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Antarctica Needs a Network Engineer
littlekorea writes "It's a little underpaid, but network engineers with a fetish for very cold weather might be interested to know that the Australian Government's Antarctic Division is seeking network engineers to manage its telephony, satellite and radio comms in Antarctica. According to the job FAQ, summer temperatures aren't a lot colder than your average data centre. But winters of -30 degrees celsius (-22 Fahrenheit) might make the morning jog a little challenging."
It should be an overclocker's paradise there! Of course, better get the best rig you can get starting out, because I'm pretty sure Newegg's shipping isn't as cheap to there.
One CPU cycle wasted on digital restrictions management is ONE TOO MANY.
The ATMs there don't charge any fees!
Modding "-1, Troll" is not a proper response if you disagree with me. Try reason.
"We need to talk to you about something
that happened at the North Pole."
"If this is about the night
the heat went out,
there's nothing to be
embarrassed about."
- "It's not about that."
- "We agreed to never speak of it again."
"So we slept together naked."
"It was only to keep our core body
temperatures from plummeting."
"He's speaking about it."
"For me, it was a bonding moment."
...just make sure you know what you're doing when a Husky runs into the base, followed by some guys shooting at it from a helicopter :D
Morning jog? This is a job for a flabby individual with lots of personal insulation, and jogging is out of the question!
I live in the middle of Europe and we had -30 C (-22 F) last night. Thank you, I'll pass. (Also, I'm not a network engineer.)
"Milt, we're gonna need to go ahead and move you down into storage B. We have some new people coming in, and we need all the space we can get. So if you could just go ahead and pack up your stuff and move it down there, that would be terrific, OK?"
-30C? Sounds downright balmy compared to Canada.
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
It should not be hard to get northern people to apply :)
And come home with the Thing? No thank you...
For anyone who's interested, Raytheon Polar Services is almost always hiring for positions at the US South Pole research facilities.
Have you seen the movie Whiteout ? While I like the idea of Kate Beckinsale being trapped there with me, the killing is a real turn off. Oh, and the snow. Just fuck that.
cool job
/me looks at the thermometer outside my window. It shows -49C (I'm in Yakutsk).
Hm. I think, it might be a good idea to move somewhere where it's a bit warmer.
PS: and no, it's not a good idea to put a computer outside at this weather. HDDs freeze to death quickly.
Even if we weren't all in a recession right now, demand for positions in Antarctica is always surprisingly high.
I was going to scold Slashdot for posting a job ad on the front page. Imagine all the crap resumes that'll wind up in the HR inbox now.
Then I realized I despise HR, especially those in the hiring/recruiting section.
I'm imagining some choice resume snippets from this crowd -
- I live in my moms basement and never leave, so I won't go stir crazy
- I've seen that John Carpenter movie about monsters in Antarctica like 9 times
- I could totally do a rad experiment where I overclock an old PDP-11 processor to 9ghz since its so cold
- UHF? VHF? Fah! I can replace that with a hacked WRT router running linux for like $5
- Penguin/Linux jokes galore
I read a very intersting article about IT at the south pole a while ago. One of the most surprising facts:
They need extra large fans to cool their servers. The Amundsen-Scott station is alomst 3000m above sea level,
which means rather thin air - so they need a higher throughput to achieve the same cooling capacity than a
data center at more usal elevations.
The cold outside temperature means no real need for AC, but doesn't help too much in terms of cooling power:
The difference between 295K and 250K isn't that big and outweighed by the lower air density.
Am I crazy or does that sound like the job of a lifetime?
Makes me wish I were an Aussie.
Given the exchange rate I'm thinking it would be a slight pay-cut, but I'd go in a heartbeat for the chance to do something ((presonally)) meaningful.
One question? Is there a really good supply of STRONG coffee and/or coca-cola available?
The Digital Sorceress
Sounds like a job for the good old Canadian boys. -30oC is common where I live.
I'm just waiting for the inevitable penguin/Linux jokes.
.....to "Hiring Freeze"
If you can handle working for a US-based company, you can make the same amount on a 6-month engagement with Raytheon Polar division. Bonus for the US-ians out there, the pay is tax-free since you're in international space for 20 weeks and you spend 3 weeks on each side of that in Sunny New Zealand. Good luck to the Aussie gov't filling this position, though!
It's not just that being on the ice leads to crazy behavior, it's that the management is back in the US and they treat the workers like dirt. While they have picnics back in Kansas City. The NSF, which pays for it all, is equally brain dead. Here are some some "uncomfortable questions" from the blog.
