Canadian Expat Offer in Qatar (Please Help)

Sounds like OP is Canadian in passport only. Unlikely to get the overly generous expat deal you get bachus.

So I say take the job in Qatar and bring your family for the better life. This is a good offer for you. Just remember not to bite the hand that feeds you.

If you are coming as an expat, my advice above stands in terms of what you should expect in terms of the offer. Benefits can be worth more than salary, and your salary alone will struggle to cover your living costs.

But it sounds like you've already made up your mind. For your sake, I hope you get a much better offer.

btw--it is not simply a matter of having a Western passport. If you are, for example, Lebanese by birth but hold a Canadian passport, they will likely still see and treat you as Lebanese. Wrong but all too common.

Thanks guys for your comments, you were all very helpful. I am actually working now in Kuwait and I'm making almost the same as the offer. There are 3 main reasons why I am interested in the job offer in Qatar.

1. I lived in Kuwait for 7+ years and had enough

2. The company I work at now is excellent but is local. As a Canadian who is planning to return to Canada eventually, I need to put on experience with a global company. That will make it easier for me to find work in Canada when I do decide to return.

3. The company in Qatar is international/global and would look very impressive for me in the future.

Nonetheless, I do plan to negotiate my salary with the Qatar company.

I am:

- Fluent in English and Arabic

- Canadian passport holder (unfortunately most companies in the Middle-East do look at this)

- 10+ years of experience (7 in Oil & Gas)

- I have 4-year B.Com degree from Canada and Postgraduate degree from U.K.

- The position is Lead Contract Administration (i.e. I can manage/negotiate/administer Contracts & Legal documents in English & Arabic)

My Questions are:

1. With the above qualifications, what would be a good salary range for someone like me?

2. How much should I ask for as a "Regional Group" candidate?

3. How much should I ask for as a "Global Expat Group" candidate?

Once again, thanks for your advise.

I look forward to your feedback.

:)

Request for 15000 a month USD, would be a good start in gulf

it depends how much experience you have and how good you are in negotiating your package :)

Best of luck.

But friendly advise, if you are moving from canada to doha, go ahead even if you get a lower package.

It's a terrible offer, because it won't cover your living expenses.

Petrol is cheap but the costs of running a car are not.

Family housing in a decent compound will run about 15k or more (plus bills)

Schooling at an international school will run upwards of 40k a year per child.

Monthly food, clothing, misc costs are high here because most thinks simply are more expensive (especially food).

By my count you won't have much left over at the end of the month if you want to live a Western lifestyle.

Is there any explanation from the company why they won't offer you an expat package?

As a general rule, a basic Western expat package should offer the following:

1. 1.2-1.5 times salary in home country

2. Housing

3. Education for all children

4. Private health insurance

5. Car allowance

6. Flights for family every year

Some companies prefer to bump up the salary further instead offering one of the other benefits, but it still works out to be the same.

I would suggest that you try to negoiate excluding housing from the total package of 120,000. Housing in Qatar is pretty expensive and a decent appartment is probably going to run you around 9000QR / villa around 15,000 QR. Factoring taxes with the total package is not that bad yet you would get hit with the housing expense, if you were to accept the current offer. It's like making 150,000 in NYC and making 50,000 upstate NY and you are saving just around the same amount of money.

not Bad

It sounds more like your package should be $120,000 an then they add on (at no expense to you) housing, schooling, transportation, etc. That's more standard.

Mandi

Hi,

Details of your Job is not clear to me so I can't tell whether the offer is suitable to your experience and capacity, and also lifestyle will have to be considered so will you know how much your savings will be. Cost of living in Qatar is high. If you will just end up saving same amount from your home country, better stay right?

Just my opinion on Expat group and Regional Group, Expat - if you will administer only within Qatar and therefore having less responsibility and authority. Regional - if your company is multinational in scope and they have Headoffice here in Qatar but still your responsiblity encompass those in other region.

Just my opinion.

salary in oil n gas is pretty fix. the HR of oil n gas companies are very structured and they adhered strictly to their guideline. there is hardly any room for negotiation. usually, you will be offered a range of basic salary (min to max). you'll always get the median. the other allowances are cast in stone. if you play hard, they'll just simply reject you.

Lead Contract Admin

OK

28000 base

16000 housing

2500 transport

Kids education. Expensive here

Plus annual bonus

Cost of living in Qatar is not cheap. Any place that makes London look like a bargain is going up in the world unless you want to live on biriyani and falfael every day......

Thanks GoodoldJim for your reply. That's what I thought but I wanted to get others' opinions. What do you think is a reasonable salary (including housing, basic, transportation and education) for a western family of 3-4 in Qatar?

Sounds a bit cheap for your experience but they see you as an Arab and not a true westerner.