As my son plans to go back to Iraq/afghanistan...a look at civilian contractors.

[w8liftinglady]

I am devastated.
My son has found only minimum wage jobs since he left the Army.A war veteran with no work.he has done one assignment in Iraq as a contractor.I convinced him to come back and go to college.it has lasted almost a semester.I'm sure the reason he's going back is multi-factorial.I used to be vehemently against them-they deserved what they got for working for the big bucks.I have learned that,before I am too critical-do some research...here is some info on contractors.the sad thing-most of the references are for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://www.americancontractorsiniraq.com/

[DesertFlower]

1. i don't know what to say. i

hope your son stays safe.

[w8liftinglady]

2. Yeah.I don't know what to say,either.I hope those corps that are pimping them

...well,I hope they see the fruits of their actions.

[Uben]

3. My son-in-law did a tour in Iraq and one in Afghanistan

He did it for the money, too. Although he has a college degree, good jobs are just not to be found. He decided he wanted to become a commercial helicopter pilot, and needed the money to get started. Fannie Mae no longer loans money for this, and at $300/hr for flight time, it's impossible to accumulate the 1000 hrs needed to qualify. So, it was back to Afghanistan for four months (Air Force Reserve). Since he returned last summer, he has acquired his private license and is now working towards an instructor's license, which will allow him to log enough hours to get his commercial. Smart kid! He's logged over 140 hrs already!

Please tell your son how proud we are of him for defending his country. While I was strongly against both of these wars, I support our troops 100%.......plus! May his tour go without incident and may he return home safely! Buy him a cold one for me, will ya?

[w8liftinglady]

4. Thanks for the info...i need to chill.

You've been a big help...

[wmbrew0206]

5. Unfortuantely there are not a lot of jobs that pay over $200k a year to start.

That is around what most US contractors make and a lot of them do not require a college degree.

I have a lot of friends who have gone the contractor route. The pay is extremely lucrative if you are willing to put up with 12 months away from home. It is also mostly tax free and since you have very few expenses, the majority of the money is take home pay. They will all say that the money gets really additive since those jobs pay in one year more than the average family makes in three.

Please notice I said contractor. Most of these jobs are to manage logistics and different programs on base, not the Blackwater type security jobs. I know people that work to make sure we have enough translators and others who work to employ locals to build building on Iraqi bases.