Need some help, new teaching job in qatar
Hi All,
I am UK trained and qualified teacher with 5yrs experience, and have been offered a job in a Qatar based school, the salary is QAR 10642 per month, with accommodation allowance of 7500, utilities allowance of 500, I have a wife and 2young children both under 4yrs old, can any of you tell me is the enough to live on, I have a good standard of living in the UK and do not really want to settle for less, what would my costs be in terms of shopping etc, am I likely to find good accommodation for 7500?
Any help would be much appreciated, thank you in advance.
ZakUK
@ Gavin,
You will NOT get a cost of living increase for the second year. Teachers are up in arms right now because of exactly the same point you mention. Many teachers were informed during last years skype interviews that they will receive an annual increase of 3-5%. New offers of contract (mid-way through an existing 2 year contract) state no increase.
Teachers feel they have been mis-led.
Also, lots of anguish now over housing allowances. Basically the free accommodation has been withdrawn and teachers now have to fend for themselves.
For whats its worth, there are many negative posts about the schools on 'International School Review' website.
yep I made a mistake its 300 a month utilities.
While it's at the lower end pay scale its my first teaching job abroad.
Do I get a payrise in the second year? would I get the oppourtunity for promotions while working there?
Thanks guys for all your help, i think i will be showing this post to the HR department of the school!
Thanks guys for all your help, i think i will be showing this post to the HR department of the school!
I think you will find that it is your utility amount that is incorrect. 300-500 riyals a month is an average benefit here..........not thousands.
I've just been offerred a job in Qatar also.
I'm knew into teaching but with 20 years experience in IT. I've been offerred a little less on the Salary front but accommodation allowance of 5500 plus 3000 utilities.
If I had brought my wife and kids with me I would have had an accommodation allowance of 8500 plus 4000 utilities allowance.
I suppose it all depends on the school you will be working in. I would suggest you look at your paperwork again you will probably find that you've misread the utilities amount, or they have made a mistake. (hoping they have not made a mistake on mine!).
What I would like to know is, can I find somewhere with 2 bed rooms, access to a pool and a gym for 5500 and 3000 utlities? Or will I be better off sharing a place on a complex?
I forgot to add that the cost of shopping here is comparable to that of the UK. Most of the stuff here is imported. Gasoline is very cheap though, about 20 pence a liter. That is the only real bargain here though.
The above posters are correct. This is not a good offer. You can get decent 2 bed apartment accommodation for that allowance however and you are unlikely to spend more than 250-400 a month on utilities. This will not include any TV packages or internet though.
You are also going to need transport at some point. Whilst the taxi service is quite good, there are probably just not enough of them to ensure reliability. Renting a decent car is likely to cost about 1800-3000 riyals a month. Check out 'qatarsale' dot com for an idea of rental costs for cars and apartments/villa's.
This offer though is at the bottom of the scale. There are far better packages available at other schools.
Rubbish offer - you should be doing a lot better
It is the rock-bottom minimum needed to sponsor your family. You'd need to check out whether your employer will even give you family status. If you have a job paying almost this much stay home! Your kids will need education soon.