Re: King Saud University looking to attract PhDs
« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2009, 06:48:00 AM » Quote
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Before you make any decisions let me tell you some facts,
1) The salary in Saudi Arabia is completely tax-free.
2) You don't need to rent a house in a compound. You may get excellent housing in 25000 SR per year in the city. (Somebody misinformed you when he said that you can not get a decent apartment in 25000 SR).
3) Even if you wan't to live in a compound, there are excellent cheaper options.
4) The law and order situation is the best in the world (I've lived in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, for 7 years.)
5) The medical care you'll get is completely free. Not all government hospitals have low service quality. Besides, the private hospitals are not too expensive either. (A far cry from US or UK).
6) King Saud university is one of the big universities and they have a lot of funding these days. (You may get involved in paid projects).
Any more queries will be welcome.
Dear Saadbin,
Many thanks for your reply. I agree with what you said, except for these:
1- I have been told that government hospitals are no go places. If you have kids, you would want them to be attended to immediately in emergency cases. If the university does not provide an adequate health insurance for my family, am I the one to pay for that? If yes, it will be quite expensive for a family of five. They should provide an option to say the least.
2- I have been informed by someone working in Riyadh that rent went up last year by 20-30%. The rent for a decent half villa, with 3 bedrooms, near the university, is now around Sr 35000 - 40000 / year.
3- The transportation allowance is a pittance. Limousines charge Sr 15-20 for each trip. That's approximately Sr 1200 - 1500 per month.
Regarding salary discrimination, I disagree that people from some countries get less than others while they do the same job. This is not acceptable as all of them live in the same country where they work an equal amount of hours. They go to the same hypermarket and buy the same food.
Many people in the West now have houses in third world countries where they live, such as Sri-Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand. So the argument that their salaries are 'good' for the country where they come from does not hold water.
Are others negotiating with KSU?
