Many Americans are now expanding their job searches by seeking out offers of civilian contractor work since local employment opportunities are quite few. Based on the U.S. Labor Dept.’s July report, the number of unemployed Americans who largely subsist on unemployment benefits has reached about 31 million. Since most businesses in the country are still unable to recover from their losses, not a few entrepreneurs have been laying off workers if only to stay afloat.
Are Civilian Contractor Jobs the Same as Overseas Employment?
By and large, civilian contractor jobs are not like overseas employment. They are different because they are work arrangements contracted with the government; usually for the military or for non-government organizations that provide support services for the government. As a civilian contractor, one should expect deployment in a government office located in an underdeveloped country or in one of the so-called “conflict zones.”
Civilian contractor jobs for defense and technology are not necessarily paramilitary in nature that requires basic military training. As there are several U.S. government offices located in other countries, they also need fellow Americans to work for them as engineers, medical care practitioners, teachers, IT specialists, analysts, translators, staff assistants, mechanics, carpenters, drivers and other similar basic services.
As the title implies, the jobs are contractual, which denotes employment is only for a specific period of time. After which, a worker may choose to re-apply for another term or for another contractual work, or go home once economic conditions in the U.S. have improved. Actually, there are thousands who work for the U.S. government as civilian contractors, albeit this type of work opportunity did not receive much attention from job seekers during better times. Mainly because of the risks involved in taking on overseas work, particularly in “conflict zones.”
Qualifications of a Civilian Contractor
To become a civilian contractor, one needs to meet the same qualification required for domestic employment by the related industry. A bachelor’s degree in the related field, a professional licence and some years of experience are a must. That is, if one is applying for contractual work such as medical care practitioner, engineer or instructor. Interpreters or translators must of course have proficiency in the language of the country to which they are assigned.
The unemployment problem in America today is not because job seekers are not qualified, but more on the lack of work opportunities commensurate to one’s training and experience. Since most businesses are shifting to e-commerce, many entrepreneurs are simply relying on digital technologies and providers of outsourced back office work as an alternative to maintaining work-from-home employees.
In the meantime, there is an increasing number of people who are taking interest in offers of promotional discount coupons and freebies, as a way to stretch their stimulus money and unemployment benefits. More so now that the Trump administration is seeking to cut down the $600 monthly economic relief paychecks down to $300.
A website called youreviewit.com can make searching easier when looking for consumer brands that offer such promotions. The site presents examples and tutorials for completing product surveys or reviews as conditions to receiving the promotional offers of businesses looking to improve their products or services.
