I applied to work in Antarctica for the coming austral summer. I'd LOVE to go. If I went, I would arrive October-ish. Antarctica, as you likely know, has a bunch of research bases, and I applied to go through the US program, which has 3 stations. I'm not a science PhD, but luckily for me they have need of a whole town's worth of folks to keep the lights on, the masses fed, and the shit and trash removed from the continent.
I applied for a bunch of roles in food service, lodging, waste management, and sys-ops. I've been told the jobs down there are very competitive but that those first three were my best chance. My application passed the first round of vetting for some of the food service and lodging roles, which suits me great as I like roles that allow me to have more person-to-person interaction. Then I was told to wait for a hiring manager to reach out.
I hadn't heard anything for a couple of months so I figured I was iced in the not-fun way. But today I got an email asking to schedule an interview. There was a sneaky gotcha in the request that I realized after I hit send on my response, so we'll see if the process keeps going.
What parts of this process will I succeed in? Any special resolutions (like interview gut check) will have notes in the answer. If I am informed of more steps, I'll add 'em. All of these are required and any NO can force resolution on the rest (-> NO), except stuff like "Scheduled an interview" as I have applied for multiple roles.
This market is about the 2024-2025 season, so while most of these resolve in 2024, a few of the later ones might not resolve until well into 2025 and the close date reflects this.
Happy to share more info if wanted, at my discretion ofc.
As this is an aspirational Personal Goals market, I will only bet YES and never sell. Feel free to bet against me!
1,000
3.00Update~
I just got a very confusing NPQ that cites a disorder I have. It states: the condition hasn't been stable for >12 months, and that would preclude me from a winter-over. Which is wild because it's been stable for years, which my doc attested to in a letter, and I wasn't even offered a winter-over.
So, anyway, it looks like I now have to point out their errors and maybe apply for an NPQ Waiver (which could take months, potentially too long).
This wasn't unexpected but the way it was presented makes me feel like they didn't even really review my medical history as thoroughly as they claimed and has me blindsided.
latest update:
things are progressing well now. there was another call today and I learned that starlink is basically everywhere down there these days, so all the old advice about "don't expect any internet access" isn't as true as it once was. y'all might not be able to get rid of me after all.
I think this info also has relevance for @strutheo markets:
@Stralor additional note: I discovered that I wasn't marked as an alternate for winter, so it's unlikely I'll be offered a winter over term
there's been two brand-new hiccups. woo
1) the gov't wants me to submit a permission form via a secure OneDrive link, but msoft's tech is broke and never sends me access links when people send those to me, ever (it's me, im the edge case for all tech to break). when asked about alternate means, the bureaucracy dug in their heels and said I have to submit that way. path forward unclear
2) my dentist doesn't have the records on file for some of the info needed. my next appt is in July and I've coordinated with the people doing the PQ vetting to get that to them then, as well as to refresh everything else on the dental sheets. However, I'm not sure if that will end up cutting it too close to hard deadlines, like if i end up needing work done, or maybe ill lose my spot in line bc of it
@KongoLandwalker I mean, as an explosives handler I also know that fireworks create a lot of debris and waste that's classified as hazardous when it gets wet. Absolutely not good for environment that needs to stay pristine! it's a good joke tho