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Leaving Emirates, which major to go to?

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Leaving Emirates, which major to go to?

Old 06-23-2016, 09:38 AM
  #161  
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Originally Posted by CaptYoda View Post
In the ME you also have to know where to shop without getting completly ripped off. A cart full of groceries at Spinneys may run you AED 1000, while similar shopping at LULU's or HyperPanda might be be 30% less. Lots of good deals but you have to figure out where to go. My kids needed braces a while back and I found someone in Bur Dubai who is awesome but probably half the cost for the same service in Jumeirah.
And I'm always looking to go to the lowest bidder when it comes to my kids' teeth . I kid sir, I was even worse and let the USAF post graduate dental school do both my kids' braces. The true dental hobby shop. Amazingly they both came out great and other than long drives to Lackland didn't cost me a dime.

I spent my 20 months in the UAE. The booze is significantly more expensive, even Lulus food is high priced compared to any US grocer except maybe Whole Foods. Hard to put a price on how much 50c and 90% humidity sucks. Also that minor issue of civil rights which are 100% absent in the Middle East. If you treasure the fundamental values of being an American then the sandbox probably isn't worth any perceived economic advantage.
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Old 06-23-2016, 10:56 AM
  #162  
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Originally Posted by Typhoonpilot View Post
Top of scale EK captain has a base pay of $18,900/month plus flight pay, housing, schooling, and a 15% company contribution to the "provident fund" among other things.

I've stated the APC scales are way off. Hope that clears it up a little.

Not saying it shouldn't be higher, because it certainly should be, but it's not as low as you guys are computing from the numbers published here.


TP
I understand guys are frustrated at the ME3 due to the battle with the U.S Legacies but let's state the facts here compensation wise. A 10 year Captain at EK, EY or QR has a total compensation package of close to $400,000. If you are in the training department or management, it's higher. I think too many people just have plain hate for the Arab Carriers and Arabs in general so they are letting that get in the way of facts. Yes, the U.S legacies have good work rules and unions for job protection but the ME3 is where the money is at looking at NET income.
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Old 06-23-2016, 11:41 AM
  #163  
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Originally Posted by NYC Pilot View Post
I understand guys are frustrated at the ME3 due to the battle with the U.S Legacies but let's state the facts here compensation wise. A 10 year Captain at EK, EY or QR has a total compensation package of close to $400,000. If you are in the training department or management, it's higher. I think too many people just have plain hate for the Arab Carriers and Arabs in general so they are letting that get in the way of facts. Yes, the U.S legacies have good work rules and unions for job protection but the ME3 is where the money is at looking at NET income.





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Old 06-23-2016, 07:58 PM
  #164  
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The truth of the matter is foreign carriers (EK, EY, QR) have to pay and offer more benefits to attract candidates from elsewhere. Why would anyone want to leave home base and work for them otherwise? ME companies by and large base their compensation packages based on nationality and the disparity is significant. Although this does not apply to pilots generally at the airlines, it is worth mentioning. As an example it's much easier to recruit someone from India because based on home country salary, tax implications and cultural affinity, it's a win-win for the appplicant. This applicant can effectively give themselves a 30- 50% pay raise by just joining. And India is only a 3 hr flight home. Now for some others, it's not as attractive beacuse of the distance from home, tax implications and cultural aspects. For Americans, while their first 100K (approx) of foreign income is excluded from tax, the rest is not. Depending on your deductions you may have a tax liability as well. Also, the non-cash benefits you receive are meant to be declared and may affect your tax picture (housing, schooling, annual ticktets).

