Do expats still get all those extravagant tax free alloances in this tough business environment for oil? It makes a lot of sense to cut back on those.
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How does cbii get this cheap obamacare insurance and what does deav mean by having to live frugally. What has one thing to do with the other? I am just trying to keep this discussion straight.
Yes, I understand exactly. The years that you need to wait until Medicare kicks in, or whatever the next parasitic sponge entitlement is, will be not only without decent health insurance to rely (AKA Obamacare) but also having to life a frugal lifestyle in the last of the prime years of your life before you get really old. Who wants to wait to enjoy life and get the cheapest insurance and have to cut corners when they should be traveling the world footloose and fancy free, visiting friends, relatives, touring other countries and affording themselves the best health care possible? Not me. But to each his/her own. I worked hard or years to be independent, buy good things, and pay my own way, and I am having fun doing it. You should too!
sorry, last post should have been addressed to cbii
cqzx, your drift is a little adrift. The ACA bragger, by their own admission, comes across the $100 bill with several million other dollars already in pocket. The $100 he/she picks ups in the field comes out of everyone else's pocket in the form of taxes (to pay for the 'millionaire's' ACA subsidy) and reduced benefits to those who really are in need. Enjoy your frugal lifestyle while counting your millions in your tax protected Roth. Karma IS a b--ch!
@cqzx, if you came across a $100 bill in an open field, would you pick it up or would you consider yourself a parasite for keeping it? Same question if you had bought a lottery ticket and hit the winning numbers? Catch my drift?
That's right, @bxul. Life dealt me Obamacare and I'm playing my cards as I see fit within the legal and ethical bounds and believe me, I'm taking what I can get. Good insurance worth $1250 for only $50 a month out of my pocket.
Bcwu, who is to say who deserves what. Life deals you the cards. You play as you see it fit within the legal and ethical bounds and take what you get.
bebe, very true and if you time it right you retire with a severance package of two years salary..
-bebw, yes, you will retire a very rich parasitic sponge do-nothing con artist who's riches are essentially worthless because they are undeserved by the holder. I would only respect another type, some rich, some much less than rich but content, who will be eternally happy with what they have, or don't have because he or she worked hard for it, rightfully earned it, and deserves it. Only those are truly content in life. Choose wisely.
The smart cats learn early on. If you work in Chevron, just work as an expat. Keep moving from one to the other. You will retire very rich.
As 6wpd says, the truth is there hardly has been any reduction to the expat benefits. So to address OP's question, no, they continue to get the exhorbitant allowances in this tough business environment.
I know several expact assignments that went unfilled last round, but they were highly technical and most of those who would have qualified had "done that been there" and were focused more on polishing their knob before a well deserved retirement. Benefits have been trimmed a bit, but not much (some housing premiums cut and the like). Total expact positions have been cut a lot (maybe 75% in my field) ... so few positions for the "getting some experience" crowd, but still some open to specific SMEs.
Best part about expat assignments is that it really opens up your mind to other cultures, other viewpoints and may be even other languages. I urge everyone to try it.
Why the negativity towards expats? If you want an expat assignment then apply for one. There may not be many being posted at present but their numbers will increase. If successful then good luck to you. But don't complain because others get off their rear end and go overseas if all you want to do is sit in an office in your home country.
I say best of luck to the expats and yes they are paid well for working in some sh-- hole locations. I did it for a few years, enjoyed it and gained a lot of hands on operational experience which has helped me greatly in my career. I also met some interesting people of different nationalities who remain friends to this day. I would recommend it to any young engineer or other discipline.
Best part about ExPat assignments are the spinners.
It won't be long and there will be no foreign projects to send these clowns.
What's with these guys gloating over their expat assignments when people are struggling to hold on to their domestic jobs with increasing budget pressures?
I guess freudian oopsie from 3iyn. I wont go there. Nevertheless he has a point. For me life is good here in Jakarta. I Wouldn't trade it for anything else if it were left to me.
You don't fool us, 3iyn. First of all, that city in Thailand it's spelled "Bangkok".
