Moving from the US to Dubai

[mari33]

I'm currently about to attend PA School and the excitement I have is beyond words. However I have a bit of a problem I was hoping someone could help me with as it seems I can't find a concrete answer anywhere online. 

I live in the US and am a US citizen  (have been all my life) however once I finish PA School, I will be moving to Dubai because that is where my Fiancé lives and works. It would be extremely difficult for him to come here and find a job, but over there he is doing very well. 

I was just wondering if anyone knew about the certified physician assistant job market in Dubai. Will I be able to find a job? Will I be getting a decent salary? (I'm aware it won't be as much as if I had experience.)

Any information that anyone might have that relates to this would be DEEPLY appreciated

 

Thank you so much in advance,

Best,

Mariam

[Anachronist]

Interesting question. I have seen an occasional listing for a PA position in the UAE here and there but they are uncommon (I also do not know the validity of those positions). Generally there are two options that come to mind, one is looking for work at the US embassy (or other embassy whose country has licensed PAs) but to my knowledge they are all in Abu Dhabi. The other would be to try and contact a physician working in the US who is from the UAE or another close Arab neighbor. I worked at a clinic with a few Arabian physicians that still maintained connections in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria (before it became a war zone), etc. We would have occasional FMGs come by and visit too. 

As for the salary, I would imagine it will be low. I spoke with a few of our FMGs who wanted to complete residencies in the US and then go back to Saudi Arabia (apparently with an American or Canadian residency you have job offers thrown at you and start at the highest salary levels there). They would often mention that Saudi Arabia "paid the best" but if I remember right, it was about half of what US MDs in the same specialities were paid. They did say that sometimes they would get perks like free housing or a car though.

If you don't speak Arabic, that will also probably limit your options, all of our FMGs' who wanted to work in the region first language was Arabic.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

[mari33]

12 minutes ago, Anachronist said:

Interesting question. I have seen an occasional listing for a PA position in the UAE here and there but they are uncommon (I also do not know the validity of those positions). Generally there are two options that come to mind, one is looking for work at the US embassy (or other embassy whose country has licensed PAs) but to my knowledge they are all in Abu Dhabi. The other would be to try and contact a physician working in the US who is from the UAE or another close Arab neighbor. I worked at a clinic with a few Arabian physicians that still maintained connections in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria (before it became a war zone), etc. We would have occasional FMGs come by and visit too. 

As for the salary, I would imagine it will be low. I spoke with a few of our FMGs who wanted to complete residencies in the US and then go back to Saudi Arabia (apparently with an American or Canadian residency you have job offers thrown at you and start at the highest salary levels there). They would often mention that Saudi Arabia "paid the best" but if I remember right, it was about half of what US MDs in the same specialities were paid. They did say that sometimes they would get perks like free housing or a car though.

If you don't speak Arabic, that will also probably limit your options, all of our FMGs' who wanted to work in the region first language was Arabic.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

I'm actually fluent in Arabic and proficient in a few other languages as well.

I know that my fiance might know A few doctors in Dubai but I don't know anyone here that relocated from UAE. Closest connection I'd have is a few people who are doctors in Egypt, however the system is completely different! 

Hopefully going there is temporary until we move back to the US when he can find a job here. 

Looking at the embassy's is something I will definitely look into! 

Thank you for the reply :) 

Edited April 27, 2018 by mari33

[jmj11]

I didn't see Cleveland Clinic's facility  (in Abu Dhabi) mentioned. That would be the best bet for an American citizen looking for employment, if you can live in Abu Dhabi or between the two cities. I lived in Dubai way back in 1981 for a few months. I have tried to get back several times, but limited myself to their headache clinic (part of Cleveland Clinic). However, if you have a spectrum of positions that you are willing to take, you might have a good chance. How did you become fluent in Arabic? I Have a degree in Arabic from the American University in Cairo, however, it is quite rusty.

Edited April 29, 2018 by jmj11

[mari33]

6 minutes ago, jmj11 said:

I didn't see Cleveland Clinic's facility  (in Abu Dhabi) mentioned. That would be the best bet for an American citizen looking for employment, if you can live in Abu Dhabi or between the two cities. I lived in Dubai way back in 1981 for a few months. I have tried to get back several times, but limited myself to their headache clinic (part of Cleveland Clinic). However, if you have a spectrum of positions that you are willing to take, you might have a good chance. How did you become fluent in Arabic? I Have a degree in Arabic from the American University in Cairo, however, it is quite rusty.

Thanks for the reply! I'll definitely look into that! 

And as for my Arabic, my parents are Egyptian. And so is my Fiancé. My Arabic was incredibly choppy until a few years ago though because When my parents would talk with us in Arabic, we would just reply in English. But I started answering them more in Arabic and talking with my cousins almost everyday (who live in Egypt) and then when I met my boyfriend I perfected his English while he perfected my Arabic :) so I just took every opportunity that I could get to speak Arabic  :)

[jmj11]

Although my Arabic training was in العربية الفصحى , since I was living in Egypt at the time, Egyptian Arabic is what I know best. We lived near Medan Hegaz, in mrs gadeeda (Heliopolis).

[ss345]

I would definitely check the Cleveland clinic and the American University. But as a FMG who was in Dubai till undergrad, I would definitely say the scope and pay for PAs would be very limited.