Should I Take This Promotion If I Will Be Stationed Overseas?

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military promotion overseas

Your Employment Questions Answered: I’m Being Promoted. Should I Take This Promotion If I Will Be Stationed Overseas?

Sometimes the best way to learn something new is by seeking advice from those who have been there. Asking questions is how we learn about new resources or can give us perspectives that we might never have thought about before. When you ask a question, you can gain the knowledge you are looking for that will help you figure out what you need to know to move forward, whatever the subject might be. 

As a military spouse, you will need to move around the country or the world to stay with your service member. This can create tension when it comes to your own career. You might have to give up opportunities, or jobs that would be a good fit and good for your career journey. But sometimes, you don’t have to say no to something just because of possible PCS orders. 

Question:

I am a military spouse and we will be PCSing to an overseas location in about nine months. I just got offered a promotion in my field. The promotion will give me a substantial raise and open a lot of doors for my career. Should I still take this job? I am worried that my move might mean it wouldn’t be a good idea to do so?

Answer:

Getting orders overseas is such an amazing opportunity for a military family! You will be able to experience so many amazing and new things. As far as the job goes, you should probably take this opportunity. The promotion sounds like an amazing one that would be good for your career. Looking back you might regret not taking the promotion.

On a practical level, until the orders are official, there is no guarantee you will actually be PCSing overseas in nine months. Many military families think they might go to one place, and end up in another. You want to keep this in mind as you are planning your move that dates and locations are always changing and you never really know until you get those orders in hand. And sometimes, even those orders change. 

Nine months is also enough time to work your job to make saying yes worth it. You can always delay your part of the move a few months when the time comes, or the military could delay the move for you. 

As you get closer to the date, you can talk to your employer about if you could start doing your job remotely, assuming you aren’t already in a remote position. The pandemic has made it much more likely that your employer might consider remote work. The time difference is also a consideration, but that will depend on the type of job you have. 

You should also check with the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) with the country you are going to. There might be regulations that would change if you could even work your job at that location. Each country has its own rules and regulations and service members and their families need to abide by them.

In the end, your worst-case scenario is that you can only work in this position for nine months, however, the job will be a good addition to your resume. The job will also be able to set the bar for salary and positions next time you are looking for a job. The best case is you take on this new job, be able to bring the job with you overseas, and improve your career over the next few years.

Here are a few resources to help with your upcoming PCS:

 

 

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