|
|
Post by halfwaythere on Jun 28, 2012 14:05:28 GMT
Hi All
Just received email from ASC with electronic copies of the offer letter.
While I was pleasantly surprised to see the fast paced response from ASC; I was a bit disppointed at few things. May be folks here can clear some of my apprehensions that would help me make my decision about the offer. I also intend to communicate some of these points with my recruiter at ASC but just wanted to get some feedback from the helpful community at this forum.
- GC-12 for Master degree and 15+ year experiece? Is it reasonable?
- I thought North American applicants would reside in Dhahran. I have been given Abqaiaq residence and my work location is in Dhahran. There goes the sweet dream of spending more time with family every body talks about here in this forum. I understand the commute between the two locations is anywhere from 1 hour to 1.5 hour ( one way). Is this correct?
- Can people share there experience with Abqaiaq living? Is there a golf course there, grocery shops, theater, kids park, swimming facilities, gym etc???
- Since my spouse will not be able to drive, and I will be miles away from home all day, how will kids school pick up/drop and other hoursehhold chores work out?
- Offer letter says I would be provided with 2-bedroom unfurnished residence? Not sure what consutes unfurnished- no appliances?
- There is not a single word about relocation expenses. I have a house and investment property that I would need to dispose off before I move. Is Aramco not offering relocation expenses to people now??
- Is Repat Travel allowance only given to employee and one dependent? I have two dependents.
Folks, I would really appreciate if you guys could provide some feed back as it will help me tremendously in my decision making.
Thanks a lot
|
|
|
|
Post by Texas786 on Jun 28, 2012 15:16:20 GMT
I wouldn't worry about the GC grade codes. The salary ranges overlap (between the grades) and the big division seems to be at GC10 in terms of benefits and housing.
For the other items such as relocation expense and repat allowance, I would definitely start calling and emailing your recruiter to ask questions and confirm. Going back and forth with them could eat up some time and it's not safe to assume that you will be getting what everyone else on the forum got.
That being said, my package has a furnished home for 3 months. After that, I can pay rent for the furniture or buy my own. The stove and fridge are included with house, rent free.
For relocation expense, we get $9k for leasing, $15k for selling our current home. One month's base salary is added to my first paycheck for moving in expenses.
Repat allowance covers the whole family (we only have one child).
Can't comment on ABQ since we are in Dhahran.
|
|
|
|
Post by halfwaythere on Jun 29, 2012 17:24:21 GMT
Thank you Texas786
I am waiting on response from the recruiter but your reply is helpful.
I am coming to terms with ABQ to DH commute-nothing I can do about it if there are no vacant houses in DH for new hires anymore.
Regarding Repat Travel; if I understand you correctly, the amount offered by Aramco is a lump sum amount regardless of number of family members- correct? For example a family of 3 would get the same amount as family of 3 or more.?
Any ABQ residents want to chime in for some input on housing, living conditions, activities etc?
Thanks again
|
|
|
|
Post by bolishfamily on Jun 29, 2012 21:04:10 GMT
Although I don't live in ABQ...I have been there a couple of times while my son played some school sports there. They have a nice commissary (bigger & nicer than RT where I live), a movie theater, Charlton coffee shop, dining hall, tennis courts, play grounds, male & female gyms. I'm not sure about a golf course but if they do it will be a sand/oil type (Dhahran has the only grass course).
Your spouse can drive on camp as long as she has a driver's license from her home country. So she can drive to the commissary or the kids to school or any other errands. There are school buses that will pick up the kids for school if you are outside the walking distant limit. The buses will also take your kids home for lunch & take them back. Your spouse could also use the camp route buses to get around.
Hope this is helpful. Sorry I don't have extensive details regarding ABQ.
|
|
|
|
Post by halfwaythere on Jun 30, 2012 3:26:40 GMT
Thanks a lot bolish
|
|
|
|
Post by Hadia on Jun 30, 2012 4:01:16 GMT
halfwaythere,
No. They factor it by each member of the family. The repat travel funds for adults are calculated as a bit more than for the kids. And when kids get old enough to go to boarding school, repat funding for that child is swapped out for a differently categorized and funded travel that ties in with the schooling. When you submit your request for your repat funding, you get an email that shows how it was broken down for the various aspects of the travel. What you see on your letter of offer, however, is a lump sum figure and it's not broken down there.
