As the UAE paves its way to a more digital future, recruiters have highlighted high-paying jobs that will still be in demand in 20 years.
Initiatives have been launched to reshape the skills base of workers here, including an artificial intelligence university, digital governance, autonomous vehicle strategies and space exploration.
Recruiters said these will open up private sector opportunities for job seekers.
"The UAE is one of very few countries where government is setting an example for private firms to follow, by rapidly adopting digital governance," said Hasan Babat, managing consultant at human resources company Tuscan Consultancy.
If you look at my business, part of recruitment will be taken away from consultants, and AI bots will do that work for them
“It has created an environment that is very conducive to attracting talent from across the world by easing investment rules, providing a transparent legal system and relaxing legislation for residency and citizenship."
David Mackenzie, of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East, said automation will make certain job roles more popular.
Artificial intelligence and software engineering roles are among those expected to increase in demand.
"Artificial intelligence engineers will be a massive area for us, because if you think about all those areas that have to be automated, AI is a key component behind that," he told The National.
“If you look at my business, part of the assessment of selecting recruitment companies will be taken away from consultants, and AI bots will do that work for them.”
However, Mr Mackenzie believes traditional roles such as those in finance, marketing and human resources will still be sought after.
With digital transformation picking up pace, The National looks at 10 high-paying careers that will stay in demand far into the future.
The list is compiled based on research, estimates and comments from Mr Babat and Mr Mackenzie.
The 10 high-paying jobs that will stay in demand:
- Artificial intelligence engineer, Dh32,000 per month
- Data scientist, Dh32,000 per month
- Management consultant, Dh35,000 per month
- Investment banker, Dh45,000 per month
- Principal scientist, Dh38,000 per month
- Medical doctor, Dh33,000 per month
- Cyber security engineer, Dh30,000 per month
- Finance officer, Dh33,000 per month
- Software engineer, Dh35,000 per month
- Senior human resources officer, Dh30,000 per month
1. Artificial intelligence engineer
Average salary: Dh32,000 per month
When AI first entered the market, people feared it would replace workers and result in mass unemployment.
Since then, automation has taken over some roles, but there are human skills it cannot replicate.
AI is in use across the UAE, in land and air traffic control systems, government departments, healthcare and education.
The UAE has an AI strategy and recently opened the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, which will produce AI engineers.
“AI is becoming the key for large private and government organisations to understand consumer sentiments and make decisions. It is a promising career,” Mr Babat said.
2. Data scientist
Average salary: Dh32,000 per month
This profession is in demand and will be so for many years.
The Golden Visa, a 10-year residency permit for skilled professionals, is available to data scientists. The role also qualifies individuals to be considered for Emirati citizenship, but they have to be nominated by Royal Court officials.
“With so much digitisation across industries, data is the new currency. The UAE government’s vision to provide complete digital government services will also make the jobs of data scientists high in demand,” Mr Babat said.
3. Management consultant
Average salary: Dh35,000
Management consultants help companies solve business problems and maximise growth.
By looking at available data they can help to improve a company's performance.
With entrepreneurship heavily encouraged in the UAE, management consultants will be in high demand.
4. Investment banker
Average salary: Dh45,000
These professionals advise individuals or companies how to invest their money and earn more.
“Oil crash, digital disruption and the pandemic have all kept global markets highly volatile," Mr Babat said.
"These uncertainties have increased demand for professional investment bankers, who help their clients in prudently investing and maximising the value of their money."
5. Principal scientist
Average salary: Dh38,000
Principal scientists lead a team in planning, conducting and interpreting experiments.
Scientists also qualify for the Golden Visa scheme and notably accomplished individuals can be nominated by the Royal Court for Emirati citizenship.
Their area of work can vary widely, from healthcare to energy research, or even taking part in the space programme.
6. Medical doctor
Average salary: Dh33,000
Doctors are always going to be in demand, but the coronavirus pandemic has reminded governments how important it is to have an effective healthcare system. Naturally, salaries increase or decrease depending on training and specialisation.
With the UAE's strong focus on building its healthcare sector, it is likely more vacancies will open up in the future.
Specialists, surgeons and consultants can earn several times the average figure of Dh33,000.
7. Cyber security engineer
Average salary: Dh30,000
Cyber attacks are growing each year, and companies are looking for experienced cyber security engineers who can protect online information.
Mr Babat said governments and private firms are looking to develop more secure technologies and would need these professionals.
“Due to an increase in cyber attacks globally in recent years, organisations have lost billions of dollars,” he said.
