Job Offer - But A Dangerous One

[Casey_03]

As many of you who have read my recent postings know, I have been going through a rough patch lately and generally looking for a change. I resigned from my current job recently because it doesn't pay me enough to live off of, and at the same time, the office environment is toxic for me for personal reasons. Anyway, I cannot afford to move back home to the States but there is one job offer -- it's in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine. I'd be covering the war there as a reporter. I'm tempted to take the job just to get out of the rut I'm currently stuck in, but I have a few concerns. The main one being that I don't trust the guy who would be my boss; I don't believe he'd have my safety at heart, and I would be in an extremely dangerous situation every day there. Also, if I end up getting killed, my student loan payments will fall on my dad, and that would destroy him. So I am torn between taking the risk to change things up and staying in my current dire situation. I am really desperate for a change and this seems to be the only opportunity ... I have also been seeking a more meaningful journalism job than just sitting behind a desk for a while now, and this would afford me that. I guess I just don't want to make this decision out of desperation. So I am seeking your advice. (P.S. I realize it might sound weird for a PTSDer to consider working in a war zone, but I don't get triggered by that kind of danger, oddly enough)

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I'm guessing your dad was co-signor on your loans?

 

[Casey_03]

Yep

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Is there any way that you can remove him as co-signor? I think that certain loans have that option after so many years.

 

[Casey_03]

Yeah, I can remove him but it's a lengthy process that requires me to come back and show up in person -- and for me that's not financially doable.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Oh well that stinks! You'd think that in todays day and age you could file the correct paperwork and have it be done. Maybe keep it in mind for the future? If you come back to the states?

Sorry, I know this wasn't the main point of your post!

 

[Friday]

2 things... In the Ukraine, you need Kidnap & Ransom Insurance, and any time you're in a war zone at least 200k of life insurance payable to your family without a lot of questions asked (USAA is a good company for that as you're American, if you have any right to use it/ any military or govt family you can descendent right off of). Either of which would (should?) take care of your student loans.

As long as we're in pragmatics, I strongly recommend a pair of knee pads (cheap, but rocks suck, and even urban areas are covered in rocks during any kind of engagement, and I've busted my knees getting down more than I care to remember), and your own body armor (not cheap). I used to get mine out of Columbia for jobs I didn't want to look military, as they have clothes that look like street wear but are in fact ballistic rated, but don't know if they ship to Russia. If you can, since money is tight, make sure to get cost of body armor in your contract & payable up front.

War zones & countries in transition used to be my bread & butter. Yes, it's where my PTSD comes from. It's also where my PTSD "goes away" (it doesn't, I'll have shit to sort when I come home). So, for me at least, it doesn't seem odd to go work in conflict.

 

[Anarchy]

(P.S. I realize it might sound weird for a PTSDer to consider working in a war zone, but I don't get triggered by that kind of danger, oddly enough)

I've never been in a war, but I know what you mean. be careful not to seek out dangerous situations, and dangerous people, they can both be addictive to PTSD sufferers.

I am really desperate for a change and this seems to be the only opportunity ... I have also been seeking a more meaningful journalism job than just sitting behind a desk for a while now, and this would afford me that. I guess I just don't want to make this decision out of desperation. So I am seeking your advice.

this may be an example of the apparent narrowing of horizons and choices which PTSD confuses us with. I'm not saying don't go - it could well be the choice that you want - but on the other hand there may be opportunities which you are just not noticing because of those artificially narrowed horizons.

I'd love to see some impartial reporting of what is going on in Donetsk, The propaganda we are being fed by the lamestream here would make josef Goebles puke (eg Biden spouting off, when his son has a vested interest in shale gas drilling concessions in eastern Ukraine - not that shale gas is worth anything now), I'm guessing the Russian people are on the receiving end of much the same level of BS - but don't you go getting your arse blown off for a report that your new editor will re-write to please some vested interest.

 

[darrenS]

i can relate fully to supposedly not suffering ptsd in danger zones , i have travelled through africa by myself and worked in Nigeria for many months, so yes i understand what it is like to live a real threat , was always on guard for kidnapping etc , but got used to police putting guns under my chin for bribes, and on another trip was held hostage for a week . so i can certainly relate , only recently i was asked to head a project in Nigeria and i have real trouble saying no . My PTSD likes danger , it makes me feel alive , but i used to think it didnt effect me , until one day it all came crashing down , it can affect you in the most insidious ways. And i still battle with avoiding danger - but i will say this you may not think it affects, but take a look at your relationships etc , i think you wuill find in time it has affected you in far more ways than you can realize, and if you do therapy and they touch on that thread , it will eventually unravel

 

[Anarchy]

@darrenS

oh hell yes! I love Africa too, a lot of that love is for the wrong reasons. I didn't do Nigeria, but have done a couple of contracts in Angola.

 

[darrenS]

@Anarchy

Its an amazing place and only if you have been there can you understand the pull it exerts to go back

 

[scout86]

The main one being that I don't trust the guy who would be my boss;

THAT sounds like a pretty valid concern. In a situation like that, you'd hope someone would have your back and your boss would be an obvious place to start. I know nothing about the journalism business. It seems to be, unless you're going in as a freelancer, the outfit you work for should provide insurance. And maybe that's negotiable?

Several of us (at least) who have responded to you are in the "Hey watch THIS!" camp. We're the wrong ones to talk you out of an interesting, if risky, job. Keeping that in mind, my T tells me there's a difference between enjoying risk taking behavior and having a death wish. He's ok with the former. The difference between the 2, he says, is that people who truly have a death wish usually don't live very long. If you enjoy taking risks and you're good at it, it's another thing entirely. (Did I mention his hobby is car racing?)

I don't necessarily think it's a bad idea, but, if I were you, I'd want to know a little about the logistics and resources available. If you get in trouble, are they going to try to help? Or say, "Oh well." and find a new reporter? Are you going to be replacing someone? If so, what happened to THEM? How well do you know the potential boss? You DO want to make sure that this highest probability outcome is that you return safe and sound.