[Visiting] Syria

[Nomader]

@Gatopescado

Go to Turkey and smuggle arms and ammunition south into Allepo, where much of the heaviest fighting is going down.

No experience or education required. Don’t know what the money is like, but I’m guessing not worth it. Would make for some good stories in your “Golden Years”, or would make your “Golden Years” come much sooner.

So I thought about that, and that seems to be the only way I can make money. I can sneak in from Iraq or Turkey–and I speak Kurdish and undrestand Arabic. So I can get by. But the only thing is I would like to work for the U.S Gov’t at some point in my life. Having “Arms Smuggler” on my resume might not be so great.

[Punoqllads]

@Nomader

So I thought about that, and that seems to be the only way I can make money. I can sneak in from Iraq or Turkey–and I speak Kurdish and undrestand Arabic. So I can get by. But the only thing is I would like to work for the U.S Gov’t at some point in my life. Having “Arms Smuggler” on my resume might not be so great.

Speak Kurdish, understand Arabic, future interest in working for the US government, and interest in visiting highly dangerous territory.

Have you considered an exciting and fulfilling job in the Central Intelligence Agency?

[Alessan]

@Nomader

So I thought about that, and that seems to be the only way I can make money.

As a man once said, dying ain’t much of a living.

Let me put it another way: if you have to ask the SDMB for advice on going to Syria, that means you don’t have the kind of connections you need to become an arms smuggler. Your starting point is nowhere near where it needs to be.

[Nomader]

I am a Kurd form Iraqi Kurdistan. What is going on in Syria with the Kurds really interests me. I also want to work in conflict zones; I spent half my life in Iraq, so I am kind of used to it. Currently, I am getting my masters in Intelligence Management and Syria might be a good place to get ground experience. I speak Kurdish and I can get around with the Kurds. Breaking into the Intelligence field is extremely difficult if you do not have prior experience or at least have spent a lot of time in conflict/interest zones. I have been searching for jobs in Afghanistan and Iraq, but I have not found anything even close to what I want to do (work for the Government on Middle East issues).

[Nomader]

@even_sven

Maybe I could have been more clear- that is my advice for anyone who (like I did years ago) watched a war documentary or picked up Pelton’s Dangerous Places and thought “Yeah, that sounds like the right thing for me!”

Peace Corps probably the most accessible way to get past the “two years living in a developing country” pre-requisite that most aid agencies have. There are other ways to do it, but Peace Corps is the standard first-step for future aid/development workers. And without that pre-req, you are not going to find paid non-military employment in a war zone.

My main message to the OP: Working in a conflict zone can be done if that’s what you really want to do with your life, but it’s going to take years of planning and career growth. Popping off into a conflict zone on a whim is probably not possible, and if it is possible it’s still a bad idea for everyone.

I am interested in Intelligence; currently working on getting a masters in Intel Managenment. So Peace Corps would not be that benificial. I know it is a crazy idea to go to Syria at the moment, but it would be amazing and something unique I could put on my resume that would open up doors in the future.

[Nomader]

@Punoqllads

Speak Kurdish, understand Arabic, future interest in working for the US government, and interest in visiting highly dangerous territory.

Have you considered an exciting and fulfilling job in the Central Intelligence Agency?

It is a hard agency to work for. The DoD would be a great place to work too. But I need experince first.

[Nomader]

@Alessan

As a man once said, dying ain’t much of a living.

Let me put it another way: if you have to ask the SDMB for advice on going to Syria, that means you don’t have the kind of connections you need to become an arms smuggler. Your starting point is nowhere near where it needs to be.

I don’t want to be an arms smuggler. I want find something else. I can easily find connection to Kurds in Syria and go there. I know a lot of Kurds who used to live in Syria that know people who are still there. But making money…that is the difficult part.

[even_sven]

Where are you getting your Master’s? Your school will, by far, be the most helpful resource- your professors and career center should have contacts to organizations that are interested in hiring students from your school. Try to find a professor working on a relevant research project and beg to become their research assistant. Network with alumni in the field. If your school has a research institute on Middle East issues, get in on that. Attend relevant lectures and events, and make a name for yourself by asking very good questions. Start a blog and Twitter feed and engage with experts through that. Get your name out there.

Go on informational interviews. Lots and lots of information interviews. There are plenty of guides for how to do that.

In the meantime, do internships now with desirable organizations. As a student, this is the easiest time in your life to get to work with a big-name organization. After you graduate, you’ll be stuck with the general hiring process, which is a billion times harder. Get that State Department (or whatever) experience now.

I agree Peace Corps is not a good plan for someone looking for intelligence work- there is a five year wait period after your close of service before you can even think about intelligence activities. Having lived abroad, you won’t have to worry so much about getting your time in the field, but it’s always good to expand your regional expertise by getting field experience in new countries.

Regional expertise is never as important as technical expertise. Knowing a region is nice, but organizations move people around a lot and don’t really have great systems for taking advantage of regional expertise…but they can always use a tech expert. I have no idea what technical areas intelligence people study, but if you look at job ads you’ll inevitably find some technical skills are very in demand. Ask your professors about what they see as being hot areas ahead in the future, as what’s hot and what’s not can change fairly quickly.

[even_sven]

Also, your first job in the intelligence field will not be what you want to do. It will probably something like filing pictures of diplomats from Guinea Bissau or verifying the accuracy of a map of suburban Helsinki.

You have two routes with your first job:

1. Get your foot in the door with a good organization, even if it’s just making copies.
2. Build your technical skills as much as possible, even if it’s not your regional or organizational interest

You are not going to find the right job in the right region with the right organization right out of the door. Unfortunately, region is usually the thing you need to be most flexible on. It’s all about playing the long game.