Working in Qatar

Emergency Metaphysics said:

I had this question, too. I don't want to hijack the thread, but I'm curious if you guys know the names of the reputable overseas agencies that recruit paramedics for these overseas contracts. This just strikes me as an area that could find one truly taken advantage of and stranded in some Saudi prison waiting for decapitation.

Cheers,
M.

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What?


What?!

What does working in Qatar have to do with waiting to be beheaded in a Saudi prison?

The answer is nothing. I hate to assume things, but you smell of one who has not traveled abroad or experienced working overseas.

No one is baiting anyone (with a western passport) with the promise of work into prison, slavery, or death camps.

Perhaps you should go back and read the thread if you desire to know the working conditions, etc.

Or if you're worried about going to prison in Saudi Arabia maybe you should just forget it. Much safer in the GCC than Detroit or Chicago.

SandpitMedic said:

What?


What?!

What does working in Qatar have to do with waiting to be beheaded in a Saudi prison?

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What??
What??????

First of all, Chill the hell out. The beheading statement was a joke. I'm reading a book by a paramedic who worked for the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and he was going on about sharia law and the beheadings done every Friday in Chop Chop Square. Relax.

Secondly, earlier in this thread someone had posted about working with a company that seemed shady to begin with and turned out to be shady and yanked his job. So, some skepticism in regards to overseas assignments is perfectly acceptable. My question about the validity of some of these organizations stems both from commonsense and from what others have posted here and elsewhere.

You are correct regarding your skepticism of overseas contracting and private contracts. There are shady business practices which can (and do) happen. To many fools rush over here with no idea of what they are getting into, keep doing your research and seeking information it is critical. I don't blame you for your misconceptions, because you have to find out somehow, and by asking us your doing that. Also your rights as a worker in the U.S. do not apply to most of these jobs. With that said, within the GCC your pretty safe, not from shady business practices, but in terms of your well being. Its safer here statistically than most major U.S. city's, google it for yourself. Yes they have the death penalty, but so does the USA. I feel much safer here in UAE than I do in many cities in the USA, there is a tremendous amount of wealth here and its shows. However, the company you receive a job offer from is what you should be critical of, consider peer feedback in the community and also risk versus benefits financially to you. UAE and Qatar allow alcohol, pork, and very western friendly, Saudi and Kuwait on the other hand is another story... but there safe(except for the driving, Yikes!) I have been working over here off and on for years, I like it.

ExpatMedic0 said:

You are correct regarding your skepticism of overseas contracting and private contracts.

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Thank you. I still think I'm being misunderstood here. I admittedly have my misconceptions about Middle Eastern life due to my lack of international travel and so forth, but that's not the point of my post. I do, however, have concerns about moving over there with a spouse. After all, we're talking about a culture that has certain views of women -- Western women in particular -- that might make living over there fun for me, but rotten for my wife. But again, not the point of my post.

My point: what are the reputable agencies/companies/etc. with which I could have confidence in dealing? Given the inherent financial, emotional, professional risks involved in moving overseas (anywhere) an ability to navigate the reputable from the disreputable would be helpful. Again, as mentioned by another poster earlier in this thread, one can get burned if not careful.

Cheers,
M.

I was the guy who got burned in Qatar... So for me personally, I don't particularly trust Hamad Medical Corporation because of my own personal experience, but perhaps I was a fluke in the system and they have fixed there pathetic and disorganized administrative and recruitment process. I don't think it excuses the way I was treated, but perhaps I was a lesson learned.. I just don't know, but until I start hearing positive things about them I will assume nothing has changed. After I got burned by them I had a few other offers, one in UAE who I work for now and another in Kuwait with a major U.S. company. I searched "Linked In" and found "boots on the ground" paramedics working for each company that offered me a contract. I added them on Linked In and asked how they liked it there, how they where being treated, and if the terms of there contracts where being met to there satisfaction. Furthermore, I have attained a decent professional network within the paramedic community in the GCC, so I also checked within my own internal network to verify how legit the company's and contracts where. My wifes over here in UAE, she thinks its cool, not forever... but for a while. However, we agreed for us personally, Saudi or Kuwait was not the best place for her.

Just touching base with you bro, according to GM there was a large turnover in the HR/management for HMC. You're happy there, that's good.

Doesn't excuse it, doesn't say the problems fixed (and doesn't say that's accurate.)

Currently working on emails and info with someone there and plugging through the process but, ya know, it's slow.

dutemplar said:

Just touching base with you bro, according to GM there was a large turnover in the HR/management for HMC.

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That is good to hear! There is a lot of potential for that system, keep us up to date if you make it over there.

Absolutely! And I think between SandPit and I, anywhere we hear of we'd be happy to check out.

Also, this is one of the best websites in my opinion for looking for jobs http://internationalmedicjobs.blogspot.ae/
other than hearing about them within your professional network

I'm chill, Student.

It is wise to hear what others say, I apologize for my post being a little aggro. However, with no experience you have little choices of where to work that may be "reputable." Additionally, your beheading comments only perpetuate a negative misconception; last time I checked there are no American prisoners awaiting execution in Saudi Arabia. Also, getting a job offer scrubbed is apples to oranges in that sense. SA is only one of many places abroad to work as well, which is completely and utterly different than Qatar. Speaking of another type of SA - situational awareness- you should increase yours. Contracting is extremely difficult to break into (without knowing someone who can reputably vouch for you.)

