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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Daniel J

I just passed my technical interview for an Information Assurance Analyst I position. The recruiter said I would be contacted via email with the details of the position sometime soon. I have a few questions regarding the company/position.

1. Does anyone know what the pay-scale is like for the IAA I position?

2. The recruiter said they had positions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait. What is the pay difference between the three? I saw somewhere that Afghanistan was paying +70% but I've been unable to find information regarding Kuwait or Iraq.

3. What are the living conditions like in Afghanistan and Iraq? I saw that Kuwait was relatively relaxed as far as danger and living conditions, how do the others compare?

4. I'm married. Is there any chance my wife would be able to come with me for the duration of the contract? Not a deal breaker by any means, I'm just curious on this one.

I doubt I would leave my current position if i netted anything less than 120K. Is this a realistic expectation? I'm in no immediate rush to leave my current position, but I would love to have my mortgage paid off in a year, and my family is willing to make the sacrifice.

Thanks in advance for the info!

LittleBIT

1: When you get your contract, and pay, do the math. IA's typically make good money, but define good?
2: read the previous threads/posts. (Iraq: 70%[-10%]), kuwait has 0.
3: Iraq: Depends where you land, else, its like Afghanistan.
Chu living, shared bathrooms and showers.
4: In Kuwait she could. They will give you the option for a shared apartment or give you a stipend to live out on town. But talk to your recruiter. I know a few people who moved their family out here. But their jobs were high paying SWACC jobs. KUWAIT IS EXPENSIVE. $3/1kd, a burger can be 4KD. But thats if you like eating Americanized food. There are markets and such. Imagine a dirtier NYC

... No booze though.

If youre doing IA, you can make good money but again, define good, But Idk. From people I have talked to, if you work 12's 7 days a week, you can net some really good money at SWACC, site level is OK in Kuwait, but you want Iraq/Afg to make any dent. My IA friend in Iraq makes about (150K+ doing 60ish hr weeks)

Afg and Iraq is the way to go. (Uplift + OT)

josephandre

think when I got offered the IA position for Kuwait adding everything up it came to maybe 104 and that may even be overshooting it. Also the first 6 weeks are paid @ 75 % to offset the cost of bringing you over (which is bullshit) and some of that money is tied up in annual completion bonus's etc. only 5 days a week though, and you can bring your wife.

Daniel J

Thanks for the information LittleBit!

Finished reading the entire forum and it seems like Afgan is going to be the way to go. Pay seems significantly higher and I'd be 100% okay with living on a base like BAF with meals and housing paid for. Having a few roommates isn't a deal breaker.

150K is the range I need in order to take the position, so that's great.

Received an email today to create a Vectrus account and officially apply for the position. This forum has be extremely helpful but there is not a ton of information regarding IA positions.

Thanks again for all of the solid info. Does anybody work or work with persons in the IA role in Afghan? Do they somewhat enjoy it? Stress from work pretty low?

LittleBIT

OT is 1.5 and Afgh is 1.25 FYI.

I have friends in IA, they like it. Its one of the highest paying positions $34-$36/hr range for the 'entry level tier'. My buddy pulls about $175K here doing 60hr weeks with Sunday off.

EANx

When I did my year in Iraq, I knew several contractors who had brought their wives with them. He was a plumber or electrician and she did admin support. Contracts change over time and the scope of work for a contracting company will grow or shrink. If you want to bring your spouse, it never hurts to ask if that company (or the prime) has work for them. They often jump on it because it means they typically get to save the cost of housing.

Fulcrum45

EANx wrote: »

When I did my year in Iraq, I knew several contractors who had brought their wives with them. He was a plumber or electrician and she did admin support. Contracts change over time and the scope of work for a contracting company will grow or shrink. If you want to bring your spouse, it never hurts to ask if that company (or the prime) has work for them. They often jump on it because it means they typically get to save the cost of housing.

Agreed. I met several married couples in Afghanistan who worked for the same company. Because they were allowed to room together they typically got nicer rooms as well and didn't have to share.

xxxkaliboyxxx

Daniel J wrote: »

Thanks for the information LittleBit!

