Anyone ever deal with overseas jobs with the company Vectrus?

They've just sent me the attached job description for a "Systems Administrator 1" position in Kuwait. I'm curious as to how much a government contract with them would pay, as I've heard good things about the monetary potential of taking such jobs.

Systems Administrator I.pdf

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MRUP10

Congrats Texan-Spurs! Mind sharing your clearance process timeline?

Texan-Spurs

I filled out a form SF312 in the last week of June , I got interim security clearance in 10/29 - 120 days

BobFrmAccounting

Howdy All,

To share my Security Clearance timeline (Secret)

- FSO submitted SF86 19 May 2016
- Zero Contact
- That should put me at 141 Federal days (no Weekends/Holidays)...
- FSO has stated that my status shows "pending"

MRUP10

BobFrmAccounting,

Have you checked you credit report to see if OPM has pulled your credit yet? Btw you will not see it with services such as credit karma. You have to get the actual report from a service like annualcreditreport.com. I saw that they pulled my credit at around 120 days and week later the OPM questionnaire went out to my employer.

MRUP10

Just received my interim clearance. SF86 submitted to government 8/2/2016.

LittleBIT

Nice MRUP10!!!

Excited to finally get going??

MRUP10

Absolutely! Ready to Rock and Roll!

BobFrmAccounting

Congarts MRUP10!!

Let us know how everything else goes!

I have not pull my credit report yet... figured I'd wait until mid Jan because I found out from my FSO that even through my paper worker was submitted 19 May nothing was done until 29 Jul.....

Leonardo Fantastico

When it was announced that Vectrus had lost the Kuwait contract at the end of September, not only did their stock fall 45.2% but they laid off 64 people at their HQ in Colorado Springs.

Vectrus lays off 64 from headquarters | Colorado Springs Gazette, News

Does anyone know what will happen to Kuwait contractor salaries when the new contracting company takes over? When a new company takes over it is usually because they came in with a lower bid......which means the existing employees usually have to take a pay cut.

LittleBIT

Vectrus is actually still in dispute for that contract last I heard, no idea when it'll be resolved, I'd assume sometime this month. But I believe they'll take it over again.

wtrwlkr

Hey everyone, sorry I've been out of the loop. I had worked for Vectrus in Afghanistan for a year, but I have since left. I currently work for a company with several Network/Systems administrator and AV Technician jobs in the AOR. All the positions require a TS/SCI clearance however. If you have any questions or want more info or whatever, please let me know. The company I'm currently working for is paying me almost 2x what I made at Vectrus.

atippett

atippett wrote: »

I got my interim secret in 2 months. Then, it took me 5 more months to get my interview for full secret. It's been 2 months after my full secret interview, and still no word.

Update: I was just granted my full secret this week. 10 months from start to finish.

Jdean001

What other company are you referring to? I believe Trace, and Raytheon have presence out there but I wasn't sure about the other companies. I left out of there last summer working at the swacc but won't retire until next year to start exploring options

hurricane1091

Lol, I have to know what it is like to go do something like this. I feel like the pay needs to be unreal for it to be worth going to a danger zone for an entire year, but I do imagine it is tax free as well for working abroad for an entire year. In my head, I imagine a lot of sand, old technology, and no fun basically the entire year. In reality, what is it actually like? How is the home sickness? What enticed you to do it aside from money? Make no mistake, I need way more money than I have, as do most people. The idea of being able to pocket that much sounds tempting, but I don't want to end up on LiveLeak getting my head chopped off either (I imagine my view of this situation is wrong, and expect to be corrected).

TNbound

This year I believe the tax exempt is 102/3K. Depending on hours worked and uplift received you can make decent coin. Since sequestration, the pay has come down. From what I hear, back when things first popped off in Afghan, sys/net admins with experience were making 4-500k, it is much lower than that now. .

the gear, depending on the company, will be decent gear and not total End of Life stuff.

living conditions, again where your at and whom you work for.

Food is hit or miss, bigger bases/posts will have better food, smaller camps well, you may go and get stuff in town. Will have wifi hotspots, activities go on to try and help the moral for everyone.

