Another sucker drawn in by the Middle East?
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Post-Pit and Lovin' It.
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Yes.
And as many, many previous posts will attest I am no EK/Dubai cheerleader.
Perhaps I was lucky, it's hard to know where the line is and some do stay too long and leave too late. My post was not meant as gloating, merely to point out that it is possible to reap benefits and...run.
But how exactly does EK "try to separate you from your wife"? There is an admittedly extremely high rate of failed marriages, but I would attribute that to the lack of normal accountability expat life lacks. That it isn't unique to the ME. From my own observations the place doesn't so much create problems, as expose ones already present that were more readily hidden in one's "home" culture.
I also know of families still very much intact.
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: home
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Not so fast. Healthy today? Yes.(Or rather, I appear to be.) Healthy a year or 3 from now. Maybe, maybe not.
The simple fact is EK pilots and Cabin Crew are guinea pigs. No one knows the ramifications of the type of flying done by them, and in years to come there may (or may not) be serious health issues experienced due to the the flying. The UAE couldn't care, you can never retire there, so any health issue will be dealt with by you, and the government in the country you move to afterwards.
A while ago there was a % quoted for the number of EK Cabin Crew on anti depressants. I don't know how factual it was, but even if it was halved, it is frightening.
The simple fact is EK pilots and Cabin Crew are guinea pigs. No one knows the ramifications of the type of flying done by them, and in years to come there may (or may not) be serious health issues experienced due to the the flying. The UAE couldn't care, you can never retire there, so any health issue will be dealt with by you, and the government in the country you move to afterwards.
A while ago there was a % quoted for the number of EK Cabin Crew on anti depressants. I don't know how factual it was, but even if it was halved, it is frightening.
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: High n Blighty
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Top tip: Never skimp on health insurance for you and the family. All may seem well , but to have your own independent medical assistance could indeed save your life if things ever go South.
The Cooler King
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: In the Desert
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If you can come with a number in mind and can live within your means then you can get what you want and leave. Don't expect anything more from this place except money. The guys who can't save are those that have no plans and need to keep spending to satisfy themselves.
If you are the kind of person that needs a lot of external stimulation in life to be happy like concerts, beautiful scenery (haha not.mucj of that here), restaurants and all within the framework of your own society then you will be sorely disappointed.
If however, you can basically live in a fashion that doesn't need too much external stimulation but one in which time with friends, movies, books a few holidays per year etc. will be fine then you should be ok.
The issue is that individuals who have no business leaving their own societies and cultures but get tempted by the money show up and realize that life outside of their country is not the same everywhere else in the world and then bitch about it. They also fail to realise that actually living somewhere is different from going on holiday to that place, they therefore try to make their life into a holiday and it all goes wrong from there.
Maturity and a good understanding of where it is you're going and what your life is going to be like is the key here. There are plenty of people that bitch and moan but end up spending 15-25 years here.
If you are the kind of person that needs a lot of external stimulation in life to be happy like concerts, beautiful scenery (haha not.mucj of that here), restaurants and all within the framework of your own society then you will be sorely disappointed.
If however, you can basically live in a fashion that doesn't need too much external stimulation but one in which time with friends, movies, books a few holidays per year etc. will be fine then you should be ok.
The issue is that individuals who have no business leaving their own societies and cultures but get tempted by the money show up and realize that life outside of their country is not the same everywhere else in the world and then bitch about it. They also fail to realise that actually living somewhere is different from going on holiday to that place, they therefore try to make their life into a holiday and it all goes wrong from there.
Maturity and a good understanding of where it is you're going and what your life is going to be like is the key here. There are plenty of people that bitch and moan but end up spending 15-25 years here.
If you’re a whiner by nature or ‘comfort zone’ comes up in your vocabulary a lot, then stay where you are.
It is what it is.
The Cooler King
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: In the Desert
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Agreed. Loads of money is not in everyone’s contract. And you’re right. You can blow 1000 AUD in minutes at Spinney’s.
Spare ribs last week were 450!
Spare ribs last week were 450!
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Doah
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Greetings
I've been long time Pprune follower since 2012 when i first started flying. I've learnt a lot from reading the posts on this site since & fast forward six years later, I'm a first officer on a B787. I created this account & thread recently to seek out some sound (...and hopefully wise!) advice on how to proceed forward with my career. Ever since I started flying I've always been infatuated with the idea of working with a Legacy carrier like Emirates, or Qatar in the Middle east. To this day, I'm still eager to make the move.