Finished reading the entire forum and it seems like Afgan is going to be the way to go. Pay seems significantly higher and I'd be 100% okay with living on a base like BAF with meals and housing paid for. Having a few roommates isn't a deal breaker.

150K is the range I need in order to take the position, so that's great.

Received an email today to create a Vectrus account and officially apply for the position. This forum has be extremely helpful but there is not a ton of information regarding IA positions.

Thanks again for all of the solid info. Does anybody work or work with persons in the IA role in Afghan? Do they somewhat enjoy it? Stress from work pretty low?

You're going to be doing the easiest job you ever had. You won't learn much, but get way overpaid for it. You will almost feel guilty, almost. Make sure you keep up with your studies because you will get complacent.

Daniel J

Hopefully I will be finishing up my Masters in Computer Science while I'm there, so that should keep me busy. Thanks for all of the information, i am feeling optimistic at this point. I'll keep you guys updated as things progress.

dialectical

I love this forum. Just got an email from this company for a VMware job. The guy wanted to call for an interview. But I responded asking for a payrange before he called me. My expectations are low but I'll see what he says. The whole thing seems pretty sketchy to me and I worry about it hurting clearances for even being in that part of the world.

I think my bottom dollar would be 150k, but I will also keep the duration in mind. Thanks everyone for the tips on taxes.

LittleBIT

Thats the job Im gunning for. Stay away! Lol, I believe the pay was around $130K-140K. Im sure Im wrong, just gossip. Let us know when you find out!

dialectical

Looking even more sketchy. I sent an updated resume with my specific request for a payrange BEFORE getting a call for an interview. A completely different guy responded saying that he forwarded my email to the cyber team and that he would call or email soon to set up an interview based on my skill set or qualifications. He completely ignored the content of my very short email.

The other part of my 3 sentence email was asking for confirmation that the job was in Kuwait. Nothing. Just pasted in a short templated response it seems, perhaps from lack of ability to speak English. I do not think I would do it for 130k LittleBit. Not even 150k if I can't reliably communicate with them.

josephandre

The recruiting 'team' and primary correspondence is full of Indians. And no, they barely answer questions via email due to either not reading, not understanding, or being too busy. Answers are typically over the phone and they always push for phone calls, and a lot of times, the emails are from/to a joint inbox. Nothing sketchy, just a shaky process.

No issues with the clearance, they are a legit DOD contractor

LittleBIT

The recruiting team is non americans or ESL. But yeah, they are as legit as can be. Im in Iraq at the moment, there are Americans there, they do the tech questions and such for interviews. The recruiters set up the interviews.

Youll get your offer letter with pay rate after your phone interview.

Daniel J

Update on the situation.

So i received an offer for both Kuwait and Afghan. The Kuwait offer was too low, but the Afghan one was right in the range i needed to accept. So I will most likely be heading to Afghanistan in the near future!

The only thing I am not thrilled about is that they could not tell me which base I would be working on. I understand why they can't, but its a huge unknown that could impact my decision. I think I would be much more comfortable on a larger base like BAF.

Are there any bases that I should be weary of? Like do any of them not have MWR; or are like super tiny with crappy wifi and nothing at all to do?

If I go to CRC and they tell me I am going to a base that is like 2 square miles in size and does not have enough wifi support to allow me to speak to my wife on a regular basis I might back out of the offer last minute.

What I would really like to know is what is the worst case scenario. Or, what is the worst base I could end up on as far as communications or danger. Does anyone know what base the majority of Vectrus employees are working on right now?

xxxkaliboyxxx

Daniel J wrote: »

Update on the situation.

So i received an offer for both Kuwait and Afghan. The Kuwait offer was too low, but the Afghan one was right in the range i needed to accept. So I will most likely be heading to Afghanistan in the near future!

The only thing I am not thrilled about is that they could not tell me which base I would be working on. I understand why they can't, but its a huge unknown that could impact my decision. I think I would be much more comfortable on a larger base like BAF.

