The overpaid expat
Been reading a lot of complaints about some expats being over paid on Qatar Living after finding out what people in my office got paid--huge gaps (I am on privileged end by can't figure out why for the life of me).
Which expats (group/profession) do you think are the most overpaid in Qatar? How would you change the system?
just think of the exchange rate...
I have worked in recruitment in Qatar for the last 3 years and yes western expats tend to get paid more, however, as we all know they will have to return to the country of origin at some point and the cost of living tends to be a lot higher than say India, Sri Lanka or the philippines to name a few. In addition the cost of their education will have been huge too, compared to some less developed countries in the world - this also has to be paid off. Also, there are very high tax brackets in most western countries and for a lot of expats (canadians and australians) they are still paying some form of tax back home, whereas as my Filipino colleague pointed out the other day, they are supposed to pay tax bck in the philippines but no one does and it is never chased up. I wish that Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs could be so forgetful!
oh and to the person who said that they were about to recruit a baker for some senior position from the uk - this is doubtful, any HR dept worth their salt would take references from their current and previous employer (to a business address) and you HAVE to have an education certificate in order to get a Visa for senior roles - the immigration dept will not procees without one. Now, I have seen enough fake certificates from India to last me a lifetime, but that is another story
Well if yer gonna pay peanuts you will only get Monkeys!
Overpaid expat?
You negotiated your contract,right? You get what you bargained for. You signed the contract, you agreed to whatever the terms were. Then why complain, when someone gets better than you. You still have choices.
I also see it that way
Qatarization is looked at by most businesses a government tax--all part of the cost of doing business.
Only expats are getting overpaid? LOL!
There is a domino effect in everything you pay for... nothing is free in this life!
The world is not fair... How do you define fairness anyway? This is highly subjective, the key is stop comparing, if you finish your contact and can't find a salary rate that satisfies you, by all means ship out! Quatarization may not be amenable to all, however, it is not a choice for you. It is their country after all.
The world is not fair... How do you define fairness anyway? This is highly subjective, the key is stop comparing, if you finish your contact and can't find a salary rate that satisfies you, by all means ship out! Quatarization may not be amenable to all, however, it is not a choice for you. It is their country after all.
WK--That's the problem. They NEEDED Qatarization to sort out the mess. :-)
Frenchieman in my company there was no Qatarisation yet they could have run their operations with around 60 % of the staff that they had. Maybe they hired more people to cover for the time when someone goes on vacation but still there were far too many people.
@ cabbage,you probably met him but he obviously didn't tell you he was a plumber!...those are the dirty little secrets the H.R. dept. digs up...the Qr. 1000/- riyal plumber you're referring to is the South Asian one!..."project manager","head of maintenance" call it what you like,the guy is a bloody plumber & yes,he's still working there!...the higher up's just can't be arsed to fire him & find someone new in the middle of a project & the project isn't being affected since the Asian & white engineers working under him actually know what they're doing!...but the fact remains that he is a........!!!
I think in all things you get what you pay for. If they believe that a white guy gives the company legitimacy and the white guy won't come over for less that a high amount, then that is the market rate.
WK--the amount of free time often depends on the structure. When it is Qatarization, there is one employee there for welfare purposes and another to do the job.
salary is based from your nationality.... thats the reality!
probably the poster is not aware of engineering jobs. ;)
Never met a British plumber over here yet and to be paid 50K? - highly unlikely; especially when you can get another plumber for QR 1,000; therefore the ‘British plumber’ would not be a plumber they would be a Project Manager.
A Project Manager could be paid that amount - but it is dependent on who they work for and the 'job'.
I don't care much for the over paid ones but most of the companies here have way more staff than what they need.
Employees have so much free time on their hands because there are 5 people doing what 2 people should be doing.
Pandora box. I know one when I see one.
It's called the "colonial hangover",i thought India had it bad but this neck of the woods is just pathetic & that's putting it mildly...having said that,why blame the British plumber if he was hired as "head of maintenance" earning 50k a month plus benefits?...the blame lies with the clowns that hired him & pay him that much for a job he's obviously not qualified to do...
everyone is overpaid, comparing every expat to their earning back in home.
There are lots of Cobblers in the UK who make handmade shoes and we still have lots of traditional bakeries too :-)
I think most are paid what they are worth :-)
What's next? A topic on the most overpaid Qatari??
And I love the story about the UK 'shoe maker' and 'bakery man'. When was the last time anyone in the UK made a shoe????
Hilarious!!
Indeed, repeated over and over and over and over...
Enjoy... just let people steam off.
Repeat.
Heard this story from an HR Senior at a very VERY big local company a few days ago. 4 white guys (british & scotish) were hired for senior marketing & such positions. The HR Senior, who got some degree in UK about 30 years ago, realized he had a better 'English' then these guys. He started researching on them & turned out 2 of them were painters, one a shoemaker & the last one was a bakery-man. Their salaries ranged from QAR 45,000 to QAR 54,000..guess what..they're still working here.
I have an Indian friend who earns over 200,00 QR am month .... :o)
white skin with pigmentation on it.
really?americans are better at what they do? why they are here then?well, not most of them, but they really know how to insist on what they know is right even if it's wrong.i have an american boss who knows how to manipulate things(he's really good) and he even doesn't know what he's job is...
i am overpaid for what i do,(though my salary is just housing allowance for some) but calculating based from the standard of living here, my salary is not enough.
My sense is that Americans get paid more because they have different skills sets and are generally better at what they do (and know I am not an American).
Probably more the Americans than the British, but the British are willing to spend more of it.
i think it's too obvious that americans and british are the most overpaid in qatar..they're like "son of God" who enjoys all the previledge in this world..
I am the first to admit that I am disgustingly overpaid for what I do (financial consulting). If people would pay attention, do a little legwork, and have some confidence, we would loose half our clients.
Some people get screwed because of their country of origin, but in my experience far more whine about it than genuinely suffer from it (at least in my area and other professions with which I work). Always easier to blame THE MAN than to fix oneself.