Where do I begin?
I came to Aramco expecting the experience of a lifetime, brimming with opportunities to learn and grow. How naive that was. In my brief tenure at HQ, I've discovered that "stupid" has a new definition.
Expats are lured with false promises and lies. You’re led to believe you’re bringing your expertise to a place desperately in need of intellect and common sense. Instead, you’re treated like a caged hamster. Surrounded by locals, either beneficiaries of company-funded US universities, where they graduate solely due to Aramco's hefty donations, or those who've never stepped outside of Dhahran, you quickly realize the bleak reality. These locals, with their elementary grasp of the real world, are promoted and praised by an equally inept middle management.
Expats in managerial roles? Rarely seen. Management positions are part of Aramco’s grand Saudization plan. Be prepared to report to a supervisor, manager, or director who couldn’t differentiate between “their, there, or they’re.” Management’s concern isn’t quality work; it's keeping their bosses’ thobes unruffled. Tell them the sky is blue, and they’ll insist it's green if that’s what they think their superiors want to hear. This results in poor work left, right, and center.
Several executives are undoubtedly smart but have no faith in their lower management. Consequently, they seek opinions from consultants who've realized Aramco is a money pit for basic advice. Every department contracts some consulting agency, likely raking in nearly $20 million a year for work a monkey could do with its eyes closed.
One SVP, recently appointed head of community services, epitomizes this rot. He expects everyone to kiss his feet and wipe his a-s after his daily dump in the main admin bathroom. His coterie of female assistants strokes his ego as if he’s never been pleasured before.
Life on camp? If you’re accustomed to anything decent, prepare to abandon it for the Aramco Dhahran ghetto. The camp resembles a 1950s Houston slum. Laborers beg for water and shade while mowing the lawns for the tenth time in a week. Good luck finding parking if you work at Midra or Main Admin. The workforce has ballooned with locals, but parking has dwindled, and building more is apparently too sensible a solution.
Housing on camp is akin to subsidized housing in the Bronx. Expect moldy, ro--h-infested walls. The provided furniture reeks of a morgue, and your appliances will likely break bi-weekly.
Then there’s the racism. Many Saudis at Aramco are blatantly racist, especially towards other Arabs, Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis, or anyone who hasn't married their cousin. You’ll frequently witness Saudis bossing around laborers, demanding menial tasks.
If you work in the core, prepare to waste your days on nonsensical PowerPoint presentations filled with big words that make no sense.
Overall, this place is a trash can of an experience. If you want your hopes and dreams crushed, join Aramco and work for someone who likely wouldn’t qualify to teach second-grade math in your home country.