Bombed Walls & Paychecks: Where Baghdad Actually Hires People (Not What You Think)
feral heat hits you like a hairdryer full of sand the moment you step off whatever wobbly flight got you here. i’m writing this sweating through my last clean band tee near *Al-Mutanabbi Street, where the booksellers side-eye anyone who smells like foreigner with spray paint intentions. Let’s cut the Lonely Planet crap-you wanna know who actually pays salaries in this concrete oven?
First things first-safety? My graff buddy Ahmed gave me the real talk over sugary chai: "Green Zone jobs pay fat dollars but breathing checkpoints gets old fast. Karada’s safer if you don’t flaunt your camera like a shocked tourist." Rent near the Tigris? $500 for a box with AC that coughs like an asthmatic camel.
> Some ministry worker muttered this at the shawarma stand last night: "Ministry of Oil? Ha! Apply there if you enjoy 90s computers and supervisors who nap through lunch prayers."
The real players here aren’t sexy tech startups. It’s the uncle companies no one outside Iraq knows:
- Al-Bunnia Trade Group: These dudes import everything from Turkish fridges to Chinese scooters. Pays well if you speak Farsi and don’t mind spreadsheets older than Saddam.
- Baghdad Hotel Chain: Not Hilton vibes. More like “we’ve had the same stained carpets since 2003” but they’re always hiring cleaners, cooks, and eyebrow-raising receptionists. Craigslist-level wages though.
- Al-Rasheed Bank: Government-backed = stability. Also means paperwork so slow you’ll age waiting for a printer cartridge.
Weather update: It’s currently "face-melting" with a chance of spontaneous regret for not booking that flight to Erbil (just 45 mins north and way cooler, literally). Meanwhile Najaf’s holy sites are crawling with pilgrims and their wallets-if retail’s your thing.
Overheard at Shabandar Cafe: “That new Turkish mall near Qadisiyah? Pay’s trash but staff steals so much lipstick it’s basically a side hustle.”
Need actual proof? Check r/Baghdad’s job vent thread or the brutal honesty on Al-Safir Restaurant’s Yelp where servers roast management. Wanna see non-bunker architecture? TripAdvisor’s Mustansiriya School page has pics that won’t get you yelled at by military teens.
Final drunk advice from a guy named Hassan who claimed to be a retired general: “Work telecom. Koreans pay for tower repairs in cash when militias knock ’em down. Hazard bonus = new teeth money.”*
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