# What does my neighbor do for a living? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 18, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505 "2010-10-18T01:15:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/1 "2010-10-18T01:15:35Z")
My neighbor is male, in his 30s and ex military. Probably has a Bachelors but no post grad education. His job is such that his immediate friends and neighbors don’t know exactly what he does. He often travels to foreign countries for months at a time performing some kind of work for the US Government/military. From what we can ascertain, he visits US bases abroad and does some kind of analysis/inspection. Here’s the baffling part: He is currently sequestered at a military base less than 10 miles form his wife and children, yet he can’t come and see them, nor can they visit him. This has been the case since mid August. He will be home in a few weeks. What does he do? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/2 "2010-10-18T01:19:50Z")
I obviously don’t know for sure, but it’s possible he’s working on a highly classified military project or weapons system. If the system is currently being deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan, which requires him to work all night long, that may be why he’s sequestered and unable to come home. ---
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/3 "2010-10-18T01:30:24Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I obviously don’t know for sure, but it’s possible he’s working on a highly classified military project or weapons system. If the system is currently being deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan, which requires him to work all night long, that may be why he’s sequestered and unable to come home. That’s something that we (other neighbors) have discussed but he’s not an engineer or an IT guy. Why would he be sequestered at a location less than 10 miles from home for 2 months? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/4 "2010-10-18T01:31:49Z")
If he told you he’d have to kill you. Ha. Ha. Ha. I am so tired of hearing that “joke” in the D.C. area. :rolleyes: I don’t know anyone who has been in that situation but I’ve known lots of people with Top Secret clearances in the D.C. area. I have neighbors who work at the CIA. I dated a woman who worked for the NSA and could only tell me she does “research.” I am guessing that he is working on intelligence analysis–looking at satellite images or something. Most likely regarding the war in Afghanistan. The only reasons I can imagine he is sequestered is that either he is needed on short notice 24x7 (may be awakened in the middle of the night to look at something RIGHT FUCKING NOW), or they don’t want any possibility that he will talk to anyone about what he is doing, even by accident. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/5 "2010-10-18T01:36:25Z")
> [@MrFloppy](#): > > That’s something that we (other neighbors) have discussed but he’s not an engineer or an IT guy. > > Why would he be sequestered at a location less than 10 miles from home for 2 months? Immersive language training. ---
**Author:** ![NOLA\_Cajun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea666f/32.png) [@NOLA\_Cajun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NOLA_Cajun)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/6 "2010-10-18T01:55:29Z")
If you don’t know what he does how do you know he isn’t an engineer or IT guy? Have you ever considered, oh I don’t know, asking??? Whatever it is it sounds classified. Sounds like you know a lot for someone that doesn’t know anything. Would I be correct in guessing the wife has told you the things that you do know? (being sequestered and all that.) ---
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/7 "2010-10-18T01:55:38Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Immersive language training. My cousin was the assistant to an ambassador and prior to being shipped out to country ‘x’, did an 8 week crash course in the language. She came home every night though. Can you tell me more about immersive language training? I presume it would be in Pashto? Or maybe (North) Korean? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/8 "2010-10-18T02:07:03Z")
Since this calls for speculation, it is better suited for IMHO than GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/9 "2010-10-18T02:32:22Z")
There is no way to tell based on the information given. I can say that most of those types of jobs are mundane though once you get to see them up close and personal. I have a semi-secret job myself and not even my kids can ever see exactly where I work or what I do. I have to carry around a dedicated laptop and ruggedized cell phone with me at all times and keep USB security tokens with me as well. I don’t work anywhere near home and get weird calls in the middle of the night that other people can’t listen to. A casual observer may conclude that I am sort of spy but it is a lot more mundane than that. I am in charge of IT for a pharmaceutical factory that makes body parts and there isn’t a lot of room for error in getting them out the door and on the planes to people that need them. I also do Sarbanes–Oxley work to protect the facility as a whole from internal and external threats. It is the real deal but my 8 year old isn’t going to be very impressed if I show her my version of crime-fighting which is just a stack of forms I filled out reporting a compliance violation. I pull off some pretty impressive IT stunts to save the day as well sometimes but most of those wouldn’t make a good movie either. Analysis/inspection may very well be the real answer to what your neighbor does if he is working on a secret project. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/10 "2010-10-18T02:41:19Z")
Very likely he is private military. Blackwater, or similar. The derogatory term for this job in context would be “Mercenary” but I don’t completely agree with that designation. I think the more important question here is: Why do you care? MYOB ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/11 "2010-10-18T03:13:07Z")
> [@MrFloppy](#): > > He is currently sequestered at a military base less than 10 miles form his wife and children, … How do you know? If he’s not in contact with family or friends, he could be anywhere. But as others have said, many mundane activities fall under the “Secret” or “Top Secret” umbrella. The even bigger “needs to know” umbrella is sufficient for him not to tell you exactly what he does. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/12 "2010-10-18T03:17:51Z")
Oh, he’s just having an affair and has told his wife he’s “sequestered” when really he’s off visiting his honey. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/13 "2010-10-18T06:43:08Z")
Perhaps he has some knowledge about an upcoming operation and the government wants to ensure it isn’t leaked. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/14 "2010-10-18T08:32:50Z")
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. The main problem with speculation is that it’s speculative. I maintain my original stance. Mind your own goddamned business. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/15 "2010-10-18T08:45:08Z")
That’s easy… he’s in the nunya business! ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/16 "2010-10-18T09:33:35Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. > > The main problem with speculation is that it’s speculative. I maintain my original stance. Mind your own goddamned business. You seem very concerned that this stays secret… Mmm. Interesting… ---
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/17 "2010-10-18T12:31:19Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > Very likely he is private military. Blackwater, or similar. The derogatory term for this job in context would be “Mercenary” but I don’t completely agree with that designation. > > I think the more important question here is: Why do you care? > > MYOB It’s not going to ruin my day not knowing what he does but we are reasonably close with this couple, they are great neighbors, we are often over their house and they are often at our place, my daughter babysits for their daughter and I’m just intrigued being around someone so much (not so much lately lol) and not knowing what they do. Nothing nefarious. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/18 "2010-10-18T14:24:28Z")
Double naught spy. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/19 "2010-10-18T14:27:53Z")
Maybe he just has a second family. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505/20 "2010-10-18T14:29:46Z")
Not to be a wet blanket, but we are talking about MD. You can drive down any number of highways and write down an alphabet soup of companies he could be working for just from the exit signs. I’d let it go. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-my-neighbor-do-for-a-living/557505.md?page=2)