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Hey guys,

I thought it would be a good thing to ask how much I would need to earn in Dubai to match what I earn now. As some of you know I'm planning to work in the real estate field and I currently work in the hospitality industry. As someone suggested before, I might want to consider a job in the hospitality industry for a few months if things are really dead real estate wise. I'll break down what I currently earn and the benefits I receive, and if someone could analyze this information and tell me what I would need to ask for in Dubai to be able to afford the same earnings/standard of living.

I actually am surprised I did not think of asking this before, and for some reason I think you guys will be shocked by the salary/benefits difference in the hospitality industry between here (Montreal, Canada) and Dubai.

-Hourly wage: 19.58$CAD/hour (58.75AED/hour) 40 hours a week/52 weeks per year
-Vacation: 3 paid weeks per year
-retirement program : employer contributes 6% of all earned wages and I pitch in another 6%
-8 fully paid sick days per year
-2 "mobile" days off per year (means i can take them whenever i feel like it with 48 hours notice)
-1 day off for my bday and another one for my employment hire date per year
-medical, dental, short term disability, long term disability, travel, and salary insurances
-8 days for the various holidays (those are standard by law so everyone gets them)

I can also refuse shifts, make my own schedules, I take as many breaks as I want to, leave early when the hotel isn't too busy, employer can not call me in for less than 8 hours, I get ultra cheap hotel rooms in top luxury hotels worldwide (including Dubai!) and 50% off the hotel restaurants.

A 2 bedroom 800sqf appartment in a desirable neighborhood here costs around 750$-800$ per month (2250-2400aed), food prices around here are about the same as in Dubai according to my friend who moved over a year ago, and cars, computers, and entertainment are comparable in terms of pricing.

Keep in mind that I pay about 30% tax on my gross salary (the benefits aren't taxed obviously)

How much do you think I would need to earn in Dubai to be able to live the same lifestyle (if you can put a dollar value on all benefits that would be great as it will make for a more reliable analysis)

Now that I've listed all the benefits I get, I'm starting to realize how good I have it right now.

Sorry for the long post guys, didn't mean to turn this into an essay but I wanted to be thorough.

the realty job network is not in a good state with agents getting fired and recently hired staff getting the pink slip. peopel who want to work in this industry will not have a lot of room to negotiate packages in my opinion-- at least in the short term

I dont think you get a pension here. Instead you get some form of contract bonus. At least thats what I get.

I cam from the UK a couple of weeks ago, but have been negotiating my deal for a while. Instead of a pension you get a 'contract bonus'. Like a balloon payment for you to invest as you see fit when your employment contract runs out.

I used to get an 8% pension benefit from my employer, plus I would contribute also. Much the same as your situation. Here I get about 40 days worth of pay, for every year. And this is paid when and if I choose to leave.

I figured the real estate market would be dead, or almost. Well I might try to find an management job in a hotel then, I've seen positions that pay about 10000-12000 a month plus accomodations on hcareers.com. Hope the real estate market comes back to life soon enough, I'm going to dubai to make money, not peanuts!