First month in Aramco

There are a few posts on this subject already from new hires in the last couple of moNths. Please do a search the forum.

I sent you an email with ABQ contacts.

all New employee first go to Dammam and then other place.?
All new employees go to Damman - it used to be you arrived on Friday, had a day at leisure on Saay,then orientation on the Sunday. Likely to fly to Yanbu on the Monday and reporting to work on the Tuesday (this will give you an idea but actual days may have changed due to the weekends now being Friday & Saay)

Is There will be any Company Repersentative to guide me at Dammam and Yanbu?
There will be someone to meet you at Damman to process some paperwork - it'll probably be a taxi to Steineke Hall after that

Mode of Travelling from Dammam to yanbu i.e By air or By Bus etc?
It will be by Aramco flight, either via Jeddah or direct to Yanbu (again it depends on day)

How long I have to wait at Dammam?
As above, 3 days in Damman probably

Good luck

You can easily get a SimCard after orientation, which should happen on your third or fourth day in Saudi. A SimCard to put in your phone is cheap, should not cost more than 50 riyal. Check out, if you can, which provider offers the best service in the area where you live. This is also important if - and I would recommend it - you want to also get a small Internet device that also runs with a SimCard and that will provide you with your own portable Wi-Fi. This is particularly important if, like me and many of my colleagues, you'll have to wait for sone tine ubtil tgey give you an Aramco computer to access the internet (I had to wait for three weeks). For example STC is currently offering a hardware device with unlimited (!!!) Internet for 100 riyals a month. Objectively, this is much faster (= much better) than the Internet Aramco what to put in your house, and that costs twice that amount per month. Plus, the risk to be "observed" is less high...
Depending on when you arrive, orientation can also be a little later. In my case, orientation was after my first day of work, on my sixth day in Saudi. Things before that, like the SamCard or other stuff that has to do with telecommunications, just ask around, there will be always somebody to the right answer. I'm don't be afraid of leaving the compound, life in the villages around like Rahimah (next to Ras Tanura) or in Khobar, is not at all that, strange, or Mars – like. Compared to other places in the Middle East I have visited or lived in, like Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi is surprisingly well ordered and less chaotic. Some of the Americans here on this forum tend to overplay the "huge cultural differences". Some people will tell you that Saudi is so different because it hosts the two main mosques of Islam. Honestly, IMHO if Mecca on Medina weren't here, this country would not be so very different from others in the region - at least today. 20/30 years ago, another story... They (the "problems") can be huge if you are a woman, no doubts about it. Much less if you're a man. And even lesser if from the very start you show your nose outside the compound. Honestly, for me, personally, the strange thing here is not Saudi Arabia but Aramco itself, a company with a massive amount of people/employees, and an even bigger amount of sometimes strange regulations and rules. And perhaps because it mixes American and Saudi heritage, M.O. and "procedures" in a very unique way, probably like no other in the world.
Good luck, and fingers crossed!

If you can get a STC sim card in Dhahran, go for it. With regards to the internet ,it's best to wait until you reach Yanbu and see what the available options are.

With regards to getting your nose outside the compound, you don't need to worry about that - in Yanbu, you won't be living in a compound.

My wife and I are leaving the U.S. on May 1st and will arrive in KSA on May 2nd. We are having a debate about when and if we get a month's salary in advance. Is this correct? If so, about when do we receive it. This will help us determine how much to bring. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

RickT,

As probably was told to you in orientation you should bring some money that is enough until you got your first salary (setting allowance it's payed it fist salary). So if you're going on the 1st of May you should have enough money for one month. You can bring it or use the ATM machines on camp to take it (fees and taxes should be applied).

Safe travels.

RickT,

You can also bring checks from your bank in the U.S. You can write USD checks and receive SR's in the bank on the compound, up to $2000USD/week. (Checks are 3.73SR to $1 USD)

Check with your bank about daily withdrawal limitations on your ATM card, you may need it raised, if you plan to use your ATM card much. Also know what international ATM fees if any they charge so you can take that into account.

Let your bank's fraud alert department know you will be living in KSA and using your card here.
Same goes for any credit cards you plan to use here.