Dubai- Work

DUBAI

Expat workers come to Dubai for a number of reasons – to advance their career, for a higher standard of living, to take advantage of new career opportunities or most commonly for the lifestyle and the experience of living and working in a new culture. Whatever the reason, there are various advantages to working here.

While the biggest bonus of working in Dubai may seem to be tax-free salaries, the benefits of not paying tax has been somewhat outweighed for some nationalities by the increasing weakness of the dirham (the dirham is pegged to the US dollar) against other currencies, especially the UK pound and the euro. This has resulted in salary packages being less lucrative than they were four or five years ago which, coupled with the constantly increasing rents, means disposable income isn’t as impressive as it once was. However, there are other distinct benefits and these are what make people stay.



The New Dubai

The boom that Dubai is currently going through, even in just the last few years, is constantly changing the job market. At the very senior end of the job market there remain some idyllic opportunities and huge expat packages that attract the big players, and these are predominantly in the construction, aviation and finance industries.

However, for positions lower than senior management, the image of cushy expat life in the Gulf is changing, with much more competition in all areas of the market and increasing numbers of people looking for work in Dubai. Not so long ago foreign expats could walk in to jobs that they could only dream of back home, but these days the market is much more competitive. All-inclusive packages with accommodation and education allowances are also not as common as they used to be, although basic benefits still apply (such as annual flights home and 30 calendar days’ leave).

Work-wise, there are still a lot of great job prospects in Dubai and in many respects it is a land of opportunities for skilled professionals. It is also easier to change industries, as skill sets are less ‘pigeonholed’ than in other countries.

Jobs in certain industries (such as aviation and tourism) are likely to be much more available in the UAE due to the continued efforts to establish Dubai as a tourist and business centre.