Perhaps someone else can elaborate on this a bit more elegantly, or correct me if I'm mistaken.
|
|
|
|
Post by azraeil on Jun 30, 2012 12:21:35 GMT
Repat calculation is per each family member.
The calculation is as follows
Example
Adult - USD8K
Child - 75% of Adult fares - 6K
Excess Baggage - 25% of Total fares (i.e. 25% 14K)
Visa - SAR200 per person.
Taxi - SAR200
|
|
|
|
Post by halfwaythere on Jun 30, 2012 16:28:30 GMT
Thank you Hadia and azraeil
|
|
|
|
Post by Earthsci on Jul 1, 2012 4:32:09 GMT
Yes. The commute is frustrating. The bus leaves 5:30 am from the commissary and arrives the core area at 6:40 am. The back bus leaves 4:10 pm and arrives at 5:30-5:40 pm.
The facilities in ABQ are comprehensive (has everything you mentioned).
On arrival, you will be provided with basic furniture and cooking ware as well as some food. The washer, dryer and the furniture are free for the first 4 months. Rental fee will be charges afterwards. Dishwasher and refrigerator are free.
|
|
|
|
Post by halfwaythere on Jul 2, 2012 13:48:52 GMT
Thanks EarthSci
I guess more time to sleep for me on bus during morning commute 8)
|
|
|
|
Post by CanPeng on Sept 15, 2012 6:17:59 GMT
o Everyone,
I have just received an offer letter today similar in some of its terms to the one Halfwaythere got.
No word on relocation expenses
Repeat travel allowance for Employee and one dependent. (I'm married with 2 kids
Also, the offer I got was for bachelor status, although made it clear my wife will follow in one or two month. I ended up being offered a bachelor house unfurnished ( I thought everyone was getting an apartement with a leased furniture at the beginning)
Of course I will go back to the recruiter and clarify the issues, but I'm very interested to know if anyone has gone throught this before and what was the outcome ? Halfwaythere, I would appreciate feed back from you.
Would appreciate prompt response as I will have to respond to the offer ASAP. I should mention that the job le mentioned in the offer letter is different than what I applied for, apparently one stepp less in seniority, I must negotiate this too, I would appreciate advice on that.
Thanks,
|
|
|
|
Post by halfwaythere on Sept 17, 2012 14:53:47 GMT
CanPeng
I just sent you a PM
Halfwaythere
|
|
|
|
Post by CanPeng on Sept 17, 2012 20:21:08 GMT
That was very helpful Halfwaythere, much appreciated. I'm hoping that most of these issues can be easily resolved in a counter offer.
|
|
|
|
Post by lionel on Dec 24, 2012 9:50:56 GMT
Hi
Thanks for the very informative forum!
I am a South African Mechanical Engineer and I have received my job offer, background screening form, etc. I hope that my next few questions haven't been asked a million times before!?
My status of employment is "Bachelor" even though I am married (no children). I indicated to my recruiter that I was seriously intending on bringing my wife over to KSA and their reply was that I could do it once I was settled in (taking approx. 2 to 3 moths?).
1. My work location is Khursaniyah. Is this extremely remote!?
2. Should I push Aramco for a different status?
3. Does Aramco help with spousal visas, etc?
4. Does the, applying for your spouse’s visa, tend to be a lengthy process? If so, is it better then to have her go over on a holiday visa? Or better yet, she could go over to KSA on a residence visa and apply for a working permit while there?
5. What has been your experience regarding the need for your wives to work in KSA while you go about your work for Aramco?
Thanks in-advance!
|
|
|
|
Post by ProfManU on Apr 4, 2013 21:18:43 GMT
Is there any equivalent formula(e) for calculating the repat allowance for expats from UK?
|
|
