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Opportunities like this provoke an incredibly intense response in me. I would drop almost everything to go work and live in Antarctica for 6-12 months, and sear

by cwal37 12y ago

Opportunities like this provoke an incredibly intense response in me. I would drop almost everything to go work and live in Antarctica for 6-12 months, and searched fruitlessly for available jobs when I finished my undergraduate degree a few years ago. I'm not qualified for the position they talk about in this article, and I have a pretty good career path and professional responsibilities I can't just abandon now, but the pull remains strong. Something about unique circumstance and desolation in particular just hits me in a particular part of my brain. One of the most surreal and powerful moments in my life was pulling over in the middle of complete desolation in northwestern Namibia to wander the desert in the middle of the night. It was lit by a full moon, and the entire world was this shade of soft, ethereal purple I hadn't seen before and probably never will again. It was illuminating this tremendous expanse of landscape sparsely populated by utterly alien flora. In some ways it just felt right to be as utterly alone as I could be, in an alien situation I couldn't have imagined even 6 months prior.

8_hours_ago 12y ago
A few years ago I saw this position opening and immediately applied for the same reason, it sounded like an incredible adventure. I was rejected as I should have been... unfortunately I'm a developer not an IT professional. Maybe someday they'll have an opening for an embedded developer and I'll get to spend a winter in Antarctica... Edit: I looked through my old emails and I applied for the UNIX Systems Administrator position on April 25, 2012. I must have done it after reading this exact article! Edit2: This is the original job description: https://web.archive.org/web/20120609030319/http://icecube.wisc.edu/jobs/show/unix_sysadmin https://web.archive.org/web/20120609030319/http://icecube.wi...
- chrissnell 12y ago
  $52K/yr. That's really crap pay, especially when you consider that it's a contractor job with a 12-month option-to-renew.
  - 8_hours_ago 12y ago
    The line "There is the possibility of travel to the geographic South Pole." makes up for it! Plus, I imagine that expenses are all (or mostly) paid for when in Antarctica, and the cost of living in Wisconsin is quite a bit lower then other parts of the US.
  - shkkmo 12y ago
    Jobs in Antarctica don't tend to pay particularly well. If you're doing a job like this, you tend not to be in it for the money.
    - icpmacdo 12y ago
      A possible benefit is that you are probably not buying to many things while you are down there so it is mostly savings. Amazon shipping prices to the south pole are probably pretty steep even with Prime.
  - enraged_camel 12y ago
    Yes, but cost of living must be incredibly cheap, maybe close to zero. I mean, what are you going to do with the money? You already live on site (rent is paid for), you eat food that is prepared at the research facility, and you can't exactly go out to bars on Saturday and buy women expensive drinks.
    - DanBC 12y ago
      > and you can't exactly go out to bars on Saturday and buy women expensive drinks. Alcoholism is a problem at Antartica. http://www.funraniumlabs.com/2013/06/alcoholism-in-antarctica http://www.funraniumlabs.com/2013/06/alcoholism-in-antarctic...
  - amckenna 12y ago
    Last time I looked into it you don't pay for room, board, food, cold weather gear, or the flight down/back. So in reality your take home pay and savings are fairly high.
jbuzbee 12y ago
Your description of Namibia hits home. My family and I had the same sort of experience when we got stuck in the sand in very, very remote Saudi Arabia far from any paved roads or assistance. We were hopelessly stuck as the sun was setting and could do nothing but settle in for the night. But what a night. There were no lights or city glow horizon to horizon - not even an airplane overhead. Just a light breeze, blowing sand and the glorious stars overhead. Even though we were in a bit of a difficult and dangerous situation, I was utterly at peace.
tedchs 12y ago
If you're interested in work at the south pole, There are a few companies that have contacts down there, such as Scientific Research Corporation, and Lockheed Martin. http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/antarctic-support-contract/jobs-in-antarctica.html http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/antarctic-support-... http://www.scires.com/divisions/ice/index.html http://www.scires.com/divisions/ice/index.html

by cwal37 12y ago

8_hours_ago 12y ago

A few years ago I saw this position opening and immediately applied for the same reason, it sounded like an incredible adventure. I was rejected as I should have been... unfortunately I'm a developer not an IT professional. Maybe someday they'll have an opening for an embedded developer and I'll get to spend a winter in Antarctica... Edit: I looked through my old emails and I applied for the UNIX Systems Administrator position on April 25, 2012. I must have done it after reading this exact article! Edit2: This is the original job description: https://web.archive.org/web/20120609030319/http://icecube.wisc.edu/jobs/show/unix_sysadmin https://web.archive.org/web/20120609030319/http://icecube.wi...

chrissnell 12y ago
$52K/yr. That's really crap pay, especially when you consider that it's a contractor job with a 12-month option-to-renew.
- 8_hours_ago 12y ago
  The line "There is the possibility of travel to the geographic South Pole." makes up for it! Plus, I imagine that expenses are all (or mostly) paid for when in Antarctica, and the cost of living in Wisconsin is quite a bit lower then other parts of the US.
- shkkmo 12y ago
  Jobs in Antarctica don't tend to pay particularly well. If you're doing a job like this, you tend not to be in it for the money.
  - icpmacdo 12y ago
    A possible benefit is that you are probably not buying to many things while you are down there so it is mostly savings. Amazon shipping prices to the south pole are probably pretty steep even with Prime.
- enraged_camel 12y ago
  Yes, but cost of living must be incredibly cheap, maybe close to zero. I mean, what are you going to do with the money? You already live on site (rent is paid for), you eat food that is prepared at the research facility, and you can't exactly go out to bars on Saturday and buy women expensive drinks.
  - DanBC 12y ago
    > and you can't exactly go out to bars on Saturday and buy women expensive drinks. Alcoholism is a problem at Antartica. http://www.funraniumlabs.com/2013/06/alcoholism-in-antarctica http://www.funraniumlabs.com/2013/06/alcoholism-in-antarctic...
- amckenna 12y ago
  Last time I looked into it you don't pay for room, board, food, cold weather gear, or the flight down/back. So in reality your take home pay and savings are fairly high.

jbuzbee 12y ago

Your description of Namibia hits home. My family and I had the same sort of experience when we got stuck in the sand in very, very remote Saudi Arabia far from any paved roads or assistance. We were hopelessly stuck as the sun was setting and could do nothing but settle in for the night. But what a night. There were no lights or city glow horizon to horizon - not even an airplane overhead. Just a light breeze, blowing sand and the glorious stars overhead. Even though we were in a bit of a difficult and dangerous situation, I was utterly at peace.

tedchs 12y ago

If you're interested in work at the south pole, There are a few companies that have contacts down there, such as Scientific Research Corporation, and Lockheed Martin. http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/antarctic-support-contract/jobs-in-antarctica.html http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/antarctic-support-... http://www.scires.com/divisions/ice/index.html http://www.scires.com/divisions/ice/index.html