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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HappyBearIT

I came across this thread looking for information on what to expect in the next year. This thing is a gold mine!

To add my info to the topic, I Interviewed with Vectrus back in Oct, and my interim was approved the last week of 2017. My dental was knocked out the first week of January, and I had my physical and bloodwork completed yesterday. I have to go back in on Monday to have my Tb test verified, and then I'm assuming its another waiting game for the CRC date. Total time between the interview and this point has been about 10 weeks. I had a TS at the end of my enlistment 8 years ago, and I've worked for one company since separating. I'm sure all of that played into the quick timeline since I see some posts of folks having to wait months to years to get to this point.

Anyone with information on the timeframe between finishing the medical and being offered dates for CRC, I'd appreciate it. Also, how easy is it to take certifications tests in Kuwait? I want to knock out the CISSP so that I'm eligible for IAT level III while there on this contract.

johndoee

HappyBearIT wrote: »

I came across this thread looking for information on what to expect in the next year. This thing is a gold mine!

To add my info to the topic, I Interviewed with Vectrus back in Oct, and my interim was approved the last week of 2017. My dental was knocked out the first week of January, and I had my physical and bloodwork completed yesterday. I have to go back in on Monday to have my Tb test verified, and then I'm assuming its another waiting game for the CRC date. Total time between the interview and this point has been about 10 weeks. I had a TS at the end of my enlistment 8 years ago, and I've worked for one company since separating. I'm sure all of that played into the quick timeline since I see some posts of folks having to wait months to years to get to this point.

Anyone with information on the timeframe between finishing the medical and being offered dates for CRC, I'd appreciate it. Also, how easy is it to take certifications tests in Kuwait? I want to knock out the CISSP so that I'm eligible for IAT level III while there on this contract.

I have taken more than one exam in Kuwait. Kuwait has testing establishments outside of base. I know people who have actually taken bootcamps in Kuwait. Just because the country is located on a map in the Middle East doesn't mean a thing. It's Americanized in more way than one. When you go to book your exam, just do Kuwait. You will be surprised with the results. Is it testing establishments on base, yes. I have also tested on Arifjan. I just think it's easier testing on your day off in shorts and whatever shirt I decide to wear than going on base to do it. Where I have to wait in line to get on base and possibly wait to get off base because of unpredictable traffic. Eight times out of ten a testing center will be closer to you than the base.

Donklander

johndoee wrote: »

I have taken more than one exam in Kuwait. Kuwait has testing establishments outside of base. I know people who have actually taken bootcamps in Kuwait. Just because the country is located on a map in the Middle East doesn't mean a thing. It's Americanized in more way than one. When you go to book your exam, just do Kuwait. You will be surprised with the results. Is it testing establishments on base, yes. I have also tested on Arifjan. I just think it's easier testing on your day off in shorts and whatever shirt I decide to wear than going on base to do it. Where I have to wait in line to get on base and possibly wait to get off base because of unpredictable traffic. Eight times out of ten a testing center will be closer to you than the base.

Took one last week in a building directly across from the OMDAC-SWACA HQ in the city. Internet went out during test. But OTHER than that, had no issues. Took 2 tests at AJ so far, but their testing center is a mobile site at the moment (no idea why). Just used the time as either training or personal time, so no issues there.

Other than that, it's really not that much different. Internet sucks during peak hours, and communication is sometimes pointy talkey, but usually pretty good.

Also far as time frame, it depends.
I only had a few week after blood test -> CRC date.

On the other hand, A guy I know was stonewalled on his physical for some reason. (I think they found a red flag, but never asked.)

volfkhat

Donklander wrote: »

...
I only had a few week after blood test -> CRC date.

On the other hand, A guy I know was stonewalled on his physical for some reason. (I think they found a red flag, but never asked.)

Hola peoples,

Is there an age cut off for these overseas contracts?
Are there any physical requirements (must be able to run x miles, lift x pounds, etc); that sort of stuff?
Would a home FORECLOSURE event (lost my home in the housing crisis back in 2011) disqualify me realistically? (everything else in my history is legit)

I've been halfway thinking about my longterm future... and just figured i'd ask :]

mikey88

There is a BMI limit when you do your medical. As long as you are not obese it's not a problem. Financial reasons is the top factor for clearance denials and it depends on your situation/credit and mitigating factors.

volfkhat

mikey88 wrote: »

Financial reasons is the top factor for clearance denials and it depends on your situation/credit and mitigating factors.

You gotta appreciate the irony of that statement.

i would think most applicants pursue these overseas-gigs strictly because of the Financial incentive.
:]

As for me,
my finances have never been better! Losing my home was actually the catalyst needed to propel myself to new heights.
My creditscore rebounded to over 700 (back in 2016), i should probably check it again.
But... it kind of sounds like i probably still wouldn't make the (financial) cut...

