CALLING ALL FILIPINOS: Help...

LUCKY ENOUGH!!! SEE WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO TO MAXIMIZE YOUR LIVING WITH YOUR EARNING. IT'S REALLY UP TO YOU SIR. WELCOME TO DOHA AND GOOD LUCK!

very well said ervin ! thanks!

yes it is included.. for personal hygiene you can take this every 3 weeks to 1 month depending on how huge the bottles are.. i prepare my own food too.. my cost of living here in Doha is much less compared to Japan. But with Doha and Manila, Manila is more cheaper... a lot!

wow thanks ervin very well said are those amounts your owned cooked?does soap and personal hygiene includes that?

if you prepare your own food.. its enough... i usually alot a budget of 1000 for my food but i never reached that far.. my farthest so far is 627.90 (June2011) and thinnest was during diet days 422.65 riyals (Feb.2011)... thanks to my ExpenseRecorder software...

hi thanks for that great insight.. im a non smoker and non drinker,,hehe.. you mean 600 allowance monthly will be enough?

hello kabayan! thanks for ur comment.. what if the employer dont give it to me? I think i can demand after mastering my work. but for now live the salary they gave for a while.sagot nila ang accomodation and transportation...

hi rodgie, thanks for your insight.. yep i know a frend who is suffering a 1750 qr salary with the same job title that i have..i do have a low profile lifestyle.. will the 600qr enough for my monthly food?my friend told me thats too much.. 400 is already enough for monthly consumption...

1. yes theyll be providing me a two way ticket upon entering the airport..2. yes we do have annual leave of 3 weeks for  2years below employees and 4 wks for 2 years above employee..3. i dont get this one but if u are asking if its stated in my contract.yes..4. definite..3400 is basic. ot is not yet included... 600 is what they called shifting allowance..  will it suit for my monthly food consumption?im a person with low profiled lifestyle..  thanks for ur insights mam...

1. yes theyll be providing me a two way ticket upon entering the airport..2. yes we do have annual leave of 3 weeks for  2years below employees and 4 wks for 2 years above employee..3. i dont get this one but if u are asking if its stated in my contract.yes..4. definite..3400 is basic. ot is not yet included... 600 is what they called shifting allowance..  will it suit for my monthly food consumption?im a person with low profiled lifestyle..  thanks for ur insights mam...

hi erwin, thanks for welcoming me, i also dont like that phrase too.. everything that i am receiving and will be receive is because of God...i dont regret it...

i don't like these... "accept it, better than nothing..."

i am japanese filipino and a lot of filipino friends and my cousins from father side are all like this phrase which is very contrary on my japanese side.. its like you're saying that you have no choice but life has a lot of opportunities..

by the way, sirmarxson26, welcome aboard!

ON-BOARD! Welcome!

free accomodation and transpo..and i have a very low profile lifestyle

thanks to all of you guys, hey dont fight guys.. are u guys filipino? by the way, they offered me free accomodation and transportaion.. Dont you think that offer is good enough?my brother in law is also there, sacrificing and missing his family for only 1750qr...i must admit to you im a computer engineering undergrad. with a lot of experience in SALES, i also took small machine repair and maintenance course in TESDA. I became a sales supervisor here and just take home 5-6k pesos every payday..do you think 4000QR is not enough?i just wanted to know, what can i buy for a living with a 600qr allowance? im not a techy person, but on my 1st salary there ill buy a not that cheap and not that costy laptop, anti-homesick..hehe..primarily, the 600qr will be for my primary needs and foods..what can i buy from it?

Guys, the topic has been expounded which makes the story wonderful because we are giving him ideas what Qatar really is. Sometimes we need to further the whole thing to make him aware of the things he is not seeing from the contract. So don't bother if one has expound the topic beyond what is being asked because I am sure sirmax is excited to read all our insights and would likely consider them in the future.

but when you say "suggest", you are asking him what to do in a way!Anyway, I am not in "fighting" mood today so cheer up, let him decide for himself, that's 12 days to go! Lol!

I think you are missing what the word suggest means Flor... too bad.

Well, I am fully aware that the decision is up to him.

@sirmarxson26- Goodluck! I hope when you gets here you wouldn't tell yourself that you should have demand in the first place :) Qatar is not that bad, but it surely is costly. :)

on or before September 1, so he already accepted the offer.  I said, if he negotitae now, wo consequences, he egts what he wants or lose the opportunity.  It's up to him to decide!

hmmm, let me think what it means? You are not asking him what to do, just demand?  Hmmmmm, let me think again!  Lol!

