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Amethystium
Aged Yak Warrior
701 Posts |
 Posted - 2004-08-27 : 14:07:34
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Hi guys,This post is really for mohdowais or any other member who lives in the UAE.What is the IT market, specifically Database development in UAE these days?Can you give me more advice on this please?Thank in advance.------------->>> BREAKING NEWS!!! <<<------------- Saddam Hussien has weapons of mass destrcution |
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mohdowais
Sheikh of Yak Knowledge
1456 Posts |
Posted - 2004-08-28 : 09:36:34
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| In a word, lousy. The market has always been flooded with developers from India and Pakistan with skills on the MS platform, and pay scales have been slow to rise. And since there are very few dedicated software development companies here (or companies big enough to have a large development team), specialist jobs are rare. Most software professionals here can be found doing nearly everything. Of course, it's not all that bad, there are a few large companies that could use a database developer/DBA or two, but it's certainly not everyday you come across a job like that. Oracle is the big thing out here and nearly every government company and bank requires skilled Oracle developers. Apart from that, Business Intelligence and reporting skills are coming into demand slowly. Ability to speak Arabic is a major plus and will put you well ahead of any competition.OS |
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mohdowais
Sheikh of Yak Knowledge
1456 Posts |
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Amethystium
Aged Yak Warrior
701 Posts |
Posted - 2004-08-29 : 07:40:01
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quote:
Originally posted by mohdowais
In a word, lousy. The market has always been flooded with developers from India and Pakistan with skills on the MS platform, and pay scales have been slow to rise. And since there are very few dedicated software development companies here (or companies big enough to have a large development team), specialist jobs are rare. Most software professionals here can be found doing nearly everything. Of course, it's not all that bad, there are a few large companies that could use a database developer/DBA or two, but it's certainly not everyday you come across a job like that. Oracle is the big thing out here and nearly every government company and bank requires skilled Oracle developers. Apart from that, Business Intelligence and reporting skills are coming into demand slowly. Ability to speak Arabic is a major plus and will put you well ahead of any competition.OS
Hmmmmm... just as I suspected to be honest. I've been looking around for a while but no luck. I feel as though my time as a devloper in the UK has come to and end and I am in desperate need of a change.I am fluent in Arabic and English so yes, you could say I have an advantage but your post doesn't sound encourging. What a shame... it would be a dream come true if I could work in a place like UAE. Heard so much about it.I've tried Bayet.com but it's the same as last year.. nothing new... quite depressing.Thanks all the same, maybe I will get lucky one day.------------->>> BREAKING NEWS!!! <<<------------- Saddam Hussien has weapons of mass destrcution |
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mohdowais
Sheikh of Yak Knowledge
1456 Posts |
Posted - 2004-08-29 : 11:27:16
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A shame indeed, Bayt.com is the biggest job board in the region. Actually, July and August are reeeeeaaaallly lean months when it comes to recruitment, so things should start looking up very soon. Why don't you visit sometime and give it a shot? Most companies would be more willing to interview somebody if they were here. Besides, this place is good for a vacation in any case  October to April are great months to visit, it's warm, sunny and hardly rains!How good is your Oracle (no pun intended)?OS |
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Amethystium
Aged Yak Warrior
701 Posts |
Posted - 2004-08-29 : 15:57:42
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quote:
Originally posted by mohdowais
A shame indeed, Bayt.com is the biggest job board in the region. Actually, July and August are reeeeeaaaallly lean months when it comes to recruitment, so things should start looking up very soon. Why don't you visit sometime and give it a shot? Most companies would be more willing to interview somebody if they were here. Besides, this place is good for a vacation in any case October to April are great months to visit, it's warm, sunny and hardly rains!How good is your Oracle (no pun intended)?OS
Thanks for your reply  I guess you're right about the bad months, when I did my search it returned only 5 results!!  but I won't give up because I am very serious about this move. I feel as though my current company are taking advantage of me and I've been so busy I've not even had a holiday yet this year.My Oracle I'm afraid is quite rusty. My last Oracle contract was back in 2001 and I've been on SQL Server since then, but I can get it back pretty quickly.. I think.Visiting UAE.. now that's an idea.... we have some relatives over there somewhere, I don't know them very well but if I get in touch I might be able to arrange a visit towards the end of the year.As I said, I am very serious about this move and I honestly think that it would benefit me to work in such an envrionement.Again, thanks for your reply....BTW, what sort of work do you do over there?! I see you as a regular member here, do you work with SQL Server in UAE?------------->>> BREAKING NEWS!!! <<<------------- Saddam Hussien has weapons of mass destrcution |
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mohdowais
Sheikh of Yak Knowledge
1456 Posts |
Posted - 2004-08-30 : 01:59:37
