I got the kind of offer people (or mainly me) dream about. Around $50,000 a month, with housing, business class tickets to home & back whenever I wanted, schooling for my kid, full benefits, there was even a newborn diaper fund. And I said no. Trust me wasn’t the best or easiest decision I made, but definitely the right one for me. Here’s why.
- Comfort Before the Work Even Started It sounded amazing on paper. But I could already see the slow comfort creep of the retiree life. You settle in, get comfortable, and stop asking yourself the big questions. Basically it would be the end of any further career growth, mind growth or learning. It was a complete management job, with just transfer of knowledge. While that would be great at the age of 60, I am not ready for it now.
- The Golden Cage EGP 2,500,000 a month is a hefty salary, but high pay with big perks is rarely free. You start making decisions based on what you might lose instead of what you want to do next. Also I would not be able to move anywhere else, once I get used to this kind of pay grade, they have me by the “financial balls”. The GCC is known for these golden handcuffs, that you realize you can only make this tax free crazy number in their neighborhood. And again this isn’t for me.
- Second-Class Energy I do not care where you are from, or what you do or what country you live in, and how metropolitan they are. If you are not in your own country, you are a second class citizen. The GCC is a prime example of this. You can be senior, talented, and respected, but you’re still the outsider. There’s a glass ceiling you can’t name but you can feel once you are in a room with the locals.
- Brain Drain Is Real I know this sounds altruistic and like I think I am some sort of savior, but honestly, with the difficulty I have been having hiring these days, every time one of us leaves Egypt, the country loses a bit of its edge. I didn’t want to just export my experience and ideas. I wanted to build here (or export it from here, while still being able to provide for Egypt.)
- The Saudi Lifestyle Isn’t for Everyone It’s clean, organized, efficient and a little too organized (yes even when it isn’t) for me. I thrive on creative chaos, Cairo gives me that energy. Riyadh doesn’t. Someone like me can only live within a structure that is structureless, and allows for my ADHD brain to roam freely.
- The Money Math $50,000 isn’t bad, but once you factor in the time away, the routine, and the cost to your own growth, it’s expensive in other ways. think every weekend flights back home, more expensive rent, expensive lifestyle. Not to mention all the therapy I will need after something like this.
- Egypt Still Has Its Luxuries We love to complain, but let’s be honest, life in Egypt has its perks. While entering the bubble of basic human rights might be a bit expensive, but give me 300 days a year of good weather, a winter Red Sea beach, a summer Mediterranean beach, two wonders of the world, history, culture and the most hospitable people in the world, and it starts to seem like a good deal. Let’s not forget, that having a driver, a nanny, a chef, a maid all amount to less than $1,000 a month (all together). Facts are luxuries are cheap here, and life is great.
- Family, Not Flights I don’t think this needs any explanation, but for me family is everything, from my wife and kids, to my brothers and parents, I cannot go a week without enjoying our “family talks” even when they turn into bickering and fights. Family comes first.
- Growth Happens in the Mess I am one of the people that has learned by trial and error, and while there is a lot of formal education that I went through (shout out to IE Business School) I still believe that the ability to make mistakes and learn from them is more appreciated in Egypt, and happens when you have your own business rather than being part of the corporate machine.
- Owning My Story At the end of the day, it wasn’t about me rejecting KSA, it was about choosing what I felt was right for me. Trust me I would love to still get that pay check, it is a crazy figure that I aspire to achieve. But I want to be able to do it on my own terms and in my own country. So yeah, I turned down “the dream job”.
