Opportunities in the Middle East are plentiful and lucrative. There are many jobs available from food services to engineering. Many people are taking advantage of these opportunities to make three and four times their normal salary.

Since the early 90's, the US and its allies have maintained a presence in the Mideast. The various military campaigns throughout the region have created thousands of job opportunities doing anything from maintaining aircrafts and computer networking, to food service workers. Basically, the need for contractor personnel covers thousands of different specialties.

Most of this support was put out for bid, with various companies responding. Thus, there are now hundreds of different companies fulfilling long and short term contracts in support of Information Technology, Aircraft and vehicle maintenance, billeting, food service preparation, overall base maintenance, etc. When you consider that all these services are needed throughout the Mideast to include numerous military installations in Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Kuwait and other locations, you can understand just how many positions are available.

The income potential becomes very lucrative because so many of these jobs are located in austere environments. I was one of those people, and traveled to Baghdad for a year working in the IT sector. It was certainly an educational experience and provided the opportunity to make a substantial income. I have friends who have spent two and three years working in the Mideast. Some are still there!

What makes these positions so lucrative, are the pay entitlements. 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 will be your other entitlements. Many people often exceed $10,458 bi-weekly. This makes for a very prosperous year.

If you are considering such a position, you want to ensure that you've thoroughly investigated the opportunity. I've seen many people who quit their current job and moved to Iraq for the lure of high pay only to realize that it wasn't quite what they expected or were told. Often new employees are not fully informed of the benefits available while living the Mideast or even what questions to ask.

Many opportunities exist in Mideast contracting regardless of your skill set. If you are considering such an endeavor, you'll find opportunities throughout the region and will work with dedicated professionals in both the military and civilian fields.