3 Months Working Abroad Without My Family .....

albert

albert

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House said:
As for living/working in the US. CHECK THE PACKAGE CAREFULLY. Tax, Medical, what allowances you get (accommodation subsistence travel etc), location. Where in Mississippi? I spent a fair amount of time in Mobil, Alabama and Baton Rouge, Louisiana and had a good friend who worked at Pascagoula, Mi, the deep south can be quite a culture shock for a Brit, the food is AMAZING but your don't want to be taking a public bus to work.
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Thanks for for the advice. The place in Mississippi is called Canton. Accommodation is all paid for and so is the flights, plus we'll have 5 pool cars to get us around. I haven't been told about medical insurance yet, something I'll need to enquire about.

The stories I've heard from the lads already over there and I know it's going to be a culture shock. Some stuff I can't really mention here, but they tell me it's bible country so no Sunday overtime as everyone will be at church...

Also its a secondment from work. When the 3 months is up I go back to my normal duties...
 
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Django x2

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albert said:
Would you do it?

I've been offered a chance to work for 3 months in Mississippi and since i don't know anyone here i'll tell you i'm going to be paid around £18,000+ for the privilege for 3 months work. I've said yes to the company, but i could back out if i wanted to. My plans are to get the work over with and come home with money for a new kitchen and a nice family holiday in August with my wife and my 2 girls.

Does anyone here think this is unreasonable? If i did go over then i'd miss my wife and kids ( 2 daughters 13 & 12) immensely and i'll be crying like a baby at the airport when i leave.

Also, my missus seems to think i'd be going on some sort of jolly. On Facebook, the lads who are already over there are having days off visiting New Orleans or travelling up to Memphis. From my point of view i'll be working 12 hour shifts 6 days a week. I just want to work, get the 3 months over with and come back with a nice tidy sum.

Has anyone else done this? Family comes first and i could cancel my secondment at the drop of a hat, but any sensible advice would be appreciated. Has anyone else done this?
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£6k a month to work in states? I wouldn't even entertain the flight....
 

teaboy5

teaboy5

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Django x2 said:
£6k a month to work in states? I wouldn't even entertain the flight....
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Zethor

Zethor

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Talk to your wife properly before making the decision, if she's insecure or she'd have a hard time adjusting then it's probably not worth it.
 

Jamauk

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Go, and if you miss the family make up for it with the standard forum response (I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned already) - Cheap booze and hookers!

edit; on a more serious note, is there any possibility with that of coming back for a weekend every couple/few weeks, as whilst not the same we find it in work, Skype/conference calls are fine for a quick discussion but a proper face to face meeting is a lot more productive.
 
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Lima

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Kreeeee said:
3 months of 12 hour days, 6 days a week.

I wouldn't do it for 18k.
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This really.

Assume 77 working days out of 90.
77 days x 12 hours = 924 hours.

£18,000/ 924 = £19.48 an hour if breaks are paid. Circa £22 an hour of you take off lunch breaks etc.

When you take tax and living expense off of this it works out as peanuts per hour.

You could achieve the same extra money doing some sort of other work in UK or extra hours in your current job and not have the family dilemma.
 

Freefaller

Freefaller

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It's not always about the money but the experience and career development he will get from it.

The only reason he will be working so hard is to get it over with not because he has to.

For some people that extra cash would be significant. He also suggested that it would allow a big family holiday and a new kitchen so clearly for him it is not an insignificant amount of money.
 

Beer_MonsterUK

Beer_MonsterUK

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^^

I wouldn't do it for £19 an hour.

The job must be specialist if they can't hire local personnel to do it and, you would think, the company must have factored this in.

12hr days, 6 days a week for 12 weeks is a loooooooooong time, away from the wife and kids. I'd be asking triple time, a company visa card for expenses and 2 weeks off at the end of it,
 
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