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Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) - Travel - Nairaland

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Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by adord(m): 1:55am On Oct 22, 2005
As at now, i´m living in Germany since 10years and have just finished my studies in aerospace engineering. I have been offered a job as sales engineer in a leading position by a German company with a branch in Nigeria. This job offer is for a long term, so that i´ll have to sign my contract with the nigerian branch.

I have been trying to get information on the cost of living in Lagos as well as starting salaries for engineers in Nigeria. But it is very difficult to get such infomation on the inet. I have some questions that are bothering me

1.) Is there a site to get useful information for someone planning to go back to nigeria for job cases
2.) Where can i get the rent prices of apartments? Or do you know how much a monthly rent of 2-3 bedroom apartment costs at a secure area in Lagos?
3.) How much is the usual starting salary for engineers in Lagos. I need these numbers for my orientation when negotiating my salary. ( I was offered 500 EURO. == 87600 Naira per month, which i think is just a bluff). My wish  is however a minimum of 1500 EURO == 258000 Naira. Is this amount reasonable? I would like to keep my living standard in germany over there. How much are these two amounts worth in nigeria? The company has nothing to do with oil.
4.) What should someone consider before moving back to nigeria? Is it reasonable moving back to nigeria after living so long in germany? i left nigeria at the age of 15.


I will be very grateful if i can get useful answers out here. Thanks

segun
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by nferyn(m): 2:03am On Oct 22, 2005
That starting salary for an aerospace engineer is absolutely ridiculously low. That's what a semi-skilled laborer gets in Belgium. The fact that you'd be relocating should'n't matter. Expats get offered very high salaries, why shouldn't you receive that?

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Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by WesleyanA(f): 2:19am On Oct 22, 2005
cheesy welcome segun cheesy
you're an aerospace engineer? cool.
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by nferyn(m): 2:23am On Oct 22, 2005
Actually, after re-reading your post, I just noticed that your starting salary would only be €500, not €1500
That even makes it worse. If you would accept that, realise that they are exploiting you
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by adord(m): 2:25am On Oct 22, 2005
The problem is that there are two kinna of contract. expatriat contract and long term contract (10 to 15years). For long term contracts, they usually pay the location conditions. The HR contact was telling me they pay their engineers 300 EUR. Which i can never believe. In germany i will get a net of 2000 EURO ( i have to choice of staying in germany). But they argue that the cost of living in nigeria is very low. My advantage is that, they are only interested in a nigerian that studied in germany because of the quality skills. As an aerospace engineer, i can work at almost any mechanical and engineering company

My decision depends on if i´ll be able to afford my current living standard in nigeria. Only that i don't know the worth of the money in nigeria.

I have an appointment with the HR contact next week, and i´ll never accept such an offer. Noway under 1500EURO
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by Greatpeter(m): 11:53am On Oct 22, 2005
Adord I don't really know how I can help you now.
Because i do not know your present standard of living.
But N87,000 is nothing but a pea nut in Nigeria where
we are suffering from run off inflation.

A good 3bedroom appertment may cost you 180,000 in Lagos
depending on the area you wish to live.

But N87,000 is very ridiculous.
Though I work in Oil industry and I know nothing about your company.

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Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by SirKay3(m): 12:10pm On Oct 22, 2005
That's pure exploitation, so you better stay in Germany
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by adord(m): 1:41pm On Oct 22, 2005
@ Greatpeter
Thanx for ur information. I think they are just trying to see how i´ll react on the offer, so that they can save as much as possible. If they cant agree on 1500EUR, then i´ll stay in germany.
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by inyang(m): 2:09pm On Oct 22, 2005
What comes with the salary (free housing, car, company phone, free air tickets,club membership?).
Lagos is more expensive than most European cities. Getting some things done that you take for granted is going to cost you really high..

You can't get a standard simple hotel room on Victoria Island for less than 100 Euro equivalent and the room will not have most of the basic stuff you may come to expect.

Due to the public transport situation. you may be expected to have an airconditioned car! If you have kid(s), factor in dropping the kids off/from school. And so on .....

DIY government (you have to provide water, electricity, security) for yourself. Don't believe all the hype you read, electricity in Nigeria is one of the most expensive since you have to own and manage the generating plant and carry out the servicing.

