Civilians go after jobs ... in Iraq -- $212,000 salary enough to make some consider

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Source: Detroit Free Press

Civilians go after jobs ... in Iraq -- $212,000 salary enough to make some consider work in country at war

$212,000 salary enough to make some consider work in country at war

December 15, 2007
BY TIM HIGGINS
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

The job market in Michigan is so tough that for some even moving to Iraq sounds good.

The pay is high, as much as $212,000 for a yearlong stint.

So Friday, in the first hour of a Warren job fair for work maintaining military vehicles in Iraq, about 100 people came looking to apply.

"There's no money coming in right now. There are no jobs. There is nothing," J.J. Woodman, 30, of Hazel Park said. "I've been on the computer and driving around for four months -- there's nothing. Everybody wants to make it sound good, but when it comes down to it, nobody is hiring. Everybody is laying off." The chance of a good-paying job attracted Woodman, and his story was echoed by many as they waited in lines Friday at the Michigan Technical Education Center to apply for such jobs as mechanics, welders, administrative assistants, production controllers and supply technicians.

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