There are tons of opportunities now on the Aramco website and some are for expats. I had an interview and might be expecting an offer.
It’s sounds like it’s too late to join Aramco now and the best days are over. Do you guys think it’s worth it?
I am currently working, as a contractor though but with a decent rate.
What are the current offers like compared to before. Say if I am making now $170,000/yr, what would Aramco offer?
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Aramco is advertising hard on LinkedIn and other job boards. This circus of hiring and laying off pretty much sums up how poorly Aramco is managed by the locals. Don't go unless you have too.
Not worth the mental torture!
We packed and left in 2018 before this f—-ery. I wouldn’t go there now for any price.
Do not come here, you've been warned.
As other people mention, go and try, now is there a 6 month probation period but remember works in both ways and certainly you will not first person to quit after few months.
How bad are you people getting paid? You keep talking about 20-30% raise. I make 3, 4 TIMES than what I would be making back in the so-called Civilized world. And for this kind of paper, I would work underwater. And when I get bored - which happens quite often, I hop on a plane at least once a month and head to Dubai for a long weekend and booze is plenty across the bridge.
Please be careful. There are a lot of bitter folks who got laid off and this is what they do to make themselves feel better. Bash bash and bash some more. The financial security this company has given me is unparalleled. I am all set for retirement today. In the West, I would need to work another 20 years. Worth it??? F*&K yeah, every penny of it. Do the locals pi-s me off sometimes? Absolutely. Does the system and culture pi-s me off sometimes? Absolutely. You know what also pi---s me off. Trump supporters. I guess no place is a perfect place. Sh&tty people are everywhere.
Company paying for their kids to go to Swiss boarding schools and people are still complaining. These people will complain even if you send them to heaven. Ohh, it's too green, too sunny, there are no butlers, no sponge baths. Whiny bastards will complain to their grave.
My wife is a teacher in UK and being professional she can assess schooling systems better than me. She stayed here only for a year and decided that it is not best place for kids' schooling.
Its absolutely wrong to say that schools are great!!!
Company schools are absolutely rubbish. most of the kids who leave company schools for higher studies struggle to cope with academic level. International Schools (non-Aramco) in kingdom are below average. IF your kids are high achievers then DO NOT bring them here. Their future is worth more than 25% extra money
I love it here. I have raised two kids here. The schools are great. My kids are global citizens and they have seen the world. The Saudi have treated us well. I have made a good wage and I am in better shape the I have ever been. Some times little thinks are a pain. But hey it’s the developing world. I will stay as long as I can. Only regret, I did not come sooner and the occasional BLT would be nice.
This forum is full of scorned laid off expats. Don’t listen to a word they have to say. They would go back in a heartbeat if the opportunity were to present itself.
That being said, packages aren’t what they used to be, but they’re still among the best in the world. Even if they offer you less than 170k, think of it in terms of how much of it is yours to keep. No state income tax, no mortgage, no utilities, minimal “rent,” if you can even call it that. The company schools are excellent, the opportunities to travel are plenty due to both your travel allowance and location.
Even if it’s only for a few years, take the opportunity and go with an adventure mindset. You might get laid off but so what? You can get laid off anywhere, but you won’t have the same cash reserves or the experiences aramco will provide you with.
Things go up and down here. It depends a lot on where you end up. If you’re an American engineer it probably isn’t worth it unless you are offered a job in Dhahran at grade code 15 or above. Anything in the field and the pay just isn’t there anymore. I don’t know how many of those jobs are left since those are the guys they targeted last layoff. There’s no harm in applying but don’t make it your primary plan and if you come be aware that while most people get out fine occasionally people get screwed really badly. On the plus side at least in downstream the current group of management is doing such a spectacularly bad job that the pendulum is likely to swing back the other way soon. I just don’t know how long it will take. I’m leaving soon after 6 years here with my family and I’m glad we came. We made a lot of good friends in the community and work wasn’t so bad once I gave up and took it as seriously as the Saudis. But my experience was happier than most and some of that had to do with good luck. My final thought is it’s probably best to come here if you’re in your 50s where it’s a money grab and easy work before retirement and you don’t have to worry about your skills eroding or your career getting thrown off track. Hope this helps.
Unless you face imminent bankruptcy or are fleeing a despot regime, do NOT even consider it!
The despot regime here may be less well publicised but is alive and well.
Stay where you are, you will thank us in the future for our recommendations!
As others have stated it depends on your country of origin and which payroll you are assigned. Package is dependent upon payroll. Regardless of package, best to go as a bachelor if your payroll type allows that and leave your kids and wife in their home country and schools to continue their social life and friendships. Bachelor status only gets two paid flights nowadays. If it does not work out, or Aramco decides in a few years they no longer need you, at least you will have saved your family a lot of upheaval. Aramco camps are transient, yes you will make friends from all over the world, but they scatter all over the world and you will seldom see them again other than emails and Facebook. When you move to KSA on family status their existing school friendships fade, family gatherings with cousins, etc reduce and when you move back to your country your whole family has to create new friendships at new schools, etc. The benefit of Aramco camps is they are generally safe for kids, but boredom can be a huge issue for some families so Bahrain and Dubai trips become essential which means you are not saving as much as you expected. If you are already working as an SMP with Aramco then making the switch to Aramco will in general be more financially rewarding and easier.
I hate to agree, because have really enjoyed Dhahran, but things have changed. Moreover, the spirit of the community has been damaged to an extent I am not sure if it can recover. Sadly, I fear the once great Aramco Expat Program is a thing of the past. However, we are still in the depths of Covid-19, I hope it Management gives the program the attention that made this company great.
It really goes by area. IMO, Technical Services and Finance have been generally bad. Law has been generally good. The others are somewhere in between, but stay away from anything that has to do with natural gas. Also, if your boss is a newly promoted Expat, this is a bad sign, as they are only promoting bullies these days.
This is probably a moot point, because if you get an offer, it will probably be junk. And the retirement package for Global has basically gone to zero. Aramco has really gotten cheap. New hires are coming from places like Turkey and South Africa, where people are desperate to leave. Some professional jobs have even been going to people from Third World countries with ZERO Western work experience.
The golden age of the expat in KSA has gone.
I agree with the 'only as a bachelor' comment but after
the excitement of newness wears off it becomes a lonely grind.
Only if you have no other decent option and it sounds as if you do.
All of the above comments are, as the brits say,
'spot on'.
It depends upon your country of origin.
Ditto on being too late! Unless you get double, stay where you are!
Too late to join. I could not recommend unless you were in a really bad situation.
Very good suggestion. Do not uproot your family for 20-30% pay rise. It is not worth. . You will need to account for living in desert away from civilization, poor kids' education, Negative career development, and hidden costs (iqama/exit entry visa fees, kids' education contribution etc etc). I came here 3 years ago and leaving next month with many things to worry, the biggest one being kids schooling as they have lost their places in best schools.
As a bachelor, you can go and try, I do not recommend to move with family. Schools and healthcare are not the same as they used to be. Work environment change from department to department, so you never now.