So, IMO, check what extras comes with the job before you leap in.
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by omon(m): 2:10pm On Oct 22, 2005
Boy, think again.  The problem here is not just about retruning to Nigeria, but the very ridiculous offer.. I had three friends who studied with me here in the UK.  They had offers in the UK and in Nigeria.  They opted for the Nigerian jobs because their salaries ranged from 5M naira to 13M naira. And these were not all oil companies.  You can have a decent life in Lagos if you earn well.  Negotiate an upward review of their offer, 1,500 EURO is not even good enough, get them to provide you with a comfortable accommodation etc.
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by omon(m): 2:13pm On Oct 22, 2005
Point of correction, Lagos is not more expensive than most European cities, at least the one I know of. Here in London, people who earn top range salaries like £2,500 can hardly do much with it and save enough. In Lagos, you can save a lot from that and also live comfortably. The problem with Lagos is the chaos that comes with it - no proper order.
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by adord(m): 3:31pm On Oct 22, 2005
at least i have some numbers for my negotiation. thanx
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by kazey(m): 4:30pm On Oct 22, 2005
Lagos is more expensive than most european countries. buahahhaha. Man are you for real?.

Anywayz on the issue of going back to Nigeria even with a paycheck of 1500 pounds. I would say think before you leap. Abi wetin dem dey say? You can lose the job (does that mean back to square one), you can be demoted (what do you do after that?).

Lets be real, you wont enjoy working in Nigeria except maybe you have another secured income stream to support that salary, and to fall back on, when things go bad. And besides going back to Germany after realizing your mistake wouldnt go easy, you would hate yourself, stay jeje for Germany abeg. wink, You can visit Nigeria for holidays, if you miss it that badly.
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by adord(m): 4:58pm On Oct 22, 2005
the case about losing the job is not so important. I have a german passport. That means when things go bad, i can always take the next fligt back to germany. I can always get a well paid job in Germany also. The reason i´m so interested in this job, is because i will be the second in charge at the lagos branch and as time goes on, i´ll be heading some other branches that are yet to be opened. That means a lot of responsibility and status and it will be an advantage when i come back to germany. I can never have the opportunity to head a company´s branch in germany.

But all depends on the salary... i doubt it worths it..

I know that living in nigeria is very hard...but if u have enough money, it aint so bad. my problem is the definition "enough"
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by sage(m): 8:24pm On Oct 22, 2005
i dont think going back to nigeria on a salary of 500 euros is a good idea. U will most likely regret it. What does an aero space engineer earn in Germany? Do you have a family or plan to have one soonest. There are so many factors you have to consider but in any case dont dream of going back to nigeria on 500 euros
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by omon(m): 8:56pm On Oct 22, 2005
This is simple. Let them pay you what an aerospace engineer earns in Germany....Period!
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by inyang(m): 10:54am On Oct 24, 2005
Thought Experiment.

Take 2 people, pay them same salary. Put one in Lagos and one in say Paris/London.

Say salary is 2000 Euro (and equivalent in naira at parallel market rate).

After one year, do a survey on their standard of living using recognized indices.

Check quality of accommodation, power supply, lifestyle, transport, health and tell me who is better off.

Expensive does not stop at the price of coke and petrol eg. Take a look at the total cost of living before you decide of a is cheaper than b.
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by Seun(m): 1:45pm On Oct 24, 2005
It is in the best interest of this country for you to stay where you are, work, and send money home from time to time. It's not in your best interest, either, because this country still has some growing up to do.

Take the white man's money and send it to Nigeria.

Then when you reach the apex of your career and you have a lot of money in savings, come back to Nigeria, start a business, and provide jobs for a lot of Nigerians. I think it's unfair that after studying abroad you want to come back here to displace our local graduates (who did not have the opportunity of travelling abroad) from the few well-paying jobs that are available to them.

Stay over there, earn a lot of white man's money, and bring that money home and use it to create jobs for fellow Nigerians. Be a job-creator and not a job-taker!
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by kazey(m): 3:48pm On Oct 24, 2005
Seun saved the day. Nice post.
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by Greatpeter(m): 4:13pm On Oct 24, 2005
Adord read the above post, what do you think?
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by whocares: 5:11pm On Oct 24, 2005
I know some people who have relocated and loved it; while others have gone back or are planning to.

