UAE vs Saudi Arabia for Engineers: Pay & Lifestyle 2024

Field notes from a wrench-turner who traded turbines for spreadsheets

I used to think the biggest question in my career was whether to peel an orange-peel weld or re-machine the flange. Then the Gulf happened. Suddenly the choices became: Dubai’s glassy skyline or Riyadh’s giga-projects? Brunch at Yas Marina or dune-bashing in Al-Ula?

If you’re an engineer weighing job offers in the Middle East, the UAE and Saudi Arabia will probably top your shortlist. I’ve lived and worked in both—commissioning chilled-water plants in Abu Dhabi and later managing rotating-equipment packages on Saudi Aramco sites. Below is the comparison I wish someone had handed me before I swapped steel-toe boots for a boarding pass.

1. Compensation Packages 💰

1.1 Salary benchmarks (2024)

The first spreadsheet every engineer opens is the Total Cost of Employment. Here are 2024 median monthly base salaries (all figures in USD) for mid-career engineers (7–12 yrs) sourced from Hays GCC, GulfTalent and my own offer letters:

Saudi edges ahead on headline salary—roughly 8-10 % higher this year thanks to Vision 2030’s project frenzy.

Pull-quote: “Saudi pays more, but the UAE lets you keep more of your weekends (and arguably sanity).”

1.2 Allowances & perks

Both countries love the all-in package concept: you’ll receive a base plus allowances for housing, transport and schooling.

Typical mid-career engineer perk spread:

UAE - Housing: 25–35 % of base
- Transport: $400–$800 monthly or a company car
- Annual flight for you + immediate family
- Gratuity (end-of-service) = 21 days of pay per service year (first 5 years), then 30 days

Saudi - Housing: 30–40 % of base
- Transport: SR1,200–2,000 ($320–535)
- Flight(s) home + baggage allowance
- Aramco and Neom contractors often add a “remote site” uplift (10–15 %)

Family status is easier to negotiate in the UAE, but Saudi packages usually bundle schooling or an education allowance because expat campuses are fewer and pricier.

1.3 Tax and cost-of-living equation

Neither country levies personal income tax. But the sticker shock kicks in when you swipe your card for a latte.

UAE CoL multipliers (Dubai index 100): - Rent: 100 - Groceries: 88 - Transport fuel: 56 - Entertainment: 110

Saudi (Riyadh index 68): - Rent: 60 - Groceries: 70 - Transport fuel: 38 - Entertainment: 55

Put simply: you might earn an extra grand in Riyadh and spend half of what you would in Dubai Marina. My own Excel model showed a 22 % higher net-savings rate in Saudi despite the camel-milk cappuccino shortages.

1.4 Hidden costs engineers forget

1. Exit re-entry fees (Saudi): every time you holiday outside KSA, your employer pays SR200–500 for the visa stamp. Some pass it to you.
2. Salik & parking (UAE): annual toll + parking can equal a month’s rent in Sharjah if you commute.
3. Utilities: cooling charges in the UAE’s “district cooling” buildings can reach $350/month in August.
4. Driver/maid visas (Saudi villas): if you crave compound life, factor those sponsorship fees.

2. Residency Rules 🏷️

I’m an engineer, not an immigration lawyer, so here’s the 10,000-rpm overview.

2.1 Visa pathways

UAE: - Standard Employment Visa: 2-year renewable; linked to your employer.
- Free-zone Visa: same 2-year term but more transfer flexibility.
- 10-Year Golden Visa: for “highly skilled professionals” earning >30k AED/month plus a bachelor’s; gives employer independence.
- Green Visa (5-yrs): for self-employed engineers or freelancers.

Saudi: - Iqama (Residence Permit): 1-year renewable; 100 % tied to sponsor (kafeel).
- Premium Residency (aka “Saudi Green Card”): SR800k (one-off) or SR100k/year; employer-free, lets you own property.
- Project-Based Visas: mega-projects like Neom have a slightly looser sponsorship model but you still need exit permits.

2.2 Family sponsorship

UAE:
If your base salary is ≥4,000 AED ($1,090) and you rent at least a one-bedroom, you can sponsor spouse/kids. Processing time: 1 week.

Saudi:
Needs a “family visit visa” first, then Iqama for each dependent. Salary threshold hovers around SR6,500 ($1,730). It took me 9 weeks and three visits to Jawazat.

2.3 Leaving jobs gracefully

UAE abolished most NOCs (no-objection certificates) in 2022. You can jump employers with 1-month notice.

