Why would you want to work in Middle East?

If you are persistent, this could be your view from your apartment balcony

Working in the Middle East was an ideal job option for me. I was the adventurous type and wanted to make some quick cash and just wanted to add an interesting chapter to my life. But no matter my reason, I think every Professional Adventurer should have the chance to live overseas at one point in their life. Plus you can’t really call yourself a tough guy if you have never even left Virginia. So I sweat it out in the Middle East for a year, bank some tax free cash, spent numerous vacations traveling around the world (or just buying lots of gear) and paid off my credit cards at the same time. Sounds great right?

Well it doesn’t always work out that way for everyone, if you are stupid with your money and blow it all on girls and booze wile vacationing in Bangkok, or Thailand and buy tons crap on Amazon.com then you may end up extending your career in the Middle East indefinitely. After working in the Middle East for close to 1 year, I have seen all sorts come and go, some do good and others cant hack it for a week (Christian, December, 2011).

But even if the worst happens life will still be pretty sweet, living in the Middle East isn’t all that bad, in fact some ME countries are pretty fun. Unlike working in the States you will make tax-free money, have a free place to stay, ample vacation time (sometimes up to 2 to 4 months off a year) and a pocket full of cash.

So how do you get a job in the Middle East? This is pretty much like applying for any job back home, you search the internet for gigs in the Middle East and just apply.

                                                                            Civilian Contractor Jobs

This is a job working on three month to one year contracts (90% of the time they are 1 year contracts) for defense contractors that have contracts with the US military in the Middle East. If you are a US, EU or UK citizen then this is one of the best choices for employment in the Middle East.

Unlike most jobs in the Middle East the majority of Civilian Contractor Jobs are blue collar or semi-skilled jobs. Only certain technical or experience based skills (like IT and high risk security) and high up management jobs will require a college degree or years of specialized experience. Jobs range from Security Guard to Information Technology to Pushing Paper.

Some people get hired and are living overseas within a week (extremely rare) but most folks will have to try for months before they are hired, sometimes longer.

Average Salary: 60K to 300K+ with 80K being the average for new guys.

Contract positions are available throughout the Middle East, but the most lucrative by far, are located in a danger zone such as Iraq and Afghanistan (Nelson, n.d.). In addition to your base salary and overtime, you may be authorized hazard duty pay, post differential and foreign service pay. These allowances add up and are often calculated on your base salary. Thus, the higher your base salary, the higher all your other entitlements will be. Many people often exceed $10,458 every two weeks. This makes for a very lucrative year (Nelson, n.d.).

Advantages: Lots of Jobs in the Middle East for people with almost any skill or lack of skills, a college degree and tons of experience are not always required. Kick-ass pay, lots of leave time, full coverage medical insurance. And once you are in the hiring “loop” you can pretty much always count on eventually finding another job in the Middle East.

Disadvantages: Depending on the ever changing contractor job market it could take between 3 to 6 months or longer to get a job. You will have to constantly apply over and over again for jobs, the more jobs you apply for, the faster you may get hired. Some jobs are in “scary” countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, but those jobs almost always pay the big 6-fig salaries.

Where to Look: Besides being in the loop you can check out Civilian Contractor Jobs, or apply directly to any defense contractor that has contracts in the Middle East. There is bit of “luck of the draw” in this type of employment, so you will have to be patient and apply to many companies.

Once you find a position(s) that interests you, apply for these jobs and most of all follow-up. It's true that there may be hundreds applying for that same job but many will do so and forget about it. You need to track the jobs that you apply for. Keep a log and follow up with both email and over the phone. So many people have told me that they applied for a job and gave up because no one called. It takes persistence, and no one is going to be as persistent as you the job the seeker. Who knows, even if the job is filled, you're resume will still be on file and they may call you for another opening (Nelson, n.d.).

In my time in the Middle East I have worked with nationals of at least 5-10 countries. I have learned not only from the native cultures of the Middle East, but from everybody I have worked with – Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Hindus, Bhuddists, Zoroastrians and Taoists. I have learned to look beyond the caricatures through which the western media often presents the religion and cultures of the region, by talking to people, socialising with them and hearing their stories. I feel enriched beyond wealth by the experience.

CCJ. (n.d.) Retrieved November 30, 2011, from http://civiliancontractorjobs.com/.

Nelson, A (n.d.) Focus and persistence will land you that job! Middle East contracting jobs Retrieved December 2, 2011 from http://www.middle-east-contracting-jobs.com/focus.html

Nelson, A (n.d.) You’re not too old to work in a danger zone. Middle East contracting jobs Retrieved December 2, 2011 from http://www.middle-east-contracting-jobs.com/not-to-old.html