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.

ShaniFaye

I know this will sound crass.....but you have a better chance of keeping your head on your shoulders if you stay home and dont go to Iraq....I know there are tons of people over there doing this kind of thing, and its awfully tempting money wise...but no way no how, for any amount of money would I go to Iraq and do this.....

I dont want to see you found in a garbage bag, headless, dumped on the side of the road.

I know others will argue with me....and nothing like that has happened in awhile....thats not to say its not being planned though.

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

kellererd

If the decision is going to be primarily made as a result of monetary factors .. and these (for now) are the most important to you, then go. Great opportunity for you to get way ahead, quickly. As far as personal security goes I don't think you have much to worry about unless the position you're looking at puts you in the streets of an Iraqi city. And I mean, literally, the streets.

My personal opinion is that the same people paying you all of this money are the same ones hoodwinking our government, causing the majority of our tax money to be funnelled into a war which has no concrete purpose or cause which could possibly benefit us and generally sinking the US into a governmental abyss along the lines of every other 'empire' that has come crashing down. Empiricism at its finest, even though most Americans would never admit it.

My father has the opporunity to jump overseas to do the same thing for a year. He and my mother desperately could use the monetary quick-fix but I've tried to encourage him to think about it from my previous viewpoint. Not sure it's sinking in - he's an old codger.

In either case, good luck to you.

veruca

You know how I feel...I say no...they are offering you a huge amount of money for a reason.

__________________
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You starve and near exhaust me
Everything I've done, I've done for you
I move the stars for no one

kurty[B]

It doesn't sound crass Shani, it's the truth, and I hear it from just about anyone I ask about this. From my friends experience they are living behind a palace of Saddam's, and go to work at the palace which is surrounded by US military, they don't go into the streets of the neighboring city.

The picture my friend took of himself taking a dump on Saddam Hussein's personal green marble toilet, with a green marble bedday (don't know how to spell it) with a huge smile and a thumbs up is fucking hilarious though.

kellererd, I agree with not liking the idea that I would be working for a company that is in kahoots with a government supporting a war I don't support.

Coppertop

I recently saw a new program that talked about contractors going to Iraq and getting screwed out of lots of money. Something about they were promised overtime but only x number of hours could qualify as overtime, same with hours paid as "hazardous duty pay." Be very sure of your contract and make sure you don't end up like those people. Cannot remember the company it was for. I think the news channel I saw it on was on one of the major networks, don't remember which though.

Best of luck to you.

ShaniFaye

So you will never ever go "out" you are willing to stay in one place surrounded by military for a whole year?

What about things like going shopping and stuff....

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

kurty[B]

That is one of my friends' biggest complaints. Boredom. Staying in a confined place for that long I could handle. Shopping, not really my thing, what I'll miss is the snowboarding, the mountains, the cycling, the camping, but after a year I could afford new gear for those activities that isn't 5+ years old and falling apart. I would get LOTS of reading done, and the other thing that would get on my nerves is being surrounded by 90% men, not even being able to go to the bars and flirt with the waitresses and female bartenders.

Thanks for the heads up Coppertop, I will make sure to keep a strong eye on the contract if I decide to move forward at all, and turn down anything that requires OT or weird names for hours to make the large amounts of money.

I kind of jump back and forth on this. For the most part, most days I'm almost sure I don't want to do it, and then other days I'm practically ready to tell them to start with the background checks and forming a contract.

Carno

So what kind of job is it? A merc job or something like rebuilding?

kurty[B]

It's an IT position. Supporting network and hardware issues.

Master_Shake

How did you apply for this job? Is there a list of open positions somewhere, or did you know somebody?

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You know something, I don't think the sun even... exists... in this place. 'Cause I've been up for hours, and hours, and hours, and the night never ends here.

c172g

I have two acquaintances that have gone (I assume you are talking about Halliburton). Both said they'd do it again, but I think there is some break time that you have to take after year one. They got paid 130K for the year I think, the first 80K was tax free. Boredom, oh yeah, better plan on that. The money was great, they felt relatively secure where they were (not near the "Sunni triangle").

The whole thing sucks in my opinion, but at least the jobs are being handed out to US citizens if they want them. Think about the news reporting that the jobs are being given to folks in India or China who will do the same thing for 10K per year.

I don't know if you are into "substances" or not, but you WILL be drug tested & if you fail once I believe you will not be allowed to apply again, ever. I think the chances of you getting your noggin chopped off & dumped on a street are pretty slim unless you sleepwalk, can pass through a security checkpoint while sleepwalking, and then go to a really crappy part of town & meet up with the wrong crowd.

Tough choice, especially with a SO to keep in mind. Good luck with your decision. I would say I probably would go if I had absolutely no ties in the US.

ShaniFaye

I think the people that were kidnapped out of the houses they were staying in would argue that.....if they were still alive

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

Cynthetiq

since you mentioned SO, what's she think?

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kurty[B]

I sent my resume to a friend. Who sent it to a manager and it followed the pipeline to HR. I had sent it before directly to their e-mail for resumes, and never received any response.

I'm no longer into "substances" so passing a drug test, and living without anything for a year is a non-issue.

The S/O... She is torn too. She's sees the opportunity to come back and be able to go wherever I like, and focus on college and changing my career, rather than trying to squeeze classes in here and there (and now that I've progressed a bit through college not being able to find ANY classes that work around my current work schedule), but at the same time she does not want the seperation (I don't really either).

BigBen

Kurty, I say go...

I have been on the shitty end of the stick, and having a nest egg, opportunity, ability to do what you WANT when you get back is very cool.

Anyone who wants to give you something for nothing is lying, you just don't know it yet. I have to give a third confirmation about the contract. I would take the unsigned thing to a very good HR lawyer or contract lawyer. The hundred bucks you spend will give you piece-of-mind when you are in the sandpit.

