Posted By Dexter That's very true!!! wayne is right...Dubai is growing rapidly and lots of constructions and projects are on-going and more to come. H&S are in demand. Best regards, Dex™

Posted By Steve Ferrett So Wayne I am confused, if the quoted salary and package is to be true why oh whay are the guys wanting to return. I work as a country H&S manager in Qatar where the accomodation is even more expensive than Dubai and I manage! I know of a recently qualified NEBOSH construction cert holder with 3 years experience in multi site and civils looking for work in the Middle East!! If you have any contacts would be greatfully appreciated. Cheers Steve

Posted By Wayne Harris Steve, The reason why the 2 guys are returning is they signed up with a company on a local wage which did not fully cover their schooling or housing cost. It seems they had signed up from the UK without doing any research on Dubai and cost of living. If they had a negotiated a package as stated in my first posting they would now be enjoying a great time with family's here in Dubai. People should be aware of some of the cost for example: Average cost of a basic small 3 bedroom villa is around £23,000 per annum, 3 bed apartments £15,000. Schooling anything from £2,000 to £4,000 per term. So if you do take a Job in Dubai you should make sure its covered in your contract.

Posted By Robert Fisher I'm looking for a new challenge in the construction sector. Been working in UK as a Health & safety professional for over 17years and 6 years in construction as a group manager. I dont have expereince in high rise or heavy civils but pick it up quickly and research best systems. Where would I get some help and guidance for working abroad. Sounds a great opportunity. R. Fisher CMIOSH age 38

Posted By Philip Reid Wayne Well said. There are more than enough resources on the web to find out what you should be expecting in terms of package. One thing that should be pointed out about Dubai though is the traffic. It's horrendous! Pick the wrong area to live and you can be spending at least a couple of hours each day sitting in jams. Then when it does get moving, the standard of driving is suicidal. Another is the humidity...fine if you're there in the cooler season or working in a/c all the time. But if not then it can really be a physically demanding environment. Not meaning to take the gloss off the Gulf's favourite destination, but there are big downsides when you're there to make a living. I'm in Kuwait on oil & gas H&S, with my family, and even though we're restricted in (official) "liquid luxuries", there are many of us here who would never ever want to live in Dubai. We can get there for weekends and that's enough. Horses for courses I guess!

Posted By Wayne Harris Paul, send me your details

Posted By EI The phrase "Buyer Beware" springs to mind when chasing overseas employment. Figures like equivalent of 125,000 should be looked into in more detail. Consider: Accommodation paid - you may still have a mortgage in the UK! School Fees Paid - this normally does not include University Fees! School in the UK - FREE! Transport - granted, normally free - what use if you cant go anywhere! Tax Free - till a company changes terms to include the dreaded "Hypotax". Basically, quality of life in some Middle East areas is superior to the UK. Some of the costs of living are also cheaper - some are certainly not. 50K per annum tax free in Dubai sounds about the average that has been quoted to me over the last 18 months. In comparison, Qatar, SA, etc, offer a higher salary (I work in Qatar). but if you think realistically, what are the level of experience required in these locations? If you have this, you can exceed 50K tax free working as a LTD company in the UK. You also get home more often. Other things to consider. Some companies offer 5 weeks holiday - it only starts after you have done 12 months of your contract. For your 50K you will almost certainly be working 6 days a week, 10 hours per day with transportation time on top of that. Dubai is seen as the pot of gold destination at present. The reality if salaries are dropping due to people thinking they will live the dream. Anyone looking to work in the UAE areas, accept nothing less that 75k plus accommodation, etc. 1 last point, beware of the many people who appear to offer hope of living a dream but then you never hear from them (very common with UAE positions).

Posted By CWCaz Wayne, After reading your comments, would it be too cheeky to email you my details and see what job you think I could apply for - I have been searching for about 7 months now and not yet found anything suitable. Thank you! CCW

Posted By Wayne Harris EI, Some of the information you have posted can be misleading; Its interesting that you say the salaries are higher in Qatar or Saudai Arabia, than in Dubai? I presume this is in the oil or gas industry, not construction? I have also been sent a number of CV.s from people who work in Qatar or SA in the contruction industry who would like to join our organisation, and their salary packages have not been anywhere near the £75k you have suggested. More like £40K tax free. Salarys ar not dropping in the UAE? as a major employer here in the emirates we are seeing them rise every year. As for myself and others in our organisation we work 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, and can take our holidays anytime we wish. Suggesting that people should be looking for £75K tax free salary with accommodation as a minimum, well good luck in trying. As for people in Dubai who never respond this is sometimes true, mainly when they receive cv,s from people around the world who have applied for a position, but then do not meet the criteria for the roles. Its overload here in Dubai with speculative CV,s. As for living the dream, I do, and so do many others here in Dubai. Final point, I have said on my postings several times allways check the contract details and choose your employer wisely, like all countries around the world there are good employers and there are bad employers.

Posted By Naz Nathu Wayne, I am somewhat perplexed by the scope of your thread. Is the purpose of this thread to advertise vacancies that you are aware of in Dubai, if so surely this is outside the scope of this forum? However if this is not the purpose of this thread why are you asking others to send you their details?

Posted By Wayne Harris Naz, To make things clear I am not a recruitment agent or work for any type of recruitment firm and I am not advertising vacancies here in Dubai. I am only trying to help our members by passing on some useful advice if they are considering working in Dubai. We have over 1500 health and safety people of various levels, and nationalities, working for contractors on our developments. So I can help if some one is not sure on working here in Dubai etc. As you can imagine not all staff are from the UK and as a international institution we should help and support our UK and International members with any advice we can.

Posted By EI Wayne forgot to add. On the point of salaries dropping, positions in Dubai were on offer at 50K tax free 4 years ago.

Posted By stuart reid Hi Wayne, I am still looking for a position in UAE, if you have any contacts or companies I could canvas I would be grateful.