Ten years. The actual numbers.
I started at AED 15,000 basic per month in 2016. By 2025, my basic salary was AED 27,416.67. These are year-end basic salaries, not monthly totals including bonuses or overtime.
AED 15,000
AED 27,416.67
+52.94%
Year-end monthly basic salary
| Year | Basic salary (AED/month) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 15,000.00 |
| 2017 | 15,750.00 |
| 2018 | 17,000.00 |
| 2019 | 26,000.00 |
| 2020 | 26,000.00 |
| 2021 | 26,000.00 |
| 2022 | 26,000.00 |
| 2023 | 26,500.00 |
| 2024 | 27,416.67 |
| 2025 | 27,416.67 |
2020 included temporary COVID-related reductions. Year-end basic salary does not represent every payment received that year. Bonuses, overtime and deductions are excluded from the table.
Redacted payslips
The supporting documents are being reviewed and redacted before publication. No payslips are public yet. This page will link to each approved document by year and month once ready.
Why publish this?
Salary surveys are useful, but they're not the same as seeing what someone actually earned. I'll write about the job moves, negotiations and cybersecurity transition behind these figures. For now, this is the starting point.
My professional background