The Options:

Work some middle-east contract

Judging by the traffic in my email inbox, many defense contracts have been either awarded or have received continuing funding. I can’t recall any time where I have seen such a large number of employment solicitations in my inbox. All of the major players are represented and an even larger number of staffing firms. I have been in contact with a number of people from a number of companies who all want to hire me. Does a lot of good for my self-esteem, but I’ve got a bit of a timing problem, as all of these positions need to be filled immediately – they’re all looking for people who can start right away i.e. have all of their paperwork processed and be in whatever country when the fiscal year begins.

I’ve been curious about working one of these contracts for quite some time and with the superior pay that these positions come with I could easily finance a condo on Waikiki without committing for too much time. Certainly worth considering.

Another Ice Job

It’s safe to assume that there’s a position available for me back on the other side of the continent. There are several upsides to pursuing one of those positions, not the least of which is a company-paid round-trip ticket to New Zealand and more free food and cheap beer. The chance to see what happens next has a very strong appeal and another good reason to consider working in Antarctica for yet another season.

Other Overseas Jobs

There are a plethora of job opportunities for someone with my skill set. I have investigated many job opportunities on small islands throughout the Pacific and Caribbean. The most appealing one that I came across was a Chief Mechanic position on a private resort island in Belize. I was extremely interested in this position, but they were looking for a couple and Marsha wasn’t as thrilled about the job (for her, some hideous accounting job) as I. Meh…

Travel

Taking time off and traveling are the most appealing options. At the end of this contract, I will be given yet another free Antarctic cruise with disembarkation at Punta Arenas, Chile, from there I have a company-paid plane ticket all the way back to Wyoming. This ticket is about as flexible as I need it to be, and with time and money I figure I could see and do a lot in South America. Galapagos, Easter Island, Igauzu Falls, Machu Picchu, Chan Chan, The Amazon – these are all places that have a certain appeal to me and most of them are on my “to-do” list.

Ahhh…the burden of choice

So, what will it be then? Well, because, as Marsha says, “God laughs as we’re making plans”, I really have no plan at this point, I’m totally uncommitted to anything and open to whatever comes my way. The biggest challenge for me is to stave off the temptation to purchase a plane ticket and just allow things to unfold. Stay tuned for…well, something.

During my work on the Antarctica Forum I have met some people who were highly qualified for the positions that they were applying for; yet year after year they were being passed-over for jobs that needed to get filled. It struck me then, that the people who are successful in getting hired are the ones who are best equipped to navigate corporate red-tape. I find this realization a bit ironic because the majority of people who end up working in Antarctica are vociferously anti-corporate, this is even more true with those who return season after season.

I figured I’d try to put some tips together to expand on getting a job in Antarctica. You’re marketing yourself so remember:

Everything that you do during the hiring process needs to reflect that you are a professional. If your only email address is one that says something about you that could be perceived as negative or inflammatory, get a new email address. Use spell check and use proper grammar. Have someone proof read it if necessary. Don’t do a half-assed job of filling out the job application, even if all of your relevant experience, references, etc. are spelled out in your resume.

Speaking of your resume, it may very well speak volumes about your years of experience or education, but what does it say about how you add value to your employer’s business? And on that topic, can you work in numbers and percentages? Something along the lines of “increased widget sales by 13% resulting in a $30,000 increase in revenue” See…your resume is being reviewed by people who speak in such strange tongues and though they may not understand what any of that means, it does give you common ground which may be enough to get your application from “in review” to “interview” status.

Go ahead and call – in fact, I’d encourage you to call. On the RPSC website, there’s an 800 number. Call it, if you haven’t got the name of a particular person whom you have explicit permission to call, just ask to be connected to HR. Strike up a conversation with the person, get their name, ask questions about how the hiring process works, ask if they’ve ever deployed to The Ice before – if so, ask specific questions about The Ice. I really don’t think they’ll mind. Think about your last experience in a fluorescent light hell-office. Anything to take your mind out of there, right?

Preparing for the interview:
Since the positions are widely varied, it’s hard to say how your interview might be set up, but there are some standard questions which you should really think about. There aren’t right or wrong answers to any of these necessarily, but some answers will fit better with working on The Ice. Your technical skills and job experience are probably fairly well laid out and explained fully or you probably wouldn’t have been considered for an interview, and the person interviewing you may not know a whole lot about the technicalities of your job anyhow, but you should have a copy of what they’re looking at in front of you during the interview (the interview will likely be over the phone by the way). The things you need to have well thought-out answers for are more along the lines of how you resolve conflict and why do you want to come to Antarctica. You really need to be thinking about those things and have strong, confidence inspiring answers for those questions. Superior skills in navigating corporate Labyrinths coupled with some luck will get you to the interview stage, a strong interview will land you the job. Be prepared for it, if going to Antarctica is a dream for you, you don’t want to blow this chance.

