# Job offer in Iraq? Really? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 16, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875 "2014-03-16T23:17:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875/1 "2014-03-16T23:17:55Z")
As some of fellow Doper might know, my husband used to work in Libya, both before Ghaddaffi and after. Well now there is a job offer in Basra, Iraq. He has buddies there who emailed him saying its calm and security is great. Iraq, really? Just MPSIMS. Oh well ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875/2 "2014-03-17T00:16:58Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > As some of fellow Doper might know, my husband used to work in Libya, both before Ghaddaffi and after. Well now there is a job offer in Basra, Iraq. He has buddies there who emailed him saying its calm and security is great. Iraq, really? Just MPSIMS. Oh well Would you be going with him? ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875/3 "2014-03-17T00:26:15Z")
Basra seems to have escaped much of the violence currently rocking Baghdad, the Sunni Triangle and the al-Anbar province. If your husband/SO can find an outfit that will pay him on time and which doesn’t require that he travel to the more violent areas of the nation too often, it may be a great opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875/4 "2014-03-17T00:58:56Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Would you be going with him? Nope…28days on 28 off. I’d live in Italy 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875/5 "2014-03-17T01:43:32Z")
My niece’s son drove a truck over there as a civilian. I haven’t talked to him about it, though. But I know he made a lot of money. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875/6 "2014-03-17T15:54:30Z")
I haven’t been in Iraq for a bunch of years now. And I wasn’t in the Basra area (that was British). I can say that the level of safety with contractors greatly varied depending on the job and location. But even at the height of the war the violence was a lot less in Basra than in other locations. The Brits had 179 KIA during the period that the US had over 3,000 in other parts of the country. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875/7 "2014-03-18T00:48:53Z")
Since & I just got this from another board & all work & no play makes Jack a dull boy, maybe he’d like to go hot air [ballooning](http://www.kurdistanballooning.com/) on the weekend??? ---
**Author:** ![Batistuta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58956e/32.png) [@Batistuta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batistuta)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875/8 "2014-03-18T07:51:16Z")
A friend of mine recently spent six months doing field work in Iraq. He came back in one piece, and told me that it was much safer than he thought. He - and all other Westerners - basically stayed in a secure compound the entire time. Whenever he had to leave the compound, he’d go with a couple of heavily-armed security guys and nothing ever happened. Of course, I guess OP’s husband may want to find out more about the specifics of the contract as well as security provisions. ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875/9 "2014-03-18T17:02:37Z")
How much do these sort of jobs pay? Of course, “it depends”, but can anyone give an idea of the kind compensation that is typical for different jobs in war zones or recovering war zones? For that matter, what jobs are there? Truck driver, clearly, but what else? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875/10 "2014-03-18T17:10:40Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Since & I just got this from another board & all work & no play makes Jack a dull boy, maybe he’d like to go hot air [ballooning](http://www.kurdistanballooning.com/) on the weekend??? Kurdistan is a totally different kettle of fish. De facto independent and pretty safe and stable. A work colleague went there recently on holiday. Heck, British tour operators are running [tours of Kurdistan](https://www.explore.co.uk/holidays/highlights-of-kurdistan). ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875/11 "2014-03-18T17:56:21Z")
> [@Batistuta](#): > > A friend of mine recently spent six months doing field work in Iraq. He came back in one piece, and told me that it was much safer than he thought. He - and all other Westerners - basically stayed in a secure compound the entire time. Whenever he had to leave the compound, he’d go with a couple of heavily-armed security guys and nothing ever happened. A cousin of mine and his wife (both ex-military) have been there several times since finishing their 20, and say the same. You stay at the compound watching dvds or streaming video, playing video games and other stay-at-home pursuits, rarely leaving the compound. Family rumor mill says they make $200k each per six month stint, which is why they keep going. It funded them building a house, opening a business, paying for college - rather than taking out a loan, they go there and make a wad of dough. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875/12 "2014-03-19T00:14:11Z")
Six months ago, my husband got feelers from Saudi Arabia for a job. My fourteen year old blonde daughter and little silly feminist me veto’d the idea. I’m sure it paid well. We didn’t even think about it. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875/13 "2014-03-19T00:19:20Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > How much do these sort of jobs pay? Of course, “it depends”, but can anyone give an idea of the kind compensation that is typical for different jobs in war zones or recovering war zones? For that matter, what jobs are there? Truck driver, clearly, but what else? When I worked in Iraq as a foreign aid worker, it was base pay plus 35% danger pay and 35% post differential. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875/14 "2014-03-19T00:42:53Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Six months ago, my husband got feelers from Saudi Arabia for a job. My fourteen year old blonde daughter and little silly feminist me veto’d the idea. > > I’m sure it paid well. We didn’t even think about it. After I rotated out of Iraq I could have come back as a contractor for very good money. I had some good contacts with those who could hire me on the spot. To tell you the truth I didn’t have much to come back to. But even without a home to return to I didn’t want to be away form my children that long. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-offer-in-iraq-really/683875/15 "2014-03-19T01:50:48Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Since & I just got this from another board & all work & no play makes Jack a dull boy, maybe he’d like to go hot air [ballooning](http://www.kurdistanballooning.com/) on the weekend??? > [@Colophon](#): > > Kurdistan is a totally different kettle of fish. De facto independent and pretty safe and stable. A work colleague went there recently on holiday. Heck, British tour operators are running [tours of Kurdistan](https://www.explore.co.uk/holidays/highlights-of-kurdistan). I think I’d find working in a war zone such as Iraq horribly frustrating, because of the presumable impossibility of getting to know the country outside of narrow confines of job. Even the world’s less obviously attractive countries usually have their interesting aspects. I gather that close to Basra, the marshland of the Tigris / Euphrates delta is quite a wildlife paradise. Under present conditions, though, one would take it that trying to explore the area, would be suicidal.