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Post by soverydeb on Nov 4, 2011 14:26:29 GMT
I don't think Mr Barlow is an unhappy person...he just gives the reader a different point of view of the situation. No, it's not all "wine and roses" here in the Kingdom, but tell me the one place in the world where everything is perfect. There isn't such a place.
He obviously has a different perspective because his experiences have been different...for example, my husband isn't in the same line of work as his, so they have to deal with different types of situations. I like getting EVERYONE'S point of view, it give the forum a wider range of opinions and topics to debate. If all I had to read about was the same thing over and over, well, that becomes boring and I fall into the "who cares" category. And that includes both favorable and unfavorable reviews.
Just my 2 cents.
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Post by henpecked on Nov 4, 2011 16:25:28 GMT
Soverydeb, Wish they had a 'like' on.  |
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Post by desi787 on Nov 4, 2011 16:38:59 GMT
Interesting thread! I do have to say that opinions like Mr. Barlow's are indeed welcome to newbies like me provided they're are sincere and honest. It seems Mr. Barlow is likely frustrated rather than unhappy. Anyway, back to the topic; I have heard/read anecdotal stories of how aramco was a much better place to work back in the days (20-30yrs ago). I would like present day aramcons or past alumni for that matter chime in on this.
@soverydeb: Yup, definitely not "vino & roses" but rather "sand & oil"......with oil @$90+ /bbl, you can buy lots of the former :lol:
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Buster
Senior Member
Posts: 106
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Post by Buster on Nov 8, 2011 6:47:18 GMT
Mr. Barlow DOES work for Aramco - and he is enled to his opinion on this forum just like anyone else. Potential new employees who use this site would like to read ALL opinions so let's not single people out for special attention just because they have a different view. Your opinions are based on your husbands experience of Aramco and not directly from the daily work environment but ALL comments and opinions are extremely valuable and useful for people to see the complete picture.
Best regards
Buster
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Post by soverydeb on Nov 8, 2011 12:33:30 GMT
Amen, Buster!!
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Post by Chikano on Nov 10, 2011 8:43:17 GMT
In my opinion, every stranger man willing to come to KSA has a goal in his mind, he must know before he come that it is a different country then his country of origin, he must know that hes coing to make money (and big amounts of money), one shouldn't nag all the time... at the end nohing is perfect but its our job to make it easier. take care
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Post by gareth0127 on Nov 10, 2011 14:06:46 GMT
I agree fully with Buster. Sugar coating every aspect of life here is not helping people, it is giving them an unrealistic view that will only be shattered the moment they arrive! Mr Barlows views are not always a million miles from the truth but some people, myself included,just accept it and enjoy many of the good things about living here.
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Post by David_and_Nita on Nov 15, 2011 14:19:07 GMT
Y'all need to quit knocking barlow anyway. Its tough here. Usually we don't complain about it but there are some days that sheesh......
The sugar coating on here nauseates me to the extreme. The money is the same and I am sick of hearing that it is not. Aramco does not pay a single dime more than E&C firms in Australia or the US pay. The guys working for <redacted E&C firm> over in Khobar are making a lot more money than any Aramco employee I know including myself. The cost of living is way, way lower and the taxes are lower, not because of anything Aramco does, but because our home countries give us a break for working overseas. The added benefit is that as long as you are doing a good job the job is stable. There is an unmeasurable value in that stability.
For some jobs the work/life balance is difficult - those lucky enough to get non-critical assignments get the same work/life balance break at Aramco that those who do not hold critical assignments in their home countries get. There are on-call duties, there are callouts, shutdowns to cover, holidays to cover, and some of you will get the luck of the draw to cover most of them and some of you are not actually needed to maintain critical business activities and earn kudos for your non-critical place in life.
Add the unnecessary daily drivel and paperwork to the routine and I can understand how a person can get frustrated with it all and vent from time to time.
Everyone's input is valuable. If you are a 9-5 non-critical employee then bully for you. If you feel worked to death sometimes and it never stops I feel ya LOL. I give what I can and earn what I get and that's what we owe anyone we are working for.
