In 2023 I embarked on a journey of a lifetime to work as a nurse in Saudi Arabia. While I knew it would be difficult to adjust to life in the Middle East, I wasn’t aware just how difficult it would be. After having a disagreement with a male doctor about patient care, which ended in my abrupt firing just four months after moving to the Kingdom, I was left pondering how it all went so wrong. And while I wouldn’t have changed anything and I know that I had the patients’ best interest at heart; I still wish that I had been better prepared to work as a nurse in Saudi Arabia. These are the things I wish I knew before working as a nurse in Saudi Arabia…
Please note: I worked in the NICU at KAAUH in Riyadh. The experiences I discuss in this post are my personal experiences and not everyone will experience the same things as me. Every hospital and every city is different and I can only speak to my personal experience.
1. You are required to work more hours/week (compared to nursing in the United States)
The biggest complaint I had when first arriving to Saudi Arabia to work as a nurse was that my required working hours were not clearly stated in my interview or signed contract, and it wasn’t something that I didn’t think to ask. (My co-workers also agreed that this was not made clear to them either). Instead of stating, “You’re required to work 48-60 hours/week” (which is what my hospital required), it was stated as “You’re required to work X hours/year – X hours/month”.
Looking back, I would’ve clearly asked, “How many hours/week am I required to work?”. And I would double check my contract before agreeing.
2. Pay is NOT as high as people make it out to be
I don’t know if it’s because Saudi Arabia is such a wealthy country or people have been misled, but nurses do not make great money in the Kingdom. In fact, I made more money per hour working as a nurse in the US than in Saudi Arabia. (However, if you’re coming from a country aside from the US or you don’t have many years of experience, you might be making more than you would in your home country).
Again, this was a bit confusing because I was making a higher salary than I did as a staff nurse in the US (not as a travel nurse), but because of the amount of hours I was required to work, the hourly pay was extremely low.
For context, I had nine years of NICU experience when I went to work in Saudi Arabia and before leaving, my salary as a staff nurse in Chicago was $55,200/year AFTER taxes. My salary working in Saudi Arabia was $72,000/year AFTER taxes (plus around a $5,000 bonus after finished my one-year contract). And my salary working as a travel nurse in the US ranged from $72,000-$144,000/year AFTER taxes. If you were to further break down these categories by hour, I was making $43/hour as a staff nurse in Chicago BEFORE taxes. And I was making around $26/hour in Saudi Arabia AFTER taxes.
It is important to know that when you take a job in Saudi Arabia, the hospital will pay for your housing and utilities.
3. The biggest indicator of how much you’ll be paid depends on what country you come from
What country you come from is the biggest indicator of what you’ll be paid. If you come from a country in Southeast Asia, you can expect to receive the lowest pay offered. After speaking with colleagues and from what I understand, nurses from western countries are the highest paid nurses in the hospital. You do have a little bit of room to negotiate and with every year of experience, you will receive a small pay increase.
Make sure to read this post if you’re looking for tips to negotiate:
4. As a female, you will be questioned, ridiculed, & treated less than in all aspects of life
Of course I knew that males dominated society in Saudi Arabia. But I don’t think I was aware just how much that would get under my skin. Sure, I knew it would bother me; but I had no clue that every single day I would be mistreated just by being female – something that was apparent the moment I touched down in Saudi Arabia.
From men blatantly cutting me in line, to being told I was dressed inappropriately (even though my elbows and knees were covered), to receiving DMs on Instagram of men telling me to take down photos on my personal page, and even being asked to get out of Ubers for “shutting the door too loudly”; being a woman in Saudi Arabia is exhausting. Then when you add on the extra pressure to “respect” your male colleagues without receiving any respect back, it’s tiring. To be successful in Saudi Arabia, you must arrive without a care in the world that you’ll be treated differently. You have to ignore it or it will become too big a burden to bare.
5. Saudi Arabia is not “scary”
A huge misconception that I had of Saudi Arabia is that it was a “scary” country. While anything can happen anywhere (even at home in the US), overall, I did not feel scared in Saudi Arabia. In fact, it’s one of the most safe countries I’ve traveled to. I traveled solo within the country, ate out at restaurants by myself, took cabs by myself, etc. While I made sure to follow all laws, I never felt unsafe.
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6. Nursing culture does not compare to the US
I’ll be the first to admit that there are many things wrong with the nursing culture in the US, but when compared to Saudi Arabia, I can firmly say that nurses have it pretty great in the states. Some big differences when comparing the two include…
- Breaks – Breaks in Saudi Arabia are not respected as much as they are in the US (I know that this can depend where in the US you work)
- Days off – Self-scheduling was not very well respected where I worked and although we were able to self-schedule, it wasn’t taken seriously and you could expect your schedule to change last minute
- Because there were nurses from all different backgrounds and cultures, I felt like I had much less autonomy than in the US
- “Tattle culture” is a real thing in Saudi Arabia
- Patient assignments in Saudi Arabia are not created equally and the most well-trained nurse do not always receive the sickest patients/most appropriate assignment for skill level
7. There is an obvious hierarchy in the hospital (both by profession and gender)
Again, I knew males in Saudi Arabia were treated much differently than females, but I don’t think I wrapped my head around how differently females were treated or just how much that would affect my mental health. What I didn’t realize was that there is also a major hierarchy between doctors and nurses that does not exist to as great of a degree in the US. Doctors will not ask for your input, they will not tell you why they made a change, they will shut you out of a conversation when other doctors are around, they will not tell you when they’ve talked to a family member about something important, etc. As someone who likes to know what’s going on and as someone who is used to advocating for my patients, it was a tough pill to swallow. Remember, I did get fired after having a disagreement with a male doctor in patient care after he claimed that I embarrassed him in front of his colleagues.
