Completed Part II – Work abroad? (Dubai etc…)

DUBAI OR NOT DUBAI
I realise this thread has been around for a while and it hasn’t recieved any attention.
I am also a PART II graduate who is considering a move to Dubai or Abu Dabhi. I recently completed my architectural studies in the UK, I am also a qualified Architectural Technologist with four years post graduate experience. While a move to the UAE has not appealed to me in the past, the reality of the current economic situation is such that there are very few locations throughout the world where architects can gain employment at present.
I accept the arguments about exploitation of workers, destruction of the environment, uncontextual buildings and general lack of character, but to be honest these are issues which arise in many location throughout the globe during a building boom, not least Ireland.
At present I am out of work after eight tough years in university and I have some pretty hefty college loans, into which I need to start making inroads. From what I have seen recently there is no work in Ireland and the handful of jobs that are available in the UK are either of very low quality or are paying rediculously low wages, on which it would be a physical impossibility for an independant person to survive, let alone pay off debts.
I have good experience in the industry and I feel that if the right project came up in the Middle East, it would be a better option that squeezing shoebox apartments into a green field next to the M25 (or M50 for that matter)

Basically, the reason why I posted this is to find out what others think of the UAE option, will I be forever blacklisted from the architectural community for having spent a year or two working in Dubai. does anyone know if there are projects out there which are worth working on. Do others have experience of the place etc

If you have no commitments, I would say go for it. I know a few Architects that are considering the option.

@paul101 wrote:

will I be forever blacklisted from the architectural community for having spent a year or two working in Dubai.

Work is work and there’s not much here.

There seems to be plenty of work – you should go for it. Experience is experience, and living abroad for a few years helps broaden the mind.

http://www.jobsarchitect.com/index.php?cat=134

there’s a curiosity here whereby the “big 6” firms in dublin have been jettisoning staff to beat the band in the last 6 months. I would estimate that, between them, they’ve made over 400 people redundant – possibly even more. This in itself is a staggering figure. if it happened in a meat packing factory in drogheda it’d be front page news

As part of this exercise they’re presumably holding on to all their best personnel to the last minute.

This means that the large majority of people filling up posts overseas are either low qualified or mediocre in ability. As a spin-off of this they are driving salaries down and accommodation prices up in the countries to which they are heading

So as the bank driven lunacy continues eventually the big 6 firms will shed the talent, possibly even folding entirely. The last ones out the door will then, ironically, have nowhere to run

I think the burning issue for anyone still employed in this godforsaken profession is – well done but you might want to go now before it’s too late!

I don’t think what is happening in Dubai is good architecture. I think it is its craziness.
Check out this link: Crazy Crazy Dubai…:)

The best opportunities in the UAE just now are in Abu Dhabi.