Working mother with young children in Doha

I'm working in US and planning to come down to Qatar for a year or so, I work with IBM in SAP Technical field. Atos Origin is not a big company in US, it is a big company in Middle East and Europe. Here the Big 5 companies are: ABCDI

A -- Accenture

B -- BearingPoint

C -- Cap Gemini

D -- Deloitte

I -- IBM

Thanks,

Anil

Carys,

Did you get that gig in Doha with Rasgas through Atos. I spoke to Atos as well about some other work but turned it down as the rate was too low. If you are there let me know I have some questions for you.

Jeff

Well its not that bad if you will be going to khor and all. It wont take you that much time. But the problem is that you wont get the nice scenary as in down under :-) i was also commuting to work around 20 miles each way when i was in california..but you had many thing to cherish..the bay, the weather, mountains...etc etc

hahaha here it will be not like that...

JB,

The housing complex for RASGAS is AL KHOR, but I don't think that is where we are staying, I think that's for employees only, and I will be on contract on behalf of ATOS. I have sent an e mail to find out more information... Being far from the action doesn't bother me, we actually live over an hour away from Perth now, and if I have to go to a client site, during traffic, it normally takes me 1.5 hours. Luckily, I've been working from home for my employee(another Australian consulting firm) for the last 2.5 years on their helpdesk, and I'm also meant to be on maternity leave, but I always end up doing about 16 hours a week for them anyway, and hopefully on my return they will re employ me as I have really enjoyed the work.

Hmm if i am not mistaken its not in doha. And I think I have seen the housing complex near Rasgas. Its not to bad but the main problem is its far away from action(doha) :-) plus there is no action in doha you dont miss a lot.

But I have heard that rasgas is building its new office near corniche(sea side area) so maybe in coming months or something you will have to shift to new office.

Atos office is like a 1 or 2 room office. I guess mostly all the consultants are working at clients place...so even if u have to take that outside doha thing, in coming months you can asked to be moved when the new office opens up..

Thanks Lea, you can take your e mail address out know by edit.

Carys,

RASGAS is on the other coast, hmmm check out the Rasgas.com website you might be able to find the map there.

Thanks JB, yes the main office is in Bahrain. They got back to me saying that the contract will be 18 months and I can renew it again after that as the project is for 3 years. They say the appartments are about 20 minutes from RASGAS, so where about would that be?? Is RASGAS in Doha??

Lea,

What is your e mail address so I can send you some information??

Carys.

Then I guess do a one year contract with ATOS and then find your way into other companies here in Qatar.

Well when signing the contract make sure you have all the details cut out for you. I mean like some consulting firms, say that if you work with them then you cannot work with their clients for 2 years etc etc or if you do training with them then if you leave them before a certain period of time you have to pay the money for the training...

So be sure of everything, its your right to know all the detail.

Btw the ATOS office is not so nice here..just want to give you a heads up...I think the main ATOS office is in Dubai or something..

jbravo69, Thanks for your info, yes I'm trying to negotiate with ATOS that I only have a year contract and it is negotiable after that.

I really want to stay in the one place for 3 years, as I have already

done a lot of International travelling with my previous employment and I don't really want to up my family and go again.

Carys.

Well I am also a SAP certified consultant (abap) but am recently exploring the sap market in here. you have better chance to get in to qp and other companies if you have aussie, american, brit, candian passport. Its really shame that here your passport is worth more then your skills....

dont sign with atos origin for long period of contract, once you come here you can always switch to qp or something. But it depends if you want to stay in qatar for long long period of time then switch to qp. But if you wanna move back to aussie, europe or states Atos Origin will looks damn good on your resume. Cos its a really good consulting firm.

As far as the money is concerned you wont get ENOUGH what you will get working with QP itself. Here in qatar there is almost no rule, once you come here, make your way in to knowing the right people in QP, leave origin and join QP. I cannot tell you a ball part figure about how much you should be getting from ATOS cos I dont know their scale. But SAP consultant in QP is paid good money, and good benefits...which ATOS can no way match!!! Maybe other people can help on this...If you ask me I would not mind workign with ATOS origin for a while..and see how it goes!

I think Dolphin Energy/ORYX GTL also has SAP implementation. You can check with them if you want to swtich rather then going to QP.

jbravo69,

I think the implementation is with RASGAS, but it's working on behalf of ATOS Origin, so the money will not be as good as working directly for them. I know that QP is also looking for a FI/CO consultant as I saw it on the web site, but as it's a sister company I don't think I should approach them directly if Origin has already submitted my resume to them. What do you think?? as I said I am trying to renegotiate with ATOS and see what happens. Do you have any idea how much they should be paying??

Carys.

carys...you are SAP consultant how great...it pays good money..mostly sap implementations are in oil and gas sector here so and these companies pay really good money...

where are u working specifically..???

Lea,

I work as a FI/CO SAP consultant and got the offer through a job consultancy in Sydney who deal with SAP implementations in the Middle East. Sorry they don't deal with any other software. Starting over is a good thing, I did that when I moved from Wales to Australia with my ex-husband thinking that things would get better, but no....

but I now have a great life here with a great boyfriend and two lovely kids... so things do get better. The only reason I'm thinking of moving to Qatar is for money.... Thinking about the future

Dentist,

Yes we know how men get a bit confused, but I know you are trying...LOL

The contract is for 3 years. A landcruiser sounds great as that is what we have here in Perth, but are selling it sadly if we move.