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Post by desi787 on Nov 15, 2011 16:26:08 GMT
I don't know what you mean by sugar coating? If someone working/living there is genuinely enjoying it then it's simply their opinion. Sure life has it's frustrations but where is that not applicable? I believe people that adapt easily to a new environment despite it's constraints tend to be more or less satisfied. If you can't on the other hand, why not change the status quo?
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Buster
Senior Member
Posts: 106
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Post by Buster on Nov 15, 2011 19:10:22 GMT
If you don't try it, you will never know.
Do I have any regrets coming here? No, not one - I'm enjoying the experience, I was ready for a new challenge. I've learned many many new things here - and also about myself.
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Post by gareth0127 on Nov 15, 2011 19:30:02 GMT
Desi, some people on here seem to only give super positive answers to people's questions and brush over any negatives, almost as if they don't want to scare prospective new hires away, thats what I mean about sugar coating. There are also a few poor responses to anyone who gives negative information as well. E.g towards Mr Barlow
The vast majority though give good honest facts and advice, positive and negative!
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Post by desi787 on Nov 15, 2011 21:03:39 GMT
gareth,
My response was actually directed at David&Nita. He implies that people on this forum are deliberately "sugar coating". For what? It's not like they are head hunters on commission. If a person is having an overall positive experience then why not highlight the positives? Remember it's just their personal opinion. Anyway, not to belabor the point one thing I can say is there are some interesting characters there. Have a great day folks (...or at least try to :wink: )
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Post by MAC20121 on Nov 16, 2011 2:31:51 GMT
Thank you for all the comments on the forum. New comers, like myself, I do not think I made my decision to apply and accept based on the forum, but useful information does help. What to ask for and moving and settling in.
For that purpose it is a great service to new comers. Thank you.
Like I think the most used word on this forum may be “PATIENCE”
Side comment, do not want to get dged into it, guys who want to come to US, may be better off making a serious search, I think the economy here is at stand still, if not going down.
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Post by David_and_Nita on Nov 19, 2011 3:09:33 GMT
Gareth said it well. There is a lot of flippant, super-positive nonsense that brushes over some of the day to day challenges of life here and in that respect (in my view only) it may not be accurate in giving a full and complete picture. How many times have I read "of course you can get that, they have that here" but completely left out the word "sometimes" or "randomly available" or "come back next...." (laughing)
We only post occasionally and when we do we share the good and bad and always try to point out that (in our case and so far) the good outweighs the bad but the bad needs to be expected and planned for.
It is my view that for the good of the company as well as for prospects or for just the curious we owe a complete and accurate picture of life here. After all, how many of us know new hires that arrived and were like "what the ----?" and went home in a few months or a year?
NOTE: From my side I do not imply. If I thought this was deliberate or had an agenda or motive, I would have said so. I do think that it is a partial picture and I think some of the story is left out in favor of postive "image" and in that respect I think it is not accurate. Hope that clarifies.
Thanks
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Post by SLC77 on Nov 19, 2011 3:30:17 GMT
Always an interesting read...this topic that is.
I think we all need to remember there are MANY different positions and fields within ARAMCO and aspects of life in Dhahran. It seems that quite often these expressions of peoples' experience become clouded, or rather mixed together, between work, home life, and play. It's not really clear at times what people are venting about imo.
With regard to "life" in the Kingdom or on camp, that some are expecting there to be less hiccups or red tape then anywhere else in the world; there's always something to be frustrated about.
I for one and very excited to start and ARAMCO does compensate much better than anyone else any many fields, maybe not all, but many...fact; end of story. Those who tell you otherwise are already, imo, in a high grade code.
The input of everyone here is essential, but sometimes the negatives seem stray into personal frustrations or office procedural issues. I'm not saying these don't exist, but they should be recognized as highly contextual...
I don't want to be fed candy on this forum like anyone else; I think most would come here for cold hard facts anyway rather than subjective opinions.
thanks!
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