Are there any bases that I should be weary of? Like do any of them not have MWR; or are like super tiny with crappy wifi and nothing at all to do?

If I go to CRC and they tell me I am going to a base that is like 2 square miles in size and does not have enough wifi support to allow me to speak to my wife on a regular basis I might back out of the offer last minute.

What I would really like to know is what is the worst case scenario. Or, what is the worst base I could end up on as far as communications or danger. Does anyone know what base the majority of Vectrus employees are working on right now?

Dude, please realize you could end up in a **** hole with no wifi and you guys being motar every other day. Most likely you will end up at a cush camp like KAF or BAF but those aren't any safer than Kuwait or the states. Please be comfortable with what you are signing up for. You know all those papers you are signing? They can put you anywhere they want and in any job role. Vectrus is known for assigning people titles without doing their roles, ask the hundreds of Netadmin and sysadmin answering phones. Worst case? you get put at a crappy joint security site with 100 soldiers doing Comm support. Wifi there? Lol. only difference, you aren't allowed to carry a weapon. Time to prepare for the worst, but hope for good enough.

Edit: Forgot to add that you are getting paid up to 3x-4x the amount of Soldiers going down range there and you actually are choosing to go.

dialectical

That's really something else that you can't know where you're going. It would seem to follow that you could not tell anyone where you are once you're there. Then there is geotagging on cellphones, if you can even have one, and GPS apps which with the same logic should be forbidden. That's pretty severe for just being a contractor.

LittleBIT

Yea, I have to agree with Kali. Youre goimg to a warzone. You get what you get and you make way more than most. This isnt for everyone. You dont get to choose where you end up. I find the more spartan the base, the easier the life. The more packed it is, the more stressful it is. Id choose a base with no free wifi and just a green bean over a small city. After all, all you do is work anyways and study.

Daniel J

Thanks for the input guys. I spoke to a recruiter yesterday and he said that because I'm in IA, it is very unlikely that I would be going to a smaller base, but nothing is guaranteed.

My wife and I talked in depth last night and went over the contract and we are 90% sure we are going to accept the offer once our lawyer and accountant finishes going over the details.

At this point I'm comfortable rolling the dice and accepting whatever happens. Hopefully I get a kush camp, if not, oh well it is only a year. The long term financial benefit is enough for me to tolerate the living conditions and risk.

Fulcrum45

xxxkaliboyxxx wrote: »

Edit: Forgot to add that you are getting paid up to 3x-4x the amount of Soldiers going down range there and you actually are choosing to go.

This right here. When I deployed to Iraq I remember being extremely envious of our civilian contractors and the kind of money they were making with little to no responsibility for their own safety. When I became a contractor and went to Afghanistan I could not believe the animosity some contractors had toward the troops. I would routinely remind them that their cake job wouldn't exist were it not for those in uniform.

xxxkaliboyxxx

Daniel J wrote: »

Thanks for the input guys. I spoke to a recruiter yesterday and he said that because I'm in IA, it is very unlikely that I would be going to a smaller base, but nothing is guaranteed.

My wife and I talked in depth last night and went over the contract and we are 90% sure we are going to accept the offer once our lawyer and accountant finishes going over the details.

At this point I'm comfortable rolling the dice and accepting whatever happens. Hopefully I get a kush camp, if not, oh well it is only a year. The long term financial benefit is enough for me to tolerate the living conditions and risk.

Good attitude Daniel and very smart about handling the issue as a team with your partner. I wish you the best of luck. A little warning, a lot of contractors initially go out there just for 1 year and they get addicted to the easy money and before they know it, they are there 3-5 years

josephandre

yeah, that's always been a bit of a running joke. Everyone is out there for a year. It's tough to leave, because there's always something else to save for, or a little extra you can use, and before you know it you're closer to that completion bonus they prey on you with.

Daniel J

If I go over, the last thing I would do is complain about living conditions, salary, or anything else for that matter. I understand our troops are doing the real work overseas, and it is because of them that civilians such as myself have the opportunity to work alongside them.

