Fancy a job in Antarctica – one of the most remote parts of the world?
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is looking for people who want to escape the ordinary and take on a job with some serious remote working involved.
Based at the research stations in Antarctica, the BAS , which is the United Kingdom’s national polar research institute, is offering applicants the chance of a lifetime.
Carpenters, chefs, electricians, plumbers, boating officers, plant operators and more are encouraged to apply.
Eloise Saville is a carpenter at Halley VI Research Station, which sits on an ice shelf and is the furthest south of the BAS research stations. This is her first season in Antarctica.
She said: “This job is unlike anything I’ve ever done before. I scrape ice off wood, drive skidoos and build things in one of the most extreme places on Earth, yet it’s funny how quickly it all feels normal.
“The people here are some of the most interesting and adventurous that I’ve met, and yet they’re normal too! If I’d known this was an option earlier, I’d have been working my way down here all along. It’s not just cold, it’s cool.”
BAS has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on behalf of the UK.
Successful applicants will work in some of the most remote and beautiful places on Earth, contributing to science that’s critical for understanding our changing world.
Applicants should check the specific job advert for the relevant closing date, with contracts starting anytime between May and September.
Vaccines for chefs, vehicle mechanics and zoological field assistants will be posted over the next three months.
Contracts run from six to 18 months and are flexible. Salaries start at £29,273 per annum, with a benefits package.
All living expenses are covered – accommodation, food, travel, specialist clothing, tools and training.
The first batch of the jobs – including diving officer, meteorological observer and ocean scientist are now on the BAS website at bas.ac.uk/vacancies.
Ben Norrish, Head of Vehicles, joined BAS in 2001 as a Mobile Plant Technician.
He has since returned to Antarctica many times, having spent 16 Antarctic seasons living and working on the ice ans says it is an experience that leaves a lot of people wanting more.
“Ben said: There’s something special about Antarctica and the people that adventure there that gets under your skin. No matter how many times you go, when you step off the ship or aeroplane into Antarctica, you look up and take in where you are.
“That feeling of being in an amazing place is that same now as it was the first time. I would say to anyone who’s even a bit curious about what it’s like to live on the ice, take the leap and apply for the job of a lifetime – you won’t regret it and you don’t know where it might take you.”
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