I have been living in England now for the last 16 years. I came here after doing my O Levels from a Pakistani Public School at the age of 17. Here I went to a top university and got a degree in engineering and have now been working for a Car manufacturer for the last 9 years or so currently as a Senior Production Manager.
I have got to a stage in life now where I am considering moving to Pakistan. The main reason for this is that I have kids now and I want them to develop in Pakistan as I did. Other reasons being that I feel I cannot fully integrate in UK society due to cultural differences and that would hold back my career. I am also spending my life at work working silly hours. I recognize that I will not earn the £50000 per annum that I am earning at the moment but I also recognize that my standard of living would be the same or higher in Pakistan as I will not save in Pakistan as I have enough savings now.
Question is- am I being too optimistic/idealistic to think that I can come and settle down in pakistan after all these years?? Especially since I have never worked there or spent any of my practical life there? Also what job prospects do I have there - I think I should be able to walk into a decent job with my experience but again, am I being too naive?
Good thing for you is that there is more auto industry in pakistan than there was when you left pakistan. if you are able to get a similar level position with one of the manufacturers in Pakistan you could continue well with your current standard of living. %50 quid is a decent amount but it still at a level that a move to Pakistan at a senior level position will not impact your lifestyle too much. had you been in the 150-200K range that would have been a diff story.
However with kids you also have to look at other factors. You want your kids to do better than you, so you will have to make sure that they are going to a good school in pakistan, factor those costs, figure out which area can you live comfortably in. what are the house prices there etc etc.
I dont know if things have changed but even for Brit Citizens for university costs purposes theya re considered as foriegn students unless they have been in Uk for 3 years in a row prior to starting the Uni. basically that means that you will have to send your kids back or rbing them back prior to their O-levels. Otherwise you will be in Pakistan and with the high education costs for foriegn nationals, which your kids will be subject to, it may pose a problem.
Now as far as engineering jobs in Pakistan, at your level, theya re nto as easy to come by as in UK. People hold on to their jobs and attrition rates are low. Getting in without connections at mid-level mgmt positions is tough. Qualificatioins and experience enough is simply not enough, there is enough local competition, and recently there have been manymore professionals who have returned to Pakistan with good credentials. If I was in your position, I would not move prior to having an offer from a company I could see myself working at for sometime and at a salary level that was acceptable.
I am not trying to discourage you. My dad who is an engineer moved back to Pakistan after 30 years abroad, did very well and retired as a CEO, but he moved back to Pakistan when he was at senior mgmt level and a noted expert in his field. He had his reasons to move back but as far as my siblings and I go, I staye din Pakistan for 2 years and my siblings a few years more. From my perspective summer trips every other year to Pakistan were good enough to keep us grounded in our culture.
Thankyou Fraudz for your reply. Sorry that I was a bit late in my acknowledgement.
I agree with most things you have said and I will bear that in mind before I move. I do not plan to move straight away- it will probably be after 4 years or so (when my eldest is 10). As far as the education goes - you are correct - there should be a three year stay before going to uni. I had to take a year out too when I went.
I also understand the stagnant job market. However I believe that with my experience, I should be able to get a reasonable senior position with a manufacturer. Maybe I am optimistic but time will tell.
I was hoping for more replies esp from people in Pakistan ?? any more volunteers??
K: Fraudia pretty has said everything that needs to be said, there are some schemes to encourage expats to transfer knowledge back to Pakistan. One which I posted previously is TOKTEN, you need to go through the Higher Education Commission web site as the old one is no longer valid.
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*Originally posted by Zakk: *
K: Fraudia pretty has said everything that needs to be said, there are some schemes to encourage expats to transfer knowledge back to Pakistan. One which I posted previously is TOKTEN, you need to go through the Higher Education Commission web site as the old one is no longer valid.
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Thanks for the reply. Can you please leave a link for this wesite? Thankyou.