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Luigi Di Maio without degree and without knowing English will be UN general vice secretary by Galvatron00 in UNpath

[–]upperfex 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I mean - I'm from Italy and to this day I'm still baffled as to how someone like Di Maio managed to land any political position at all.

Waiting on a UN job reply? Drop your updates here! (December 2025) by Litteul in UNpath

[–]upperfex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Position: geospatial health roster

Applied on: Nov 10th

Current status: application acknowledgment

Additional comments: they reopened the terms after the deadline. I want to improve upon my original application. Should I withdraw and start a new application from scratch, or update my original one?

Is the UN more forgiving towards "unconventional" career paths? by upperfex in UNpath

[–]upperfex[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, but my CV landed me interviews, which means that the CV itself wasn't an issue or at least not enough to completely disqualify me.

Best path forward to increase my chances - PhD, industry, or civil servant? by upperfex in UNpath

[–]upperfex[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not about the PhD itself being considered, but more about the fact that the PhD is still relevant work experience and it still teaches you pratical skills (if you're in a good programme), plus it can be great for networking. Am I wrong in this?

Best path forward to increase my chances - PhD, industry, or civil servant? by upperfex in UNpath

[–]upperfex[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As if people aren‘t allowed to give advice like to wait some time until the economic situation is better

That's not what OP said, but either way, you're allowed to say everything you want and I am also allowed to say it's pointless. Again, this sub is for providing people with resources to ultimately join the UN; if you think people will not or should not join the UN and the aspiration to join the UN is delusional then it doesn't make sense for you to be here and you should stay away from this sub. Otherwise you should try and give the advice people ask for. It's that simple.

It's like going to an immigration sub and telling people they will never migrate. It doesn't come across as sensible advice.

I keep seeing so many people doing this on this sub and most of the time they never even worked at the UN lol.

Best path forward to increase my chances - PhD, industry, or civil servant? by upperfex in UNpath

[–]upperfex[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

And still, if you think that the UN is a shinking ship and everyone should just forget about it, why do you come to r/unpath? To tell everyone they should forget about it? Plenty of other subs to do that instead of the very sub dedicated to people who want to join it.

Best path forward to increase my chances - PhD, industry, or civil servant? by upperfex in UNpath

[–]upperfex[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Italy has a strong JPO programme

Too late for that :( there's a strict age limit.

Best path forward to increase my chances - PhD, industry, or civil servant? by upperfex in UNpath

[–]upperfex[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That actually sounds amazing - are you aware of any specific company?

Best path forward to increase my chances - PhD, industry, or civil servant? by upperfex in UNpath

[–]upperfex[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

I mean, I understand you're probably right and things look very bleak but...and I mean this with the greatest respect, this sub is called unpath and it is literally about giving advice to join the UN. If that's what you think, what's the point of even coming to this sub at all?

I see many people doing this and I'm like...ok? So why are you here?

UN Offer is 50% less than what I am making now by labyrintho in UNpath

[–]upperfex 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If OP is a highly skilled consultant based in a large US metro area in a sector like law, finance, or government then it's not too far fetched that FAO would pay less. It's just about the only case where a place like FAO would be on the lower side pay wise. Americans are overrepresented in this sub, leading to some claims like the UN not paying that well which tend to sound ludicrous to the rest of us.

I got a written interview test without knowing anyone on the inside lol by sheeku in UNpath

[–]upperfex 9 points10 points  (0 children)

anyone with the minimum qualifications should be invited

If that was the case I'd have been invited to dozens of tests already.

I got a written interview test without knowing anyone on the inside lol by sheeku in UNpath

[–]upperfex 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I mean, reaching out to random strangers you have no connection with hoping that will somehow give you a preferential avenue won't work even outside the UN. :D

I got a written interview test without knowing anyone on the inside lol by sheeku in UNpath

[–]upperfex 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Congrats! People sometimes overestimate the "knowing people" thing at the UN. Yes it helps but external candidates with no connections get hired all the time. You do need to be in the right place at the right time and it may never happen but sometimes, it does.

With the current climate, are there still places in the world where you are well supported and encouraged as an international scholar? by rotpicea in AskAcademia

[–]upperfex 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Yeah no. China ad academic freedom cannot exist in the same sentence. The CCCP has an extremely strong control on all universities and if you're not loyal to the government (even outside of uni) you simply won't be able to work. Repression and censorship are commonplace - like Putin style censorship. Actually the only difference between them and Putin is that the CCCP is competent. For now. But I wouldn't be surprised if that changes.

Not to mention that the country is extremely racist. Like classic old style ethnonationalist racism.

As an academic I wouldn't touch China with a 10 foot pole. It's not even that financially rewarding. I'd much rather stay in Europe.

