Anyone ever deal with overseas jobs with the company Vectrus?

wtrwlkr

Hey, LGN

Sorry, I somehow missed your last post. My workload is pretty light. Other shops might be hit or miss, but I don't think anyone is working at a really breakneck speed.

As far as how safe it is here, it's really not that bad. The main danger comes from mortars and rockets being shot at us. We have a system in place that shoots most of them down. That, and their aim isn't really all that great. That said, there was a fatality a couple months back unfortunately. It was a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I believe that was the first fatality in a couple of years, so take that for what it's worth.

LGN

Wtrwlkr,

Thanks for the updated information. I am hoping to either be deployed to Afghanistan or Kuwait.. I have been waiting to deploy for a while now. Hope to be able to meet you at some point.


Regards,

LGN

CIO

Does anyone know if permanent resident can apply? or at least be able to obtain secret clearance. I was interested in the System admin position

Fulcrum45

Just curious; is a Security Clearance required for most of these jobs? I've been seriously considering a job overseas but my clearance expired last year and I know they can rather costly to obtain.

joelsfood

It depends on the job, but yes, most of the listings I see from the big ones (Vectrus, GD, Boeing, Northrup, Lockheed, etc), if they're overseas, are going to require a clearance. That being said, time and expense to renew a clearance that is only 1 year lapsed is going to be less for the company than getting one new, so it's definitely not a deal breaker. Vectrus/ITT did my clearance from scratch when I went to Kuwait. A 1 year renewal would have cost them a lot less

LGN

Wtrwlkr,

Question, can you take vacation anytime you want? Also, If you run into an issue that you cannot resolve, do you have resources available to you? Hope all is safe over there.


Thanks LGN

wtrwlkr

LGN,

For the most part, yes, you can take vacation any time you want, as long as you schedule it with reasonable notice and manning levels can accomodate. The only exception to this is during your first 90 days in country, which is your probationary period.

As for issues you can't resolve, are you talking about technical issues or personnel related issues? For both types of issues, yes, you do have resources available to you. You have several different layers of management you can escalate issues to as well as HR. As far as technical issues, you have other members of your workcenter, your shift lead, and other workcenters at other locations you can bounce your issues off of to see if they've encountered it before.

LGN

Wtrwlkr,

Thanks for the quick response. Are you able to access all internet sites as if you were here in the states?


Thanks, LGN

wtrwlkr

Not on a government computer. If you have private internet, you can. I do believe that the private ISP does block known pornography sites, though.

LGN

Wtrwlkr,

Good one, lol.. not to worried about the pornography sites lol. I am wanting to make sure that I can still pay my bills electronically. lol I know you wrote about clothing in one of your previous post. What is your daily attire? I see khakis on the list. Does it matter what color Khakis?

wtrwlkr

Oh yeah, you'll be fine with paying bills and all that. Even the government computers don't block financial sites. Khakis and collared shirts are the standard uniform over here. Most people buy "tactical" pants. I wear them almost exclusively, as they're light, breathe well, and really comfortable in general. Color doesn't really matter. Most people go for light colored clothing, as the sun can be brutal on dark fabric. I find a collection of khaki pants and underarmor polos works well. This should go without saying, but sunglasses are NOT optional. Get a decent pair of polarized shades before you get here, your eyes will thank you. Also, at least in Afghanistan, you should bring at least one fairly warm jacket, preferably waterproof as it gets below freezing here in the winter and you might have the odd rainstorm. Comfortable walking shoes are a must as well.

Fulcrum45

Good info here. I'm really looking to go overseas next year or sooner so I'm trying to ramp up my certs and experience. I guess the only thing I have going against me is my expired Security Clearance

xocity

Hello All,
I actually applied for the Sys Admin 1 position and have a phone interview tomorrow. I may want to go longer then 1 year but was wondering if anyone knows if there is room for growth there? Like, Can I be Sys Admin 1 then move to 2 or network/security side at some point assuming I get appropriate experience/exposure.

Anything I should be studying up for the interview tomorrow?

Thank you all, this thread has been very helpful.

wtrwlkr

There is absolutely room for growth. Supposedly the program manager (responsible for the entire contract) started off as a system admin. It just depends on how long you want to stay. As for moving to different positions, as long as you have the required certs, it's pretty easy to move. I'm working towards my CCNA so I can move over to the netadmin side.

jace5869

What are they looking for in the dental exam. I must admit that I'm not in the best of shape there. Is it a make it or break it issue?

wtrwlkr

I don't know specifics, but generally with both the medical and dental exams, they're looking for potential issues that would result in you missing work for emergency surgery. There are limited resources here and anything beyond basic care they'd have to fly you out of the country to receive treatment.

