My Dubai Salary: ‘I fetched water for my roommate for tips. Now I earn Dh400,000 as a travel content creator’

Aaliya Lala moved to Dubai from neighbouring Abu Dhabi with no job, no savings and a father who wasn’t happy about it. Raised in the UAE capital by an Indian family, she wanted to find out what she could build on her own.

She moved into a shared space in Dubai. When money for food ran out, she found a way. Her roommate wanted water delivered so she offered to fetch it. She earned tips that she used to buy a shawarma a day until she found a job.

Today, Ms Lala is a UAE-licensed travel and lifestyle content creator with more than 14 years in…