<p>A Linguist Contractor position (for DOD via private company)</p>
<p>Is it worth it?</p>
<p>As an American Citizen I would be a “CAT II” or category 2 according to the government, which means more intelligence work than basic patrolling of the streets with troops –> safer than CAT Is who are not U.S. citizens and perform the more hazardous duties. Yet, I still don’t know if I will ever be obliged to leave the U.S. base on which I would be stationed/deployed.</p>
<p>$180K, heck, $50K isn’t much to many people, but to me, it could turn my life upside down. I’m in my late 20s and have no higher education or professional work experience and aspire to gain the best education I can, thus, serving my bigger plan, and $180K is a decent start, I suspect.</p>
<p>What kinds of question should I ask my recruiter next time so I can better assess the job? and how?</p>
<p>Do you know of an american citizen who had done anything like this? How was their experience?</p>
<p>A while back, my mother was offered a position to go over to Iraq and help train their surgeons and medical staff and was offered a crazy sum of money to do so. She turned it down without hesitation.</p>
<p>Safety considerations should be your top priority and should be among the most important questions you ask. Other questions are living arrangements, working conditions, security, and communication home. </p>
<p>I personally would not do it mostly because my income is greater than what they are offering. However, if you feel it would benefit you, I say go for it. Just be safe. :)</p>
<p>Think about it. They have to pay $180K for someone with no work experience or higher ed degree to go do whatever this is in a war torn country.</p>
<p>There is a reason the pay is so high. Check out the number of people who have died in these contractor jobs. Then decide if it is worth the risk for the money. I’d never do it, but only you can determine the value of your own life.</p>
<p>We have a family friend who does a similar job. He gets paid 150k a year tax-free, but he has to work 7 days a week and live with five other men. It’s tough, but this will be his 5th year. He’s working in a dangerous area, true, but so are a ton of troops and I’d be willing to bet they aren’t making 150k a year to do so. I know he’s bought his sister and her two kids a home, and he has a ton of money saved up. He just doesn’t want to leave because it’s highly unlikely he’ll ever make that much here.</p>
<p>Thanks every one. I’m very concerned about safety, Majesa. </p>
<p>Is your friend a US citizen or permanent resident/green card holder? What exactly does your friend do? He translates, but does he have to leave the base for any reason? when and why? How often does he have to interact with the Iraqi public?</p>
<p>Just make sure that anything you and the recruiter agree to, you get in writing. I don’t know much about contracting jobs overseas, but I simply want to echo the rest of the posters in urging you to consider your safety. It’s a different world over there – my father has friends who agreed to similar high paying contracting jobs as firefighters… most come back swearing that they would never do it again; they lived in constant paranoia, contending not only with fires and other hazards, but flying bullets and IEDs. </p>
<p>I suppose that despite the money they made, wearing Kevlar underneath turnout gear and using insufficient, broken-down equipment was much more difficult than they expected. Obviously a linguistics-based job will have different parameters in terms of exposure to the outside world, but it’s something to seriously consider.</p>
<p>Also, are you sure about the tax-free portion? I realize that in the past American citizens would make a killing working overseas and not having to pay taxes, but I was under the impression that the laws have changed in the past year. This was the first article I could find relating to the changes, but you may want to consult with a CPA or check out the IRS website… <a href=“WSJ Jobs: Tips For Your Job Search During Coronavirus.”>WSJ Jobs: Tips For Your Job Search During Coronavirus.; </p>
<p>I’m not trying to rain on your parade, and my knowledge of these matters is limited, but I simply want to make sure you get the full story. Good luck.</p>
<p>Safety issues aside, you really want to look into this, because I don’t see how it can be tax free. Even the armed forces pay US income tax on their earnings. There is a provision for excluding foreign earned income but not at that level, and you have to meet stricts guidelines. For example, you have to be a bonafide resident of a foreign country, or have spent a certain number of days overseas in a 12 month period. Check the IRS website.</p>
<p>Another consideration is what kind of disability insurance would be provided if you are severely injured. There are a lot of people coming out of Iraq who will never be able to work again.</p>
<p>I think it i morally wrong, so I would say no- why don’t we have government linguists doing this</p>
<p>oh yea, they kcked many out of the army them they werre gay…and most were making, what 3rd of that amount</p>
<p>its a scandal and morally bankrupt to pay private contractors that amount of money while we have perfectly willing and capable people but wont let them work because they are homosexuals</p>
<p>I don’t think this job would be closed to homosexuals - it’s a linguistic contractor position through a private company. I don’t understand your point, or see how it relates to homosexuals in the military.</p>
<p>Yes, but DOD is willing to hire contractors through private companies who may possibly be gay, but Lord forgive us if they’re gay and in the military.</p>
<p>Sebha: I have friends in Iraq at the moment (both with private firms and with the U.S. military). It’s a rather unsafe environment, but like ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad mentioned, there are jobs with a greater risk factor. If you’re going to be centrally located in the Green Zone (well, it really doesn’t matter lately…) then I think you’d be better off than … say, a job on the outskirts of the Green Zone. While the financial benefits are certainly worth it, consider how willing you are to live in such a turbulent environment.</p>
<p>no, private contractors will hire pretty much anybody, but that is NOT how the army should be run</p>
<p>my point is that if the military wasn’t firing so many translators, etc because they are gay, they wouldn’t have to pay outrageous prices to civilians</p>
<p>and yes, in the army, they are very shorted handed with translators and the like, for just that reason, they don’t want GAY linguists, etc</p>
<p>so what do they do, go outside and may private companies a fortune instead, though those soilders were trained and were willing to serve their country but aren’t allowed to</p>
<p>People have always been able to earn tax free income overseas. I think the cap is 200k. However, you can’t spend but a very short time in the states I believe for 24 months. Many teachers and oil workers and other technical people go overseas. I “think” (it’s fuzzy in memmory cause it’s been along time) you can’t spend more than a week or two in a calendar year to maintain the tax exemption.</p>
<p>It may have changed as I am citing the rules from 25 years ago from a bad memmory. </p>
<p>I guess I would have to ask myself is 180k worth the increased probability of waking up Dead?</p>