my sister works for a local bank. By Kenyan standards her pay is fairly good(actually higher than mine). for reasons best known to her she is unhappy and she wants a new job. she is convinced that a job with the United Nations is just what she needs.
Do you guys have any experience working with any of the UN agencies? Are these jobs glamorous or is it just a myth?

True, the issue with these UN jobs and in general high paying NGO jobs is that the office politics is just too much. You wonder if its even worth it.

@muganda- UN doesnt withold tax re employment income as it is not registered as such and it is outside the scope of taxation. I am not a tax guru but I believe if you are a Kenyan or a resident in Kenya for tax purposes, you will still need to complete your tax return and pay all applicable taxes.

1) UN staff do not pay PAYE, they pay some thing called staff adjustment its normally 19%. People dont fill tax forms here. Expatriates are reimbursed for their VAT if they can prove. plus all those other duty free perks.

2) Most UN jobs are routine and boring esp. for General Service staff. I work in the UN and i regretted my move here. The money was not so good seeing as the private sector can give more and the job is a career killer. Basically once you are in the UN....you ain't going anywhere.

3) There is no glamour in the UN esp. for locally recruited staff. If you have an under graduate degree and above - work it out thea. if you don't...the UN is the place for you.

Someone working at UNEP once told me that when getting into UN, the pay seems higher since its tax free.You will most likely get in on the G grade where I think the maximum you can earn is around 150k net ( I stand to be collected!)Past that comes the P ( I think for Professional) grade, where all the money is.Tricky thing is that to get a job on that grade you almost have to be an expat from outside the country with Phds and stuff.

So me thinks.....if you have chances of making over 150k net on your current job,stay.If not....you may consider trying UN. Good luck with that though....it's all about relatives getting you a job there.