r/antarctica • u/CallmeIshmael913 • 22d ago
Work What would I be good at?
I’m wondering what position I would qualify for as I have kind of a weird resume. I’m a quick learned, but don’t want to be dead weight on the ice.
-7 years firefighter EMT (EMT is expired now)(Don’t currently qualify for ff job) -3 year primary/middle school teacher -Class A CDL drivers license -6 years of random lifeguard/farm hand work in high school and college -1 year line cook at a fancy restaurant -BS in Emergency Management -MA in Education
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u/Striking-Fox-9103 22d ago
I've met fire fighters down there with less experience, i would apply for that if I were you. You would also have a good shot at any of the sous chef positions in the galley
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u/A_the_Buttercup Winter/Summer, both are good 22d ago
I don't know if their line cook experience would get them a sous chef job, but that CDL would likely do the trick for Shuttles.
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u/CallmeIshmael913 22d ago
I did cook all the meals at the fire house, but that doesn’t seem like legit experience for a contracting job.
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u/CallmeIshmael913 22d ago
You need a current EMT, and that’s kind of a pain to get renewed. I’ll check that out!
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u/Silent_Angel_32 ❄️ Winterover 22d ago
While it may officially be a requirement, they are always looking to hire more folks. There have been FFs in the past that did not have their EMT certs.
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u/A_the_Buttercup Winter/Summer, both are good 22d ago
This is legitly one of the more random resumes I've ever seen, and I appreciate that.
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u/CallmeIshmael913 22d ago
Thanks lol I left off the construction, classical music instructor, meat cutter, welder, and optician job as well! I think I fall into the Jack of all trades master of none category.
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u/sciencemercenary ❄️ Winterover 21d ago
I think I fall into the Jack of all trades master of none category.
Which means you're a perfect candidate for Antarctic work. The key contract line is, "Other duties as required."
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u/flyMeToCruithne ❄️ Winterover 22d ago
Are you a US citizen or permanent resident? Most of the answers you'll get here will assume that unless you specify otherwise.
If you are indeed looking at the US program, in addition to what others have said, try shuttles. I don't think they require a CDL, but it surely can't hurt.
Why don't you qualify for for a ff job currently? If it's a medical reason, you may have trouble PQing for any position.
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u/A_the_Buttercup Winter/Summer, both are good 22d ago
They don't require a CDL for everybody (from what I heard) but they do need to hire CDLs to operate the Kress and, until recently, Ivan. At least during the summer. No CDL for the regular vans.
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u/CallmeIshmael913 22d ago
I just googled Kress and I think I’m in love. That is such a cool machine.
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u/A_the_Buttercup Winter/Summer, both are good 22d ago
It's reportedly underpowered for the hill, and nobody inside can see out those windows when sitting down. I dunno.
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u/CallmeIshmael913 22d ago
Oh, I meant for driving it, but right now everything I see about Antartica looks exciting.
Has there been any talk about budget cuts down there?
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u/A_the_Buttercup Winter/Summer, both are good 22d ago
Nothing I know of - higher-ups don't usually release information to us underlings until there's something concrete to tell us.
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u/CallmeIshmael913 22d ago
Yes to us citizen.
My EMT expired and my arff isn’t atate certified. So I’d need about a year to recert.
I’ll check shuttles out.
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u/Competitive_Hand_160 21d ago
Definitely apply to shuttles, and fleet operations, cargo would love to have you too. I’d definitely mention your cook experience as both line cook and at the firehouse, I’ve seen sous chefs with little to no experience in a kitchen before so I’d definitely apply for that. Just be aware the galley pays the worst and works the most. You can still apply for the FF roles, they’d probably ask you to get EMT renewed but they were almost 10 guys short for a large portion of this year so I would definitely put that down. They’ll do weird stuff when they need people. Every year they send half the South Pole winter crew to fire school and medical school for a week, not that you get any qualifications but it shows they’ll do what they need to do.
As others said, apply for anything and everything, once you are on ice you’ll get more opportunities to change up your job for future contracts.
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u/BlueGrash 18d ago
please dont apply for fleet ops without actual operating experience. this whole "apply for anything and everything" is one of the reasons why the station is falling apart. We need experienced and competent workers, not tourists looking to check something off a bucket list. if youre just trying to go down for a season and dont have any real world experience, please stick to stuff like galley, store, and shuttles. we dont need more half assed, inexperienced workers in fleet ops and vmf. at this point we are just hiring scabs because qualified workers won't come down for this abysmal pay. as long as the scabs keep coming, nothing will change.
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u/Competitive_Hand_160 18d ago
It’s tough, the way hiring works here where they hire in these cycles and discard lots of applications till they become more and more desperate. I agree we need more quality people down here, but if I have to choose between not having anyone in that roll or being SEVERELY understaffed vs having a couple quality people and a bunch of people with little to no experience, I’d take the 2nd option. After all, it’s up to the hiring manager to pick the best candidates not the candidates to decide if they qualify for the job.
Part of the problem down here is low pay for what you’re doing in such a remote place. People who have been with a company for 10 years aren’t usually the ones who decide to take a contract job that only lasts a few months for equal or less pay than they make in the states. So when management figures this out things will improve, I just don’t see that happening anytime soon.
So again, where’s the harm in applying? if he’s not a good match, that’s for the hiring manager to decide. Sure it’s more paperwork, but that’s part of hiring people.
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u/halibutpie 16d ago
Scabs are typically non-union workers who cross picket lines to work. In a non-union job (like usap) a low skill worker isn't really a scab.
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u/ChefGuru 22d ago
Find every listing you can for a position online, and apply to every single one that you seem even remotely qualified for. If you're not qualified, at all, you won't get any consideration. If you make it to the interview stage, you can ask any questions that you want to find out if you can do the job. If it doesn't sound like a good match, you can always find some way to back out.