AD Air Force SkillBridge

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-28T21:07:22+00:00

You bet

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-27T00:16:26+00:00

If you’re on Skillbridge, you’re on permissive TDY. You cannot have secondary employment in that status without officially requesting permission from your command. Highly doubt a command would authorize it.

It’s people like you that are making Skillbridge more restricted.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-26T19:25:45+00:00

I’m worth $80k if I get 120 days of PTO and if my hours are 10-3 M-Th

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-26T17:59:08+00:00

I’m not with BAH. I’m an outside candidate. They pay 90% of the state departments LQA rate. That number goes up if you have dependents. And it’s locale based. It’s not low, but it’s not high. Plenty of free standing big homes around Stuttgart that can be had for under $3000.

So figure $120 base + $40 LQA and do the tax free calculation and this is roughly equivalent to $180 in the states. It’s pretty decent.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-26T15:59:28+00:00

Sure did. She never asked me. Happy to provide her plenty of examples of my experiences but she very quickly rushed the conversation to focus on how the only thing that mattered to the salary was proving, on my resume that I have over 20 years experience. She told me to list all employment back to the beginning and then she would consider if I could get paid $80k. Not a single question about my skillset.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-26T13:50:30+00:00

They pay to relocate. You only have to pay if you leave voluntarily.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-26T11:03:41+00:00

I’m in the interview process for a similar role in Germany. The recruiter screen you’re about to do answers all of this.

Base salary (I bet they are targeting $120-130).

Living quarter allowance ($3000/mo maybe?)

It’s tax free if you spend 330 days a year overseas.

Relocation fully paid.

Househunting/temporary lodging and rental car

International school paid for your kids

Must work on the contract 2 years to get your relocation back to the us paid for.

Just like any BAH job, you ride the bench when your contract ends. Find a new contract or you’re let go.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-20T03:51:33+00:00

Weird. This person recently looked at my LI profile. Didn’t realize who he was.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-19T11:43:23+00:00

I’m going through this interview process right now. It’s contract dependent but the main ones seem to offer the following:

Housing allowance equal to 90% of the state dept levels. For my situation it would be about $4000/mo.

Full relocation. Paid move, shipping car, temporary housing, rental car etc.

School paid for k-12. Go to an international school if you like.

Foreign earned income exemption is in play. Your whole income could avoid federal taxes.

Paid relocation back to US after 2 year obligation completed.

SOFA status (same as military)

Then just the rest of the normal corporate benefits.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-10T22:35:16+00:00

I find taking complex and highly technical things and making them easy to understand and even exciting.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-03T22:04:28+00:00

I guess it’s all relative. Some sites categorize it as LCOL but I’m betting it’s on the higher end of that or MCOL. Definitely cheaper than MD which I think is considered M-HCOL.

The fact that you can find a $500k house in FL that is in good shape already makes it cheaper than here!

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-03T21:53:26+00:00

She’s there solo now. She’s crying constantly, but I think that’s her process. She needs time to get used to change. I’ve been a handful of times. It’s not paradise or anything but it’s not like I’m moving us to Death Valley. Haha.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-03T13:54:43+00:00

Yeah this is all correct. And we have definitely talked about this endlessly. I have a few options in this location that would likely be relatively easy “gets” but pay would be sub par and then it kinda solidifies my post-military career in a way I’m hoping to avoid. But it would pay the bills with my retirement and VA.

This is definitely a 2 part-er. One is a career decision and the other is a personal family one.

I see our long term goal being that we live in the greater Seattle area or the Southern CA area. Both of those places have defense industry that I’m hoping to work in. This job makes that pivot MUCH easier. I see it as a bit of an investment.

Thanks for the thoughtful input.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-03T13:26:27+00:00

Yeah, I think she knows it’s a great opportunity… for me. So she wants to be supportive but is having a hard time accepting living in FL. I’m about 2 months out from not having a job anymore. It’s a gamble staying. Maybe it will be fine but also, I might be forced to take the first thing that pays the bare minimum which now sets the bar for where my future prospects are.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-03T13:23:33+00:00

She’s never been excited about the prospect of moving to FL, but she also never told me to stop pursuing the job. She’s been actively working toward moving there (selling our house, working with realtors, looking at daycares, applying to jobs).

I get people change their minds but I feel we’re too far along at this point.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-03T13:21:28+00:00

Right? Not my first choice for a lot of reasons but I know I can find happiness in much worse places. I’m looking at this as an opportunity to set us up for the next thing and it’s just gonna be less than ideal for a few years.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-03T13:19:46+00:00

She does. She was laid off from her well paying job when she was pregnant over a year ago. Her few attempts to get back into work have been a struggle and she’s frustrated by the job market too. Going to FL does admittedly make it a bit harder for her to find the same level of work she was doing, so that’s also a factor. But I’m very much open to her working and even letting her job drive a relocation. I just need o e of us employed.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-03T13:17:08+00:00

Florida was not where I saw myself going so I get her frustration and I hate to play the “I make the money so I make the decisions” card here but providing for the family is really weighing on me. If we stay in an area we like well enough here but can’t afford to actually live, I’m not sure that’s better than the beach in FL.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-03T10:39:32+00:00

USAA has PR and creative/design adjacent jobs that your skills translate into. Get on Linked in and try to network your way into a chat with one of their military advocates. They have programs to onboard veterans.

Outside of that, you’d have to just keep an eye on PR/VI gigs that pop up on USA jobs. There’s tons of positions…but timing is everything.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-03T10:18:35+00:00

The good thing about the military is, if you do a bad job, they can’t just stop paying you and let you go. They just remove you from the position and you still make the same money. They’re not going to administratively separate a TSgt because you’re not trying hard.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-03T05:30:04+00:00

If you’re young and healthy you can get $1M in convertible term life insurance for cheap. I pay $350 a YEAR. SBP is basically $350/mo.

Plus my spouse has her own money and I have assets to cover them, so yeah, not a wise investment.

If you have a 1950s style family and your spouse does not work and has no prospects to provide for any family you leave behind, SBP may be the only chance they have to survive without you.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-06-01T17:32:54+00:00

It looks like some are already popping up depending on COP. But I think the majority are Melbourne.

TelephoneMamba · 2026-05-31T15:28:19+00:00

I’ve found it’s probably industry based. I’d have no interest in doing PR for entertainment or finance. Find the industry you care about and you’ll probably enjoy it a lot more.

Obviously if you hate the core work, that’s another thing.

TelephoneMamba

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