[Closed] would you work in afghanistan for £100k, tax free?

Are you insane?

Yeah I'd go. If your in camp and dont go out you'll be ok....probably.

Yeah, why not?

yes.

it's not like you'll be out on patrol ... is it?

If inside the wire it'd be okay. It depends on the actual job; if mind-numbing then it would be hard to take all the other hassle, otherwise you might find it quite rewarding.

Also opens up door for work elsewhere too; methinks Africa/Iran will be windows of opportunity soon 😕

What job is that then?

I'd rather earn £150k here and pay tax...

NO

Depends on you & your circumstances. I'd hate it, but might try it for a bit for the £££.

yes but not for three years of that shit!

No thanks 🙂

well if i had a job offer here for 150K id rather stay here too, but thats not on the table

3 weeks off, so hardly no options for biking, just go somewhere else. Personally I wouldn't want to be part of the war machine, though.

Me, no.
But could be a life changing experience- never mind the money.

Watch Iron Man, than ask yourself "how good am I at electronics".

On a more serious note, is there any independent source for identifying how dangerous it might actually be - some of my friends work in ****stan and observe that, in the area where they work, it's probably safer than many UK city centres - but they wouldn't go near the border areas. wondering if Afghanistan would be similar?

what does the job entail?

yeah I can go anywhere i want in that 3 weeks so i will be mountain biking. i just meant no biking in the 10 weeks inbetween

Sounds like an ideal case of do it for 12 months and have a bit of shitty time but then come out debt free with enough cash for 2-3 years off afterwards.

Got a mate who's been there for 2 years, he's going back on Sunday. Some of the stories he tells though 😯

would you be doing something you're happy to do?

plus you might blow a huge part of the salary in the 3 week off stints, he said, reflecting on his own personality.......

i'd probably do it to file under 'interesting experiences', which is what life should be about.

My current work colleague knows someone whos doing a similar job out there now, 90% work is done within the camp which is unlikely to be unsafe but 10% of the time you have to venture out but you have armed soldier escorts, which is when you'd be vulnerable

You only live once.

So why not?

Are you single with no ties? If yes then yes. It'll be a life changing experience that could set you up financially for life and open a lot of doors career wise.

Tempting, although not for 3 years! 6-12 months maybe although now the Afghan 'army' seem to be shooting up people inside the base perimeters it's a bit more risky than the odd shelling...

You only live once.

So why not?

Because you only live once.

got to be 12 month stints to get the tax free (from my limited tax dodge experience)

I'd jump at it with both hands. Bored with my job? Moi?

I personally would take the job. Mortgage free within a couple of years. Savings in the bank. If in a large Army base I'd be quite happy, plenty of facilities. If in a forward operations base for 10 weeks at a time under attack on a regular basis then I'd be wanting a gun just in case.

Not sure my other half would be too happy.

I'd do it for sure. Sod no biking, you could do crossfit or p90x or something and get ripped as well.

if 30yrs younger then yes ❗
would go now if I thought our ageist society would give me a job again 🙄
not sure family ie kids, grandkids would be happy tho 😕

If single, I'd think about it. If you don't like it and come back after a month, you'll still have a load of cash in the bank. I assume it's around triple your current earning potential?

i'm single(ish) not sure my gf would agree, but no kids, no other ties apart from my 4 week old bike.

I'd go for that, I currently do longer stints abroad with considerably less time off, although I'm not in Afghanistan, although neither am I on £100k 🙁

Cheers, Rich

How dangerous? Dunno, but call up an insurance company for a life cover quote and tell them you have a job in the UK. then phone up and ask for the same cover for teh same job but in afganistan and see what the difference in the premium is or even if they'll cover you at all. that should give you an idea

tempting, but mainly cos I'd like to go somewhere like that and take loads of photographs (and thus probably get blown up).

I said no to similar situation. Doing IT work on us marine bases. I was up for it but parents and wife weren't. I thought it was rather selfish of me to put them through th worry. There is more to life than money I suppose.

