Al Jazeera-Have offering me a Job

dipeshmak
By dipeshmak

Hi All,

I have been offered a job in doha for al jazeera,

What is family life like in Doha, i have a wife and 3 yo daughter. I play golf and also dj.

Is life expensive in doha? Al Jazeera are offering free accomadation.

By Serendipity• 28 Jul 2008 10:26
Rating: 4/5
Serendipity

p.s. If you do decide to accept, do not under any circumstances resign from your current job or turn down freelance work until you actually get email confirmation that your work visa application has been successful and they have it. It can take 5-6 months, sometimes less, sometimes more, but definitely don't resign or give up work thinking you'll be out here in a month or two. You won't. Like I said, bureaucracy is a nightmare.

By Serendipity• 28 Jul 2008 10:22
Rating: 4/5
Serendipity

Ask them for a copy of your contract before you get on the plane out here. If you come out here without insisting on a contract you simply won't get one after you've arrived over here.

Double check the small print about benefits such as medical cover and school fees. If you're out here for a couple of years or more your child will need to go to school and school fees are expensive here by all accounts.

Ignore all the people who tell you to just go for it without a second thought. They just hear rumours about high salaries but they don't work there and don't have a clue about the reality of working really long hours without lunch breaks, the unsocial shift patterns, delays in paying overtime, nightmare bureaucracy meaning that you often have to go into work on your days off to sort out admin problems.

The working terms and conditions are such that while the pay might seem good (but even that's eroded with the exchange rate fluctuations as the riyal is pegged to the dollar so converting back into pounds sterling, over the course of a year it can mean a difference in a hundreds, even a couple of thousand pounds, plus inflation in Doha is at least 13% as much as 17%) it's not necessarily worth the grief.

Do a Google search check out articles in the Guardian, the Times, and if you or anyone you know has back copies of Private Eye about problems with working conditions there's stuff in there too. Things were getting worse and worse and worse for a long time, then there was a change in management. Things haven't got worse, but things haven't really had time to get any better yet either. Hopefully, with the regime change things will get better, but make an informed decision, know what you're getting yourself into before you sign on the dotted line.

By sulx• 27 Jul 2008 03:10
Rating: 4/5
sulx

dude, this is a life time opportunity. Al Jazeera is one of the best paymasters here in doha, so m sure u dont want to loose this wonderful opportunity.

and yeah, as about the standard of living in doha.. well it is a bit expensive now but still betta than most the countries in the world.

cheerZ

xoxox

By djkiller• 22 Jul 2008 20:36
Rating: 4/5
djkiller

dnt wait just grab the job...the pay good

Time Changes Everything

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