Such as everything in life, it is what you make of it, if you have an end goal, it wont matter.

518

Leonardo Fantastico wrote: »

When it was announced that Vectrus had lost the Kuwait contract at the end of September, not only did their stock fall 45.2% but they laid off 64 people at their HQ in Colorado Springs.

Vectrus lays off 64 from headquarters | Colorado Springs Gazette, News

Does anyone know what will happen to Kuwait contractor salaries when the new contracting company takes over? When a new company takes over it is usually because they came in with a lower bid......which means the existing employees usually have to take a pay cut.

This is for ITT/Vectrus
Layoffs in the HQ has no bearing with the OMDAC SWA contract in the middle east.

During the surge in mid-2000, people were making $240k-ish for a 72-hr workweek with Lockheed. Yes, thats 7 12hr days. When I was in Afghan in 2011, Network Admin Level I were making $165k on a 60hr workweek and Help Desk at $135k. Nowadays, you'll be lucky to make $135k as a network admin in Afghanistan. In Iraq, $240k is still possible. You make more with Trace Systems as a Network Engineer because you are actually responsible for the core. Network Admin in Kuwait for Vectrus is making roughly $98k. Network Admin in afghanistan for Vectrus only manages layer 2 devices. A few weeks ago, GDIT was willing to sponsor from Secret to SCI.

Bottomline, Vectrus is good if you have no experience in defense contracting and no active clearance.

hurricane1091

So I will ask this here first before making a thread. I have an interview for a network engineer position on a RnD range for the Army. Involves testing in the field and it's extremely weird in terms of anything I have done in my life. It would involve some VMware stuff which I would need to learn, and satellite communications. Would pay well and good benefits, as well as a top secret clearance. The question I have is, what the heck is thing going to be like? I would be going from a shirt/tie office worker to a boots/jeans field engineer with guns going off in the woods. It is right here in the states though. How are Army folks? Are they rude to guys like us? How is the interaction? Like, it sounds cool building something and going around in a hummer testing stuff.

518

hurricane1091 wrote: »

So I will ask this here first before making a thread. I have an interview for a network engineer position on a RnD range for the Army. Involves testing in the field and it's extremely weird in terms of anything I have done in my life. It would involve some VMware stuff which I would need to learn, and satellite communications. Would pay well and good benefits, as well as a top secret clearance. The question I have is, what the heck is thing going to be like? I would be going from a shirt/tie office worker to a boots/jeans field engineer with guns going off in the woods. It is right here in the states though. How are Army folks? Are they rude to guys like us? How is the interaction? Like, it sounds cool building something and going around in a hummer testing stuff.

I hope its not the Rodriguez Range in South Korea. Army personnel are cool, it's the National Guard you need to watch out for...especially Boston NG.

Anyway, the job ad below is similar to what I was talking about above...12hr days 7days a week. On your 7th day, you get half a day off but still get paid for it. Trust me, nothing else to do in Afghanistan so a 7-day workweek isnt too bad. This job with General Dynamics pays much higher than Vectrus. For Sr Network Admin with GD, your base pay is around $85k per year. Your first 40hrs of the week will be multiplied by 70% for hazpay and danger pay. The last 32-hrs will be regular pay. Do yourself a favor, make Vectrus your last option...been there done that.

https://social.icims.com/job/Sr-Network-Administrator-Secret-Bagram-AB-AFG-Job-AFG-Bagram-17932110.html?isd_source=email

I am not a recruiter, I take joy in placing candidates. PM for more info on living conditions in Afghanistan.

hurricane1091

518 wrote: »

I hope its not the Rodriguez Range in South Korea. Army personnel are cool, it's the National Guard you need to watch out for...especially Boston NG.