Now with baby on the way I definitely won't be going.

Like a shot (to coin a phrase).

If you have no ties / commitments - Do it, you don't want to spend the rest of your life thinking "what if?" - as your on a base you should be able to do some sort of fitness training making you fitter when you get back on the bike. 😮

Also try and live on the same money as you do here and stash the rest in an off-shore account so your savings don't get taxed.

I'd go! 100k!! three weeks. why not

Depends on the base, if its one of the big ones where the americans have built themselves a mcdonalds, then yeah I think I'd jump at the chance. Could set yourself up quite nicely.

I'm in Iraq on a similar contract that's coming to an end. Let me know if you don't want it, I'll do it...

its down to circumstances and mentality
for that money, i would

Do it dude.
Tax free - not to be sniffed at..

it would be hard to spend the money over there as all the accommodation (prob tent) is provided, inc food, flights etc Have no mortgage in this country so as my first couple months wages will pay off my debts the rest will be in my back pocket. will have to look into off-shore accounts

You don't need an off-shore account. You need to spend 9 months of the year out of the country to be tax free, but that needs to be a full tax year (april to april) so you'd need to do at least till April 2012 to be tax free.

Whoses to say you earn the 100k before your kidnapped/IED'd, disfigured or killed?

you might be two weeks into your stint before injured.

How are you getting to and from the camp? Even if its by helicopter there is the very real risk of being brought down by RPG's now.

No. Theres more to life than money- life itself.

I have alot of sympathy for any soldier that is killed or injured. Killed or injured contractor raking in 100k tax free a year? meh

Bugger, and all this time I've been doing it to get your sympathy if I get injured or killed supercyril...

Hora's glass is always half-empty I've noticed.

if its one of the big ones where the americans have built themselves a mcdonalds, then yeah I think I'd jump at the chance. Could set yourself up quite nicely.

Come to thing of it, with all the long days, what does 100k work out at as an hourly rate?

Depends on what you want out of life I suppose, so long as it is for a set period then your call. But as you say you will get used to the money no matter what you think now and that will be hard to wean yourself off. I was out with a mate for beers the other night who has worked in Saudi for the last 10 years. He'd been day rating for all of that period on an average of £1k a day, after 5 years got a bonus of £250k then on his 10 year completion got £500k. So for his 10 years away has probably ammassed all in about £3m. Is he happy?? No, he's the most bitter individual I know, being away for 10 years in the prime of his life (35-45). Has no partner, no family and not too many mates anymore. I too have these 'opportunities' but would rather take a lot less cash and have a life. I understand the arguement now he can have a life and not worry about money but we only have one shot at this and it's important to enjoy it. My 2 pence worth anyway.

hora - your concise analysis of the situation on the ground out there and the risks to possible contractors is most enlightening. You are not the sort of chap to undertake such employment - others are.

Is he happy?? No, he's the most bitter individual I know, being away for 10 years in the prime of his life (35-45). Has no partner, no family and not too many mates anymore.

Hora's glass is always half-empty I've noticed.

hora - your concise analysis of the situation on the ground out there and the risks to possible contractors is most enlightening. You are not the sort of chap to undertake such employment - others are

If an Army Officer can be shot in his bed whilst asleep inside a camp I doubt a contractor is safe.

OP Whats the medical insurance like with this job?

Had a mate many years ago who became a mercenary, great money, but being banged up in an Angolan nick for three years was pretty grim I suspect

Are you male or female ? If you are female I think you might be safer outside the barrier wire.

If I were younger, no kids or ties then yes, I'd go.

If an Army Officer can be shot in his bed whilst asleep inside a camp I doubt a contractor is safe.

Are there any penalty/break-clauses in this contract? i.e. if you decide within a couple of weeks its a big mistake do you have to do or give anything back in compensation?

I'd still be interested to hear about the medical provisions/health insurance incase of serious (and longterm) injury provision.

Its not a lottery-cheque that you are being given is it?

Glass half-empty? I'm not a chancer.