Saudi still runs on exit re-entry and final exit permits—obtainable online via Absher if your HR is awake. Remember: no exit, no final paycheck.

Engineer’s tip: BorderPilot’s residency module crunches waiting times and fees—handy if you’re eyeing Qatar’s free-zone vs sponsor maze as a Plan B.

3. Social Freedoms & Lifestyle ⚖️

3.1 Weekends & working hours

UAE:
- Private sector: 5-day week (Mon–Fri) since Jan 2022.
- Average official hours: 40–48/week; site roles may stretch to 54.

Saudi:
- Still Sun–Thu for most firms; Neom has started tinkering with Mon–Fri.
- Hours similar but Ramadan can be half-days (good luck scheduling factory acceptance tests).

3.2 Dress code & daily life

UAE’s big cities are forgiving. PPE by day, board shorts or abaya-optional by evening. Alcohol is legal in licensed venues; you can apply for an alcohol permit but no one asks anymore.

Saudi changed fast—cinemas, concerts, mixed-gender restaurants—but public spaces remain conservative: jeans okay, shorts frowned upon outside compounds. Alcohol is a firm no (so far).

3.3 Recreation

UAE: ski slope, indoor skydiving, Michelin dinners, 5G everywhere.
Saudi: hiking the Edge of the World, diving in the Red Sea, weekend flights to Georgia (Tbilisi, not Atlanta).

Cost of fun: A brunch in Dubai = $120. A family cook-out in Riyadh desert = $20 and half a tank of the world’s cheapest petrol.

3.4 Safety & culture shock

Both score high in personal safety indexes. Culture shock is inverse to big-city smoothness:

• Dubai: you’ll hear more Russian than Arabic.
• Riyadh: Arabic first, English okay in professional settings, but know your shukran from your inshallah.

Anecdote: During a turbine alignment in Dhahran, the site superintendent paused work twice daily for prayer—not negotiable. In Dubai, the only compulsory pause is for influencer vlogging.

4. Career Growth 📈

4.1 Project pipelines

UAE: finishing phase—Expo legacy, green hydrogen plants, logistics hubs. Plenty of work but margins tightening.

Saudi: building phase—Neom, Red Sea Global, Diriyah Gate, 320-km spine city “The Line” (yes, still happening). Think 5-7 years of EPC bonanza.

4.2 Technical exposure

UAE: mature O&M, retrofits, digital twins, sustainability retro-commissions. Good if you love optimization over new builds.

Saudi: mega-scale, desert environments, off-grid renewables, modular construction. Great for résumé “wow” factor.

4.3 Hierarchy & decision speed

UAE multinationals mirror European matrix style—signatures travel faster.

Saudi org charts can be steeper; final approvals sometimes reside with a royal commission. Factor that into critical path scheduling.

4.4 Professional licencing & CPD

• UAE’s Society of Engineers now requires a basic test for title registration.
• Saudi’s Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE) is stricter—foreign engineers must upload diplomas and confirm at least five years of relevant experience or face a downgraded Iqama category.

Both accept US-PE, UK-CEng as gold standards.

4.5 Long-term perspective

Anecdotally, more engineers retire from the UAE because permanent residency is now reachable via Golden Visas. Saudi remains a project-cycle play—bank cash, then hop elsewhere. But if the Premium Residency fee drops (rumours swirl), that might flip.

5. Verdict: Which Wrench Should You Pack? 🔧

Choose UAE if you:

• Crave cosmopolitan life and weekend surfing lessons.
• Value job-hopping freedom and spouse’s career prospects.
• Prefer optimization, FM or renewables retrofits over greenfield deserts.

Choose Saudi if you:

• Want to maximise savings fast with higher base pay and lower cost of living.
• Dream of stamping your initials on giga-projects only visible from space.
• Don’t mind occasional bureaucratic loops and alcohol-free socials.

Personally, my UAE stint taught me stakeholder management; Saudi sharpened my project-controls nerves. Either path will add a zero to your engineering stories.

For a third data point, see how Doha stacks up in our Dubai vs Doha engineering face-off.

“The real hack isn’t choosing a country—it’s choosing the project manager who approves your overtime sheet.”
—Notes from my old field diary

Ready to run the numbers on your own move?

BorderPilot’s free relocation planner feeds your salary offer, family size and lifestyle goals into our cost-of-living and visa simulators. In five minutes you’ll know whether the UAE or Saudi Arabia (or somewhere entirely different) fits your 2024 growth curve.

Create your plan, pressure-test the assumptions, and land softly—no safety harness required.