Exclusive:
The British Antarctic Survey is looking for tradesmen, including electricians, plumbers and carpenters to join their team working at stations in the world’s southern most continent
Tradesmen, including electricians, plumbers and carpenters, are being encouraged to apply for a string of vacancies… in Antarctica.
The UK’s national polar research institute British Antarctic Survey are looking for people to work at its stations on the world’s southern most continent, where temperatures can fall below minus 80 degrees Celsius in winter. Chefs, boating officers and plant operators are also among professionals being sought for the roles, which BAS describes as “the opportunity of a lifetime”.
“Looking out the window of your workplace and watching icebergs, whales and penguins is an experience that never gets old,” said a spokesperson. Contracts run from between six and 18 months, with salaries starting at £29,273, plus a benefits package.
Successful applicants will live on a BAS station with all living expenses, including accommodation, food, travel, specialist clothing, tools and training, included. BAS runs the UK’s science operations in Antarctica in order to carry out crucial nature and scientific research in the region and advise the government. Its scientists discovered the hole in the ozone layer and identified key evidence for climate change in ancient ice.
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. She said: “This job is unlike anything I’ve ever done before. It’s not just cold, it’s cool!
“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!”
BAS catering manager Olivier Hubert was a chef in a Michelin-starred restaurant before spending a winter at Rothera Research Station and a summer at Halley VI Research Station. He said: “Being a chef in Antarctica is a very different experience to anything I’ve ever done before.
“Meals are such an important part of life down South – they’re the anchors to the day so the pressure is on to create interesting and nutritious meals with limited supplies. But it’s such a privilege to cook for the team that become your family while you’re there – plus the views from the kitchen are pretty epic!”.
Ben Norrish, Head of Vehicles, joined BAS in 2001 as a Mobile Plant Technician. He has spent 16 Antarctic seasons living and working on the ice. He 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.”
Ben added: “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!”.
To find out more, visit: www.bas.ac.uk/vacancies