Many of these jobs come with a salary of more than Dh40,000.
8. Finance officer
Average salary: Dh33,000
While the digital world has created many new job roles, some traditional positions will still be in demand 20 years from now.
Mr Mackenzie said finance officer is one of these professions.
An experienced candidate can earn between Dh33,000 and Dh35,000, and would oversee the spending of individuals or companies, advising them accordingly.
9. Software engineer
Average salary: Dh35,000
This is a branch of computer science which includes the development and building of computer system software.
“I think software engineering is going to be a huge market, because there's going to be so many bits of software that will run the world,” Mr Mackenzie said.
“For example; your car. You don't need technical engineers anymore. Teslas need to be serviced once every five years, and that would be done by a software engineer.”
10. Senior human resources officer
Average salary: Dh30,000
Human resources officers both hire and look after employees and those in higher ranking positions can earn a good salary.
It was believed earlier that AI would replace this particular job, but instead the technology has been assisting their roles, rather than replacing them.
What are the highest paid jobs in UAE?
- Banking - chief compliance officer Dh93,000-Dh115,000, chief operating officer Dh95,000-Dh113,000
- Legal - managing partner Dh84,100-Dh122,300, General Counsel Dh80,000-Dh130,000
- Oil and gas - LNG manager Dh38,000-Dh72,000, Petroleum engineering manager Dh38,000-Dh65,000
- Public sector - Undersecretary Dh125,000-Dh175,000, executive director Dh90,000-Dh130,000
- Strategy - chief information officer Dh85,500-Dh111,000, partner Dh110,000-Dh162,000
- Senior finance and tax - group chief financial officer Dh90,000-Dh130,000
- Sales and marketing - regional commercial director Dh55,000-Dh69,000, head of corporate communications Dh51,000-Dh65,000
- Manufacturing and supply chain - managing director Dh94,000-Dh130,000, chief operations officer Dh80,000-Dh120,000
- Investment management - chief investment officer Dh130,000-Dh170,000, head of investments Dh85,000-Dh140,000
- Technology - chief information officer Dh60,000-Dh105,000, chief technology officer Dh50,700-Dh97,900
- HR and office support - HR director Dh64,800-Dh109,500, head of HR Dh50,000-Dh90,200
- Financial services - chief risk officer Dh90,000-Dh150,000
- Accounting and finance - CFO Dh70,000-Dh130,000
- Property and construction - general manager Dh60,000-Dh80,000, development director Dh65,000-Dh80,000
- Secretary and office support - executive assistant Dh24,000-Dh32,000, office manager Dh20,000-Dh32,000
- Digital - chief digital officer Dh50,000-Dh90,000, head of marketing Dh35,000-Dh60,000
____________
UAE salary guide for 2021:
Continental champions
Best Asian Player: Massaki Todokoro (Japan)
Best European Player: Adam Wardzinski (Poland)
Best North & Central American Player: DJ Jackson (United States)
Best African Player: Walter Dos Santos (Angola)
Best Oceanian Player: Lee Ting (Australia)
Best South American Player: Gabriel De Sousa (Brazil)
Best Asian Federation: Saudi Jiu-Jitsu Federation
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results:
6.30pm: Handicap | US$135,000 (Dirt) | 1,400 metres
Winner: Rodaini, Connor Beasley (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap | $135,000 (Turf) | 1,200m
Winner: Ekhtiyaar, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson
7.40pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes | Group 3 | $200,000 (T) | 2,000m
Winner: Spotify, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm: UAE Oakes | Group 3 | $250,000 (D) | 1,900m
Winner: Divine Image, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm: Zabeel Mile | Group 2 | $250,000 (T) | 1,600m
Winner: Mythical Image, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.20pm: Handicap | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
Winner: Major Partnership, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre V6
Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
Price: Dh179,999-plus
On sale: now
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If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,600hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
0-200kph in 5.8 seconds
0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
Top speed: 440kph
Price: Dh13,200,000
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,500hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 350kph
Price: Dh13,600,000
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
WHAT%20MACRO%20FACTORS%20ARE%20IMPACTING%20META%20TECH%20MARKETS%3F
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How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
Wonka
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Miguel Cotto world titles:
WBO Light Welterweight champion - 2004-06
WBA Welterweight champion – 2006-08
WBO Welterweight champion – Feb 2009-Nov 2009
WBA Light Middleweight champion – 2010-12
WBC Middleweight champion – 2014-15
WBO Light Middleweight champion – Aug 2017-Dec 2017
