Over the last few decades, Dubai has seen an influx of people looking to take advantage of its opportunity and wonder. Speaking of opportunity, there are lots of business and job openings available for ex-pats looking for work. In this article, you can find a list of 12 part-time jobs in Dubai that pay well.
We know that it can feel a bit overwhelming when on the lookout for a job. If you’re wondering what kind of salary you might be looking at, we’ve pulled that information together for you here so you know what to expect on your job search.
Whether it’s a walk-in interview or through a recruitment agency, you’ll know exactly what to expect. Let’s get started then!
What Are the Benefits of Working a Part-Time Job in Dubai?
As much fun as it would be to spend every day at the beach or living your best life shopping – most things don’t come for free.
With a part-time job in Dubai, you’ll be able to make some money to help fund your stay while also leaving you time, and giving you the flexibility, to enjoy the incredible city.
Some of the benefits of working a part-time job in Dubai are:
The cost of living
It’s no secret that the cost of living in Dubai can be high.
This study carried out in 2019 put it as number 21 on the worldwide cost of living survey.
Rent itself can be in the region of 100,000 AED annually if you want to live in the heart of the city. You can cut this down considerably if you’re willing to head out a bit further into the outlying areas.
Add into this the other expenses such as travel and the cost of medical and insurance – the extra income of a part-time job will help to cover some of these costs.
More Disposable Income
The charm of Dubai is in the glitz and glam of awe-inspiring skyscrapers, rich local culture, and that influencer lifestyle!
There are huge malls, incredible places to dine and sign up for a golf or tennis membership at the elite clubs if this is what takes your fancy. All of these things don’t come cheap and therefore a part-time job can help you enjoy the finer things in life.
Work-Life Balance
Choosing a part-time job over full-time will help you to find that coveted work-life balance you’ve been craving.
Students looking for extra work
For a long time, individuals were not allowed to work on a student visa in Dubai. This has now changed and there is some work you can do.
You’ll need to investigate what your visa allows you to do, but there’s no real explanation needed as to how useful it is to make some extra money while you’re studying!
Supporting yourself while you find your dream job
As much as we would all love to find our dream job straight away, sometimes it takes a little longer. With so many incredible job opportunities in Dubai, you’re likely to find something that suits you before too long.
In the meantime, a part-time job can help support you with your bills and expenses while you continue searching for something special.
What Are the Top 12 Part-Time Gigs in Dubai That Pay Well?
Freelance Writer
Do you consider yourself a wordsmith? If you have a way with words, you could find work as a freelance writer in Dubai. Types of work you could find yourself writing includes blog posts, articles, and website-content. The list is endless for the type of thing you can write, and freelance writers are in high demand.
Skills Required: A good grasp of the English language. Clients will expect you to have impeccable grammar and engaging writing skills.
How You Can Prepare: The first thing to do is to prepare a portfolio of your work to show potential employers some examples. There are plenty of job opportunities online. A simple Google search of Freelance Writing jobs in Dubai is a great place to start.
👉 Browse Freelance Writing Jobs on GrabJobs
Call Center Jobs
While it might not be the most glamorous job in the world, it is a part-time job in Dubai that can help pull in some extra cash.
Skills Required: Some experience of working in the same field will be helpful. Good telephone manners and the ability to talk to anyone will go far when it comes to landing a role!
How You Can Prepare: As mentioned above, you’ll probably have to go through some sort of skills-based interview. Why not ask a friend to see if they will do a run-through with you before the interview to help you practice? It’s also a good idea to research the company so you know the products they sell or the services they provide. It always good to come prepared!
👉 Browse Call Center Jobs on GrabJobs
Social Media Specialist
Do you find yourself spending all your time on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter? If so, a part-time job in Dubai as a Social Media Specialist could be perfect.
Your job will be to manage the social media accounts of your clients. You’ll talk strategy, design posts, and schedule them to be posted. Your role will also probably include a good deal of research and analysing how well your strategy is working. It’s a great opportunity to help a client grow their social media presence!
Skills Required: You’ll need an interest in social media and some experience in using the big few platforms. While this is a job you can do on the go, you’ll need a strong internet connection for this position.
How You Can Prepare: It really helps to put together a portfolio of social media accounts you’ve grown for other clients. Maybe you have never worked in this area before but have a big social following of your own? This can all help convince a potential client to choose you!
👉 Browse Social Media Specialist Jobs on GrabJobs
Tutor
There is a huge demand for tutors in Dubai.
If you have a TEFL certificate, there is ample opportunity to find a teaching or tutoring job. If you are a qualified English teacher or have substantial knowledge in another subject area, you can make money part-time as a tutor.
Skills Required: A TEFL certificate is incredibly useful in finding teaching/tutoring work in Dubai. If this is something you are interested in getting, you can find a list of available courses here. You’ll need to have an interest in, and an ability to, teach other people. This means having lots of patience and a good solid foundation in the subject area.
How You Can Prepare: If you don’t already have a TEFL certificate, it’s worth having a look at the courses available as this will open new doors for you. There are lots of tutoring companies in Dubai, so this is a good place to start. There are also lots of online opportunities for people looking for private tutors, or to advertise yourself and your skill.
Browse Tutoring Jobs on GrabJobs
Photographer
Are you an expert behind the lens?
With such incredible scenery and beautiful people, it probably won’t come as any surprise that Dubai is a playground for photographers.
Taking on this part-time job in Dubai, you can dictate how much (or how little) work you do while also getting to practice your skills in something you love.
Skills Required: You’ll need your own camera equipment and a portfolio of work. Some clients may ask to see credentials while others will just take your work at face value and hire you if they love what you do! A great-looking website and social media profiles can help you to find potential clients.