Oh well. Thanks for the feedback $:\$

Fulcrum45

D'oh! So I passed my technical, dental and physical exam BUT they don't have an open position at the moment for the job I applied for. I guess this is fairly common so I'm just going to hang tight and wait for them to call me...hopefully. My physical is good for 90 days so I'm praying something opens up during that window. Anyone else experience something like this? I wonder what the average wait time is.

josephandre

it's not for the overseas job in particular, it's for the security clearance. you fill out the form and disclose everything and they give you an opportunity to explain things. when there are red flags (like finances) they are just looking to be able to mitigate the concern. The fact it was 7 years ago, that your credit is great now, and there were i'm sure extenuating circumstances you'd likely be fine.

it really boils down to are you a risk of of bribery/coercion etc.

HappyBearIT

@Fulcrum45,

This is the piece that I'm worried about running into as well once my medical clears. I've ran across several forums with some folks venting about this over the years, so I've concluded that the Vectrus model is to put as many into the system as possible per slot and then assign the position to the first person to complete the required boxes. On the positive side, it would seem that Vectrus is providing several people with security clearances that wouldn't otherwise have made the cut which makes landing a position with other DOD contractors a better option.

Hopefully your wait is a short one.

LordQarlyn

Disclosure is essential. While there is know guaranty that if you disclose your negative items of your past, you will get a clearance, it's almost 100% sure if you try to hide anything that your clearance will get denied. I've known a few people who had criminal records, all misdemeanors, who got clearances. They disclosed them upfront, their crimes happened many years ago, and their record since has been clean. It did take them a while longer and they had lengthy interviews about their past records, but in the end they all got their clearances. Among things investigators look for are patterns of irresponsible behavior or poor character, items that could subject you to blackmail, or situations where you would be tempted to take bribes. That's not all inclusive but it a pretty good idea, and how one should try to mitigate anything negative in their personal history.

McxRisley

Here's a non-comprehensive but quick list of things that prevent you from getting a clearance. Also keep in mind that depending on the level of clearance certain things will carry more weight in determining your eligibility.

Any type of felony at any point in your life (time is not a factor here, one felony during your life = no clearance ever)
Financial problems such as bad credit, large amounts of debt, payments that are overdue by 180 days or more
Illegal drug/substance use
Alcohol problems
Any type of violent crime such as assault, battery etc.
Not disclosing any prior convictions or charges prior to the investigation (even if it is supposedly not on your record, they will find it)

EANx

McxRisley wrote: »

Here's a non-comprehensive but quick list of things that prevent you from getting a clearance. Also keep in mind that depending on the level of clearance certain things will carry more weight in determining your eligibility.
Any type of felony at any point in your life (time is not a factor here, one felony during your life = no clearance ever)

Financial problems such as bad credit, large amounts of debt, payments that are overdue by 180 days or more

Illegal drug/substance use

Alcohol problems

Any type of violent crime such as assault, battery etc.

Not disclosing any prior convictions or charges prior to the investigation (even if it is supposedly not on your record, they will find it)

Context and recency is everything so I disagree. The cardinal sin is not disclosing problems, you can recover from everything else short of a capital crime. I've known people with felonies to get a clearance, with substance abuse problems and horrendously bad credit. The key is always that these aren't current problems and that the applicant didn't try to hide them.

Everything around a clearance is ensuring that you can't be blackmailed or that you don't have some screwy set of morals that requires you to share national security information with someone without a clearance. The people making the decision know that people make mistakes early in life as well as later and as long as those mistakes are either the result of youth or sloppiness, you're probably fine.

volfkhat

McxRisley wrote: »

... Also keep in mind that depending on the level of clearance certain things will carry more weight in determining your eligibility.
Any type of felony at any point in your life (time is not a factor here, one felony during your life = no clearance ever)

Financial problems such as bad credit, large amounts of debt, payments that are overdue by 180 days or more

Illegal drug/substance use

Alcohol problems

Any type of violent crime such as assault, battery etc.

Not disclosing any prior convictions or charges prior to the investigation (even if it is supposedly not on your record, they will find it)

Wow, when you put it that way.... it sounds like i haven't been living life to the fullest.
;]

i did a quick google; looks like there are 3 main types: Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret.
Are Net/Sysadmin roles more likely to be one over the other two?
(or does it just depend on the position?)

Also, do most of these positions require a technology-specific Bachelors Degree?
(or does it just depend on the position?)

Thanks again :]

LordQarlyn

volfkhat wrote: »

Wow, when you put it that way.... it sounds like i haven't been living life to the fullest.
;]

i did a quick google; looks like there are 3 main types: Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret.
Are Net/Sysadmin roles more likely to be one over the other two?
(or does it just depend on the position?)