Post interview coping strategy:
Before you hang up with the person interviewing you, you should get their contact information and ask for permission to contact them later. I’m highly opposed to emailing someone because written words are misunderstood with far more ease than spoken words, but that’s just me. At any rate, whatever medium you decide to use to follow-up with someone, make sure and do it. At the very least, send a short note thanking the person for their time and for answering your questions (you did ask questions during the interview, right?). Anticipation gets very hard to cope with at this stage and you might need to hear something one way or the other to allow you to go on with your life. Call back and be courteous without being nagging or overbearing.

The hiring process is very strange in that the person interviewing you may very well not be able to tell you what to expect to be paid. This is a function of HR and seems to be a closely guarded secret. A couple of things to keep in mind – a weekly salary that is offered to you is not inclusive of the end of season bonus that you will get if you successfully complete your contract season. Also, all meals and housing while you’re on The Ice is company provided. While you’re on The Ice you won’t be paying for electricity or water or fuel for your car or any of those other things that you have to pay for “back home” and so, the wage you may be offered might seem low, I can tell you in my case that I’m financially better off for being on The Ice.

My second week in Denver was a bit more exciting. I met nine of the other folks that I would be spending the winter at Palmer Station with.

Lookin' good in fire gear

Overall, fire school was a very rewarding experience. I gained some valuable skills as well as a whole new appreciation for the people who do this type of work on a day-to-day basis. They have an incredibly tough job.

photo: Dr. Keith Vanderlinde

filling 1461 positions over the 51 year history, several of those positions were filled by repeat offenders.

One such third time repeat offender is resident historian and legendary “egg oiler*” Bill Spindler. Bill maintains the unofficial South Pole Station website where he keeps much historical information and season to season lists of the hearty souls who have wintered in this place. He has also honored the 2008 winter-over residents with a series of talks focusing on The South Pole, then and now. He covers construction of both domes and the new elevated research station, science from the early days through the present and many other interesting tidbits of historical Antarctic exploration and research trivia.

At the sunrise celebration, each 2008 winter-over was presented with a commemorative coin fashioned right here at the South Pole by the winter machinist. Each coin was personalized with each participants name and their winter-over sequence number. I am the 1197th person to stay a winter here. Numbers are assigned alphabetically by year, so someone like Bill who first wintered in 1977 (I think) has a much lower number.

In this photo by Steffen Richter Bill Spindler, aka the Wizard of the South Pole, pitches in to oil eggs. Oil preserves the eggs so that they will last the whole season and the eggs require a re-oiling on a periodic basis.

For your very own unique travel experience, you too can get a job in Antartica

Me and the 59 wankers I spent the night with – 9 Sep 08, -80(F)

The place is starting to come alive again – finally, something new and significant is happening. We’ve all been here under trying circumstances, we haven’t seen any new faces since 15 February, we’ve eaten three meals per day in the same “restaurant” – it’s good food, and great efforts are made to keep variety in the menu – but – well, you get the idea…..but now with daylight soon approaching and soon after that, airplanes with fresh fruit and our replacements and exciting world TRAVEL!!!! plans for many of us…well, it’s an exciting time to be a “Polie”

At the South Pole:

Life at the South Pole as seen through the eyes of a musician and power plant technician The Frozen Desert
A third winter season for our resident Antarctic history buff and author of The UNOFFICIAL South Pole Station
One of the folks from the nerd shack (I.T. department) the hobo tomes
A year on ice through the words and the lens of Calee life on ice
Our chef has spent 31 of the last 37 months on ice and was once featured on the Colbert Report Cooking South
Some people are focused on what they want to be from a very young age…and they still end up wintering at The South Pole. Antarctica, it’s not just for aimless drifters! Ethan’s Vivifying Adventures
I’m pretty sure that Heidi is the first woman to spend five winters at The South Pole Homeless Heidi
A site by a polar researcher extraordinaire North Pole/South Pole
A cosmologist gives his perspective on spending a year at the South Pole (another one with spectacular pics)Life at The South Pole
Back in May Shaun resolved to update his blog with greater frequency. He too must find life monotonous here. Shaun’s Adventures
Another Antarctic veteran, Ethan, shares his take on life at The South Pole The Seventh Continent
I, too have a blogspot blog…it’s updated less but keeps a tiny bit more of an Antarctic theme. The Gecko in the Sink
And the last current Pole winterover site that I’m aware of is from yet another seasoned veteran….who also has great photographic skill. Antarctic Adventure

If I’ve missed yours, don’t bother to email me – just let me know – we’re 60 people in 60,000 square feet fer crissake.

Here’s a brief list of some current McMurdo winterover folks:
Ramblings From Tom
Andy and Meghan World
Kish’s Blawg
Frozen Brody

That about wraps up all of the winterover blogs that I’m aware of. I’ll happily list any I’ve missed, just let me know.