It's the type of thing where you weigh your options out, but if you really want to do it you take a leap of faith and dive in with caution knowing the water may be shallow. You apply generously, and the first one to put you on plane is the winner. It is fairly commonplace for the process once "hired" to take a long time and to, although less common, sometimes be cancelled altogether. Which is why most people will tell you not to quit your day job until your plane ticket is in your hand. "Hurry up and wait" is a good line to live by in contracting. Granted, once you have established a network and a reputation (and you will establish a reputation for better or worse) you can finagle your way into more selective choices.

It is also important to note that each individual will have a different experience, so it is hard to try to decipher the good and bad companies. Clearly, if the overwhelming majority are saying its a donkey show then it should be considered a no-go. However, generally speaking while one person hated it, there was another who loved it. There are pros and cons to everything in life. The people you encounter will also have positive and negative traits. I have met folks that while making incredible amounts of money could not do anything other than gripe and moan about insignificant things. I've seen squabbling and backstabbing and enough bull crap to make the Jersey Shore cast tired. I've also met people who do their job, keep their head down, and find something productive to do such as staying/getting into peak shape and/or working on their degree(s) online.

You may get housed in a tent or trailer on the loudest flight line in Afghanistan or you may get a lavish apartment with some Western amenities, and everything in between. It all depends on what route you take (I.e military vs civilian ambulance vs hospital vs offshore vs whatever else.)

Traveling abroad is not for the faint of heart either. I recommend moving out of your parents' house and try being away from everything you know and love- that is if you haven't already. You strike me as someone who may or may not be that guy, apologies if you aren't. Not a swipe at you, but rather plain old advice. You will be away from everybody and everything that you know. All of your favorite and familiar foods, smells, people, hobbies, amenities, places, sights, sounds, etc. will be gone. Adaptability, decent interpersonal skills, and self sufficiency are not on most of the lists of requirements for the job, but they should be.

There are many variables including those mentioned and safety, quality of life, family life, etc. It is important to know your limits, and equally important to push them if you see fit if you want to make it in this field.

Just as a point of reference, the poster Emergency Metaphysical is not yet an EMT, so he's got quite a ways to go before he'd be even minimally qualified for any remote positions. Look at his posts as information gathering for down the road.

anybody get "verified" yet? Its been over a month and I'm still waiting..

-M

Haven't heard anything since I had to pull in multiple contacts to get the education verified. My medic school isn't geared towards verification phone calls from a class in 1989.

They are not good communicators.

Jeeze man. Well I wish you the best of luck. Thanks for the update. Keep us in the loop.

The paperwork and what all they want for verification has been changed on me a few times. The "confirmation of employment" via email of Inverify.Net (what the company formally and exclusively used) has changed to a written evaluation by two senior supervisor/management and a separate verification by HR; in addition to they were getting ready to send email last week to verify the education, that was supposed to have been done a month ago while still wanting scanned (fax isn't quality enough) transcripts; in addition...

I'm actually rapidly losing hope over the process as more and more gets added to it at the last minute and the basic paperwork keeps changing.

I'm looking at other options, although at the moment PSD in Iraq isn't looking "worth it" to me.

dutemplar said:

The paperwork and what all they want for verification has been changed on me a few times. The "confirmation of employment" via email of Inverify.Net (what the company formally and exclusively used) has changed to a written evaluation by two senior supervisor/management and a separate verification by HR; in addition to they were getting ready to send email last week to verify the education, that was supposed to have been done a month ago while still wanting scanned (fax isn't quality enough) transcripts; in addition...

I'm actually rapidly losing hope over the process as more and more gets added to it at the last minute and the basic paperwork keeps changing.

I'm looking at other options, although at the moment PSD in Iraq isn't looking "worth it" to me.

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PSD rates are really low as of now. Maybe if we go back in balls-to-the-wall (unlikely) the rates will go back up the glory days I keep hearing about. Even when I was over there as a single role medic the daily pay was double.

Looks like Envision has us by the hair for now.

dutemplar-

Did they tell you they applied for your visa? I had everything verified but did not feel comfortable asking my boss for a reference so far in advance and was told they would go ahead and apply for the visa but would not book a plane ticket until I had my final reference. I guess right now, I'm just waiting for the Visa.

-matt

There are a couple of companies paying their psd medics $615/day. One company here in Kabul is at $692/day.

I _think_ we have finished verification and employer certificate. I think. I just got my form to fill out and scan back for them to do online verification with NREMT. So they're finally doing that, not sure completely why I got my diploma and certificate apostilled...

Agreed.. My primary employer, the one that meets the Absolute Minimal legal and ethical Requirements was jacking me up oneside and down the other. Still waiting for by FBI - then again, first fingerprint card was rejected and lemmetellya, damned near no one uses paper cards anymore.

I just got that quote they need the certificates for the issuance of tickets.


PCB, that isn't bad... but last time I was completely downrange was well over that. Honestly, I'm more fat dumb happy in a less trigger-time position. Of course, irony demands I'm wearing a Grey Training Group SSDD shirt today.

What a process.... :/

Did they get your tickets yet?