I work as an editor for a medical journal at an international health-focused NGO. It's got it's ups and downs. Working in France is pretty good though...all those things I mentioned are provided to me not because of my job but because of the law.

The people protesting over the new contract have no idea how lucky they've got it. To be honest, they get on my nerves.

As for the travel warnings, I remember during the Iraq war, the US issued travel warnings, advising their citizens not to speak English in the streets of Paris!!! Of course, there are some dangers (for example, I got accidently (minorly) tear gassed the other day because I happen to work near one of the protests). That sucked, but could happen anywhere.

Always good to be suspicious- that's democracy for ya!

" ... no one (at least morest people) can live in the US on $10,000 - 12,000 [no children] without some sort of gov assistance."


PLENTY of U.S people live on $12,000 or less per year, without government assistance. It depends on how you live, what your expectations are, what you're willing to give up/do without. It's funny how skewed some people's perspective is on what a "normal" salary is in the U.S.---- I recently heard Allan Colmes going on and on about the "poor immigrants who are willing to come to this country to work jobs no one else will do, for $14 an hour". Please. In North Carolina, the $14 an hour jobs are the ones thousands of college-educated, degree'd, experienced workers are trying to get ! This isn't conjecture; I know plenty of these people, and I know the details of the positions. $14 an hour is a little over $29,000 a year. Right now, without doing any additional research, I can name at least 100 companies and organizations in or near NC's largest metropolitan areas, where Master's degree'd professionals with extensive work experience are working for $14.00 to $16.00 an hour. Just a couple of years ago, Duke University (!) was paying PhD teaching assistants $29,000 a year. A good friend's husband (PhD) was making that here, and he often spoke of his colleagues making similar salaries; he left NC for a plum job in Canada, with a starting salary of $165,000. He was 30 years old, with little work experience (having spent most of his adult life in academia).

I personally know hundreds of people with Master's degrees and 10, 15, 20, 25 years work experience who're stuck at the $30,000-$40,000 level...many in management, responsible for whole programs and a sizeable staff. Without the possibility of overtime or bonuses, mind you (non-profits and educational institutions generally don't pay either). Here, in the southeast (and it's far worse elsewhere, I'm guessing) much of that depends on what color you are, of course----- you will probably have to have more education, more experience to get hired, and you'll make less, if you happen to be white. If you're a white *male*, forget it. Just go be a plumber, truck driver, bricklayer, sell insurance, something out of the public eye. It's totally Politically Incorrect for companies to hire a white male, particularly for supervisory or high-visibility positions. If you're asian or hispanic, here in NC, you might luck up and get one of the few "token" spots reserved for "other" colors of folks, but you'll probably end up behind the black guy and pretty much "tied for third place" with a white female. Now if you're a black female, you don't need to leave the U.S to make 60 grand with two years of college, or 40 grand with a high school diploma--- just come to North Carolina. If you get your resumes out this weekend, you should be getting your orientation tour and signing I-9's here by mid-February. Sometimes in the interest of changing things for the better, the pendulum swings way too far in the other direction..... .

My acquaintances who've recently worked in the Middle East tell me that it's incredibly easy to land a job there, working for any civilian contractor. Iraq and Kuwait are usually mentioned, with Afghanistan often being mentioned as "too dangerous right now". When I've asked for specifics about what I might do, which fields to check into etc , every single person I've talked to has said "anything!", explaining that there are plenty of generic "clerk" and management jobs. Across the board, the figures I've heard for a smart, versatile person with even a few years of college (no degree or highly specialized skills required) are $80,000 to $150,000 a year. No language other than English required (though of course additional language skills would help). When I expressed mild skepticism to one person who told me how very easy it is to make 100 grand "for nothing, except being willing to risk living there", he told me a story of "a guy who does nothing but stand around the Gold's Gym and hand out towels, for $65,000 a year". I'd still be skeptical, except that I hear the same figures so often--- I'm told that it's pretty hard to show up and NOT make at least 80 grand a year. Check out the dreaded Halliburton, and Raytheon on monster.com etc.

Hey Dennis-just wondering if you have explored the rest of the states for work opportunities? I'm guessing you
have, but thought I'd ask. And I agree with you in that the people in the states "genrally" speaking are more
concerned about money rather than taking pride in their work....

I can totally appreciate your plight, I wish you luck!!!

"$10 - $12,000 for an annual income"

considering it costs 7 cents for a 7-up or coke and 50 cents for a taxi ride, that is okay in india