The accomoodation call is a hard one, I'm just a bit worried that my 2 year old will not enjoy it in an appartment and sharing with her little brother. We live on 7 acreage here so have a lot of room, but I know that living in a city will be good experience and most likely she will not notice the difference as she's so young. I'm still negotiating the contract terms including the appartment... I will be on a daily rate, so will not get paid for all the holidays, what is a reasonable monthly wage to live on if you don't include the car and house allowance?? Thinking that I will be sending hopefully a lot back home to pay for our house, as that is one of the reasons that I want to move to a tax free country..

Carys.

You are SO helpful dentist. Thanks so much. You're sure on top of things around here :) Lea

Hahaha,

Sorry ladies,you know how men can get confused sometimes ;) lol

Well....

Carys,USD 400/month can buy you a good car on installments if you take it on a 60 months installment (I don't know you even intend to stay this long) but if you are into renting or leasing then it will just get you no more than a little car which will not be too convenient in a city were Land Cruisers are considered the norm!!!

USD 1,700/month for an apt.!!!!!! here in Doha!!!!! well, i suggest you stick to what they offer you....you have no idea how bad rentals are here...it's just a nightmare for those who are not provided with accomodation...Law does not protect tenants from greedy lanlords so you can never guarantee what a certain amount of money can get you.

Generally spaking USD 1,700/month can get you no more than a decent (not to luxurious) two bedroom apt.

Whatever you do in this country...don't take allowances when you can be provided the thing...for example don't get a car allowance if you can be provided with a car and don't get a house allowance if you can be provided with accomodation

Good luck

Hello Lea ;) lol

Yea the friend thing was me. We're confusing them carys :)))

I'm doing a "starting over" type of thing so I'm very excited about moving. I know they say don't go somewhere to escape but I tell you, I'm doing it and I'm doing it for myself which is even better.

Hey Carys, do you mind telling where you found your job? I'm just curious. Thanks, Lea

Hi Dentist,

Thanks for the elder tree e mail address, I will send them a mail as soon as I get off this site. I wonder if you can help me with something else, the job offer I have, they will provide me a two bedroom appartment and if I would like to find a bigger appartment then I get an allowance of USD1,700 a month. Is it possible to find something decent for that kind of money in Doha? Also, I have an allowance of USD400 a month for a car. Not sure if they mean I rent a car for this, or if I buy one, I will have to ask, but what sort of car could I get for that?? I think it was Lea's friend that let her down, as I know no one in Qatar, so my boyfriend and I hopefully will make good friends there.

Lea,

I'm starting to be quite excited now with the move, and my boyfriend thinks he will try and work there too, it would be good if we could live on his salary and send mine back to Australia to pay for our house there. Unfortunately, we will not be renting our house in Perth, as we have 2 dogs that we are leaving behind, so friends are going to move in and take care of them for us. I miss them already,

Carys.

Dear Carys,

Elder Tree accepts children starting 2 months old.

Fees depend on how many days/week you wanna enrole your kids.

I have a brouchure (spelling!!!!) for them but it's too much to put it all in here so i suggest you contact them via their e-mail [email protected] or phone# +974-455 1020 or Fax#+974-455 2965

My daughter is 2 years old and I pay Qr.1,400/month which is around $383 USD

Also a living-in maid is a great idea, i am also considering it...most of the feed back i got here is that you can't survive without them.

Let me know if you need any info from here...sorry for your friend who let you down...I think now you have more than one instead.

Dentist,

Thanks for your information. The "Elder Tree" sounds good, how much is it a day there? and do they take 6 month olds. I read it somewhere that the hours of the KGs, I think are for 5 hours a day from 7:00, is that correct? if so, can they go to the "Elder Tree" after school because I would not have finished work by then??

Yes, definitely they'll be in school. But I'm positive the the hours of school and my actual work hours are going to leave a few open hours where I will need help. That's why I need someone. I'd rather have a happy under-worked live-in than an overworked one that's resentful :) Plus it would take a big burden off of me to know someone is home.

ps. I'm near chicago

Carys,

The are quite some nurseries here that are not bad at all,my two years old daughter go to one called "Elder Tree" which of course I think is the best one you can find here,the management is british so this should be an advantage to you I hope.

As for KGs I beleive most start at 3 years old.

Lea,don't you have intentions to enrole your kids in a school here??

I understand how confused you are,I've been there...but just don't worry,the people here are nice and kind and you will find a lot of help whether on this community website or in reality when you come over here.

By the way what part of the US are you from?? I used to live there for 4 years.

Well, the whole "who is going to work" is kind of a personal thing but I bet he won't last long as a "househusband" as it's not as easy as some guys think. lol

As for child care, I am hoping to hire live-in help. I pity the poor woman as my children make me crazy lol so I'm sure she'll be escaping out the window in the middle of the night *laugh* But this seems to be the best and most affordable solution. My children are older, they are 8 and almost 15. They mostly need a "supervisor" and someone to chauffer them, feed them and make them do homework. From what I've read it's best to use an agency to find help but there are also locals you can hire too.

As for not working, I have been self-employed for 8 years do whatever I want when I want, taking days off, hanging out taking 4 hour lunches, traveling while just bringing a laptop and working while away. this is the "culture" shock that I'm most worried about. I'm worried about working full-time after being free for 8 years. I know I can do it, I'm just a pessimist :)