Deadsea
talking about anything including programming and building computers, i am 21 years old and lived in Lebanon for 20 years, and before you ask, i don't know why my father didn't get me a Lebanese ID when he could, and it's too late now.
currently studying computer science in auce and finished my first year with a 3.6 gpa, tried to apply for jobs using bayt.com and asked friends/family, went to hardware companies to no avail.
i just want to ask, is it even possible? because if not, my only other option is to leave the country to work in this field.
rtp
I think its going to be very hard to find a job as a Syrian in Lebanon if not impossible. I think. Lebanese are not too keen on Syrian or anybody for that matter, they think they are superior, not sure why. It's not like they invented anything...
rolf
Yes it is possible. I helped a company in the hiring process for an IT position, and they hired a syrian. After the interview, the comments I heard related to being syrian where:
- I am afraid he needs a wikele
- I am afraid he will not stay long and go back to syria when he can
We asked the candidate, and he was honest. He said he doesnt need a wikele because his grandma is lebanese or something like that, and yes he wants to go back to syria but we all agreed that realistically it should not happen any time soon. And I said if they are still not comfortable on that point, they can ask for a two month notice (which I dont think they did).
Anyway he is hired and they're happy with him.
In this case there was no racism.
So it is possible but you would have the disadvantages mentioned.
rtp
@rolf, very glad to hear that, so there you go... its possible!
rolf
But you're right, it's hard.
In this case the guy also had a nice CV with lots of corporate experience.
vegetaleb
Don't worry nowadays Lebanese companies prefer to hire Syrians in any field because they give a lower salary to them, I never faced so much difficulties to find a new job than now, Lebanese companies don't want to recruit people like me with several years of experience because they are afraid I will ask too much, they take freshly graduated guys or Syrians.
rtp
vegetaleb wroteDon't worry nowadays Lebanese companies prefer to hire Syrians in any field because they give a lower salary to them, I never faced so much difficulties to find a new job than now, Lebanese companies don't want to recruit people like me with several years of experience because they are afraid I will ask too much, they take freshly graduated guys or Syrians.
you do realize there are different type of positions, if a position requires senior level then they can't hire a junior... so your market is different then the market of the juniors. I think your delusional.
rolf
It depends on the company and the type of job. The more qualified (and "marketable" on the job market) your are the higher chances you have, because when you're perceived like more "rare" (and they need you) the company is more likely to do extra effort to hire you (higher salary, dealing with any extra formalities for non-lebanese).
rtp
i agree with rolf, you have to show your special, so that they will overlook your disadvantages...
user
If I were you though, I'd submit a refugee application to a respectable country(a.k.a not this country) and take the civil war as an opportunity to leave the middle east. With your computer and english skills you should be able to manage.
On topic. I think startups might care less if you are a Syrian or not, because startups are usually the ones that avoid doing paperwork and paying for daman and these sort of things.
rolf
Just an update, due to recemt-ish regulations, Syrians are not supposed to work in IT anymore. This system of restricting jobs, in addition to being inhumane and humiliating, restricts opportunities for knowledge transfer - learning something new through working with foreigners.
So anyway if you are Syrian and want to work in IT, you must have your company register you as "janitor" or something like that, unwillingly taking part in the humiliation of Syrian nationals.
Because you know if you humiliate someone it surely means that you are better than them.
DNA
man rolf it is not about being better than them, it all boils down to security our wages and jobs available, man syrians agree to get paid like 400$ or much less for an IT job for example well all companies will prefer syrians and lebanese people who are willing to work this job will suffer from lower salaries because supply and demand thing. so companies wins and lebanese people get poorer.
also lots of syrians arent registering that they work not because they are not allowed specific jobs but because business owners dont have to pay taxes and the main reason is that they will keep getting aid money, free schools and free hospitalization while lebanese low wage people dont have any of that, so please no one is being humiliated but us and restrictions are necessary they arent here with work visas they are here as refugees they cant be competing and low balling in our salaries after all we have high level of unemployment we don't need foreign workers in most of the sectors
rolf
I don't think Syrians are much better off than Lebanese. They still have to pay rent, food, etc. Those who get help are those in the refugee camps, mostly, not those who work, as far as I know.
I understand your concern and I did not negate it. For protecting jobs for the Lebanese, the state should allow a quota of Syrians to work in IT or whatever, depending on the market, like it is done in the US, Europe, etc. But I guess this is too complicated for them so they just do a blanket ban on all Syrians which is not very good like I previously explained.
There is a lot of know-how in Syria, their situation was relatively good before the war and they had industrial operations at a bigger scale than in Lebanon. Surely it cannot be bad to employ a few qualified and experienced people from Syria.
After this new laws restricting what Syrians can work in Lebanon, a few of them who were working for years in IT in a Lebanese company found themselves in an illegal situation. This hurt them and hurt the company where they have had a place for years.
I am not criticizing the principle of controlling foreign labor, I am just criticizing the way in which it is done.
Azachariou
Every problem I think about in this country would be a non issue if the government actually worked and enforced it's laws. Hell if I they'd just put a single camera in my street they'd make at least 5000$ a day on fines.
the problem isn't the refugees, it's the fact that what the companies are making them do is even a possibility that's the problem.
make everybody working register (like in every civilized country)
enforce quotas on native/foreign workers (like in every civilized country)
heavily fine companies found to be in breach (like in every civilized country)
the list goes on and on...
This isn't a problem that's going to get solved if the refugees go away. It's a corrupt system that profits off of all the working class regardless of their nationality.
tech-guru
If your family is well connected here with other Syrians businessmen/traders ( who opened businesses ) who have power within Lebanese political structure , your family can utilize nepotism) to push you in. With an unemployment rate of around 7 % of a 4.5 million population with a minimum salary wage of USD 450 and a Syrian refugees influx of about 3 million ( approximately 2 million are registered since the War erupted in 2011 and 1 million illegal entries) the jobs demand is less than it supply with a saturated market. Tough on new graduates , what about none citizens.