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Salaries and wages in Dubai  

Friday 24 May 2013 (UAE)   
 
   
      
 

Average salaries and wages in Dubai

Table of average wages and salary ranges for Dubai. Similar wages are paid in Abu Dhabi, maybe slightly less in other emirates. All figures are monthly in UAE dirhams (AED) (3.67 dhs = US$1). Actual figure will depend on qualifications, experience, employee nationality, and employer mood. Suggest corrections or additional professions and salary ranges in the UAE salaries forum topic.

Job 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
  AED, monthly AED, monthly AED, monthly AED, monthly AED, monthly
Abra driver   700      
Accountant   3,000-10,000     3,000-15,000
Airline Pilot (Captain) 25,000-35,000     30,000-45,000  
Airline Pilot (First Officer) 15,000-25,000     20,000-30,000  
Bank - management 8000-25,000 10,000-30,000 15,000-40,000 15,000-50,000  
Bar Manager         5,000-15,000
Carpenter   1000-4000      
Cashier, supermarket         1,000-1,500
Cabin Crew 4,000-7,000 4,000-8,000 5,000-10,000 5,000-11,000  
CEO, small company 15,000-30,000 15,000-35,000 15,000-50,000 15,000-40,000  
CEO, large company   50,000-100,000 50,000-150,000 50,000-150,000  
CEO, banking sector         100,000-150,000
CEO construction industry         60,000-150,000
Construction worker 500-1000 500-1000 500-1500 500-1500 500-1500
Cook / Chef         1,000-10,000
Country Head (banking)         130,000-170,000
Customer Service Agent         3,000-10,000
Doctor 15,000-50,000 15,000-60,000 15,000-75,000 15,000-75,000  
Driver 1000-2000 1000-2000 1000-2000 1000-2500 1000-2500
Editor, newspaper       10,000-75,000  
Electrician   1500-5000      
Engineer, Civil       10,000-75,000  
Front Desk Staff (hotels)         5,000-15,000
Gardener 500-1500 500-1500 500-1500 500-1500  
General Manager (hospitality)         25,000-45,000
Investment Banker   50,000-100,000 50,000-100,000 should be zero  
Kindergarten Supervisor (Indian)         5,000
Kindergarten Teacher   3,000-5,000      
Laborer 500-1000 500-1000 500-1200 600-1500  
Lawyer     25,000-200,000    
Maid, Nanny 700-2000 700-2000 700-2000 700-2000  
Manager, mid-level 5000-15,000 5000-20,000 5000-20,000 5000-30,000  
Manager, senior 8000-25,000 8000-30,000 10,000-40,000 10,000-50,000  
Nurse 2,500-8,000 2,500-10,000 2,500-10,000 2,500-10,000  
Nurse - Nursery/Preschool         2,500-5,000
Nursery School Director         10,000-20,000
Nursery School Teacher   1,000-5,000     1,000-8,000
Nursery Teaching Assistant       2,000-3,000  
Office Worker 2000-5000 2000-5000 2000-6000 2000-6000  
Personal Assistant (PA) 2000-10,000 2000-15,000 2000-20,000 2000-25,000  
Pilot - see Airline Pilot          
PRO   2000-10,000      
Product Officer (banking)         10,000-20,000
Professional* 5,000-40,000 5,000-50,000 5,000-60,000 5,000-40,000  
Project Manager 10,000-30,000 10,000-50,000 10,000-60,000 10,000-50,000  
Quantity Surveyor (junior)         10,000-14,000
Receptionist 2000-5000 2000-6000 2500-8000 2500-8000  
Receptionist, bilingual         10,000-15,000
Reporter, newspaper       10,000-25,000  
Restaurant Manager   3,000-10,000     5,000-15,000
Sales supervisor, supermarket         1,500-2,500
School Headmaster (Indian School)         8,000-10,000
School Principal (expensive school) 20,000-35,000 25,000-40,000   30,000-45,000 30,000-45,000
Secretary - see Receptionist          
Security Guard 1000-1500 1000-1500 1000-2000 1000-2000  
Shop Assistant 1000-3000 1000-3000 1000-4000 1000-4000  
Taxi Driver 1000-3000 1000-3000 1000-6000 1000-4000  
Teacher, Indian school 1,500-5,000 1,500-5,000 1,500-5,000 1,500-5,000  
Teacher, government school 2,000-6,000 2,000-6,000 2,000-6,000 2,000-6,000  
Teacher - preschool, kindergarten see Nursery School Teacher entry  
Teacher, PPP school Abu Dhabi     5,000-20,000 5,000-20,000  
Teacher, western school 4,000-15,000 5,000-18,000 5,000-20,000 5,000-20,000 5,000-22,000
Teacher, university 3,000-16,000 3,000-18,000 3,000-20,000 3,000-22,000  
Teaching Assistant (TA)       2,000-4,000  
Technician, Etisalat 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000  
Telesales and Marketing         3,000-10,000
Waiter, Waitress 1000-3000 1000-4000 1000-5000 1000-5000 1000-5000
  • *Professional means a profession for which a higher level qualification is required, e.g. lawyer, architect, engineer, etc. Salary range is for those employed by a company. Professionals who work for themselves can earn between 0 (or less until going bust) and $lot$ per month (>100k is quite possible).
  • Real Estate brokers are not included since the range is so variable as to be meaningless. Many were easily earnings tens of thousands of dirhams per month at the height of the property boom in 2007-2008, some were earning 100,000s per month, and even more if they were trading properties themselves. At the end of 2008 and into 2009 as the Dubai property market crashed and burned, they're probably the same ones we saw in a report of ex-property brokers offering private taxi services to scrape by.
  • Some salaries for new employment categories for 2010 based on Gulf News / Charterhouse report 06 February 2010. Others based on positions advertised in the press, online, or with recruitment agencies.
Salary surveys Abu Dhabi, Dubai, UAE, Middle East
  • Macdonald and Company, a property recruitment specialist, released their 4th annual 'Middle East Salary Survey' of over 1000 property industry employees at Cityscape Global 2010 in Dubai with an average base salary of real estate professional in the ME region of AED 38,351 per month (AED 37,980 in 2009) (press release 04 October 2010).
Salaries and Nationalities in the UAE