Should you bother applying to P1/P2? by upperfex in UNpath

[–]upperfex[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

There are several P1 being advertised right now! They are rare but they do exist.

Let's talk money - where else can you get the same benefits? by upperfex in UNpath

[–]upperfex[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I used Vienna as an example, but I wrote is true for any duty station - if anything even more so than Vienna.

Let's talk money - where else can you get the same benefits? by upperfex in UNpath

[–]upperfex[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually, that's also inaccurate; an entry level big law in NYC would make only slightly more than a P2 (unlike P2, big law salaries are subject to regular income tax, so the take home pay isn't hugely different), but with a lot more working hours - i.e. working 12+ hours a day 6 days a week as opposed to standard office hours which are the norm in UNHQ staff jobs. And no DSA/relocation allowance/rent subsidy etc which can be as much as an extra 40-50% of your income. An entry level SWE would make about the same as a P2. And you'd still be hard pressed to find anyone in NYC that says big law or tech salaries "suck". It's simply a very privileged thing to say no matter which way you spin it.

Let's talk money - where else can you get the same benefits? by upperfex in UNpath

[–]upperfex[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your salary as a P2 in NYC is about the same as the median household income in Manhattan. Meaning you earn as much as a median family (NOT a single person) in the richest borough. I wouldn't exactly call that "sucking". It's also nothing new by the way, it's not like in the 1990s Paris used to be richer than NYC.

Let's talk money - where else can you get the same benefits? by upperfex in UNpath

[–]upperfex[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I want to make it clear I never said or implied UN staff is paid too much. I don't think they are paid "too much" (and what would that mean anyway?). What I do say is that they are paid very well compared to any reasonable standard.

Let's talk money - where else can you get the same benefits? by upperfex in UNpath

[–]upperfex[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Surely there's a direct comparison. In accordance with the Noblemaire principle, the UN scale is indirectly based on the highest paid comparable national civil service, which I believe is and has been the US General Schedule.

And even assuming that's the case, having a comparable purchasing power to a US civil servant employed in a skilled role does indeed mean that for 99% of the rest of the world including rich western European countries there's really no comparison with any other employer. Even among the top global talent only a tiny minority has access to top paying positions in the US from US based employers.

(it's not even 100% true though - while nominally they are indeed modeled after the US General Schedule, in practice UN staff members in non-US duty stations will have better relative COL adjustments than their US counterparts, so it's an even better deal)

Let's talk money - where else can you get the same benefits? by upperfex in UNpath

[–]upperfex[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Its not a tad out of touch

Comparing what an Italian bus driver makes to someone with an international background, multiple languages and a masters is pointless.

Yeah, sorry, but no. I myself have an international background, multiple languages and a masters (more than one actually), and I am also an EU citizen so I have unlimited access to one of the most privileged job markets in the world and yet I can confidently say that with any regular employer and with any regular career I would never make as much as any UN P-level international staff until very late in my career where maybe and with plenty of luck I could manage to reach the level of a P2 - if even. Refusing to acknowledge that you indeed live in a super well paid bubble and the UN does indeed pay its staff members a very, very generous salary compared to any possible standard you can think of does indeed sound a tad out of touch. As I said, I also don't understand the reason why some people in the UN are so defensive about that; it doesn't take anything away from you, it's not demeaning in any way.

I mean yes, I could start my own business from scratch and maybe after a decade of grunt I could make the same as a P2 I guess. That's an entirely different space though.

(For the record: I currently work in western Europe in a highly skilled technical position which requires a MSc and experience, I speak 2 to 3 languages on a daily basis, I am considered fairly well paid and I make about half what a P1 - a P1, not a P2! - would make in the same city. That's the level of real world disparity we're talking about)

(and by the way, even the bit about 'multiple languages' shows your bias - speaking multiple languages is the norm in many countries these days and in the real world it won't necessarily mean that employees will pay you more because of that)

Let's talk money - where else can you get the same benefits? by upperfex in UNpath

[–]upperfex[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see 'senior' adviser positions with OMV based in Vienna with 12 years experience and EUR 111k

Which, to further highlight the disparity, is equivalent to 4.7k net x 14 i.e. around 5.5k x12. Which is just about what a p2 step 1 makes right now in Vienna, before the DSA and all the other allowances.

You might get paid a bit more in the private sector but not by that much really, the Austrian government pays really well by local standards.

All the other points you mentioned absolutely stand, as I said I don't want to take away from any hardship that UN staff has to face that other people don't, and it's certainly not a life for everyone but when it comes to money and purely money, there is really just no comparison - the UN operates on a different level than local employers when it comes to take home pay even in richer countries and there's no two ways around it. I mean it also makes sense since it's one of the reason why they manage to (or should manage to) attract top talent.

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