Anyone working in Saudi Arabia?
Discussion
I’ve heard they are paying great - with construction projects similar to Dubai or even larger. Paying great salaries with regular bonuses. I know it’s possibly a different culture out there but it looks like they’re making a real effort to address that and make it a popular Red Sea holiday destination, so maybe a few years out there would be good.
Not permanently there but did a bit of work in Riyadh and Jeddah around 2010 - 2012.
You will have replies here with a host of different opinions on the place. From my perspective, I can see the appeal from a financial perspective. I was working on a small consultancy project in the Environmental (Waste Management) sector and were told that our day rates were too low and to at least triple them because they equate price to quality. At the time, we were one of the more expensive firms in our sector in Europe.
It's an interesting place to visit and you are looked after well. But would I move there or work there for any length of time? No. It's not an easy place for Westerners to integrate into so most all live within compounds. For some, this has an appeal but those I worked with suggested that at times, such places can become more like an institution. Someone described them like being a wealthy council estate.
But I do know there is a sort of reform taking place there. I believe that some hotels now sell alcohol in tourist bars. I think they recognise that to continue to prosper in a world moving towards a point where oil becomes less lucrative, they need to align more with the west.
For some, it's a great opportunity. For others, it's not.
You will have replies here with a host of different opinions on the place. From my perspective, I can see the appeal from a financial perspective. I was working on a small consultancy project in the Environmental (Waste Management) sector and were told that our day rates were too low and to at least triple them because they equate price to quality. At the time, we were one of the more expensive firms in our sector in Europe.
It's an interesting place to visit and you are looked after well. But would I move there or work there for any length of time? No. It's not an easy place for Westerners to integrate into so most all live within compounds. For some, this has an appeal but those I worked with suggested that at times, such places can become more like an institution. Someone described them like being a wealthy council estate.
But I do know there is a sort of reform taking place there. I believe that some hotels now sell alcohol in tourist bars. I think they recognise that to continue to prosper in a world moving towards a point where oil becomes less lucrative, they need to align more with the west.
For some, it's a great opportunity. For others, it's not.
I’ve done some work on Neom and the Red Sea Project - interesting stuff and the money no-object days have gone. Along with (thankfully) the days of hiring all westerners as they were believed to bring skills and experience desperately needed (when in reality they ended up with a load of people on big day rates and producing little to nothing)
I work in health consulting and most of the roles in Neom particularly are being swept up by Deloitte now which is saddening but there are still some opportunities out there.
I work in health consulting and most of the roles in Neom particularly are being swept up by Deloitte now which is saddening but there are still some opportunities out there.
Saudi Arabia at present is spending money on capital projects like there is no tomorrow.
Neom is obviously the leader in this respect, but there are more than a few other major capital projects that are in the 10s of billions.
The country is changing & fast. MBS for all his faults (& yes he has a lot of those) is introducing change at an incredible pace. The country is a radically different place to even 2 years ago. The concept of "Barbie" being in the cinemas would have been laughable, but you can see it now in Saudi. There is still no booze in the hotels, though that will come.
Anybody that expresses a view that hasn't worked there recently will probably give you misinformation. I've not worked there for 8 years, so could not give you an accurate feel for what it's like today. Many will go on about the Saudi's human rights record; well thats for your personal conscience, it certainly does';t affect your day-to-day life there.
I'd have no qualms going back.
Neom is obviously the leader in this respect, but there are more than a few other major capital projects that are in the 10s of billions.
The country is changing & fast. MBS for all his faults (& yes he has a lot of those) is introducing change at an incredible pace. The country is a radically different place to even 2 years ago. The concept of "Barbie" being in the cinemas would have been laughable, but you can see it now in Saudi. There is still no booze in the hotels, though that will come.
Anybody that expresses a view that hasn't worked there recently will probably give you misinformation. I've not worked there for 8 years, so could not give you an accurate feel for what it's like today. Many will go on about the Saudi's human rights record; well thats for your personal conscience, it certainly does';t affect your day-to-day life there.
I'd have no qualms going back.
Just hit our three year NEOM anniversary. Bit of a mad thing to do because we hadn't been to the Middle East at all and came out just after the first lockdown. Wouldn't have changed the decision with knowing how things will turn out. I don't think there's anywhere in the world that society is changing so fast.
Lots of discussion on the British Expat forum, although it skews to those asking questions about what everything is like.
Lots of discussion on the British Expat forum, although it skews to those asking questions about what everything is like.
