist for a reputable institution in Dubai.

They are looking for a candidate with this profile:
* Post Graduate (Ph.D preferred though not absolutely essential)
* Extensive experience in government or non-profit public policy agencies
* Excellent linguistic skills in English and Arabic (if current levels are not fluent, should be committed to learn Arabic in six months time)

Compensation & Benefits (will not be a constraint for the right candidate).
Tax free Salary + Medical + Gratuity + Annual Leave travel tickets + Performance Bonus

Here are the highlights of my background:
1. Over 15 years of experience in this field
2. Strong analytical background and Information Technology
3. Ph.D degree from a reputable university in the US
4. Native Arabic speaker and fluent in English and French

They acknowledged that my background fits the requirements. Now they are asking for the following information:

- Breakup of Current Annual Compensation & Benefits : Fixed & Variable (Incentives/Bonus).
- Expected Annual Compensation
- Notice Period

I am not familiar with salaries and compensations in UAE and would appreciate any suggestions or comments. What range of salary is reasonable for this kind of position?

Thanks

[helenl]

You probably won't get a satisfactory answer to your questions as most of the people here are EFL teachers, not economists.

[Sheikh N Bake]

You also didn't even mention whether the "institution" is a university and whether this is a teaching job. Maybe we're supposed to assume that, since this is a teaching-related forum, but as helenl says, EFL teachers are not experts on PhD salaries for economics professors. Having said that, I can offer a reasonable guess that most of the reputable, well-established universities in the UAE might be offering something like 18,000 or 19,000 Dh. per month plus housing, medical and school benefits for a new assistant professor rank. At least, that guess seems reasonable to me. Others may disagree--so helenl's comment holds!

[trapezius]

^ He said "Senior Economist", so it can't be an Assistant Professor position.

And considering the job title one more time, I am going to go with the 'fact' that this is not a teaching job. In fact, that job title is found in every bank, so I am going to go with that.

Let me ask some questions:

Where is your previous work experience? (country, and industry)
How much were you getting paid at your previous jobs?
What were the living expenses like in your previous countries of residence?

That should help you decide how much to ask. I would say take the highest salary you ever got, and add, say, 10% to 20% to it. If living expenses were very high previously, perhaps no need to add any percentage to the previous salary, as living expenses will now be covered. BTW, would you be given housing, or a housing allowance? You didn't mention it. If not, you have to take that into account.

Assuming this is at a bank, the salary for that job position in the Gulf could be the equivalent of anywhere from AED 40,000 to 200,000+ per month.

Your nationality and ethnic origin is also a factor (a big factor, perhaps). If you are an Arab, I don't have to tell you about the discriminatory employment benefits in Gulf Arab countries, I am sure you know. If you have a US, Canadian, Australasian, or a Western European passport, you would get higher pay than if you don't.

It would also be good to do some research and find salaries for that position in the Gulf.

I have a 31 year old Turkish friend working in a bank in Saudi, and he only has 4 years experience, and a B.S. in IT (from Turkey). His field is Data Securty. He gets about SR. 20,000 per month, plus a furnished apartment on a nice compound on the Corniche (coast). So, as you can see, salaries in banks for specialists are pretty high. The CIO (Chief Information Officer) in that bank, an American, gets SR. 450,000 per month. Yes, you read that correctly. That's $120,000/MONTH. Plus all other benefits you can and can't imagine.

I don't know what more I can say.

Good luck!

P.S. If, on the odd chance this is a actually a faculty position at a university, then the highest faculty salaries in the Gulf are around AED/SR 30,000 as a package (base salary + housing allowance + transport allowance)..