I think 1500euros ~ N3.2Mill (Total) is crap, unless you are still a fresh graduate, then it is not bad. (Be careful, in Nigeria there is Basic pay and then there is total renumeration...find out which one they are talking about).
Also find out what PAYE taxes you have to pay, some company's pay PAYE taxes and others don't).
Forget about 500euros...they want to 419 you shocked

For you occupation and skill (assuming you've been working a while) your company should be able to maintain your current 2000 euros plus all the mentioned extras in the earlier post, things like accomodation (Ikoyi, VI & Lekki accomodation is in the Millions oh, so make sure they give you house oh), transportation (do not play with this one, coming from jand and being in Nigeria without a car is madness) etc.

Believe me coming to naija is not just about getting good pay, you need to be ready for a dramatic change in culture, people behaviour, weather etc. You need thick skin to come back home, especially after such a long time away. I hope you have been coming home on vacation, because believe me it is not a piece of cake.

Once you have the right frame of mind and the financial backing, you will love it....most of the time
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by nferyn(m): 8:38pm On Oct 24, 2005
I think Seun summed it up quite nicely. If you want to have a positive impact both for yourself and for Nigerian society, his suggestion is probably the best route to take.

I do feel a little uneasy with his choice of words though, as they may lead to an unwarranted antagonism:

* Take the white man's money and send it to Nigeria
* Stay over there, earn a lot of white man's money,

It is not the white man's money - whatever that may mean - it is [b]your [/b]money. [b]You [/b]have the qualifications, [b]you [/b]earned it
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by Seun(m): 10:18pm On Oct 24, 2005
nferyn: You're right. I apologize.
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by adord(m): 9:16pm On Oct 25, 2005
@Seun
thanx for your input. Well i can't agree with your argument.  As i´ve written above, the job profile requires someone that studied in germany and even not only abroad. The person will then be supervising the engineers that studied in nigeria. I was told that they did not consider applications coming from nigerian grauduates.

The company is planning to build up a network of branches across nigeria and later in the neighboring countries. That mean at least 8-12 branches in Westafrica with at least 4 in nigeria. The branch in Lagos is just 1year old and they need a skilled engineer (well i´m a fresh graduate) to help build up the branch as well as the network. So i guess the argument that i´m taking away the good jobs is wrong. There will be much more jobs depending on how successful the network is realised by the mentioned engineer.

@whocares
I think i'll survive it, as long as there is enough money. I lived my last 5,5 years in nigeria in a public boarding school. I guess if i can survive those years, i'll survive nigeria. That was a real long term boot camp.

I had a conversation with the HR officer today. I told him that i cannot accept such an offer and mentioned some arguments why its ridiculous. He told me they are ready to negotiate with me, because they are not so experienced in the west africa region. . We agreed that i should send him a written document that justifies my wish. They are also ready to provide a car, the housing and other extras.

After getting some more information, my salary requirement is ~3000Euro/month. I´ll let u know the result of the negotiation
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by Bishop(m): 4:40pm On Oct 27, 2005
Just saw this post and i hope it is not coming at a late time.
That amount i am sure is for the house help coming with you,because i cant believe someone in his right senses will make that offer to you,it is a ploy to move you away from you base,even a 1500 uk pounds is chicken feed.dont accept that contract.
A 3 bedroom apartment in a secured area is within the range of 350,000-450,000 that is in Ilupeju area and slightly higher in Ikeja axis Gbagada is between 400,000-450,000 but use the gbagada price as a guage.get a copy of nigerian estate magazines to check for yourself.

You must a have a car,cost of fuel consuption is high,Power is not constant so to live to your standard,you will buy a generator.
In short my brother see a good attorney b4 you sign any contract,that will help.the least i expect you to collect is 2,500 uk pounds or more you are an expatriate so stick to that make sure necessary conveniences are there for you.