I probably could have worded that last post more effectively. What i meant to ask is more so if I will have internet access in general to do things like email, Skype or take practice tests when I am not working. Not so much asking if I would have fast wifi and other westernized conveniences like Netflix, obviously I would not

LittleBIT

Iraq has two Bars, one at the Embassy and one at BDSC, both of which you will lose your job over if you are caught drinking. Is $100K+ worth a cold beer? Some contractors (and soldiers) believed so, and they were removed.

As for internet -- I pay for a hotspot so I connect my phone and use whatsapp/skype for home. 2mbs Downloads, fastest youll get out here. Probably $40/mo.

You can take tests, they are typically tun by contractors. Youll have plenty of downtime as well. People use netflix here over a VPN using Asiacell hotspots or buying onbase internet.

Daniel J

That is way better than I expected for internet. both in quality and price. Are people permitted to carry a personal cell phone over there? I would not need one for making calls, but I have a bunch of emulators(PSX, N64, SNES etc.) and games that I play on my cellphone at the moment and would love to be able to game on the flight over and when I have downtime on base.

Also, given that the living quarters are super tiny and dorm style, do people ever bring personal desktops over there? My laptop crapped out so all I have is a desktop at the moment. I'm assuming it will be a pain to bring it over and I'll just have to suck it up and buy another laptop for programming and schoolwork, but I'm curious if some people have made it work for them.

Daniel J

Update,

I've accepted the offer in Afghanistan and just finished submitting the initial paperwork. This forum really helped my wife and I make the decision, so thanks to all who have contributed.

Does anyone know what they are looking for in the dental exam? My teeth are in pretty good shape, but I probably could use one or two fillings, and have a chipped premolar. Do minor issues like these typically need to be taken care of before being cleared or are they looking for more severe issues? The other health exam should be no problem.

Fulcrum45

Daniel J wrote: »

Does anyone know what they are looking for in the dental exam? My teeth are in pretty good shape, but I probably could use one or two fillings, and have a chipped premolar. Do minor issues like these typically need to be taken care of before being cleared or are they looking for more severe issues? The other health exam should be no problem.

The dental exam isn't too bad. They set me up with an appointment to go see one of their dentists and he took a pretty casual glance at my teeth and did X-rays etc. Mainly what they are looking for is any "pre-existing condition" that could cause you severe problems within a years time. So provided you don't have some bad gingivitis or your jaw isn't falling off you should be ok. It probably wouldn't hurt to get any work done by your own dentist before then but only if you're worried.

asianredneck

Which position did you accept?

Daniel J wrote: »

That is way better than I expected for internet. both in quality and price. Are people permitted to carry a personal cell phone over there? I would not need one for making calls, but I have a bunch of emulators(PSX, N64, SNES etc.) and games that I play on my cellphone at the moment and would love to be able to game on the flight over and when I have downtime on base.

Also, given that the living quarters are super tiny and dorm style, do people ever bring personal desktops over there? My laptop crapped out so all I have is a desktop at the moment. I'm assuming it will be a pain to bring it over and I'll just have to suck it up and buy another laptop for programming and schoolwork, but I'm curious if some people have made it work for them.

Daniel J

Information Assurance Analyst I

LittleBIT

Daniel J wrote: »

That is way better than I expected for internet. both in quality and price. Are people permitted to carry a personal cell phone over there? I would not need one for making calls, but I have a bunch of emulators(PSX, N64, SNES etc.) and games that I play on my cellphone at the moment and would love to be able to game on the flight over and when I have downtime on base.

Also, given that the living quarters are super tiny and dorm style, do people ever bring personal desktops over there? My laptop crapped out so all I have is a desktop at the moment. I'm assuming it will be a pain to bring it over and I'll just have to suck it up and buy another laptop for programming and schoolwork, but I'm curious if some people have made it work for them.

Yes, u can carry your own phone, and buy them From shops here. As for having one at work, depends on your work area.

I just have a tablet, its been enough for me personally. Dont bring a desktop. Just my 2¢, you never know when you will have to move at the drop of a dime.