how I went about getting a job in Antarctica
(some have asked)
Short answer: found out Raytheon is the contractor for NSF, later found out that Nana Services is a sub contractor, submitted my resume and spent about 100 minutes interviewing for said position. the end.

Long answer:

About a year ago there was a story in my local paper (Newsday) that focused on people with.. unique jobs. One of the featured folks, a former resident of LI, was/is working at Antarctica. She explained what the job was like, how it felt to live down there and then finally how she went ahead and got the job. More importantly she mentioned the hiring company. I found this all very interesting and did a little research on the web but dismissed it with the notion of "ahh, but I could never do anything like that."

However the idea stuck with me, even if it was only prowling the back of my mind.

I don't recall exactly how I got interested in this again. I don't remember if I read something recently or if the idea simply made its way back to the front of my mind. About a month ago I started looking into it with a renewed sense of interest. I started tracking down all the blogs I could find on the web and reading about the writers experiences. I found the website for the company, Raytheon, that does the hiring and started browsing through all the job listings but I didn't see any of the entry level ones I was counting on. I assumed that they were all hired already and came close to giving up the search but then I came across someone on LJ who previously worked there and asked her about it. From her I learned that Raytheon had subcontracted the position I was interested in out to a company called Nana services. This is why I couldn't find the entry level jobs on the Raytheon site.

While this was useful information I was still far from actually getting a job. All the research I had did pretty much suggested that the only way to get hired was to attend the annual job fair in Denver. No hiring actually goes on at the fair but you are given a chance to speak to the hiring managers and sell yourself. The idea is that you will get a few names of people to keep in touch with and that your impression will make them look for your resume amongst all the others. There are usually hundreds of applications for the few jobs (about 1,100 people work at McMurdo during the "summer" season) so any edge that you can get is important. I had missed it by about a week but in truth I don't think I would have flown out there just for the job fair.

I was discouraged by all this and considered not bothering to apply as I figured it would be a waste of my time. I was also asking myself if I really wanted to do it, if it would be worth it if I ended up getting offered a job. I also asked myself if I would mentally be able to do the job. Finally, weighing all my other lucrative options, I said the hell with it and sent an email off to the HR department at Nana. I just wanted to know if they were still hiring. I was dipping my toe in.

I got a response within an hour saying that they were and the next day I finished up my resume and submitted it. Later that day I got an email from someone different asking me three qualifying questions. I answered quickly and then didn't hear anything. My head was filled with dejection and disappointment. I cursed myself for getting excited about something that was no guarantee. I felt a fool for doing all this research for nothing. But, then, a few days later I got a call from the guy who does the hiring for the janitors and we spoke for about 15 minutes. He was very upfront with me, told me the very low salary and mentioned some of the other downsides. He was trying to make sure that I wasn't going into this blinded by an ideal of adventure that wouldn't match the reality. Afterwards he started going over some of the benefits and I wanted to stop him and say "Dude, stop, you had me at Antarctica" but I didn't and at the end of the conversation he told me that he was going to have an application emailed to me which I would need to fill out and return.

I think I impressed him for a few reasons. I was really quick to respond to all of their questions and made it a point to have the application returned within 14 hrs. I found out about the job the hardway by my own research I had sought them out. They had posted it on hotjobs which I didn't realize until after the search. Once my application was submitted we scheduled an interview and at the end he asked for some references. After calling both of them he offered me a job. It was exactly 2 weeks after I had sent in my initial resume.

However, I am not actually done yet. The job offer I received is conditional. First I need to go and have my urine tested for drugs. Then I need to get myself physically qualified to go down on the ice. This involves a pretty in depth medical exam and some blood work. What sucks is that I just saw my doctor about a month ago for a physical and was reminded how much I hate dealing with his office. The good thing is that I shouldn't have any problems getting past this clearance, once I actually get the appointment. In addition to that I have to have a dental exam which is a cause of concern for me. While they will pay for the exam and the Xrays they won't pay for any work that needs to be done. Since I, foolishly, dropped my dental insurance after I left Borders this could get expensive. My last exam was September and I ended up having 3 cavities filled. Each one cost 190 (I love it. In Ecuador Y charges 20 for a filling). I can only hope that my teeth haven't deteriorated much since then. If I need something extensive I will have to reconsider.

Once that is all completed I will be able to breath a little easier as I would finally, officially, have a job. Then it is simply a matter of waiting for the end of August to arrive so I can being my 6 month job.

So that is how I got a job in Antarctica.

Links:
Raytheon Polar Services
Nana Services
US Antarctic Program