Anyone ever deal with overseas jobs with the company Vectrus?

GirlyGirl

LittleBIT wrote: »

Sweet

Good find, I wonder if anyone has done this and can confirm. I'll ask a CPA if I can find one that is knowledgeable on this subject.

Make sure you are paying the tax in Dollars, then claim it on your 1040 as a business expense at the end of the year.


I said I wasn't coming back for a few weeks but I am waiting for my pre workout to kick in and I have time to spare.
Truth be told, you aren't paying anything. It's coming directly out of your check, you don't even know it's gone until you look at a pay statement. It's not like you are writing a check to the Iraq Government every month or set up auto payment. Don't get your feathers ruffled over something you can't control. I've had the tax discussion recently with other contractors. I don't know one person who has successfully received that Iraq Tax payment back for the 2015 tax year. To add fuel to the fire the Iraq Tax wasn't even on the W-2 for an unnamed company. How are you going to claim something that's not on the W-2?

The law actually reads that anyone who has a contract inside Iraq, or has a signatory in Iraq, is required to pay the 15%

Like he/she said don't take their word for it, because it's wrong. I can prove it actually but I think everyone will take my word on it. I am not into uploading pay statements. It's two things that get contractors mad, one of them is the Iraq Tax situation. Like I mentioned everyone is not paying it and also like I mentioned everyone is not paying 15%. Actually I've never heard of anyone paying 15% I have just heard/seen 10%. I am upset about 10% but if I had to pay 15% they would have to renegotiate my salary or give me a heck of a bonus at the end of the year. If you have the choice between a tax of foreign earned income and the (Iraq) Foreign Tax credit 9 times out of 10 you will choose the Foreign Earned Income. Mainly because that will more than likely be the bigger number. Ok, I am not coming back to this discussion post until September I swear.

Leonardo Fantastico

There is no reason to work for Vectrus.

If you already have at least an interim clearance there are firms that pay a lot more.

If you don't already have at least an interim clearance the wait from your first interview until your first paycheck is about 6 months. That is how backed up things are at the moment just to get a determination on an interim clearance [no fault of Vectrus - it is affecting everybody]. Plus, there is NO GUARANTEE that a final determination on your clearance will happen before your year is over. If you quit Vectrus they will pull your application and have to start all over again with another company.

You could be stuck in the Middle East/Asia for years until you are given a final clearance. This isn't Vectrus' fault. The whole clearance process is in chaos.

w1retap

Leonardo Fantastico wrote: »

There is no reason to work for Vectrus.

If you already have at least an interim clearance there are firms that pay a lot more.

If you don't already have at least an interim clearance the wait from your first interview until your first paycheck is about 6 months. That is how backed up things are at the moment just to get a determination on an interim clearance [no fault of Vectrus - it is affecting everybody]. Plus, there is NO GUARANTEE that a final determination on your clearance will happen before your year is over. If you quit Vectrus they will pull your application and have to start all over again with another company.

You could be stuck in the Middle East/Asia for years until you are given a final clearance. This isn't Vectrus' fault. The whole clearance process is in chaos.

I keep hearing these same things. How much more do some of these other companies pay just as an example a help desk or network admin job.

Which companies are considered the better ones out there? GDIT? I've looked thru several contractors websites and many that I've ran across don't have a presence in Afghanistan/Iraq for IT.

curtisc83

w1retap wrote: »

I keep hearing these same things. How much more do some of these other companies pay just as an example a help desk or network admin job.

Which companies are considered the better ones out there? GDIT? I've looked thru several contractors websites and many that I've ran across don't have a presence in Afghanistan/Iraq for IT.

Hard question but I know who I don't want to work for, Vertus, Five Rivers, anything related to the old ITT, KBR, Dynacorp or spin offs of it. I consider GDIT to be one of the better ones, Lockheed or any aerospace related company also DRS is pretty good. I use to work for them back before the big cuts in contract work and was almost grossing 300k a year. Those days are gone but my friends still work for them and the pay is still very competitive. Getting into a good company and a project in that company is hit or miss. If you have a TS/SCI it's way easier if not go with what you can get and hope for the best.

w1retap

curtisc83 wrote: »

Hard question but I know who I don't want to work for, Vertus, Five Rivers, anything related to the old ITT, KBR, Dynacorp or spin offs of it. I consider GDIT to be one of the better ones, Lockheed or any aerospace related company also DRS is pretty good. I use to work for them back before the big cuts in contract work and was almost grossing 300k a year. Those days are gone but my friends still work for them and the pay is still very competitive. Getting into a good company and a project in that company is hit or miss. If you have a TS/SCI it's way easier if not go with what you can get and hope for the best.

Hey, thanks for the response! That's actually really helpful. I don't mind working for whomever I must to get in, but it's good to know what companies to start eyeing once you're in.