I’d also like to make it clear that when I interviewed for this job, I was told by the hiring manager that they were looking to hire nurses that could stand up to the doctors and hold them accountable. That’s another reason I didn’t realize it was doctor versus nurse and we weren’t necessarily on the same team.
8. Saudi Arabia is very expensive
Unrelated to nursing, but still something I wish I knew before moving to Saudi Arabia – was just how expensive the country is. Aside from gas (which correlates to cost of taxi’s), the country is very expensive. Food is expensive (I once ate tacos for $70), non-alcoholic wine is expensive (a bottle of non-alcoholic wine out at a restaurant starts around $75), and travel within the country is expensive (I visited another city for 3 days and spent $1,200).
Thankfully, rent was covered by the hospital, but because of the amount of traveling I wanted to do within and around the country, I wasn’t able to save much money.
9. You’re required to work rotating shift schedules
At the hospital I worked at, and from what I understand – most hospitals in Saudi Arabia, you’re required to work rotating schedules (alternating between day and night). I did find a co-worker to “trade” with (she worked my night shits and I worked her day shifts), but we were quickly told that that wasn’t allowed because there wasn’t as much “learning” done on nights (something I don’t agree with).
10. You will mostly work with foreign nurses
Before arriving to Saudi Arabia I wasn’t really sure if I’d be working with other foreigners or with Saudi locals. As it turns out, every nurse on the unit I worked on was from abroad; there were no Saudi nurses on the unit. I know that this is something that the government wants to change in the next decade with Saudi nurses being staffed in the hospitals instead of foreigners.
While I was working in Saudi, I was getting a lot of hate online for “taking jobs away from locals”. This simply isn’t true. Right now, there are NOT enough LOCAL workers to staff the hospitals. Again, the government wants this to change, but that just isn’t where they are at this moment in time.
FAQ
Q: “Is there an age limit for working as a nurse in Saudi Arabia?”
- A: From my understanding, to obtain a nursing license in Saudi Arabia, you must be at least 22 years old. From there, hospitals have different policies as far as how old a foreign nurse can be to work at their hospital.
Q: “What are the requirements to work as a nurse in Saudi Arabia?”
- A: A few requirements are that you must have a BSN, you must have one year of experience (without any gaps in employment), you must have a passport, and more. If you want to know what to expect and further requirements, read this post.
Q: “What are the benefits of working as a nurse in Saudi Arabia?”
- In my opinion, the benefits of working as a nurse in Saudi Arabia are endless! Of course, personally you will grow so much. Being exposed to a new culture and people that are different than you would meet at home allows you to grow, learn, and mature. And of course professionally, you will also experience tremendous growth. Again, you’re being exposed to a completely different culture which will allow you to gain further knowledge of taking care of patients from the Middle East. You’ll learn new practices and learn how to interact with other foreign nurses. And not to mention all of the opportunity to travel around the Middle East! That’s another benefit in itself.
Q: “Is Saudi a good place to work for nurses?”
- A: I think that this completely depends on your personality. If you are confident, can stand up for yourself, but also accept that you will be viewed as as “less than”, then yes – I think it’s a great opportunity to work in Saudi as a nurse. There are pros and cons, you just have to decide if the pros outweigh the cons.
My goal in writing this post is not to dissuade anyone from working as a nurse in Saudi Arabia. Instead, it’s simply what I wish I knew before arriving. There was a lot of bullshit that every international nurse had to put up with in Saudi Arabia. If I knew that before arriving, maybe I wouldn’t have gone at all; or maybe I wouldn’t have ultimately been fired? It’s something that I think about often and while I don’t regret anything that happened while I was working at the hospital – I do wish I had been better prepared.
If you’re considering taking a nursing job in Saudi Arabia or somewhere else abroad, don’t miss…
- What to Expect Once You Move to Saudi Arabia to Work as a Nurse
- Different Ways to Pursue International Nursing
- I’m (Actually) Moving to Saudi Arabia
- Recruitment Agencies that Staff Nurses in Saudi Arabia
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Founded by Kylee, a NICU nurse with nine years of experience, including seven years as a travel nurse; Passports and Preemies was created in 2017 and is now the go-to travel and lifestyle channel for nurses who crave adventure beyond the bedside. Whether you’re a staff nurse looking for your next getaway or a travel nurse navigating life on the road, this space is designed to help you maximize your time off, explore the world, and prevent nurse burnout.
On Passports and Preemies, you’ll find everything from travel nursing insights – how to get started, land the best assignments, and thrive on the road – to expert travel tips, destination guides, and real-talk about balancing nursing with a life well-traveled. Passports and Preemies also includes Beyond the Bedside – group trips for nurses around the world; as well as the podcast, Passports and Preemies Talks.
