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polardani t1_je9fee8 wrote

Question from our social media: How difficult is it to get a position with field work in Antarctica? What about positions that aren't in research...

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APECS_Polarscience OP t1_je9j75p wrote

I personally have never been to Antarctica, I haven't tried it either, so I don't know exactly how difficult it is to get a job there. But taking into account the experience of colleagues and some of the job offers I have seen I think it is important to have some previous experience in polar environments as well as having some physical fitness and mental strength. I would say that in all or almost all long-stay selection processes both physical and psychological tests are carried out. For fieldwork, I guess it's like everything else in science, it's important to have a good CV and be lucky to find the research team at the time they run a project in Antarctica. However, not only researchers have the opportunity to work there. On the research stations, there are jobs for computer scientists, mechanics, cooks, divers, and much more. There is also more and more tourism in Antarctica and there is a need for guides with experience in extreme situations to fill these jobs. Safety courses and experience in polar regions/high mountain areas I personally think are highly valued when it comes to getting a job in Antarctica.

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APECS_Polarscience OP t1_je9lc14 wrote

Chipping in, this is Stefan. See my post about expedition parrticipation and projects above. As a non-scientist, it is difficult. But in Antarctica, the stations often look for personell to stay in the station for a year. Question is then, are you up for a whole year.

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APECS_Polarscience OP t1_jea70vx wrote

This is Mareike adding on to this question: From my knowledge there are a lot of jobs that are not within research at Antarctic (and I guess Artic) research stations: e.g. Rothera Research Station has seasonal staff for air field operations, field guides, which are mainly coming from a mountaineering/climbing background to keep research and operations teams safe in the field, but also general assistants who keep the station running and organise kitchen, cleaning, supply and logistics. Some of the jobs will only operate in the summer season (e.g. airfield, some of the field guides), but some of the jobs will stay and overwinter as well (field guides, a chef, generator mechanics, ...).

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APECS_Polarscience OP t1_je9rvzg wrote

many stations (both Arctic and Antarctic) will have those who work in food preparation, logistics and medicine - so not research orientated. Some of the big employers would be the British Antarctic Survey in the UK or the National Science Foundation in the US (https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/opportun.jsp) so there are options for non research positions.

Some organisations have also hired people to work on social media and communications to bring these environments closer to the public :)

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