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| You'll need a relative to sponsor you only if you intend to stay a couple of months, but these visas are getting really hard to obtain. Your airline or hotel should be able to arrange a 15-day tourist visa with no problems. But you'll need some time to look around here, recruitment here is pretty slow and isn't half as professional as in the UK.And yes, it would be a good idea to brush up on your Oracle skills, get a refresher book or something. The reason I am stressing this is because Oracle developers typically get paid 20-40% higher than MS developers here. Given the rising cost of living, it might be worthwile investing in catching up with it. As it is, I don't think you will really be pleased with the general pay scales here.I work as a Sr. Systems Analyst with a company that builds hiring solutions. We work completely on the MS platform, so SQL Server plays a pretty big role. I've always loved working with SQL, so I try to spend more time on it, but unfortunately I have many other responsibilities, including system design, project management and implementation. I am currently managing the migration to dotNet, and that is one hell of a project! It's a fun job, really, but I only wish I had a better team to work with.OS |
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X002548
Not Just a Number
15586 Posts |
Posted - 2004-08-30 : 10:11:19
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| What to say to this?Does this fall under politics or religon?Brett8-) |
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mohdowais
Sheikh of Yak Knowledge
1456 Posts |
Posted - 2004-08-31 : 01:53:40
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huh? What does? Writing under the influence, Brett?  OS |
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MichaelP
Jedi Yak
2489 Posts |
Posted - 2004-08-31 : 04:47:50
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quote:
I am fluent in Arabic and English
If that's the case, there's always the CIA or FBI here in the USA. Hunting down terrorists to make the world safer is a noble profession.Michael<Yoda>Use the Search page you must. Find the answer you will.</Yoda> |
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Amethystium
Aged Yak Warrior
701 Posts |
Posted - 2004-08-31 : 05:16:06
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quote:
Originally posted by mohdowais
You'll need a relative to sponsor you only if you intend to stay a couple of months, but these visas are getting really hard to obtain. Your airline or hotel should be able to arrange a 15-day tourist visa with no problems. But you'll need some time to look around here, recruitment here is pretty slow and isn't half as professional as in the UK.And yes, it would be a good idea to brush up on your Oracle skills, get a refresher book or something. The reason I am stressing this is because Oracle developers typically get paid 20-40% higher than MS developers here. Given the rising cost of living, it might be worthwile investing in catching up with it. As it is, I don't think you will really be pleased with the general pay scales here.I work as a Sr. Systems Analyst with a company that builds hiring solutions. We work completely on the MS platform, so SQL Server plays a pretty big role. I've always loved working with SQL, so I try to spend more time on it, but unfortunately I have many other responsibilities, including system design, project management and implementation. I am currently managing the migration to dotNet, and that is one hell of a project! It's a fun job, really, but I only wish I had a better team to work with.OS
Thanks for this.As I said, we do have some relatives living there but contact is minimal so maybe now is the time to start making those calls  I am not overly worried about the pay scale. It's all relative to be honest, I mean if you work in or around the London area you will find that the cost of living is stupid. A comfortable flat would cost you over a £1000 in rent pcm and that's not even counting the bills etc... So even if the pay is higher here, they do make sure they get every single penny back some how...Anyway, since this thread is turning in to a political/religious one I will stop right here, we don't want to upset our resident republicans now do we?!------------->>> BREAKING NEWS!!! <<<------------- Saddam Hussien has weapons of mass destrcution |
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Amethystium
Aged Yak Warrior
701 Posts |
Posted - 2004-08-31 : 05:18:18
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quote:
Originally posted by MichaelP
quote:
I am fluent in Arabic and English
If that's the case, there's always the CIA or FBI here in the USA. Hunting down terrorists to make the world safer is a noble profession.Michael<Yoda>Use the Search page you must. Find the answer you will.</Yoda>
now now Michael, don't start giving me good ideas... maybe they do need to have their databases sorted out.------------->>> BREAKING NEWS!!! <<<------------- Saddam Hussien has weapons of mass destrcution |
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X002548
Not Just a Number
15586 Posts |
Posted - 2004-08-31 : 08:49:24
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quote:
Originally posted by mohdowais
In a word, lousy. The market has always been flooded with developers from India and Pakistan with skills on the MS platform, and pay scales have been slow to rise.
Well...this.....But so they will force outsourcing to a new level....by taxing them...they'll just be a holding company and outsource to Elbonia....Brett8-) |
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mohdowais
Sheikh of Yak Knowledge
1456 Posts |
Posted - 2004-08-31 : 10:47:46
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| lol, Brett! Sorry about my comment then. The U.A.E is one of the only tax-free countries left in the world. Lets hope they keep it that way. The expenses are becoming high enough to kill anyway...In case you didn't know, 75% of the population of this country is expatriates. Mostly from the subcontinent, I think there are twice as many Indians here already as UAE citizens.OS |
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mohdowais - advice needed