Anyway, the job ad below is similar to what I was talking about above...12hr days 7days a week. On your 7th day, you get half a day off but still get paid for it. Trust me, nothing else to do in Afghanistan so a 7-day workweek isnt too bad. This job with General Dynamics pays much higher than Vectrus. For Sr Network Admin with GD, your base pay is around $85k per year. Your first 40hrs of the week will be multiplied by 70% for hazpay and danger pay. The last 32-hrs will be regular pay. Do yourself a favor, make Vectrus your last option...been there done that.

https://social.icims.com/job/Sr-Network-Administrator-Secret-Bagram-AB-AFG-Job-AFG-Bagram-17932110.html?isd_source=email

I am not a recruiter, I take joy in placing candidates. PM for more info on living conditions in Afghanistan.

Thank you for the response. I will not be heading overseas lol, I stated the job was in the states. Misleading to post here, but figured it was as good as any to be honest. The job I am looking at is at an RnD range in NJ. I do not know much yet, but have an on-site interview. Ultimately couldn't go into much detail I guess anyway.

manchild

wtrwlkr wrote: »

Hey everyone, sorry I've been out of the loop. I had worked for Vectrus in Afghanistan for a year, but I have since left. I currently work for a company with several Network/Systems administrator and AV Technician jobs in the AOR. All the positions require a TS/SCI clearance however. If you have any questions or want more info or whatever, please let me know. The company I'm currently working for is paying me almost 2x what I made at Vectrus.

I'm interested in learning more about this company.

xxxkaliboyxxx

manchild wrote: »

I'm interested in learning more about this company.

Just pick up a rock and throw it anywhere in camp. Your welcome.

manchild

xxxkaliboyxxx wrote: »

Just pick up a rock and throw it anywhere in camp. Your welcome.

Thanks young warrior.

LittleBIT

xxxkaliboyxxx wrote: »

Just pick up a rock and throw it anywhere in camp. Your welcome.

wtrwlkr

LOL. I assume kaliboy is referring to the fact that nearly every company pays higher than vectrus. The company I currently work for is Salient CRGT. I'very only been with them for a month but I enjoy it so far. If anyone is thinking about applying, please let me know and consider using me as a referral. Manchild, feel free to PM me.

Fulcrum45

I just got back working for Vectrus in Afghanistan a few months ago. I was working the Service Desk at the time but there was so much policy and procedure and very little to the technical side that I feel like I slipped backwards a little in my overall IT knowledge, lol. The pay was good- at least for me it was- and I worked with some good people. In a small way I kind of miss it. Life was easier and more straight forward but the food was...ok. I've since taken on a Network Admin role back here at home and my head feels like its going to explode with all the stuff I'm learning

dynamitexvx

Has anyone had a delay in their Afghanistan visas?

Mischej

Hello everyone,

Recently got an offer from vectrus to work in Kuwait as a mechanic. I'm trying to figure out salary expectations. They offered about $46,000 before any bonuses or top ups. Is there such a thing for Kuwait? Is there a lot of overtime to make more money? I'm thinking it's not worth going overseas if I'm making less than $80,000. Any help is appreciated. I've already accepted the offer and completed the medical/dental. Just got scheduled for my vaccinations next week. Any idea on how close I am to actually shopping out?

LittleBIT

Whats the contract look like? How many hours are you expected to work? Whats your bonus package like?

Fulcrum45

Mischej wrote: »

Hello everyone,

Recently got an offer from vectrus to work in Kuwait as a mechanic. I'm trying to figure out salary expectations. They offered about $46,000 before any bonuses or top ups. Is there such a thing for Kuwait? Is there a lot of overtime to make more money? I'm thinking it's not worth going overseas if I'm making less than $80,000. Any help is appreciated. I've already accepted the offer and completed the medical/dental. Just got scheduled for my vaccinations next week. Any idea on how close I am to actually shopping out?

By the time I had my vaccinations I was set to leave in 2 days. Provided you're not still waiting on a security clearance you SHOULD be hearing back from your recruiter any day.

Fulcrum45

LittleBIT wrote: »

Whats the contract look like? How many hours are you expected to work? Whats your bonus package like?

For me in particular I worked 56 hours a week, 7 days a week. My bonus as the Service Desk Admin was 13K upon completion with another 3k for travel.