In the 1970s and 1980s, the non-resident Indians (NRIs) held an exalted position in the minds of average Indians. They returned home from time to time with attractive gifts, the latest gadgets, seemingly unlimited spending money, and stories of the wonderful lives they lived in those far-off lands.
Now that prosperity has reached India at last, and everything is available right here if you have the money, being an NRI is no longer the dream of aspiring young men. Yet, the attractions remain and life abroad, especially in the Middle East, is still seen to be a desirable goal.
What is it like to live and work in the Gulf countries?
I can only speak for the white-collared folks. The countless Indians, who toil under the hot sun for paltry wages, trying to repay the loans they have taken to reach this dubious heaven, have a very poor life. I suspect that many would not have ventured away from home had they been aware of what kind of life lay ahead.
For a well-placed executive, the scene is very different. Let me tell you a bit about it.
First the pluses, and there are several.
Incomes are good and there are no taxes, at least no income-tax, as of now. There are many indirect taxes, of course, but they are not onerous.
Living conditions are great. Everything is clean; traffic is orderly; houses and flats are good if not luxurious by Indian standards – nothing wrong with any of these.
A white-collared employee, from a clerk to a CEO, earns more and saves more in the Middle East than (s)he would while working in an equivalent position in India. And that too, with a decent lifestyle commensurate with your status – no penny-pinching needed.
In terms of daily life, the Gulf is the ideal blend of East and West. Everything that you might desire is available, at a price, of course. You can have Danish chocolates, Australian lamb, Californian wines, Swiss cheese, a Mercedes – you name it; you can buy it. At the same time, you don’t have to wash your car, vacuum your home or take out the garbage, as you would have to if you were living in the West. Efficient and obedient cooks and maids are available in plenty at salaries that are actually very affordable.
All right, so you know all of this, you have heard it all from your NRI friends and relatives.
Now for the bits that you may not have heard about.
First of all, the Middle East is not a place where you build a career. If you are working on your own, as a businessman or a specialist, maybe you will progress over the years, but not if you are a salaried employee.
Indians are hired for the skills they possess now, and not for them to grow in the organisation. Promotions are rare. If you have started as a sales manager, you are likely to remain a sales manager, if a CFO, remain a CFO. Career growth and advancement are for the citizens.
Therefore, it is important to ensure that your first job is a good job, one in which you earn a lot and save a lot even after enjoying a good life. Young men in their 20s or early-30s stagnate in the same job for decades and save very little, but a man in his 40s, in a senior position, can make, and save, quite a bit of money.
An important point to remember is that the Gulf experience has very little value in the Indian job market. A successful sales manager, or a competent CFO, will find that when he returns to India after his Middle East stint he will find prospective employers heavily discounting his career abroad.
The Indian market, with its huge size, large diversities and many complexities requires in-depth knowledge of how businesses operate here. Employers prefer someone who knows the local conditions and can operate with confidence, rather than someone, who is out of touch and needs to learn the business all over again before he can start delivering. A rare exception is someone who acquires some unique skill, in ultra-modern construction techniques, for example, which may be valued back in India.
A major error that many people make is to convert the Gulf salary to Indian rupees when they decide to take up a Gulf job. A salary of 10,000 dirhams per month, equivalent to Rs2 lakh, does not have anywhere near the same buying power. This level of salary is just about adequate to live decently, if you have a wife and two children to support.
The simple fact is – if you earn only 10,000 dirhams a month, your living expenses will not be half of a person who earn 20,000. The core costs of housing, transport, and school fees do not increase or diminish in line with salary.
A sensible thing to do is to ascertain what it will cost you to live, and what proportion of your income will be consumed by living costs, before taking the plunge.
A sword that looms over the head of any salaried man in the Middle East is the fear of retrenchment. If you have been in the same job for 10 years, and your salary has increased bit by bit over the years, there is a good chance that, one day, your employer will reckon that he can get a younger person to do your job at a much lower salary. When that happens, you are gone.
Job security is non-existent in the Middle East for any expatriate.
Let’s say you have been in the Middle East for 10 years and your children are approaching college age. Where will you put them? Though the schools in the Middle East are pretty good, or at least adequate, the colleges are not.
Besides, in most Gulf countries boys above 18 cannot stay with their parents unless they have jobs, though girls can (gender discrimination in reverse). Where do you send your child?
Getting admission in a high-ranking college in India, in any stream, is very difficult. Hardly any boy or girl has secured admission to an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), for example, after finishing school in the Middle East, though some do get in on the NRI quota.
The only option is to send your child to some other country, say Australia or Canada. But that is expensive, and if you don’t have the money saved up, and are depending on your future salary to meet these expenses, you will be in for a rude shock if you lose your job while your child is still in college.
All said and done, working in the Middle East can be rewarding if you start on a good salary; keep your nose clean; bear in mind that you could lose your job any day; live a moderate life-style and save a pile of money which will make you financially independent. But if any of these conditions are not met, you will find yourself in a much worse position than what would have been your lot had you not taken up that Gulf job in the first place.
Bottom line – want good money and good living? Go for it. Want a career and promotions? Don’t.
(
Deserting engineering after a year in a factory, Amitabha Banerjee did an MBA in the US and returned to India. Choosing work-to-live over live-to-work, he joined banking and worked for various banks in India and the Middle East. Post retirement, he returned to his hometown Kolkata and is now spending his golden years travelling the world (until Covid, that is), playing bridge, befriending Netflix & Prime Video and writing in his wife’s travel blog.)
Housing cost & Childrens schooling are the two big ticket items one needs to budget for. Other living costs are roughly 2x what they would be in India.
So if you spend Rs 10,000 on monthly living costs in India (excluding house and school fees) then estimate your equivalent Gulf costs as Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 to manage comfortably. Add to this housing + utilities + telecom + school fees.
If you need a car for work or pleasure then try this out
https://www.car-cost-calculator.com/dubai.html
Once you estimate costs then add your target savings. Your target savings should be at least 2x the India savings considering the sacrifice being made to give up family and friends?
Your living cost + housing + school fees + target savings = your target salary
Public sector jobs used to recognise merit and promote expats to senior roles. But nowadays a senior role in public sector units is reserved for citizens (nationals). Sometimes foreigners are recruited direct to CEO roles where no suitable citizens is found. Often the expat CEO is expected to mentor a native and groom them to take over. Occasionally the expat will be the COO while CEO title will be with a native.
There are a few prominent private sector groups with highly professional management. Al Shaya, Al Futtaim etc . These have professionally managed HR.
Ideally you can seek out a multi-national (MNC) employer. A good performer can expect to be transferred globally.
https://gulfbusiness.com/lists/top-100-gcc-companies-2018/
The bottom line is spot ON
May be the wage earner is content putting in 12 hours / day at work, with no interests outside of work.
But what about the spouse and the kids?
There are few opportunities for socializing with the locals so they end up socializing with the expats who have little interest beyond material possessions.
Unlike other countries, life in the Gulf countries is circumscribed by religion, social hierarchies, taboos about food, clothing, etc. and political space is limited.
The children of expats will not learn to navigate a different culture because the local culture is very xenophobic so they really do not encounter the others and mostly mingle with their own kind.
Our household help in India live away from their homes for most of the year to make enough money to sustain their dependents and provide for their retirement.
Perhaps Indians working in the Middle East should look at that as a model for their own life while they are working.
It rook me 2 years to learn and unlearn when back in India
Life us too easy in Gulf