Jeddah - Post Report Question and Answers
What types of jobs do most expatriate spouses/partners have? Locally based or telecommuting? Full-time or part-time? Can you comment on local salary scales?
At my school, either both spouses were employed by the school and had arrived as a package deal, or else didn't work. I believe it would be quite difficult for accompanying spouses to find a job on the local labor market, but they may have some success if qualified to teach applying to schools. Salary scales for American teachers were competitive with the US: I got about what I had received, after tax, at my previous job, but had no housing payment, although the somewhat increased cost of living and (especially) the cost of traveling more than I had at home ate up a lot of the savings. Saudi-citizen teachers made about a third as much as Americans did; third country nationals made somewhat in-between, with Egyptians, Syrians, and Sudanese closer to the Saudi end of the scale and Lebanese, Jordanians, and South Africans closer to the US end of the scale. - Oct 2022
Most EFMs get work at the consulate from roving secretary to data input specialist. There are a variety of jobs becoming available every few weeks. - Aug 2022
Expat spouses/partners were generally not allowed to work locally. Some exceptions are made for jobs at international schools. There are some volunteering opportunities, depending on your field of expertise. There are many spouses/partners that telecommute to jobs outside Saudi. - Nov 2020
I didn't work, so I don't know. Most spouses didn't work, or tried alternative work arrangements. - Oct 2019
I have not heard of any spouses employed outside the Consulate or the school. Everyone else is either in an EFM position or has a remote work arrangement with a firm back home. The school is always looking for good English-speaking help, but there are administrative issues there that I would be wary of. - Mar 2019
Every person who wants an EFM job at the consulate will get one. There is no bilateral work agreement. Some spouses have telecommuted with their home organizations. - Jan 2019
No - Apr 2016
in the American school maybe. - Nov 2015
There are some jobs for EFMs in the American School. There are also some jobs for EFMs at the U.S. Consulate. But they took away the danger payment, so be prepared to work for very little money. - Oct 2015
Not really. - Oct 2015
No, but there are several jobs on the Consulate for EFMs and a few positions at the international schools. - Aug 2015
In the Consulate there are some EFM jobs but spouses don't apply for them! They prefer to stay at home. - Feb 2014
Not much if you are a male with no Arabic. Pretty much nil if you are a female, although some find low-paying jobs in the healthcare field. Occasionally you can get jobs that involve tutoring or entertaining really rich children. Sometimes you can get jobs at local schools. - May 2013
Probably. There are many Americans working with Saudi firms or partnering with Saudi firms. Lots of capital in the Kingdom, just hard to free it up as I understand it. - Nov 2010