joelsfood

wtrwlkr is exactly right. Anything that might be a problem in the next 12 months will need to be remediated before you go. I had to get two fillings that were getting loose replaced before my dentist would sign off on the paperwork. It isn't fair to the company (or safe to you), to knowingly go out there with a potential problem that might require you to be put on an emergency flight to get medical care

xocity

Im hoping I get an offer. I had my interview last week and was told that I did a good job. Seems like a great once in a life time experience to work abroad for a year or 3. Does it take a lot of time to adjust to that environment? Going to a country with a completely different culture and lifestyle sounds fascinating to me.

wtrwlkr

Meh, unless you're living in town in Kuwait, there's not a lot of "culture" to adjust to. The bases you'll be working at are basically little pieces of America for all intents and purposes.

joelsfood

Even if you're living in one of the corporate apartments in mahboullah, Kuwait, it's still pretty easy to avoid any other culture if you want to. That area is all ex-pats, and the businesses and people are targeted at said expats working there. I think at it's peak, I had 4 American chain coffee shops within 100 ft of the door of my apartment, as well as a Johnny Rockets and a Ruby Tuesday, and there was McDonalds and Wendy's right down the street.

If you want to though, you can experience all kinds of food and culture if youend up working in Kuwait. I had great lebanese and Moroccan, as well as plent of little street vendors. So much shawarma. Plus amazing Sushi, which of course wasn't local, but took advantage of fact that restaurant was getting fresh seafood in every morning from being on the water

xocity

joelsfood wrote: »

Even if you're living in one of the corporate apartments in mahboullah, Kuwait, it's still pretty easy to avoid any other culture if you want to. That area is all ex-pats, and the businesses and people are targeted at said expats working there. I think at it's peak, I had 4 American chain coffee shops within 100 ft of the door of my apartment, as well as a Johnny Rockets and a Ruby Tuesday, and there was McDonalds and Wendy's right down the street.

If you want to though, you can experience all kinds of food and culture if youend up working in Kuwait. I had great lebanese and Moroccan, as well as plent of little street vendors. So much shawarma. Plus amazing Sushi, which of course wasn't local, but took advantage of fact that restaurant was getting fresh seafood in every morning from being on the water

Thats pretty cool. I was asked where I would "prefer" to be. I stated Quitar or Kuwait.

Question, at what point do you put in a 2 weeks notice to the current job. I read through the responses and it looks like people dont really know if theyre being deployed until the very last minute?

joelsfood

I would wait until you get an official offer letter, and even then, bow to others here. I was going for a specific spot in a specific country from knowing someone there. I suspect things are a bit different normally

xocity

Just got the Job offer for the Sys admin 1 postition. Its in Afghanistan but I told them I wouldnt mind. It advises to not give any notice to your current job until you get an official deployment date. The pay is pretty fair but its 56hr/week. Im assume 8/day 7days a week.

Already have all the info they need so ill shoot it to them soon.

Hopefully this goes through quickly.

Thanks again guys for all your help. Ill keep people posted on my experience as this rides along.

tsimmns

Seems like a good setup for guys with IT experiences. I'm looking at a overseas trip, then when I get back getting into Client Systems at my Guard Base. I'm hoping that helps me land something like this which would be great for me starting out a career in IT.

wtrwlkr

xocity,

They'll send you an offer letter that's conditional on passing background, drug, and medical screening. After you pass all of the above, the recruiter will call or email you to confirm the day you fly out for CRC, which is your official first day with the company. It's fairly standard to request a CRC date a month out. Don't give notice to your current company until you have a firm CRC date.

jeromelongj

What certifications are they looking for over there? This has been an awesome thread and I really want to go over there soon. I just switched to the security track at WGU and I'm going to try to have ccna and linux+ done this semester. I currently a government contractor and my clearance is processing. Once my clearance is done I think I'm going to explore this more. Thank you.

wtrwlkr

Sec + is required for virtually all positions. CCNA will qualify you for net admin. One of my buddies is information assurance. I believe he has a GCIH that qualified him for that position.

Nyblizzard

Nyblizzard wrote: »

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.

I can't believe I never included the responses I received for these three questions I emailed them back in March. Love to see this thread running as I've given thought to this for maybe next year?

ME: I'd like to request the following information in regards to this position.


A) Salary

Days/Hours worked

C) Leave Length


Recruiter's responses:

A) Salary=

---

around 120K per year in Afghanistan
Days/Hours worked

---

56 Hours per week 12/5
C) Leave Length.

---

38 days per year

xocity

Just sent all the paperwork to my recruiter. Luckily I have a valid and good passport and all certs and per-reques already taken care of, they just have to process it.

So far its been like this;

-Apply for the job, get an email same day for a Tech interview the following day
-Tech interview the next day, was told that it would take a week or 2 to get a response.
-4 days later i get a job offer (im assuming because it was the weekend)
-Filled out all the paperwork and sent it back to them.

So far its been 1 week for everything. We'll see how it goes from here. So far so good.

xocity

Doing my physical/dental exam tomorrow. It's been moving pretty fast but it's all good.

Anyone have any info on the working conditions in Afghanistan? Is it mostly in a large room or is it outside? Can anyone give a play by play on an average work day over there?

Just want to know what to expect.

thanks!