Top Companies and Biggest Employers in Baghdad (But You Probably Already Know It's a War Zone)

i just tried to Google 'biggest employers in baghdad' and got nothing but wedding websites and a guy selling anti-tank weapons. weird. so i asked Layla, a woman who looked like she might cry if you asked her about her ex, to tell me. she’s been in this city since the US pulled out. here’s what she said after three margaritas:

m: ‘you want to work here? don’t trust anyone. even the government.’

then she started listing companies like they’re bad habits. first was elit + petronas. yeah, that oil giant. they pay enough so you don’t need to marry someone for their mom’s land. totalling ~$800/month for a floor in a place with a view of a concrete wall. but layla says their offices are safe. probably because the bombs miss them… mostly.

next was midhat petroleum. folks there don’t even blink when you ask about their mental health. why? according to a guy who once ‘worked’ there and now ‘burns incense’ fulltime, they keep you busy with paperwork so short. 24/7 shifts, but hey-aircon is free. kind of. last i checked, their electricity bill was covered by amosino, the guy who sells spices by the hour. tweets about it on instagram every other day. cocky.

then there’s goodwill. or what’s left of it. this one’s a shell of a corporate icon now. flew down from new york post-2003, and now they’re hiring sewer pipe cleaners. gentle. in a factory that smells like rust and regret. pay’s worse than minimum wage here, but goodwill hands out snacks. dried dates. weirdly wholesome.

data time! layla says jobs in baghdad are like a lottery. if you’re an engineer, oil companies will beg you. teacher? maybe a public school. nurse? good luck. they closed half the clinics. dynamics company? they’re trying. logistics Sector’s booming because you need to move weapons and water. average salary here? $400/month. if you’re lucky.

oh, and rent! not the costs, the actual act of paying it. one room in a concrete labyrinth? $350. shared kitchenette? $250. friend said he found a place where the landlord’s actually friendly. pays him 10 bucks to fix the shower that leaks like a bomb shelter’s roof. surreal.

weather? think of it as an Olaf snowman slowly melting under a bomber. 105°f during the day, 85°f at night. neighbors? well, there’s the guy who playsattachment on his balcony at 3am. says he’s from iran. dunno if that’s a cry or a flex. drives a minivan loaded with jerry cans. no AC. chills me. don’t trust him with your water.

listening to whispers from a bar stumper last night: someone swore NM Group is hiring for social media managers. to manage their facebook for ‘respectable’ reasons. or maybe nepotism. hard to say. another rumor: nkm group pays in barrels of motor oil if you work there. don’t know if true. you’d have to ask the guy who claimed he got a job there after showing up with a donkey. his donkey helmets got stolen, i hear.

last thing: if you’re looking to work here, avoid the app. wurk.looks like a job board but it’s all fake posts from a guy in a tuxedo named ali. he’s probably scamming people for fake id’s. go to tripradvisor or yelp. search ‘jobs in baghdad’ real quick. you’ll see the ads. some are legit, some are midhat petroleum trying to pawn off their machinery parts as ‘remote consulting.’

here’s where to go next: check tripadvisor for safe cafes (i.e., the ones with aircon). yelp for places that don’t smell like rust. and subreddit r/baghdad where people quit with just a message. telegram for job alerts. don’t trust anyone. not even this blog. i almost did, just now…

links:
- tripadvisor
- yelp
- reddit r/baghdad
- telegram jobs channel

tags: ['Baghdad', 'lifestyle', 'honest-review', 'human-vibe', 'travel', 'blog']

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