If I could eventually get to a company paying 200-250k I'd be giddy. I'm just not sure if that's a reasonable expectation currently or not, and it's harder than I thought to find contractors willing to divulge the info on it (understandably)

curtisc83

w1retap wrote: »

Hey, thanks for the response! That's actually really helpful. I don't mind working for whomever I must to get in, but it's good to know what companies to start eyeing once you're in.

If I could eventually get to a company paying 200-250k I'd be giddy. I'm just not sure if that's a reasonable expectation currently or not, and it's harder than I thought to find contractors willing to divulge the info on it (understandably)

You can get 200k now if you have the right clearance. With ARMA (a GDIT company) I'm really close to 200k with ARMA. I could of took a postion for 200k plus with another company but the quality of life would of been not as good. So I took the lesser amount for the better living. Money is great but with my experience, edu and certs living like sh*t isn't ideal.

devilbones

curtisc83 wrote: »

You can get 200k now if you have the right clearance. With ARMA (a GDIT company) I'm really close to 200k with ARMA. I could of took a postion for 200k plus with another company but the quality of life would of been not as good. So I took the lesser amount for the better living. Money is great but with my experience, edu and certs living like sh*t isn't ideal.

Is this 200k your base + 70%? Do you work OT?

curtisc83

devilbones wrote: »

Is this 200k your base + 70%? Do you work OT?

My base with ARMA is 98k and then I get a 15k yearly bonus. The rest is whatever uplift I get. I work 6 days a week 12 hours a day.

w1retap

curtisc83 wrote: »

You can get 200k now if you have the right clearance. With ARMA (a GDIT company) I'm really close to 200k with ARMA. I could of took a postion for 200k plus with another company but the quality of life would of been not as good. So I took the lesser amount for the better living. Money is great but with my experience, edu and certs living like sh*t isn't ideal.

Who was the other company?

Can you expand on what you meant by quality of life? What perks do you get with ARMA that you didn't with the other?

There seems to be so little information on these specific companies overseas; it's frustrating.

Kuvuli21

Anhtran35 Is exactly right I did this trip quite a few times as an 11B in the Army when going to Iraq. Its hot, dusty, and shitty. Its sand....sand....and if you use a porta shitter...well....i'll let you discover it for yourself, I spent a lot of time in and out of camp Virginia and Buehring. You'll have SO MUCH FUN! ENJOY!

curtisc83

w1retap wrote: »

Who was the other company?

Can you expand on what you meant by quality of life? What perks do you get with ARMA that you didn't with the other?

There seems to be so little information on these specific companies overseas; it's frustrating.

The company was IAP. I turned down a 188k postion with them then the recruiter offered me another postion in the Stan for 200k+. I hate the Stan and while some people live better than others it's still all crappy. It's like arguing who's the tallest midget. Did I mention I hate the Stan?

ARMA pays less but the postion is at the embassy in Iraq. So me living well is going to happen. Plus ARMA is part of GDIT so moving to a different postion in another country would be easy. If you have a TS/SCI with a BS degree or higher and any DOD IAT/IAM certs you are good to go. If you don't have those then make a career plan to get them.

joshmadakor

If one has a SECRET clearance, what kind of steps would you recommend for obtaining a TS/SCI? Just relevant experience, education, certs, and then start applying?

devilbones

joshmadakor wrote: »

If one has a SECRET clearance, what kind of steps would you recommend for obtaining a TS/SCI? Just relevant experience, education, certs, and then start applying?

None of the above. You need a job that requires it, somebody to sponsor you and have to be able to pass the background investigation.

joshmadakor

joshmadakor wrote: »

/snip ...and then start applying?

devilbones wrote: »

None of the above. You need a job that requires it /snip

So you'd apply for the job that requires it right? I guess what I want to ask is: are you generally more likely to be sponsored for TS/SCI if you already have SECRET?

curtisc83

joshmadakor wrote: »

If one has a SECRET clearance, what kind of steps would you recommend for obtaining a TS/SCI? Just relevant experience, education, certs, and then start applying?

What I did was go from contracting (secret level) to a GS postion that was TS/SCI. That caused me to need a TS/SCI. Since the federal gov doesn't care if you have a clearance and will put you in for the level you need for me that was the quickest route to get one. Having a secret has no bearing on getting a TS. They investigated me like anyone else off the street.

joshmadakor

curtisc83 wrote: »

What I did was go from contracting (secret level) to a GS postion that was TS/SCI. That caused me to need a TS/SCI. Since the federal gov doesn't care if you have a clearance and will put you in for the level you need for me that was the quickest route to get one. Having a secret has no bearing on getting a TS. They investigated me like anyone else off the street.

Cool, this was the info I was looking for. Thank!