signing a contract in Nigeria can be furstrating if you dont know the terms of contract,most times delibrately done to enslave,dont fall for that TRAP
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by nucca(f): 8:41pm On Nov 03, 2005
REGARDLESS OF THE PAY, HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT THIS JOB WILL DO TO UR C.V.
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by Teq: 5:43pm On Nov 05, 2005
I am an expatriate who has lived in Nigeria while working as an expatriate oil worker and also on my own. I found that to have a life style similar to what I have at home I needed N200,000 per month plus housing. Housing should include all that is mentioned above. Electricity, water, security, housekeeping. If you have months where you need to spend less money it is easy as alot of the expense comes from buying imported goods you are familar with where as locally produced goods will suffice. Food is an excellent example with imported food being very high in comparison to local food. Eating out at nice restaurants, weekends in resorts, vehicle will all cost you as much as in a western country. Clothing is another example, to buy brand name clothes will cost you the same. Don't forget you can have months where expenses are higher than normal, two years ago they widened the main road going by my house and NEPA was cut for two months. Generator had to run 24-7. Sudden medical bills etc everything comes out of your pocket as you no onger have the social safety net like Germany.

A typical expat position such as the one you are considering should come with housing(all inclusive), a vehicle, medical and taxes paid. Allowances for these items are ok as it gives you flexibility to make your own choices but changes in circumstances could leave you holding the bag(ie. paid two years rent up front and are transferred to another town) Also make sure you have repatriation to Germany in case of a medical emergency. Basic service in Nigeria is good but for specialized or long term care you would be better off in Germany. Also make sure you don't lose your medical coverage in Germany if you go to Nigeria.

Check out the tax rules carefully as to what kind of tax treaty Germany has with Nigeria(if you are keeping your Germany residency). Even if the company pays your Nigerian taxes you may be liable for taxes in Germany. Purchasing a vehicle is definely cheaper than renting a vehicle and repairs are cheaper although as I am sure you know you have to keep a close eye on the repair work or know your mechanic very well ( that applies in Germany to).

Sorry if I have pointed out some obvious items better safe than sorry and all that. Good luck with your position. If you don't mind, post how it turns out.
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by Nnenny: 2:41am On Nov 08, 2005
Hey,

tHINK OF IT VERY WELL. I AM ALSO PLANNING ON GOING BACK ONCE AM DONE WITH SKOOL. I WILL BE GOING NEXT YEAR TO SO MA INTERNSHIP. I HAVE A BRODA WHO GRADUATED IN 2003 AS AN AEROSPACE ENGINEER AND WORKING HERE. U CAN CONNECT HIM IF U NEED SOMEONE 4ROM ABRAOD TO JOIN U. BUT U GOING DOWN DERE, DA COMPNAY SHOULD BE ABLE TO PAY U WELL AND ALL THE BENEFITS..HOLLA BACK
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by adord(m): 12:41pm On Nov 18, 2005
I promised to tell you how it turns out. They are sticking to the 500€ offer, so i rejected it. Than means i´ll be staying in Germany, where i will get a fair and entitled salary for my skills. I also have some Job offer here. Only that Nigeria was my favorite.

I can´t believe that the company is paying their nigerian engineers only 300€. Thats ridiculous and real exploitation. You can check the Lagos surveys at http://www.salaryexpert.com and see for yourself. That`s one of the negative sides of Globalization
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by seeni4ever(m): 3:25pm On Dec 11, 2005
try to go to nigeria and find out everything. that will be a very good thing to do. if they can offer you more than 200,000 a month in nigeria, my brother i will advise you to take without hesitation. cost of living in nigeria is not that bad. you can get a nice apartment for less than 8000 a month in abuja, lagos or porth harcourt even in ibadan. at the end of the day u will be happy that u take the job.
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by noelrinoza(m): 3:35pm On Dec 11, 2005
hi.. though it's been years since i last went to Nigeria, i can say that's low for an aerospace engineer.. I also lived in Germany (Hamburg) for 5 years, and know what the standard of living there. If i were you I'd stay in Germany. Don't take the risk man. Believe me.
Re: Thinking of Going Back to Nigeria For a Job Offer (after 10 years) by omu(m): 9:39pm On Dec 28, 2005
This is a new poster, Sorry Mr adord, DO NOT TAKE THIS JOB. SORRY (If you are a qualified engineer). I once had an expert from AUSTRIA. and he was having this your almighty 500 euros as weekend allowance. As you know... some flats are even more than 500 euros in germany.Why don't they take the germans? this is because they cannot play the monkey game with him. PLS, LET THEM BRING A WHITE MAN AND PAY HIM 500.

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