Has anyone here worked in UAE, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, etc.

How did you find the job, what recruiters etc.  Did you go then look for work or seek work from your home country.

How was the experience?

Any advice?

I have heard generally that Dubai is slowing down like the rest of the world... expats are leaving due to jobloss.

I'd be interested if anyone knows what the BA job market is like though.

Hi Craig, 

I'm currently working in Dubai as a Business Analyst and have been doing so for the past 6 years or so. During this duration I have always held the title of a BA (or some variation of it such as BSA, IT BA etc) and can tell you that Dubai is about as badly affected by the global crisis as most Western countries are. A lot of expatriates (that is, those who are not indigenous) have left or are leaving. This includes many of my peers who were made redudant along with me a couple of months ago (our company decided to rid itself of the entire IT Department and let the parent company's IT crew take things over). 

I was lucky enough to find work this month but had to make compromises in salary and couldn't be very choosy with the only offer that was made. Having been very active in the job scene recently, I can tell you that there are very few jobs in Dubai at the moment - most companies have either scaled back or are exercising a hiring freeze. Abu Dhabi on the other hand is a bit more stable because it was less leveraged and relied mostly on its (not borrowed) finances. It seems Doha, in Qatar, seems to have become the destination of choice for many now leaving the city.