Brrrrilliant scientists wanted.
Antarctica is officially hiring, and the coldest continent is seek applicants who are cool under pressure.
These positions are plentiful and well-paid.
Brainiac researchers top the help-wanted hit list since science is the main game down there. But there are hundreds of offerings for regular folks too.
They’re looking for plumbers, electricians, welders, mechanics, carpenters, cooks, hairdressers, the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker. Ok, maybe not that last one.
Hiring is done through contracts, and salaries run between $30,000 and $175,000 a year, depending on the job, according to the United States Antarctic Program, managed and funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).
It’s a dynamite deal, too. All expenses for accommodation, meals, travel, special clothing, and training are covered by the employer. So the workers make bank.
The winter wonderland is bursting with spectacular scenery, offering visitors a chance to get a gander at gorgeous glaciers, stroll through ice caves that swirl in a rainbow of colors, and watch the humpback whales as playful penguins frolic on the shivery shores.
But living and working in Antarctica — a massive ice sheet that covers more than 5.5 million square miles — isn’t for the faint of heart.
Brutal, record-breaking temperatures can plummet to bone-rattling digits that can freeze skin in minutes and instantly turn eyelashes to icicles.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The so-called summer (October to March) means 24 hours of daylight and temperatures that hover around 32 degrees. In the winter (April to September), temps drop to 40 below and it’s 24 hours of gloomy darkness.
Roughly 5,000 people work in the 70 research stations run by 30 separate countries in the summer, falling to around 1,000 in the winter, when weather can ground planes for months.
That means not many chances to break the ice with co-workers — and some serious cabin fever.
But the courageous cadre of cool cats wouldn’t have it any other way.
“When I first arrived, I was in awe of the surroundings,” Bob Farrell, who worked at Palmer Station, told The Post. “I was struck by the vastness of the landscape, the mountains in the distance and the crisp, cold air. It was so different from anything I’d ever seen. I’ve gone back many times.”
Dining is cafeteria style and workers live in dorm rooms — like a co-ed college. Food supplies are flown in periodically and its mostly canned or frozen. Fresh fruit or veggies are a rare treat.
Isolation used to be a big problem but now workers can gleefully stay in touch with friends and family through the internet, after the transition to SpaceX’s Starlink in 2022.
“When I first got down here, it was hard to be sharing a room with people, and the weather was quite miserable. For the first month I thought, ‘maybe this isn’t the thing for me,’” Dan McKenzie, who works at the Halley VI Research Station, told the BBC.
“But then you start to get out, and you see whales, seals and islands on boats, and then little trips out in small aircraft.
“It’s like something from a David Attenborough documentary.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