I will never want to give up my expat position in Bangcock. No, we dont get any company paid R&R's. But there are enough other incentives over and above the allowances that come with a location like this. It is my eighth year and I am going strong here.
And I've seen plenty of US employees come over for an expat assignment and wash out in less than a year because they can't adjust to an environment where everything doesn't function perfectly. A lot can't wrap their minds around the fact that you actually have to plan well in advance and figure out multiple contingencies because critical equipment isn't just sitting on the shelves in these remote locations.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard "Well... in DWEP, we did blah blah blah" I could probably be retired by now. Look out the window, snowflake... you ain't in DWEP any more.
2dir, that is very true. Some of the expats who are there in these countries are there just because they can lay low under the radar collecting all these allowances and fattening up their coffers as long as possible hidden from any serious oversight. Some do that just because the oversight in Houston/SR can be sometimes be pretty painful and irksome. The number of perks as an expat is just awsome. You can live like a prince doted by servants in some of these countries.
I share your same observation, 2dir. Our US Expats have talents, but they are very much like most of us good ole employees working in the US and field offices.
easy to pick out the posters who understand the oil patch business and which ones still have a lot to learn.
2dya - just because there are people willing to jump at the expat jobs, do not make them qualified to do some of these jobs. You reduce the incentives you then will reduce the potential pool of people seeking those jobs. You can't just put an FE to do drilling or vice versa. No BU and hiring manager will just take a warm body just because the person wants to do an expat job. The company still has a business to run.
I reiterate - Thetes no reason for Chevron to give much of any pay premium to anyone working overseas, no matter if it's a hellhole or a paradise. We have employees who will jump at the chance for the job.
Angola is beautiful country.Nice weather throughout the year. A coast that rivals California's. Fully paid international school for children, big house, driver, car, big allowances. We love it here.
You guys are crazy if you think someone is going to go live in Luanda for nothing.
@1oxy - "Typical American", huh? Very interesting your choice of words.
Don't envy the expats. The grass is always greener on the other side. After you've been there and done that, see if you still complain about the other guy.
You would have to ask the people that didn't apply why the positions went unfulfilled but I would guess it's because expats aren't making the big premiums any more.
And if you think the cuts were minimal then you once again prove you know nothing about this topic. My W2 says the cuts were very significant.
Ioxy, you are the one spouting off. You must be an expat with vested interest. Why would they go unfilled in this tough job environment in oil industry? Besides, The cuts in allowances were barely significant.
No they won't. I know of several expat positions that went unfulfilled this year because no qualified candidates applied. This is because a lot of those allowances have been slashed already. Typical American spouting off about stuff you don't know anything about.
Iycz, absolutely right. It will provide expat opportunities for some of us younger employees wanting to get the international experience. We could gladly take a cut in those lavish allowances in return for the expanded opportunities for more people.
I guarantee that if they "cut back like that", Chevron will still have 3 or 4 willing and qualified employees jumping for these international jobs.
If they cut back like that, no one would be willing to be an expat. Not worth the trouble.
All that paid premium crap should be cut by 90% across the board. Provide only for one family round-trip airfare a year for vacation and a modest housing allowance (emphasis on "modest"). That's it.
Also there is goods & services allowance which is supposed to compensate for cost of living differential. This is a very generous allowance that can be as much as $5000 per pay period completely tax protected. This is in addition to the location premium which is 40 to 60 percent of salary again completely tax protected. There are numerous other allowances like spouse allowance, R&R allowance, all completely tax protected. That means Chevron will pay the taxes for these allowances. For those of you working your rear end off in the US, you better be aware that expat life is a modern day princely charmed life that you can only dream of.
Chevron has no say about income taxes, but they can certainly cut back on the pay differential to save money. Many US expats already enjoy some perks when living overseas, like a housing allowance up to 100%, maid service, free vacation airfare once a year back to the US or equivalent mileage destination, free schooling in the host country for their younger children, and several more expenses. On top of all that, why does Chevron also have to pay an additional pay differential of up to 50% of salary too. Outrageous!
taxes? yeah, definitely cut back on those...
btw, Chevron has no say in what is taxed and what is not taxed, that is the federal government's job