The coolest job in the world

20 January 2010 This article is over 14 years old

The coolest job in the world

Video transcript

The reason I applied for the job was because I’d heard about it years earlier, from when I was at trade school. And when we sailed in to the harbour into Casey, seeing Casey for the first time was just amazing, it was a bit surreal, actually. And when we were going on the barge, and — from the ship, anchored, and then we got on the barge and we came over, and it sort of did — it looked like a ski lodge from where it — from that sort of perspective.

Just the landscape of the place is just amazing, and then these animals, all these penguins just on icebergs and floats and things all around you.

Some of the things that we are going to be doing this year — there’s an extension at the moment, going on with the Red Shed and the Red Shed’s just our living quarters, and they’re putting another thirty beds on the end.

Some of the other things that I’ll be doing throughout the year are just general maintenance, we’ve got to keep the heating going through all the buildings. Also the water supply, which I found very interesting, because everything’s frozen, so you’ve got melt your water and put it into storage tanks. So that’s a bit of a process.

The major differences that I’ve noticed with working in Antarctica than my normal job back home, I suppose the variety of work that you get to do. The variety — it’s something new every day, something different, and things that you normally would just take for granted at home, and just do will take you — it might be a ten-minute job. Because you’re working in such an extreme environment, sometimes a little simple job can take a lot longer, and you have to think about it a bit more and get yourself prepared to do that job, because you’ve got to be sort of be thinking three or four steps further ahead than you normally would.

[end transcript]

The coolest job in the world is up for grabs — and it could be yours.

The Australian Antarctic Division is seeking 100 people in a variety of trade and professional roles to support Australia’s Antarctic program in the summer of 2010/11.

The Division’s Operations Manager, Robb Clifton, said people with a variety of skills and experience are being sought to fill vacancies for winter and summer positions at Australia’s Casey, Mawson and Davis stations.

“Living and working in Antarctica is a unique and inspiring experience which very few people in the world have an opportunity to do,” Robb Clifton said

“The employment periods vary from 6 months for a summer position through to 16 months for a wintering job, and while it can be challenging work, the rewards are second to none,” he said.

First time Antarctic expeditioner, Danny Black, is currently settling into his role as a plumber at Casey station. Mr Black is originally from Geelong in Victoria and said he can’t believe he’s actually living and working on the icy continent.

“I saw the job advertised on the internet and thought it would be an amazing experience and challenge as a plumber to work in such an extreme environment,” Danny Black said.

“I’ve been here for only about a month, but so far it’s been an incredible time, everyone is so friendly, the work is interesting and the surrounds are just awesome,” he said.

The Australian Antarctic Division is looking for station leaders, doctors, electronics engineers, plant inspectors, mechanics, chefs, communications operators, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, engineers, tradespeople, aircraft support personnel and field training officers.

This content was last updated 14 years ago on 20 January 2010.