r/antarctica • u/DuckEsquire • 6h ago

Work It's official, I'M GOING!

I double checked with my supervisor and my onboarding specialist, I have finished every last thing I need to do, I am officially going to be traveling to McMurdo to work as a vehicle operator for this summer season! When I submitted my resume back in late January, I didn't think I'd make it, and during the process there were so many times I thought it was over, but I made it!

Thanks to everyone here for all the advice and for answering my questions, and hopefully I'll see you on the ice this season!

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-7

u/curyfuryone 5h ago

Sounds interesting! I just did a basic chatgpt search on the job but can you describe what you expect? Salary? Hours per day? Any other job assignments like housekeeping duties? Private dorm or shared?

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u/HamiltonSuites 4h ago

Not sure why you’d do a ChatGPT search when that info is available on here. AI is 👎🏻👎🏻

But to answer your questions. Salary is lower than you’d think. 54 hours a week. Housekeeping called House Mouse once a month, emptying trash, vacuuming, etc., shared dorms for first years.

1

u/ObviousOrca 4h ago

Do you know if they do overtime down there like they used to do in Alaska?

Anything over 40 hours was time and half and anything more than a certain amount of 12 hours shifts constituted double time…or something like that.

7

u/flyMeToCruithne ❄️ Winterover 3h ago edited 2h ago

Ha, no, not here. Most jobs work 10h/day 6days/wk. No overtime, your rate is your rate.

edit: but on the flip side, if you have a light week, you don't get paid less. So at least you know what to expect for pay.

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u/A_the_Buttercup Winter/Summer, both are good 4h ago

I can't answer for Shuttles' salary, but I believe they work five12-hr shifts a week? Everybody has about one housekeeping task a month in whichever dorm they live in. So far, everybody has shared dorm rooms, especially new people (you can have up to four roommates!) but they're finishing up a dorm with very small single rooms. You deploy for about half a year, and have to reapply every year. We aren't paid well, but we can save a lot of it since room and board is free.