My mate works in Aramco, has done for a few years now. Managed to survive the cull during lockdown and believe me, there was. He is lucky though, lives in Bahrain but goes across the Causeway to work.
I have been over to visit him on both work and pleasure. He has a nice life and meeting some of his local colleagues, they are a good bunch.
Get a good company you are ok but there is always this talk of Saudiasation depending who you speak to.
I am actually meant to go out there to do some inspections in Jeddah this week but bloody visa is taking ages so I dont think i will end up going.
I have been over to visit him on both work and pleasure. He has a nice life and meeting some of his local colleagues, they are a good bunch.
Get a good company you are ok but there is always this talk of Saudiasation depending who you speak to.
I am actually meant to go out there to do some inspections in Jeddah this week but bloody visa is taking ages so I dont think i will end up going.
From a financial and cultural change perspective I would say break out of your comfort zone and go for it.
I took up employment in the UAE two years ago and it was the best decision I made, especially from a financial perspective.
KSA s a great place with great people, and very authentic. The landscape is vast and varied - there's scenery you'd think only existed in works of fiction. If nightlife is a must then perhaps re-evaluate that if financial gains are your goal.
The other good thing about going to somewhere like KSA is that if ever you do find another position in the GCC that takes your fancy (e.g. UAE, Qatar...) then the geographical proximity is going to make you more favourable (assuming there's a pool of candidates with the same skills etc) to somewhere looking to relocate from much further away or who is going to be 'new' to the Middle East.
However, as per the above: go for it.
I took up employment in the UAE two years ago and it was the best decision I made, especially from a financial perspective.
KSA s a great place with great people, and very authentic. The landscape is vast and varied - there's scenery you'd think only existed in works of fiction. If nightlife is a must then perhaps re-evaluate that if financial gains are your goal.
The other good thing about going to somewhere like KSA is that if ever you do find another position in the GCC that takes your fancy (e.g. UAE, Qatar...) then the geographical proximity is going to make you more favourable (assuming there's a pool of candidates with the same skills etc) to somewhere looking to relocate from much further away or who is going to be 'new' to the Middle East.
However, as per the above: go for it.
I've not worked there myself but my dad did extensively (mainly Jeddah) in the 80's
He embraced the culture - that wasn't the problem. He left because he became infuriated with setting up systems/procedures then senior (Saudi) managers parachuting in relatives to take the credit a month before the end of a two year project. At one point (like Mercedes F1) he had his entire team transferred to a failing team and then had to re-train side to have any chance of achieving his targets/bonus.
I've no doubt the social culture may have changed but I doubt the above will. Not enough for me to work there anyway.
He embraced the culture - that wasn't the problem. He left because he became infuriated with setting up systems/procedures then senior (Saudi) managers parachuting in relatives to take the credit a month before the end of a two year project. At one point (like Mercedes F1) he had his entire team transferred to a failing team and then had to re-train side to have any chance of achieving his targets/bonus.
I've no doubt the social culture may have changed but I doubt the above will. Not enough for me to work there anyway.
Never lived there, but all the same I have zero regrets about not having been back there in twenty years!
If asked to describe the country in three words, they would have to be boring, hypocritical and hot!
For some reason a couple of beers at 30,000 feet leaves me feeling like I've got a 12 pint hangover, so I never drink on flights, with the one exception of having one at the earliest opportunity to celebrate escaping Riyadh on BA!
If asked to describe the country in three words, they would have to be boring, hypocritical and hot!
For some reason a couple of beers at 30,000 feet leaves me feeling like I've got a 12 pint hangover, so I never drink on flights, with the one exception of having one at the earliest opportunity to celebrate escaping Riyadh on BA!
Spent 4 years there in the North West by the new Neom area (Tabuk) until late 2021 and the money was very good, in my role, at double what the UK pays plus no tax to worry about, but whilst I was there the cost of living in Saudi doubled (food, fuel etc) but it was still quite cheap.
As a single person (so no UK family to support/pay for) I saved about £100k in 4 years which cleared off all my debt and left me with a great deposit on a house back in the UK.
The negatives for me as a single person out there were many but mostly more like minor niggles (a family person would find these much bigger if they have kids etc) but their COVID lockdown was "brutal" and one of my main deciders in coming home.
As a single person (so no UK family to support/pay for) I saved about £100k in 4 years which cleared off all my debt and left me with a great deposit on a house back in the UK.
The negatives for me as a single person out there were many but mostly more like minor niggles (a family person would find these much bigger if they have kids etc) but their COVID lockdown was "brutal" and one of my main deciders in coming home.
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