At the end of the day it's a balancing act and a personal decision. You might make the equivalent of $400,000 a year BUT in order to make that there are plenty of sacrifices you have to make for QOL, family, interests, citizens rights etc. For some it's a perfect fit, for others it's a debt trap(to support their lifestyle choices) and for the rest it's just a job due to furlough etc. I might add that for many expats, returning home after a few years is not without problems. Some are not able to re-adjust to life at home very easily (comparing everything to how they had it overseas). They find getting back into old relationships a challenge because they haven't been around although new technology (Whatsapp, Facebook) have made things easier. Sometimes they are resented for a variety of reasons. and always, a few return as retreads.
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Old 06-23-2016, 09:10 PM
  #165  
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Originally Posted by CaptYoda View Post
The truth of the matter is foreign carriers (EK, EY, QR) have to pay and offer more benefits to attract candidates from elsewhere. Why would anyone want to leave home base and work for them otherwise? ME companies by and large base their compensation packages based on nationality and the disparity is significant. Although this does not apply to pilots generally at the airlines, it is worth mentioning. As an example it's much easier to recruit someone from India because based on home country salary, tax implications and cultural affinity, it's a win-win for the appplicant. This applicant can effectively give themselves a 30- 50% pay raise by just joining. And India is only a 3 hr flight home. Now for some others, it's not as attractive beacuse of the distance from home, tax implications and cultural aspects. For Americans, while their first 100K (approx) of foreign income is excluded from tax, the rest is not. Depending on your deductions you may have a tax liability as well. Also, the non-cash benefits you receive are meant to be declared and may affect your tax picture (housing, schooling, annual ticktets).

At the end of the day it's a balancing act and a personal decision. You might make the equivalent of $400,000 a year BUT in order to make that there are plenty of sacrifices you have to make for QOL, family, interests, citizens rights etc. For some it's a perfect fit, for others it's a debt trap(to support their lifestyle choices) and for the rest it's just a job due to furlough etc. I might add that for many expats, returning home after a few years is not without problems. Some are not able to re-adjust to life at home very easily (comparing everything to how they had it overseas). They find getting back into old relationships a challenge because they haven't been around although new technology (Whatsapp, Facebook) have made things easier. Sometimes they are resented for a variety of reasons. and always, a few return as retreads.
All very good points. Obviously, flying in ones home country is ideal. I only wanted to clarify the compensation rumors floating around here. Although, I do know many folks who are planning on staying at the ME3 for the rest of their careers. There is no right or wrong solution, everyone has to live their lives according to their own desires and needs. It certainly does take a special type of person to do the expat gigs, not for everyone. Different strokes for different folks in the end.
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Old 06-24-2016, 06:39 AM
  #166  
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Originally Posted by ShyGuy View Post
Life sounds sweet in Podunk, [insert State] for you. What was your point, again? Dubai isn't like Podunk where you live. You pay for transportation, you pay for schooling (and you're gonna want to send them to a British or an American school --- you know how expensive that is?), and and of course the single biggest thing you neglected to mention was the housing provided.
Provided housing is an apple/oranges comparison. My $200K condo I bough 10 years ago is now a $480K asset that is almost paid off. I'm glad I'm not provided free housing because I would have missed out on owning my asset. I toured the provided housing, and it's the last place on earth I'd want to live, not to mention the UAE/Qatar in general. A lot of pilots dragged their families over there and discontent set in fairly quickly for most, especially the wives. The 3 in my interview group that took the job are now divorced and looking to return back to the USA. I keep in touch with them and they aren't happy campers, neither are most of the expats over there. They are being abused and dumped on by the company and the society. I know you have never done it but augmented ULH flying is hard enough and guess what, most of EKs routes are flown un-augmented. They fly rosters that aren't even close to allowed by 117 and most PWA's. As others have said, transportation to/from work and free schools aren't any value to most people. In America, most pilots live in pretty good communities that have great public schools.
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Old 06-24-2016, 12:28 PM
  #167  
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The schools are rarely free. There is a limit to what the airlines pay and the rest is on you. The fees keep going up every year, and you don't always get what you are paying for. Then again, that could be said for a lot of things anywhere in the world. If your spouse or family is unhappy being here then no amount of money or perks will help the situation. When I worked for a Saudi Corporation many years ago, part of the process was the orientation for which the spouse was required to attend. They wanted to make sure the spouse was ok with the move etc because they knew if they didn't the applicant would be a short term one.
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