How You Can Prepare: Get together a portfolio of your best work to show to potential clients. You can also spend some time building your online presence with a website and social media. You can look for potential clients at places like Upwork and LinkedIn jobs to find opportunities to show off your camera skills.
Browse Photographer Jobs on GrabJobs
Tour Guide
Do you enjoy history and meeting new people? As a tour guide, you’ll be showing people around the Dubai area so you’ll need to be familiar with the location and prepared to answer any questions you might get from guests on your tour. If you’re a people person who likes to be out and about exploring, a tour guide role could be perfect for you.
Skills Required: You might need to get a Tour Guide License from the Tourism Authority before you can carry out this work. It’s a good idea to chat this through with the company you’re looking to work for! Due to the nature of this position, it’s a huge advantage if you can speak more than one language.
How You Can Prepare: You’ll need to brush up on the history of Dubai! The agency you work for will probably give you a lot of information you need but it can’t hurt to do your own research in advance. Have a look in advance to see whether you need a license from the Tourism Authority. There are plenty of tourism jobs available, so have a look and see what catches your eye.
Browse Tour Guide Jobs on GrabJobs
Waiter / Waitress
Dubai is rich in opportunity for waiter/waitress roles. New restaurants are popping up all the time in the city and therefore there are plenty of jobs in this area available. From restaurants to coffee shops to the luxury service of the high-rise hotels, there is a role to suit everyone of all experience levels.
Skills Required: If you’ve got some experience doing this type of work already – great. It will help you when it comes to being interviewed for an open position. Many of these positions don’t require previous experience, just a positive attitude and a willingness to work hard and learn quickly!
How You Can Prepare: Have a look online for any open positions and see if they require you to have any specific skills or experience before applying. The best thing you can be is friendly, happy, and ready to learn!
Browse Waiter/Waitress Jobs on GrabJobs
Sales Associate
The malls in Dubai are huge. As a result, they are always looking for reliable sales associate staff to help look after customers in-store. The role mainly entails serving customers, helping them with any queries, and keeping the store stocked and tidy.
Skills Required: If you have experience in this type of work it will help you to find a sales associate role. If you don’t have experience, for a sales associate role, businesses are looking for people who are hard-working, trustworthy, and reliable. If you consider yourself to have these qualities, then it is worth looking for this type of work.
How You Can Prepare: Get a Resume together detailing any relevant experience. You can then either take it with you to the mall and simply ask the businesses if they are looking for any staff, or you can have a look online beforehand to see if you can find any advertisements you can apply for.
Browse Sales Associate Jobs on GrabJobs
Graphic Designer
Skilled graphic designers are always in demand. If you have experience in the field of creating graphics for marketing and advertising, you won’t be short of part-time work in Dubai.
Skills required: An experience in the field is most important. You need to be able to demonstrate that you’re capable of executing a number of different design projects including adverts, websites, signage, and branding.
How to prepare: Your portfolio is going to be what gets you a graphic design job. It’s therefore important that you make this the best it can be for when you start applying for jobs!
Browse Graphic Design Jobs on GrabJobs
Promotions & Events
Do you have a background in event promotion? If you love people and going to fancy events, this might just be your dream job. Your role will generally be to either work at the event, advertise it beforehand, or both.
Skills required: Most of these roles don’t require you to have any specific experience or skill. Previous experience in events promotion is of course going to be a benefit. Recruiters are looking for people who have a genuine love for events and promotion work and building up a relationship with potential customers.
How you can prepare: The best way to look for this kind of role is to search for events promotion jobs in Dubai online. These are often opportunities that come and go quickly so searching regularly or setting up alerts to let you know when a relevant job comes up will help put you in the front running for an open position.
Browse Events Jobs on GrabJobs
Driver
Do you have a background in event promotion? If you love people and going to fancy events, this might just be your dream job. Your role will generally be to either work at the event, advertise it beforehand, or both.
Skills required: Most of these roles don’t require you to have any specific experience or skill. Previous experience in events promotion is of course going to be a benefit. Recruiters are looking for people who have a genuine love for events and promotion work and building up a relationship with potential customers.
How you can prepare: The best way to look for this kind of role is to search for events promotion jobs in Dubai online. These are often opportunities that come and go quickly so searching regularly or setting up alerts to let you know when a relevant job comes up will help put you in the front running for an open position.
Browse Driving Jobs on GrabJobs
Virtual Assistant
Do you have a background in administration or book-keeping? These are skills that are valuable to businesses, and an increasing number of businesses are looking for virtual assistants to help them carry out all of their “back office” administration work. You can use your skills while working wherever you feel like!
Skills Required: Virtual Assistants come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, with many different skills and knowledge areas. If you have a strong background in administration or accounts, with a good internet connection and your own laptop – you can set up your own VA business.
How You Can Prepare: There are plenty of VA opportunities to be found online. Get together a Resume that includes all of your relevant experience and put together a portfolio of your work alongside a list of what you offer and how much you charge. A website can be a great way to showcase your work while you look for jobs online.
Browse Virtual Assistant Jobs on GrabJobs
Conclusion
A part-time job in Dubai is a great way to help you fund a lifestyle in this incredible city while still having the free time to do the things you enjoy!
There are plenty of opportunities available out there to find a part-time job, many of which you can do from the comfort of your own home while working as many (or as few) hours as you’d like. The beauty of part-time work is that you can often dictate how many hours a week you’d like to do.
Hopefully, this article has given you some inspiration to help you in your search for a part-time job in Dubai. Good luck with your job search!
If you’re on the lookout for job vacancies, check out some on GrabJobs here!
