Salary expectations consulting Ryadh or Abu Dhabi!! PLEASE HELP

If you are willing to make good saving , Riyadh is much better.

Regards,

Ahmed

Thanks, Ahmed. Would you have an idea of a salary range I should be shooting for?

Cheers,

C

What sort of consulting?!? If u want a good balanced life. Abu Dhabi. If u r only looking to save with very little or no social life, Riyadh.

Hello, Ali. Thanks for the feedback. How about in terms of career opportunities? To answer your question, I will be doing corporate strategy and innovation consulting.

Hello  Charrr, ( why so many rrrrs)?

Welcome to the EB.

I agree with Liveali and 25January both, it is a complex equation.

If you have been offered a position with as you have said with the 'Top 4' employers then I would guess they must have offered you between USD 8000 to 15000 pm, plus residence at a good compound with two to 4 visits back home.

With this package the social life difference between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi will be minimized.

As a rule if your salary is up to 20 % less, you must opt for UAE rather than Riyadh. A lot of the decision will also depend on the fact that if you are married, you will enjoy a peaceful family life with friends in Riyadh.

There is a rather strange culture here, in general, married couples avoid inviting bachelors at their get togethers and parties, so you should come prepared with what you might be facing here.

In the UAE, you have the advantage of purchasing a property on mortgage, where as there is no such system of owning property to my knowledge in Saudi Arabia..

As a conclusion I feel you are the best judge to evaluate as to what lifestyle you are planning to pursue,  if you have long term or short term plans for the life in the middle east and if you are interested in 'living well' or 'saving well'.

Hello, Riazcdki. Thank you for your detailed response.

Why so many rrrrs? I guess it's because I love pirates arrrrrgh!

The position is with a big 4 company (so, KPMG, Deloitte, EY, PWC). The headhunter was not sure about the salary, but he guessed it would be around 85K a year or may be less, but he was not sure about the details. I just had my interview last Thursday with the lead partner and it went extremely well. They told me that they will make me an offer. So, I guess I should be hearing from them sometime this week. That being said, I was not expecting the aforementioned figures, especially for someone with a bit over 2 years of experience. The other thing I am worried about is the benefits and housing... I am not sure how to negotiate that part. Just to make things clearer, and apologies if I am misunderstanding you here...

So, the 8000 - 15000 pm salary range would be expected in Ryadh, right?
Yet again, you are saying that if the offer is around the 85K per year, I should opt for UAE, right? I thought life was more expensive in Abu Dhabi...

It seems that in terms of life quality I will be enjoying the UAE more. I am single, almost 25 and have no kids. The partner though asked me a tough question: "if I ask you to live in Ryadh, would you be ok with that?" I was a bit surprised as the offer was originally in Abu Dhabi. I said, I would not mind depending on the contract of course, but truthfully I would prefer being based in Abu Dhabi and serving clients in Ryadh. So we'll see what they have to say. Thank you for your answers once again for your time.

Cheerio,

C

For salary try this site  www.payscale.com

riyadh would be financially better . accomodation is usually provided!UAE living expenses high !

it would be much easier to share what you've been offered, which will then allow the members to chime in with "TOO LITTLE for Abu Dhabi," "just enough," or you'll save more in Riyadh."