Hi...if you are really serious about building a successful career as a Materials and Metallurgical Engineer I think I might be able to advise you.

I am also a graduate of Met/Mat and I can tell you its one of the best Engineering courses anyone can think of studying. The demand for materials Engineers is so high and there are not enough professionals in that field so they are highly payed.

All you need do is focus on getting the right guidance to help you in building a scueessful career, be ready to pay your dues by starting small and in no distant time you will thank God for the course you studied.

I have been in the industry for about 9years now so I am sure talking from experience.

I was so frustrated those days when Jamb gave me the course but if I can go back in time I will send a gift to jamb for not giving me EE or computer Engr. That I applied for....lol

Thanks

I'm forced to respond to this though i hardly ever do on this forum.

Of course racism is true and I think we've all had our own Fare share of it. But my biggest problem is not with racism (from white folks) but with the fact that we hate ourselves as Nigerians/African and blacks even more than the whites hate us.

Haven lived and worked in quite a number of countries I keep asking myself if I would have had half the opportunity I have today if I was in Nigeria. Not because I am not competent but simply because I am black.

I have had white men as my drivers but in my own country we all know it is impossible. Once a fool with curly hair shows up, even a stupid black Indian that shakes his neck like chicken that is about to die will be so celebrated to the point that our police will even be made to escort him wherever he goes. He will literally be living the life a nigerian can only dream of. You will see this a lot in portharcourt.

I have learnt that people will only treat you how you treat yourself. Nobody will value what you don't value. Until we Nigerians, and Africans at large start valuing ourselves the world won't care about us.
There is no country in this world where a foreigner will be a preferred candidate for a job when a national of the country has better qualifications except in Nigeria and most African countries.

To cut the long story short...I hope someone will read this and learn to stop celebrating the hungry and frustrated foreigners in our own country at the expense of our people.

Another important point to note is this...take a quick look at most comments on NL on other issues ....its always torn between ethnic divides which shows that if left alone, we will even subdue our own brothers because we feel we are better/superior to other tribes.

What is racism..that feeling that you are superior to other races ( in my own words). I think we really do have a long way to go.

Thanks

Hi,
I just send you a mail. Please I need to discuss some more details with you on this topic asap.

Thanks

onatisi:
and how easy is it for them to get a 2 year residence permit from nigeria ?u know it is almost impossible . What must have happened in ur case is ,maybe u have someone in dubai who has links good enough to secure u that job. Back to ur question,they ended up as cargo boys when they couldn't secure any salary job and their 1 or 2 months visa most often got expired. The uae employment market is now filled with qualified people with good experience from india and all other countries.if one is to compete and secure a good job as urs that person needs good qualification plus experience and 2 years residence permit. That is what the 2 engineer guys on this thread in qatar are saying.

I don't live in Qatar....but Dubai. What I said applies more to Dubai. But I can confidently tell you that Qatar labour law is even worse cos I have worked on projects all over the middle east because of the nature of my job. But I live in Dubai

Hey guys, just to help put things in perspective. The fact is that things are not as rosy as it sounds in the article.
I can confidently tell you that there are more Nigerians/ Africans suffering here than there are comfortable ones.

Doing menial jobs here will only frustrate the life out of you as the labour laws are not as advanced and as protective as the western world.

Also the cost of living here is a lot higher than Nigeria so if you don't earn a very good salary you will be barely surviving talk less of having anything to send back home. So though the salary might sound much to you when you convert it to Naira but here is is really nothing.

Finally companies here especially the local ones exploit workers so when they promise you housing and all sorts you never really get the picture. Most Nigerians here doing those menial jobs live 3 to 5 in a room ( bedspace) if not more. When you earn a salary of about 1000dhs i.e. 50,000 which is what most security guards, cleaners etc earn, you can hardly afford a life.

Like the OP rightly pointed out, it's very hard to rise above that level cos any job you try to get next will rate you based on your previous employment profile which is logical.

The truth is, most Nigerians that promise people jobs here don't tell them the truth. They just tell them about jobs with housing, free air tickets annually and free transportation. But they don't tell about the deplorable state they will be living, the meager salary they will be earning and the way they will be exploited after working their heads out. I have met engineers and bankers who resigned their jobs to come here because someone has offered to help them get a job here only to find out its menial job they are employed to do.

Few facts to help you make the right decision
1. What kind of company will employ you without a proper interview? Any job you get without a proper interview will be that of a labourer. Even if you are a banker in Nigeria. As is the case in any country in the world, any credible professional job you are getting will start with a phone interview followed by a face to face interview.

2. If you are a professional in Nigeria already, you stand a chance of getting a good job but it will still take a little while to get the BEST so you must have enough money to go in and out of the country for visa change after your visa expires. Note that the first offer is not always the best. If you can get someone to house you before coming, then you are in the best position to settle down and get the best cos housing will eat the larger chunk of your money.

3. What you need to get the best jobs here (Dubai) and is same anywhere in the world including Nigeria. Which is your degree, experience and professional certifications. With this you are good to go.

4. If you are offered a job here, negotiate for your medical allowance. Though this comes with all professional jobs as it is in the labour law, but most companies don't extend it to labourers. Health care here is extremely expensive but world class. Other allowances you can get are education allowance for your kids, transport allowance and travel allowance etc

5. If you want the best jobs, apply to multinationals and not local companies..same principle applies in Nigeria.

6. You will be excluded from many priviledges if you earn less than Dhs 7000 (#350,000).Like low interest loans, ability to sponsor your family members on visit visa's or residence visa for your spouse if you are married etc. Even when renting a house they will ask for your salary certificate.
So if you are a professional coming to work here, bargain well.

7. You will be sponsored by your employer for residence visa (3years visa usually) of which Qatar is worst where you get 5years. So if you get on the wrong job like a menial job 3 to 5years of your life might just be on standstill roaming around in circles with no meaningful progress. If you try to leave these companies before the employment period is over you will be banned from the country for 6months.
But a point to note is that in Dubai, there are 2 types if work visas. The Labour visa and the freezone visa. If you are on the free zone visa then you can change
Your job without any issues. But change of job is generally not so easy for labourers.

Note: I have been living here and working for over 4 years in the Oil and Gas industry as an Engineer so I have seen all sorts of people in different precarious situations. And what most of them say is "they never told me it will be like this".

Concerning lifestyle here...sure it is wonderful and fun but you need to have the money to enjoy it or else you will be worse off than remaining in Nigeria.

I hope this helps someone. Thanks