Salaries can vary substantially depending on nationality - often because they are qualification dependent and western qualifications are regarded as worth more than non-western qualifications. But sometimes it might just be because of passport and/or DNA. Men also tend to be paid more than woman according to various surveys but that may be the result of a greater proportion of men in higher paying jobs distorting comparisons rather than men getting paid more because of their genes.

If there is wage discrimination based on nationality, assume the range will decrease in this order, with the top paid nationalities getting 2 or 3 times as much as the bottom paid nationalities for the same job. The order of list is not set in stone, there will be some overlap and some fluctuation depending on various factors, especially between groups 3 and 4.

  1. Westerners (Europe, North America, Australasia) and GCC Arabs will be paid the most
  2. Japan, South Korea, and Singapore nationals are paid similar to Westerners
  3. South Africa, Eastern Europe, Russia, Taiwan, Central and South America and non-GCC Arabs
  4. Philippines, Thailand, China and other Asian countries but not sub-continent, and non-GCC Arabs
  5. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, China, Africa
Jobs and salaries in Dubai and UAE

There is a range of Dubai jobs much the same as in any city but a larger range of incomes than many expats are familiar with for several reasons. Apart from teachers and maids, there is no minimum salary so market forces determine a fair (or unfair wage). As the UAE, and Dubai in particular, has a mixture of nationalities, market rates tend to be governed by what is enough to lure foreign nationals away from their home country, not what is a fair wage relative to what others are earning for the same work in the UAE. Hence Indian teachers end up getting paid a tenth of what Western teachers do, and manual laborers and maids are paid what seems to be a pittance in the eyes of patronising Western journalists (who cleverly demonstrate their ignorance of basic economics), but is a kings ransom in the eyes of all their compatriots lining up at home trying to get a visa to come and work in the UAE. That comment isn't intended to dismiss the very real difficulties facing the working class in the UAE but there are other issues that are more important than the actual salary level - the non-payment of wages for months at a time, the extortionate fees charged in their home country to bring them to the UAE, the difficult living conditions in some of the camps, the harsh and unsafe working conditions on some of the construction sites.

