kurty[B]

I have the opportunity to take a contractor job in Iraq. The pay is great, my friends who are already out there say it is relatively secure (only one person has been minorly injured by an IED from the particular contracting company). It would be a year long contract that I could extend at the end of the contract if I wanted to (probably not).

The Pros:

- Very large amount of pay
- at least (4) two week vacations where I could fly almost anywhere I would like to
- the ability to have the resources to do what I would like afterwards, pursue the college I want that has a degree I want to pursue, buy a little property near that college, basically have a strong base to "start a new life" with
- mainly the biggest perk is setting myself up for the future
- receive a Security Clearance (which would allow me to get a plethora of IT jobs offered across the US)

The Cons:

- Iraq... I imagine it's not the funnest place to be right now for a US citizen.
- Living conditions, it would be like a year long camping trip with 5 other people in the same large military style tent.
- Leaving the S/O for a year, that's longer than we have been together at this point.
- Leaving other things behind is no big deal to me, I don't have a family of my own (aside from the S/O), any of my siblings or parents would be more than happy to take my vehicle and pay the car payments and probably drive it into the ground for me *sigh*, and I could either store what little I have with a sibling, or just get a small storage unit.
- working for a company that is in banking off a war I do not support.


The way things are now... I see myself at a dead-end job, trying to squeeze in part-time college, and pursue options of transferring out of state, possibly out of country, and using loans and what scholarships I can scrounge up to get my way through college, while working another full-time or part-time job. I'm currently waiting to see if my scholarship apps I have sent turn up any rewards and maybe I can work part-time where I am at and pursue school full-time (at a school I don't particularly like, pursuing a degree I am interested in).

The S/O graduates next year, and will be transferring to a Graduate School, many of the schools she wants to apply to are schools I want to attend. The hardest part about things right now, is wondering what's in store. So far I have been proud to pay for my schooling without incurring debt, but I don't see that possible in the future. I have talked with the S/O about this, and she is about as torn as I am on this. She thinks it would be great for my future, but at the same time she's unsure of that length of time of being apart. She said she would definitely stay committed if we were married, I let her know I'm not ready for that.

All in all, in the end it's my decision, but I just wanted to see what other opinions you have on this situation, and maybe what you would do if this opportunity were on your plate.