@Flor - and who told you that he did? If you could read my previous post- i said " I suggest that you demand"  I am not telling him what to do., (you may want to backread) And i'm giving him an insight on how it is here in Qatar based on my own experience, not on yours or any other else'

Now, if you couldn't get my point on the reason why, according to you MANY of our countrymen are getting a small salary, then FINE! Its your own prerogative.

the OP did not negotiate?There are two things if he do the negotiation now, get the job or LOSE the opportunity.He had his offer, let him decide what to do. He was asking about life here or cost of living here, let us advise him about the reality here.  What I said above is many of our countrymen lives here on a much smaller salary and survive, so for me, teh offer was acceptable with his profile.

Which I think @ Flor.,the reason why the offers are getting low and low... They dont demand what they think they should be getting in exchange of their skills. Employers think that they will accept it anyways, so why offer them higher than that.

Same case happened to me, my boss told me that he contested my salary to my HR manager (regarding my offer which he think is a bit low, (which at that time i think is fine) the HR manager respond him back, what if she accept the offer? which i did because i have no idea at that time as it is my first time in the Gulf) (My boss told me this after i signed my contract :( but he promised that once we start to get things moving, as our division is new and he is new too.., some changes will be done regarding my salary as we are going to run the office independently and HR has nothing to do with it ) Its one of my mistake,  I didnt TRY to demand! I just accepted it.

Good questions. Somehow a guide for him before coming up here. A lot of people misunderstood the Contract and did not bother to ask. It is very tempting to accept and calculate the equivalent of the money that they will be receiving here, little did they know it is misleading the employee and it is too late to realize that each statement stipulated in the contract  is not limited to. The questions asked by Marie must be taken seriously and must be asked prior to your flight here in Doha. Make everything clear and be wiser. Good luck!

received half of that and survive.  So take it!  Welcome to Qatar!

Some important pointers too...

Ask, if they are issuing release , and if they do have gratuity ...

If they offer free accomodation and transportation plus the package that you mentioned., then that is ok, but i would say not a best offer. Living here is quite costly.

If you are experienced enough and you got the skills, try to demand for more. Usually they offer the lowest package at first.. (which they think you might likely to accept) So i suggest, you demand!

If accomodation is free , transportation is free then you should atleast request QAR 6000 Net as basic salary +allowances . I guess no point coming here below the above amount . Annual airtickets and medical must be company provided -pls note this also . 30 days annual vacation every 12 months .

Better to be a Free Tiger  in your own country than to be a caged tiger here compromising on your salary and slogging in the heat . 

You come here to earn salary which is fit for your technical skills and experience , not what is thrown to you by your employment agent or contractor at NDIA . So stay your foot @QAR 6000 per month +annual airtickets  +medical +bonus if any +free accomodation and transportaion to -fro to work .

as what the rest suggests, that its better to confirm first your benefits and allowances. 3400QR comprises of what??? basic only? and 600Qr is what? how about your accommodation and transportation? is this provided by the Company? moreover, try to check your benefits also like:

1. Air ticket

2. Annual Leave

3. End of Service

4. is your contract definite or indefinite?

These things are important. very important...

~smile always~

Take the offer, you're lucky that you had that offer for a site technician. Some filipino technicians are getting much lower offers yet they are accepting it. I agree with fellow QLs, it may depend on your lifestyle. Good Luck and welcome to Qatar..

no worries kabayan accept and enjoy it...

If they'll provide you with free accomodation and transpo, and you don't have a big family to support back in the Philippines then that offer is good enough...

you can survive with that package (as a 1st timer)..just live a simple life and stay away from bad things..Good luck!!

if its free transpo and accomodation, accept it, better than nothing....

if ree accomodation and transportation and the 600 is food allowance and you will cook your own food its two much enough for you

yes, they are right.. 600 allowance is not clear.. is it accomodation/housing allowance? food allowance? transpo?

If this is for housing, its not enough..i believe the 600 allowance you mentioned is for food because usually here, employers provide transpo and housing..

Does your contract provide free accommodation, transportation, food plane fares etc. ? These are important factors for us to give you a good advise.

Also, there are a lot of posts in "cost of living" in Doha which you can enter and search in the above box, which can help you decide better

You will be provided with free accommodation and transportation.  These things costs a lot here in Doha.  600 Allowance, I think it's enough if you will prepare your own food, cost of living in Doha nowadays is very high and I prefer to make it 1,000 (food, personal items).

The cost of living here is quite high, but whether your salary is enough would mainly depend on your lifestyle. Other factors, such as whether your company would provide you with accommodation and transportation would be very important as well. If you have to pay your accommodation, from your own pocket, then I'm afraid your salary would not be enough.