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Well heck... good luck with whatever it is. I've traveled around the world a couple times, both as a civilian and as a member of the military. The civilian route was a hell of lot better though - no one shooting at us all the time.
You are correct about one thing, these opportunities are once in a lifetime opportunities, so grab the ring before it passes you by and hang on. Man, I'm actually excited for you. This brings back so many good memories. You HAVE to keep us updated.
The only thing I'll tell you is this, when traveling east to west no matter how many time zones you cross, stay up and go to bed at what would be the normal time only after you get to your destination, even if you have to stay up for 12 hours after you get there to that (do not nap, stay up then go to bed for a normal 8). When traveling west to east, your screwed, and the more time zones you cross the worse it gets. 4 to 5 time zones can be done pretty easy, but over 4 to 5 time zones and jet lag will kick your ass no matter what you do, so suck it up and have as much fun as you can. So, lots of caffeine, keep some Excedrin handy, drink lots of clean bottled water, and sleep whenever you can including naps. No naps east to west, lots of naps west to east.
I have a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel around the world literally on a retrofitted private jet! This is not a joke!!! I like the non-profit route and a real non-profit does this, but due to ongoing discussions with the organization I'd rather leave out specifics, for now. The weird thing is, they have already sent me a brochure on what to expect while travelling.
The only thing that this reminds me of is when I used to go camping with my Boy Scout Troop and we got our materials lists about what to bring. This opportunity also reminds me of a better paying Peace Corps with access to way more countries than a stint in the Peace Corps. So I was just wondering if anybody has ever gone or known anybody who did the Peace Corps route and did they get a brochure even before you were accepted into the program??
They are really making sure that I am OK with travelling 300+ days out of the year, and there are some rules that one has to follow on the plane, so maybe they send that to all applicants just so they can weed out the trolls and the lookers. I am sure travelling that long and wearing a non-military uniform/dress code for a job will freak most people out.
I think this all points to signs that they are serious about hiring me as I have an interview scheduled with them on Thursday. I will report the results back here afterwards, and perhaps more specifics if I get called in for a second Interview.
The other problem I have right now is that my job is kinda short on help and I don't want to leave my boss hanging, but something is telling me to go for this. I'll NEVER get this chance again.
Few questions;
1) are you married?
2) have kids?
3) in a serious relationship?
4) have very ill close family members?
If all four of those are "no" answers - F'n take the opportunity and don't look back dude.
as long as you have only yourself to worry about, it is an easy choice
GO!
living out of a suitcase is a learned experience....i did extensive tdy's while active duty....and would be gone 3-4-5 months in many, many different places. you get used to the travel....
the hardest part for me was the language barriers, and the food.....i dont have a cast iron stomach and food is very different in many places on the planet
and if you are so used to all the luxuries, that may be a downer....not every place will have a/c, or wifi, or access to good medical.
but....the people....omg....that was the great part....seeing the different cultures, and the different parts of the world
i wouldnt have traded those experiences for anything....
Good on you to be concerned about your bosses situation
But if offered the position do not hesitate to accept it
your boss will get over losing you
you would always wonder what you had missed
Yeah, the thing is we are a three person team and he has already lost one guy out of the blue. While I've been looking around for a good six months for something better. The other guy started 8 months ago and is gone already.
As the non-profit has no raises in sight. I have already been itching to get out the door for awhile. He knows I am looking around too and understands my situation. I just hope that they the board isn't OK with having just me and my boss help everyone out, because we do need help! Maybe because I am actually competent at my job, they are getting comfortable with the idea of having two people in our department. So I would guess that if I left they would be forced to move the hiring process into high octane grade levels.
look after YOUR interests
as an employee of the enterprise - even a non-profit one - you are fungible
do not deny yourself this opportunity because of your concern for the present employer
I have a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel around the world literally on a retrofitted private jet! This is not a joke!!! I like the non-profit route and a real non-profit does this, but due to ongoing discussions with the organization I'd rather leave out specifics, for now. The weird thing is, they have already sent me a brochure on what to expect while travelling.