What's the mortality rate for servicemen in Iraq compared to their peers in civilian population?

What from being shot dead or blown up?

>I'd go! 100k!! three weeks. why not

Eh ?

What from being shot dead or blown up?

I think you're off the mark worrying about the death or serious physical injury risks. I suspect bigger problems would be the risks of PTSD, trauma or turning into a bitter smartarse after hanging around the dregs of the ex-RUC for months at a time.

So your saying over there you are wrapped up in cotton wool/bubblewrap to negate all civie accidents overhere?! LOL.

You longterm Contractor-lot really are single (and tetchy) for a reason 😉

Just what is it that you want to do?
We wanna be free
We wanna be free to do what we wanna do
And we wanna get loaded
And we wanna have a good time
That's what we're gonna do
No way baby lets go
We're gonna have a good time
We're gonna have a party

What's the job? I'd consider it

I'm a longterm contractor (on and off 4 years out here) and I'm happy and married. 🙂

It comes down to your aversion to risk and how you deal with it.

As long as you'd be happy with the job I'd say go for it. Although its a highly personal choice I think.

jus found out more about the job, it will be until dec 2011 (unless contract is extended). everything is paid for as far ass accommodation, food, medical, flights (courtesy of the RAF), medical insurance etc. I will not set foot outside the wire so should only have to worry about security within the camp, which, if you watch the news can be quite worrying. Theres no penalty clause for leaving early although there are bonuses if you stay longer. ie more cash! I just want to clear my debts, sort of like wipe the slate clean for when I get back working in the UK, and maybe things will have picked up overhere by then. And the 3 weeks off every 10 weeks is a lot more than I get in my current job. I dont mind working long hours for the money, beats the unpaid overtime in my current job.

don't take it then it'll give you something to look back on with regret and bitterness, like much of STW seem to spend their days doing........

Compare that to a 2nd Lieutenant's pay and what is expected of him outside of the Wire!

Scrappy - make sure you set aside at least £50k for shrinks bills once you return.

Got to be some risky element for that sort of money but hey ho, sounds like you shouldn't get killed and no immediate family to worry about - go for it.

Hora, do you mean a 2nd Lt pay over the course of his career, the training required, the pension and the full cost of employing him to do an operational role for 6 months?

Because it's a lot more than 50k.

Just do it

Don't listen to Hora, he hasn't been out the house in weeks for fear of the sky collapsing in on him

I know quite a few people in the comms industry that work out there & Iraq & none of them have run home scared

Oh, and lol at the advice from all the people who clearly have no idea what this work involves. Scrappy, if you want a non BS idea of what we do in this line of work send me an email. Or you can listen to the IT crowd and their idea of what it's like based on the 6 o'clock news and that Kemp bloke on Sky 1...

and maybe things will have picked up overhere by then.

Good point - you will be able to buy a palace on your return.
With all the technology nowadays should be lots to do..

Aye don't listen to me. Just don't pretend you are some quasi-mercenary and hang on to the coat-tails of the real brave people pretending to be rough and tough in your dessert boots and paunch with your stories when you return home 😉

I'd do it, for six months. Then take the money and hop.

my take on these things is that even if it's a total head****, its something interesting you've done in life, for a while. and like you say, debt free if you control the spending in the 3 week off periods. so head to a beach hut in sri lanka rather than a 5 star hotel in dubai....

EDIT - didn't mean head**** to still contain f u c k, thought the swear filters would sort it. sorry

Aye don't listen to me. Just don't pretend you are some quasi-mercenary and hang on to the coat-tails of the real brave people pretending to be rough and tough in your dessert boots and paunch with your stories when you return home

Obviously they want to throw £100K plus bonuses at someone to go over and play army. Hora, you (allegedly) work in recruitment. Surely you would realise that people pay top dollar for short-term requirements.

hora - Member
Aye don't listen to me. Just don't pretend you are some quasi-mercenary and hang on to the coat-tails of the real brave people pretending to be rough and tough in your dessert boots and paunch with your stories when you return home

*yawn*