Also, do most of these positions require a technology-specific Bachelors Degree?
(or does it just depend on the position?)

Thanks again :]

It all depends on the position. There are enterprise networks that carry Secret and Top Secret information, so both system admins and network admins could require Top Secret.
Also, as far as I know, information can be classified Confidential, but I don't think there is an actual "Confidential Clearance".

privacythrowaway

I have a question.

I had a medical marijuana card in 2015, and chose not to renew it and haven't used since.

Would that be a factor for me not being able to get my clearance renewed?

EANx

While there's an over-arching set of security standards set by OMB, each agency does have a certain amount of leeway in how they implement the requirements. Thee agencies I am familiar with have always required an admin to have the next-higher classification level. So a totally unclassified network requires a public-trust background investigation, a network cleared for Sensitive But Unclassified requires a Secret and a Secret network requires a Top Secret. Networks supporting TS and TS/SCI often have very specific requirements.

Confidential does happen but it's less common. Every time I've seen it, it was given to someone who needed access to a space where classified was processed but they wouldn't be accessing it themselves, so people like escorts and cleaners in areas where people aren't likely to have printouts scattered everywhere.

EANx

privacythrowaway wrote: »

I had a medical marijuana card in 2015, and chose not to renew it and haven't used since.

Would that be a factor for me not being able to get my clearance renewed?

Please understand that this answer is an informed opinion but just an opinion and should not be taken as a moral judgement or political statement.

While it's not that hard for a reformed user to get a clearance, someone who starts using MJ *AFTER* getting a clearance is a different ball of wax. State laws don't trump Federal when it comes to having a security clearance and MJ use is illegal at the Federal level.

How risky this is for your clearance depends on how contrite you are. If it were me, I'd say that I didn't understand that it was still illegal at the Federal level, how could the USG turn a blind-eye to states thumbing their nose? If you have a medical card, I would hope that it was signed-off on by someone with a real MD license, as opposed to some sort of homeopath. If you combine being forthright with a recommendation from a real doc and lack of renewal "once I understood that it was illegal", you should be good, unless...

Investigators always talk to the people you give as references then they ask "is there anyone else I can talk to about his character?" Most people will drop a few names and off they go until they get a few levels deep and you'd be wondering "where did they get her name from?". While they give some leeway for ex's, if any of those people tell the investigator that "Yeah, he had this dope card and said it was a way around the law, he was a cool dude." You are screwed. If at least two people can tell the investigator that you knew it was illegal but figured the medical card was your shield, you can probably kiss that clearance good-bye.

LordQarlyn

I thought I would share this, a newsletter from ClearanceJobs.com. It's only referencing the DoD but it does provide a straw poll breakdown of clearance denials.

And I agree with EANx, MJ use is still ILLEGAL at the federal level, and clearances are at the federal level (even if states have their own clearances, a state clearance means squat with the feds, just as my NATO clearance means jack with the DoD). Further, while the past can be forgiven, in light of Edward Swowden's betrayal, the feds are much less forgiving these days, especially with those who have foreign connections. The irony of course is Snowden himself fit the all American good boy profile, but still betrayed his country.

https://www.clearancejobsblog.com/top-issues-in-2017-for-security-clearance-denials/?utm_campaign=Cleared%20Brief&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=59680860&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_EYtKj7G_I0Q5qCw8DmPlC3XwGCrmyEMwDf1GlacDH2ciZGlF9QST-fxr2btvLYyHvOsr75ksbqif6UAqornzhwn9dgA&_hsmi=59680860

Fulcrum45

HappyBearIT wrote: »

@Fulcrum45,

This is the piece that I'm worried about running into as well once my medical clears. I've ran across several forums with some folks venting about this over the years, so I've concluded that the Vectrus model is to put as many into the system as possible per slot and then assign the position to the first person to complete the required boxes. On the positive side, it would seem that Vectrus is providing several people with security clearances that wouldn't otherwise have made the cut which makes landing a position with other DOD contractors a better option.

Hopefully your wait is a short one.

Thanks HappyBear. I'm guessing that since turnover with these overseas positions are unpredictable it probably makes sense to have a few potential employees in waiting. That being said I was scheduled to get my immunizations this weekend despite not getting a CRC date. I'm going to go ahead and do it so when the call comes- hopefully it comes- I'm ready to go. Hope yours goes smoother.

volfkhat

LordQarlyn wrote: »

...The irony of course is Snowden himself fit the all American good boy profile, but still betrayed his country.

I think you misspelled "blew the whistle".

Have a nice day :]

McxRisley

I was speaking about the only clearance the pertains to this thread and that is DoD clearance. All of what I stated above is their CURRENT model for clearances. I have to know these things because of people that want to apply where I am, I need to be able to tell them if they should even apply.