MRUP10

So guys, I'm in the hiring phases with Vectrus an have just completed immunizations. I did not have security clearance when starting the on-boarding process. I completed my SF86 approximately 3 or 4 weeks ago. I have not heard anything back yet as to the status of my e-qip. I'm trying to gauge how far along I am in the process. So heres a few questions. After completing immunizations approximately how long was it before you deployed? Do companies like Vectrus generally pay for immunizations before your security clearance is approved? Anyone recently apply for clearance and how long did it take? What do you think my chances are for obtaining interim and final secret level clearance the only real blemish on my background/credit is a $6000 debt from a auto repo from 2 years ago that I have set up a payment plan with the lease company and have been making payments. Thank in advance!

devilbones

MRUP10 wrote: »

So guys, I'm in the hiring phases with Vectrus an have just completed immunizations. I did not have security clearance when starting the on-boarding process. I completed my SF86 approximately 3 or 4 weeks ago. I have not heard anything back yet as to the status of my e-qip. I'm trying to gauge how far along I am in the process. So heres a few questions. After completing immunizations approximately how long was it before you deployed? Do companies like Vectrus generally pay for immunizations before your security clearance is approved? Anyone recently apply for clearance and how long did it take? What do you think my chances are for obtaining interim and final secret level clearance the only real blemish on my background/credit is a $6000 debt from a auto repo from 2 years ago that I have set up a payment plan with the lease company and have been making payments. Thank in advance!

I am pretty sure that if you are not currently incarcerated you will qualify for a clearance. I cant answer the other questions about immunizations. Any idea where you are headed?

MRUP10

Thanks DB, I'll be headed to Iraq.

LittleBIT

Yikes, MRUP10, did you submit your Eqip all the way through

I'd guess we are gunning for the same space, if not, I hope to see you at CRC.

MRUP10

LittleBIT,
Yea, submitted E-QIP all the way through. Hopefully they didn't misplace my paperwork. Are you going for a System Administrator role?
How long ago since you submitted your E-QIP, did you get cleared yet? Did you get a CRC date yet? Thanks! Hopefully I will see you!

LittleBIT

My EQIP was submitted last week, yea, SysAdminI

I'm not cleared yet for a secret clearance, and if it took you a few weeks and still no reply -- I'm thinking its time I probably look for another job in the meantime anyways. I completed my Immunizations within a few days (completed all in about a weeks time).

If anyone can answer, I completed prior E-QIP's in the past, does that help? Also, I had a Secret and TS at one point (within the last 8 years), would that have any effect on processing?

EDIT: Here is a link on when you can expect to hear back for your interim, which I suppose is what we will be receiving
http://clearancejobsblog.com/interim-secret-clearance-process-change-periodic-reinvestigations/

It's dated July of this year, so might still be good? 35 days till we hear back, I'd assume you're getting closer MRUP

MRUP10

Ah OK, I did see 2 Sys Admin roles posted on their website both for Iraq (maybe we will be working together). Yea completed Immunizations this past weekend not sure if that may have been holding up clearance proceedings, but I wouldn't think so. As of today I am pretty sure I don't have any other prereqs other than clearance. If you have submitted prior E-QIPs for clearance in the past then you may still have clearance as Secret last for 10 years and TS last for 5 years I believe. They may just need to reset the status to active which I've heard can happen faster than getting a new clearance.

Thanks for the link, that's a good find. As I have been seeing many other people post about receiving interim in on a few days. So there was a policy change that will potentially push processing of interims out to about 5 weeks.

Samone88

Hey do you still work for vectrus? Ive applied. Is there any recruiter info? Thanks

MRUP10

Samone88,

I do not work for Vectrus currently, I am going through the on-boarding process. Currently waiting for Security Clearance. What position did you apply for? Do you currently have Security Clearance, Security+ certification, and a Microsoft certification? How long ago was it that you applied?

MRUP10

LittleBIT,

I see you are in the Boston area, I am about 30 minutes outside of Boston in New Hampshire.

LittleBIT

MRUP10 wrote: »

LittleBIT,

I see you are in the Boston area, I am about 30 minutes outside of Boston in New Hampshire.

Ah No way!

Small world

MRUP10

So, I'm hearing that clearance processing for interim clearances is currently averaging 120+ days.

curtisc83

MRUP10 wrote: »

So, I'm hearing that clearance processing for interim clearances is currently averaging 120+ days.

My TS/SCI took about 14 months and I didn't even get a interim. Luckily at the agency I was working for they didn't make a big deal about it and my secret was good enough while I waited.

LittleBIT

I was told a similar thing about 120+ days...

Welp.... Guess it's time to play the waiting game for the next 4 months... maybe We'll still be in Iraq/Afghanistan.

Btw, what if you complete your contract, can you just re-up without going through the process? Or do you have to go through it all over again.