The only thing that this reminds me of is when I used to go camping with my Boy Scout Troop and we got our materials lists about what to bring. This opportunity also reminds me of a better paying Peace Corps with access to way more countries than a stint in the Peace Corps. So I was just wondering if anybody has ever gone or known anybody who did the Peace Corps route and did they get a brochure even before you were accepted into the program??
They are really making sure that I am OK with travelling 300+ days out of the year, and there are some rules that one has to follow on the plane, so maybe they send that to all applicants just so they can weed out the trolls and the lookers. I am sure travelling that long and wearing a non-military uniform/dress code for a job will freak most people out.
I think this all points to signs that they are serious about hiring me as I have an interview scheduled with them on Thursday. I will report the results back here afterwards, and perhaps more specifics if I get called in for a second Interview.
The other problem I have right now is that my job is kinda short on help and I don't want to leave my boss hanging, but something is telling me to go for this. I'll NEVER get this chance again.
I did that in my 20's as service rep for a large Airport equipment manufacture.
Gone 10 Months out of the year and I had a expense account, could book 4-5 star hotels, could fly bussiness class and sometimes First class and it was awesome........at first
Being that this is a non-profit that travels to developing countries. I doubt we get 4-5 star hotels and expense accounts. More like whatever's available.
I did it for a couple of years and I was young but that kind of non-stop travel can be both physically and mentally draining.
I remember enjoying the challenge of traveling to different parts of the world, meeting new people but it did get to the point where I had to call it quits.
For one I had a young family and had I continued it would have been my first and only divorce and also living in airports and hotel rooms gets old fast
The days start to run together and I remember struggling with jet lag on a day to day basis.
Its why Companies will give you the heads up on just how much travel is expected of you because its not easy.
I DID enjoy myself and looking back would do it all over again but its not for everyone.
So just got done with the second interview over Skype. No video on his end so that was interesting. Guess I didn't have to comb my hair. Oh well. I know video takes a lot of bandwidth so that's probably why.
I didn't get some of the very technical specific questions but I just replied that I didn't have much experience in whatever area he was talking about. It lasted about 45 mins and we seemed to get along great. This person would be my go-to boss if i was offered the job. He gave me a precise time to expect to hear back about an offer, we discussed salary and benefits too and I told him I can start two weeks after that. Since I really have no ties to this area. I also told him my situation about not having a family (in my apartment) and living by myself. So those all seemed to be pluses! It doesn't even sound like there are many other applicants because all this week we had been communicating about the best time to do the interview. It was tough to coordinate our schedules based on our work schedules and his off hours/maintenance that the plane was undergoing. Plus the three hour time difference.
So overall, I hope that I gave him a good idea how I operate and deal with problems and I hope I showed my willingness to learn about their processes and how to make it go better and smoother!
I'll update when I hear more.
Seriously: I've gone through a lot of interviews, and myself interviewed a lot of other people. Not trying to rain on your parade at all, and I'm a bit late to the game, but...
A. How old are you?
B. What other jobs have you held?
C. In this particular position, have you ever spoken to anyone else who's had that job?
D. Do you fully understand the responsibilites of this job?
E. Which countries wil they be visiting, primarily?
A. I am 27.
B. I graduated college in 2012. First year out I did a bunch of contract gigs in the tech industry. Since 2014 had a stable job at a different charity maintaining and upgrading computer systems.
C. If you mean the type of job where you are working on an airplane. Only once and it was from a Colonel in the Air Force who was trying to recruit me, at that time.
D. Yes I've read the job requirements countless times.
E. I got the list from HR:
2016: Google airport for orientation, china, Indonesia
2017: Philippines Vietnam Tanzania Cameroon Bangladesh
If you're 27, you're old enough for almost anything.
Make sure, whatever else happens, you have money for a 'full out'. A situation so bad you need to skit.
Other than that, enjoy the hell out of it.
I'm 49, I've lived all over the world, studied in a lot of it, and loved it all.
Oh, one last thing: don't settle for the first romance you find.
There will be a lot of them.
Huzzah!
Funny I was actually thinking about settling down before I found this potential opportunity, so. I just go with the flow honestly.
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