Personality wise, how do you cope with being alone? You enjoy the outdoors?

I cannot stress how important IT and Comms is to a sucessful mission. Having a guru like you in a bunch of no-load's would help keep people alive, in the big picture. Fuck liking the war or not. That is a politician's job. You are in IT, and have the opportunity to make a difference ON THE GROUND. I think your job is more important than any shitty tasking I ever did.

It was the IT Comms guy that got me on the phone to my wife. I had to wipe the tears from my eyes to thank him, as I had not heard her voice in 2 months and was going a little crazy. I gave up my phone time to a buddy when his daughter had to go into the hospital, as did the rest of my platoon. When I finally did talk to my girl, I lost it.

To think that there would be more people like you there (civilian, military, whatever) to help makes my heart ache.

In the end, please don't forget the people you might help. I have to say though, that you cannot truly appreciate what the term "Non-Taxable Income" means until you look at your return the next year and smile.

I say go. Carefully. And a big Thank You to that IT guy who helped me phone home. That happened 9 years ago, and I will never forget it.

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Hey, if you are impressed with my memorizing pi to 10 digits, you should see the size of my penis.

WillyPete

Are tere any more spots out there?

I'm currently the network admin for a company in London, done the CCNA and would love to earn some decent money so I can help out with my girlfriend's house in Fernie BC. We just saw a beauty in Golden (kicking horse) and want to expand the business of renting out the properties to UK and othe snowboarders.

I'd love a spot like that. I was in the So. African Military so I have my head sort of screwed on regarding safety issues.

Any links to sites you could PM me?

thx.

ratbastid

Listen, there's the other side of this. Yes, you'd be working for a company that's in bed with a government whose policies you disagree with. My question is: what opportunity would you have over there to make a difference in the lives of Iraquis? If you could go correct a little bit of the damage that's being done, would that offset your moral qualms?

I, for one, would love to let the Iraquis know that not all Americans are five-foot-three, swaggering, gun-toting Texans, and not all of us believe in the war and occupation.

liquidlight

This is the kind of opportunity, barring what Coppertop warned about and having the company screw you or getting caught by an IED, that normally comes for people once in a lifetime.

Personally I'd jump at the chance, though with my record I couldn't pass a clearance and I don't know if I would leave my kids for a full year. You mentioned getting 8 weeks of vacation, could you come home and see the SO? Or with all the money you could meet her in some of those vacation destinations like Paris and Rome

Maybe I'm being entirely too monetary in the way that I look at it, but honestly, if I were you I'd go, though you may have more to lose than I do.

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c172g

I didn't mean to jump on your post, and I agree totally with what you say.

However (I don't read the newspaper & rarely listen to it) I don't think there are more than a hundred people who have been killed this way. That totally sucks for the hundred or so it's happened to, but the fact is that it probably isn't going to happen, especially if you aren't right in the problem area, what they call the Sunni triangle (I think).

Your chances of being killed in an auto accident are probably ten times better than being abducted & beheaded. Someone can probably prove me wrong, but there are a hundred thousand troops over there and thousands of contractors. This has happened to a very small percentage.

kurty[B]

Thanks for the info/story BigBen. I'm surround by the negativity of being a part of the IT industry that I completely forget that there is actually people who appreciate what we do (one of the many reasons I want to go through college and change my profession).

Being alone, I have no problem with it, sometimes I prefer it. Outdoors, I love 'em.

WillyPete, I'll see if I can dig up a link and PM it to you.

I never thought about the stance that I could possibly make a difference for Iraqis. I am not sure about the interraction with this position with Iraqi citizens, but that definitely adds a bit of prestige to the position.

And yes, with the vacations I could easily come home, and taking the S/O to some wonderful places that I would normally have to save for years to go to would be incredible!

thalakos315

i'd say do it.. you said you get four 2 week "vacations" so really your looking at about 11weeks, or 3months away at a time, which really isn't all that bad.

i think your best option as far as saftey and such.. would be talk to your friends who are already over there, and find out what they think, get some advice from people who are already experiencing it.

my older brother is due to be stationed over there for the next year as well, starting next month(US airforce). from what he's told me, from those he knows over there, the only signifigant threat is to those who are out and about in the streets. if your in a controlled area, your pretty safe.

this is really something you have to rationalise for yourself. if you can make yourself comfortable with this on a moral level, then i say do it. you have friends over there already, so its not like you'll be completely among strangers. you'll be building quite an influential resume for future employment.

seeing whats going on over there first hand, might just give you some new insight as to what happend, why, and weither or not it was a good thing.

not many people will get the chance to really see whats going on over there.. i think its a golden opportunity all around. hell i'd jump at the chance if it were offered to me

ShaniFaye

ok...I hate to say it....but it does indeed look like I was right...it WAS being planned again, granted they were journalists, not contractors...there were there for 3 of scheduled 5 days

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/...ain/index.html

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

spived2

As someone that's over in kuwait as we speak, and was over in Iraq a couple years ago, I say go for it. The IT guys that come over here make great money and little involvement in military politics. They just do their job and go home. My job right now is working at a TCF in kuwait, working with civilian contractors to maintain our networks. These guys have the life. They work 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, and have apartments in the cities. Work is relatively easy because once everythings running, the sysadmin is the only one really doing much. I know up in Iraq I worked with some other contractors that were getting paid more, but they did have to settle for living in tents and not really being able to go anywhere.

If I were you (which I will be as soon as they finally let me out...) I would try for Kuwait. The much better living conditions far outweighs the drop in pay. Regardless, in an IT job contracted to the military, your guarenteed that the first 80k of your pay is tax free, and every single one of them make more then 80k.

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"This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V." - V