The Airline I currently fly for isn't quite what I imagined my first Airline job to be ( i was formally a GA pilot) and I made more money flying twin-turboprops than I do now flying a B787 making around $2000 to $2500(Tops!) a month. Captains in my company make roughly $3500-$4000 so it's not a tremendous step up either but one I look forward to nontheless. I'm about to hit that 3000hr mark with 2000hrs on aircraft > 20tonnes and Im contemplating a move to the UAE.
My wife & I are currently getting by but we can't afford much outside a decent living & I strongly feel I can save more money in the UAE than where I currently am.
This leads me to the question, am I making the right decision by trying to move to the UAE?
Thank you in advance for your time & suggestions!
I've been long time Pprune follower since 2012 when i first started flying. I've learnt a lot from reading the posts on this site since & fast forward six years later, I'm a first officer on a B787. I created this account & thread recently to seek out some sound (...and hopefully wise!) advice on how to proceed forward with my career. Ever since I started flying I've always been infatuated with the idea of working with a Legacy carrier like Emirates, or Qatar in the Middle east. To this day, I'm still eager to make the move.
The Airline I currently fly for isn't quite what I imagined my first Airline job to be ( i was formally a GA pilot) and I made more money flying twin-turboprops than I do now flying a B787 making around $2000 to $2500(Tops!) a month. Captains in my company make roughly $3500-$4000 so it's not a tremendous step up either but one I look forward to nontheless. I'm about to hit that 3000hr mark with 2000hrs on aircraft > 20tonnes and Im contemplating a move to the UAE.
My wife & I are currently getting by but we can't afford much outside a decent living & I strongly feel I can save more money in the UAE than where I currently am.
This leads me to the question, am I making the right decision by trying to move to the UAE?
Thank you in advance for your time & suggestions!
As a long time PPRUNER
i am curious what is your idea of an Airline?For me;
Its a machine where the Funders make money and we are defined as slaves, and them 'masters' and these are terms used in the court in the case of trial and what not. (In Pearce v Foster [1886] QBD536,Lord Esher MR)
cheers
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Planet Earth
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Greetings
I've been long time Pprune follower since 2012 when i first started flying. I've learnt a lot from reading the posts on this site since & fast forward six years later, I'm a first officer on a B787. I created this account & thread recently to seek out some sound (...and hopefully wise!) advice on how to proceed forward with my career. Ever since I started flying I've always been infatuated with the idea of working with a Legacy carrier like Emirates, or Qatar in the Middle east. To this day, I'm still eager to make the move.
The Airline I currently fly for isn't quite what I imagined my first Airline job to be ( i was formally a GA pilot) and I made more money flying twin-turboprops than I do now flying a B787 making around $2000 to $2500(Tops!) a month. Captains in my company make roughly $3500-$4000 so it's not a tremendous step up either but one I look forward to nontheless. I'm about to hit that 3000hr mark with 2000hrs on aircraft > 20tonnes and Im contemplating a move to the UAE.
My wife & I are currently getting by but we can't afford much outside a decent living & I strongly feel I can save more money in the UAE than where I currently am.
This leads me to the question, am I making the right decision by trying to move to the UAE?
Thank you in advance for your time & suggestions!
I've been long time Pprune follower since 2012 when i first started flying. I've learnt a lot from reading the posts on this site since & fast forward six years later, I'm a first officer on a B787. I created this account & thread recently to seek out some sound (...and hopefully wise!) advice on how to proceed forward with my career. Ever since I started flying I've always been infatuated with the idea of working with a Legacy carrier like Emirates, or Qatar in the Middle east. To this day, I'm still eager to make the move.
The Airline I currently fly for isn't quite what I imagined my first Airline job to be ( i was formally a GA pilot) and I made more money flying twin-turboprops than I do now flying a B787 making around $2000 to $2500(Tops!) a month. Captains in my company make roughly $3500-$4000 so it's not a tremendous step up either but one I look forward to nontheless. I'm about to hit that 3000hr mark with 2000hrs on aircraft > 20tonnes and Im contemplating a move to the UAE.
My wife & I are currently getting by but we can't afford much outside a decent living & I strongly feel I can save more money in the UAE than where I currently am.
This leads me to the question, am I making the right decision by trying to move to the UAE?
Thank you in advance for your time & suggestions!
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Kot Addu
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Once again, i really appreciate all the helpful suggestions shared. Given what I've read, i'm thinking about visiting Dubai for a few weeks & seeing what the place is actually like. I realize that going there as a tourist wont give me the full scope of what its like to actually work & live there however its the second best thing i can think after inquiring on this forum. Perhaps the visit will make my decision to commit to or cancel the move a little easier.
So it differs for each, also an Australian ex-EK hostie on youtube loved her work, had to leave for health issues as she had some incurable disorder.
