Anybody work as a civilian at at overseas military base/hospital?

[Dred Pirate]

Has anyone taken a civilian job at an overseas military base? I a contemplating looking into it as I get closer to retirement. Sort of a sunset job if I can find a location that I would enjoy. I am thinking almost anywhere in Europe would be pretty cool - assuming I get a decent amount of vacation to actually explore the continent. Are these hard jobs to get (relatively speaking?) I am not overly concerned about the pay rate, as I assume it is pretty standard - and I would be doing this more to just delay retirement a couple of years.

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[ValeRx]

Good luck. Pay isn't "standard" either. Every job I ever applied for started around 50-60k per year. I'm sure there are other allowances, but that's what the pay always showed.

 

[Junfan50]

Has anyone taken a civilian job at an overseas military base? I a contemplating looking into it as I get closer to retirement. Sort of a sunset job if I can find a location that I would enjoy. I am thinking almost anywhere in Europe would be pretty cool - assuming I get a decent amount of vacation to actually explore the continent. Are these hard jobs to get (relatively speaking?) I am not overly concerned about the pay rate, as I assume it is pretty standard - and I would be doing this more to just delay retirement a couple of years.

Currently in Germany working for DoD. Pre Covid, it was amazing. Switzerland, Amsterdam, Brussels, Prague, Paris, etc are all within a 2-5 hr drive. Life here is 10x better than in the states bc of all the traveling you can do. It’s also a better place to raise kids in my opinion. If it wasn’t for the 5 year rule, I would definitely stay.
The pay rate for a GS 12 step 1 starts at ~$67k. You can always negotiate a higher step based on your experience of coming from outside the federal system. On top of salary, you will get LQA which is tax free and covers housing + utilities. You will also get Post Allowance which is tax free as well. The amount of LQA and PA you get is based on your grade level and the size of your family. OPM has the LQA and PA rates on their website. The LQA is a use or lose. For example, if you get a max of $46k per year for housing and utilities, you cannot rent a cheap apartment for $15k per year and pocket the rest. For someone new to the federal system, you will get 4 hours of leave per pay period for the first 3 years. It then goes up to 6 hours at the end of your 3rd year.
As far as how hard it is to get a job here, you just have to apply and hope you get an interview.

 

[radio frequency]

What about working for an embassy? One of my high school acquaintances has done this for years; his family has traveled all over the world. I'm often jealous, but sometimes it can be less than glamorous I imagine.

 

[Dred Pirate]

What about working for an embassy? One of my high school acquaintances has done this for years; his family has traveled all over the world. I'm often jealous, but sometimes it can be less than glamorous I imagine.

not sure if my skill set as a pharamcist translates to embassy work - but would be interesting,

 

[ValeRx]

What about working for an embassy? One of my high school acquaintances has done this for years; his family has traveled all over the world. I'm often jealous, but sometimes it can be less than glamorous I imagine.

You could always join the Marines and go for the Marine Security Guard billet. They work at embassies.

 

[Dred Pirate]

You could always join the Marines and go for the Marine Security Guard billet. They work at embassies.

Pretty sure the marines don’t let people in their 50’s join (which I would be when I want to retire)

 

[radio frequency]

not sure if my skill set as a pharamcist translates to embassy work - but would be interesting,

I guess I was assuming you wouldn't work as a pharmacist either way! I assume if you can read, write, deal with people, and get through a PharmD program you can probably develop the skills to do work in an embassy!

 

[Dred Pirate]

I guess I was assuming you wouldn't work as a pharmacist either way! I assume if you can read, write, deal with people, and get through a PharmD program you can probably develop the skills to do work in an embassy!

I guess I wasn't thinking that way - it has been forever since I ever actually considered a non-pharmacy job, but I would love to be the guy who throws parties for higher ups in Monoco or some random small european contry! lol

 

[radio frequency]

I guess I wasn't thinking that way - it has been forever since I ever actually considered a non-pharmacy job, but I would love to be the guy who throws parties for higher ups in Monoco or some random small european contry! lol

That sounds awesome but as one who has frequent contact with somebody who has to guide super fancy famous people around, I guess it can be pretty draining too. Famous/wealthy people are apparently very demanding.

 

[Caverject]

Currently in Germany working for DoD. Pre Covid, it was amazing. Switzerland, Amsterdam, Brussels, Prague, Paris, etc are all within a 2-5 hr drive. Life here is 10x better than in the states bc of all the traveling you can do. It’s also a better place to raise kids in my opinion. If it wasn’t for the 5 year rule, I would definitely stay.
The pay rate for a GS 12 step 1 starts at ~$67k. You can always negotiate a higher step based on your experience of coming from outside the federal system. On top of salary, you will get LQA which is tax free and covers housing + utilities. You will also get Post Allowance which is tax free as well. The amount of LQA and PA you get is based on your grade level and the size of your family. OPM has the LQA and PA rates on their website. The LQA is a use or lose. For example, if you get a max of $46k per year for housing and utilities, you cannot rent a cheap apartment for $15k per year and pocket the rest. For someone new to the federal system, you will get 4 hours of leave per pay period for the first 3 years. It then goes up to 6 hours at the end of your 3rd year.
As far as how hard it is to get a job here, you just have to apply and hope you get an interview.

For being an activated reservist, you have an impressing understanding on how the "system" works in Europe. Bravo! To add on to what you said here, they will move 17,000 pounds worth of your precious belongings and one vehicle for free and give you up to 90 days of lodging while you go find a house. You're also entitled to "home leave" that accrues every pay period as well, which is basically free leave when you are physically in the United States while employed overseas. If you stay longer than 3 years, you and your family are entitled to a free round trip ticket to the United States to visit your family. That being said, good luck trying to explain any of this to someone who's never worked in government service. I've tried several times while trying to hire people and it's always clear as mud

 

[Junfan50]

For being an activated reservist, you have an impressing understanding on how the "system" works in Europe. Bravo! To add on to what you said here, they will move 17,000 pounds worth of your precious belongings and one vehicle for free and give you up to 90 days of lodging while you go find a house. You're also entitled to "home leave" that accrues every pay period as well, which is basically free leave when you are physically in the United States while employed overseas. If you stay longer than 3 years, you and your family are entitled to a free round trip ticket to the United States to visit your family. That being said, good luck trying to explain any of this to someone who's never worked in government service. I've tried several times while trying to hire people and it's always clear as mud

I’m actually a civilian working here who’s also in the Reserve. My unit is over here in K-town. Thanks for adding the things I forgot to mention. I will also say that civilians will get taxed on the move. Everything from plane tickets for pcs to HHG move and storage. We tried to keep as much in temp storage as possible back in the states. We shipped 5500 lbs and I paid around $1k between shipping and storage cost. Our HHG was in storage for over 2 months bc we took the full 90 days to find a house. Trying to explain all of this to anyone who’s never taken an OCONUS position before is futile.

 

[pharmdeep]

I’m actually a civilian working here who’s also in the Reserve. My unit is over here in K-town. Thanks for adding the things I forgot to mention. I will also say that civilians will get taxed on the move. Everything from plane tickets for pcs to HHG move and storage. We tried to keep as much in temp storage as possible back in the states. We shipped 5500 lbs and I paid around $1k between shipping and storage cost. Our HHG was in storage for over 2 months bc we took the full 90 days to find a house. Trying to explain all of this to anyone who’s never taken an OCONUS position before is futile.

where is k-town just curious ? If i could work anywhere in asia with 60k salary im going i dont even care.

 

[ValeRx]

where is k-town just curious ? If i could work anywhere in asia with 60k salary im going i dont even care.

Kaiserslautern, SW Germany.