  • Manual labor type jobs are demanding and poorly paid. Most workers in this type of employment in Dubai come from the Asian sub-continent, especially India and Pakistan. It is not uncommon to work 12 hours per day 7 days per week. A critical Human Rights Watch (HRW) report from 11 November 2006 ("Building Towers, Cheating Workers") about the UAE construction industry claimed wages as low as 370 dhs per month were being paid.
  • Maids, nannies, drivers, gardeners, security guards work long hours, six or seven days a week, and are poorly paid (security guards usually get more). There's supposed to be a minimum wage of 700 dhs/mth for Filipino and Indonesian maids according to agreements signed between the UAE and their respective governments in mid-2006.
  • Tourism related and service sector jobs are relatively poorly paid and quite demanding. Most people working in these jobs come from Asia especially the Phillippines. Some sectors, for example aircrew, have all nationalities represented, and working conditions and salaries are much better.
  • The nursing sector also seems to attract many Filipinas/Philippinos/Phillippinos. The work is demanding and not so well paid.
  • Taxi drivers can earn 400 dhs in an eight hour day according to Dubai Transport in 2006. But according to reports from taxi drivers, they earn less than that, and it takes 12+ hours a day. Drivers receive a percentage of their daily takings as income (30% to 40%) which works out to 1000-3000 dhs monthly.
  • Secretaries and Receptionists will earn low wages for long hours. Upgrade to a PA (Personal Assistant) for the boss of a large company and salary becomes more attractive, especially if you're fluent in English and Arabic. Substantial salaries, on a par with other professionals, are possible in some cases.
  • Middle management are usually Asian - especially India - or expat Arab. Pay can be mediocre to reasonable or even better for well trained executives in large corporations.
  • Teaching, curiously, is one of the few professions with a minimum wage requirement of 2000 dhs/mth (not always adhered to though). Salaries in government or Indian schools are 1500-4000 dhs per month. English curriculum and other western oriented private schools have salaries of 5,000-15,000 dhs per month and a handful of the better ones pay up to 20,000 dhs per month. Salary sometimes varies in the same school depending on the nationality of the teacher (passport rather than DNA is the main factor although where the teaching qualification came from can make a difference - western ones being worth more).
  • Professionals such as architects, lawyers, accountants, pilots, teachers, are represented by all nationalities but the more reputable companies and higher level jobs usually require western trained personnel. Salaries range from poor to very good.
  • Doctors are a variety of nationalities and usually western trained. Salaries mediocre to good depending on the hospital/clinic and nationality of the doctor (or where s/he trained).
  • Project Managers or Directors were able to command ever increasing salaries during 2006-2008 and the building boom boomed, but going into 2009 the demand supply equation reversed. They're not quite at the level of paying their employer to be allowed to keep their jobs but many are sweating, even in their a/c chilled offices.
  • Senior management tend to be western or UAE nationals and these jobs are well-paid but are usually demanding (it's the board of directors and executives that play golf, not the foremen and managers).
  • CEOs and Managing Directors for large companies usually get very well paid but even top level management for smaller companies should be on a decent wicket.
  • Private investment bankers were getting an average of 80,000-90,000 dhs per month according to a 2007 survey by Dunn Consultancy. And probably more in 2008. Now you know why your pension fund evaporated. Whatever they're getting in the aftermath of the financial burnout of 2008 and 2009 is bound to be far too much.

Add a comment to the Dubai salaries topic in the forum, or contact us, if you think this information is incomplete and/or inaccurate, or even just to send a tirade of abuse if you're an investment banker or western journalist.

Salaries and Benefits - transport, housing, medical, travel, pension, tax

Benefits can include company housing, housing paid for by the company but found yourself, a housing allowance (usually not enough to find something suitable), a car or transport allowance, private medical insurance - check carefully who with and the terms and conditions, and a yearly or more frequent return ticket to your home country (or sometimes cash in lieu of a ticket).

A gratuity is paid at the end of employment and depends on various factors. The law specifies a certain minimum but your own contract can improve on that. Not everyone is automatically entitled to a gratuity - it depends on the type of contract (fixed term or unlimited) and under what circumstances you terminate your employment. It is intended to compensate for the lack of a pension for expatriates (there is one, but only for UAE nationals).

There is no income tax in the UAE, although occasionally the possibility is discussed. It's unlikely to happen in the near future, and very unlikely unless somewhere like Saudi Arabia considers it seriously. Depending on where you come from, and how long you stay in your Dubai job, you may have to pay tax in your home country. Every country is different and you should speak to either your tax department or a tax lawyer/accountant to get definitive information.

Last update Wednesday 23-Feb-2011
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