Banks are having serious problems finding enough people to work for them in the Gulf, but don't get too excitable

Only two kinds of creature get fun in the desert: Bedouins and gods, and you're neither. Take it from me, for ordinary men, it's a burning, fiery furnace.

"You can't code, can't schmooze clients, can't give presentations, can't generate new business, you have no networks of contacts in different industries (oil/gas for ME). You just watch a number :'-( "

Trust me when I say that 'watching a number' can be very lucrative!

spent 5 yrs in dubai and bahrain including a bunch of time managing money for UHNW families. am indian and only thing that got me treated OK was my ivy league masters.

unless you are a sales guy/ private banker on commission, the tax arbitrage is indeed mostly kept by the employer. the other case is where you get a more senior/ front office role when your credentials won't get you that role in the 'real' world (London/ HK/ NY or even Mumbai now).

as an investor, you start to get bored after a while with no ecosystem around really to exchange ideas with and talk about markets. just sales guys and accountants.

In relation to the tax issue, I believe the question one should make is: do we spend less if we go to the Gulf? If so, net income is higher and, ceteris paribus, may be a good oportunity.

@MidEaster
I think your spate of unemployment is less down to the inefficiency of Gulf banks and more due to the fact that prop trading is being replaced by a couple a few 100 lines of code that doesn't require a bonus and that prop trader skillset is utterly useless outside of prop trading. You can't code, can't schmooze clients, can't give presentations, can't generate new business, you have no networks of contacts in different industries (oil/gas for ME). You just watch a number :'-(

Roles in the Gulf are either for people with bulging contacts books, who are usually locals who've gone overseas and snazzed themselves up with an MBA, or Brits with niche skillsets they can't get overthere (I have friend whose making a mint setting up TV studios). Why Brits? They just tend to have more wanderlust than Belgians, they're not Americians and for whatever historical reasons they're quite still well regarded by employers.

A seperate issue is of course huge casual racism by locals towards South Asians, which also applies to 2nd gen who may have been born and bred elsewhere (i.e UK). They see the name on cv and in the bin it goes.