HappyBearIT

Well, Add my name to the "You're Ready to Deploy, but we have no openings" list. My recruiter was nice enough to call and discuss it with me, and didn't ignore my email reply like some of the forums have complained about. This seems to be business as usual for Vectrus, and I have my current job, so having to wait for an opening isn't too bad. I kind of wish they would classify the part of their employment process up until now as "Pre-employment", and then this phase of the process as the beginning of the employment process. However, I have a feeling the offer letters are required in the initial stage in order to submit people for clearances.

At least all the uncertainties are out of the way, now I just have to wait my turn.

Fulcrum45

HappyBearIT wrote: »

Well, Add my name to the "You're Ready to Deploy, but we have no openings" list. My recruiter was nice enough to call and discuss it with me, and didn't ignore my email reply like some of the forums have complained about. This seems to be business as usual for Vectrus, and I have my current job, so having to wait for an opening isn't too bad. I kind of wish they would classify the part of their employment process up until now as "Pre-employment", and then this phase of the process as the beginning of the employment process. However, I have a feeling the offer letters are required in the initial stage in order to submit people for clearances.

At least all the uncertainties are out of the way, now I just have to wait my turn.

Bummer, man. Since your physical is good for 90 days I'd like to think something would come up by then.

volfkhat

Cool beans.

Do you guys pick the Country/location to work in?
Or, are the openings typically random/luck of the draw? and its up to you to decide whether to ACCEPT or PASS...

?

Fulcrum45

@volfkhat- You can request for a position in a particular country and they'll fill you in if they have openings. At the same time I'm sure they can suggest other regions if you let them know you're open to the idea.

josephandre

McxRisley wrote: »

I was speaking about the only clearance the pertains to this thread and that is DoD clearance. All of what I stated above is their CURRENT model for clearances. I have to know these things because of people that want to apply where I am, I need to be able to tell them if they should even apply.

alot of us are referring to DOD clearances. And what you said isn't entirely accurate. I have been in the DOD for the past nearly 20 years. Several people I know closely have had felonies and/or intense financial issues and were able to overcome it and be granted security clearances. A couple have TS/SCI. Everything you listed is what they look for, but not necessarily a disqualifier

won't divulge my personal situation

mikey88

You could apply for one location and get an offer for a totally different area. Or worse, pass pre-deployment and not have any positions available.

Welcome to Vectrus.

volfkhat

mikey88 wrote: »

You could apply for one location and get an offer for a totally different area. Or worse, pass pre-deployment and not have any positions available.
Welcome to Vectrus.

lol

Are 4-year Bachelor Degrees required for most positions?
(or do they care more about the Certifications)

Thank you :]

Fulcrum45

volfkhat wrote: »

lol

Are 4-year Bachelor Degrees required for most positions?
(or do they care more about the Certifications)

Thank you :]

The DoD cares more about certifications so those will generally be the same expectations of Vectrus.

privacythrowaway

EANx wrote: »

Please understand that this answer is an informed opinion but just an opinion and should not be taken as a moral judgement or political statement.

While it's not that hard for a reformed user to get a clearance, someone who starts using MJ *AFTER* getting a clearance is a different ball of wax. State laws don't trump Federal when it comes to having a security clearance and MJ use is illegal at the Federal level.

How risky this is for your clearance depends on how contrite you are. If it were me, I'd say that I didn't understand that it was still illegal at the Federal level, how could the USG turn a blind-eye to states thumbing their nose? If you have a medical card, I would hope that it was signed-off on by someone with a real MD license, as opposed to some sort of homeopath. If you combine being forthright with a recommendation from a real doc and lack of renewal "once I understood that it was illegal", you should be good, unless...

Investigators always talk to the people you give as references then they ask "is there anyone else I can talk to about his character?" Most people will drop a few names and off they go until they get a few levels deep and you'd be wondering "where did they get her name from?". While they give some leeway for ex's, if any of those people tell the investigator that "Yeah, he had this dope card and said it was a way around the law, he was a cool dude." You are screwed. If at least two people can tell the investigator that you knew it was illegal but figured the medical card was your shield, you can probably kiss that clearance good-bye.

I got out of the military in '09. I got the card in Oct of '15 and did not renew it.

When I got it, I was hopeful that with Washington and Colorado's financial successes that the federal side would get cleared up for tax incentives alone. Which, obviously still hasn't happened. Even though it's perfectly legal to prescribe a 10 year old Oxy.

I never used it as a party favor or anything.

The truth is, I've been eyeing going back over as a civilian, on top of the issues with owning a weapon while being a card holder it wasn't worth it for me to keep it.

I guess I'll just have to hope that being honest with them will be satisfactory.