Having pointed this all out, it also sounds like fun in a weird way, if you enjoy hanging with funny disfunctional drunks in a potentially lethal environment.
Why is Snark Required?
Unfortunately, according to the General Information PDF linked above, you must be a resident to qualify.
Only Australian citizens, Australian residents with proof of eligibilty to work in Australia and
New Zealand residents are eligble to apply.
Like an sysadmins go jogging.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/plush/bb2e/
So, what is this "jog" thing you spoke of?
Have a look at http://www.bigdeadplace.com/ for an afternoon's worth of good reading.
Kriston
I used to know a guy who was a network engineer in Antarctica about 15 years ago. He did two tours at McMurdo and was the longest distance tech support call I ever handled. (I worked at an ISP at the time and he was friends with the owner)
He was asking if the internet was down while connecting via a 56K satellite connection. (It actually was due to a MAE West issue)
The money was good if you didn't mind the chance of death by freezing, or the need to seek solace in the wings of a penguin. ;)
This is your chance to join the 300 club!
-l
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Does anyone really want to go to Antarctica? It is a cold, harsh environment that will isolate you from your family, friends, and civilized comforts. It had its novelty factor back in the day, just like Mars does now.
How is Mars / The moon more exciting/pleasant than Antarctica? Can we really expect people to want to populate the Moon or Mars without a large financial/spiritual/political motivation? Sure, there is the novelty factor of "OMG I'm on the moon!!!" but that can only last for a few years.
what morning jog?! im in IT you insensitive clod!
Good people go to bed earlier.
Before anyone from the US gets too excited about going out on an exotic job:
Only Australian citizens, Australian residents with proof of eligibilty to work in Australia and New Zealand residents are eligble to apply.
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
"Downtime"
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
Dear Canuckistani /.ers,
Your anecdotal evidence has convinced me that Antarcitca is clearly a place for jam-shorts, cocoa butter and daquiris. Thanks for the vacation idea.
Much Love,
Snarkalicious
Never mind pluses against the cold. If you had spent the summer thus far in Perth (W. Australia, that is), a sojourn in the Antarctic might sound pleasant. To date, it's been the hottest summer ever recorded, and we've been 68 days without rain. Though official meteorological stats differ from local indications: on occasion I have seen the mercury go as far as 49 degrees (C) in the shade, where the official maximum for that day was a mere balmy 45.
I should be used to it; I arrived here in 1987, and quickly got used to temperatures in the 40s, but it has been getting muggier since, and that's not as easy to take at the same time as the heat.
They did also mention that the base get 16,500 condoms a year. It gets cold and lonely there in Antarctica with nothing else to do except for each other.
EvilCON - Made Famous by
http://www.somethingawful.com/d/comedy-goldmine/antarctica-living-working.php
lose != loose
My favorite part: "You will accrue recreation leave at the equivalent of 20 days for each full year worked. Please note that recreation leave is not available in Antarctica."
1) Do they have women there?
and (possibly or)
2) Do they have high speed internet access (Sat up-links do NOT count)?
There is a unsolved murder at teh south pole station
So, the (winter) weather is little different than the upper western Midwestern states, then. *grumble* Though it is more consistent.
Those with seasonal depression need not apply, I suppose. The summers would indeed be nice.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
We already have -20* C now in Riga, for me it is enough.
I did a podcast that really only gets rolling when my subject, a veternarian, gets on a roll about why science and scientists at Antarctica are totally awesome: http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/01/15/january-15th-go-higher-or-go-to-antarctica/
Made me want to go there.
A.
Aussies and Kiwis only :-\
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
It would be just like if you went to any other bank's ATM. So if you don't bank with Wells Fargo, if you went to one of our ATMs on Main Street, USA, you would pay the surcharge and then you could access that cash.
Still, impressive that they even exist.
It's very hard to qualify for. My father served two winter tours for the Antarctic Division in exactly this role. He loved it to bits -- he's a bit of a hermit, so only having to deal with the same dozen people for months at a time was his idea of heaven.
However, a lot of people apply. A lot of them are very smart and qualified. My father has decades of experience radio, satellite, microwave, land line and LAN communications. You may need the same.
Next you need to pass the rigorous screening process. You need to be in good physical condition. Dad spent months sweating away in a gym to meet the weight, blood pressure and cardio requirements. You will be checked for a large number of medical conditions, and if any of them turn up, you will not be accepted.
Finally, there's the psych review. If you're going to be a winterer, you'll be living in isolated darkness for months with a small group of people with a pitiful satellite uplink to the internet (no youtube or games for you). Not everyone is suited to that.
Classical Liberalism: All your base are belong to you.
Raytheon Polar Services Corp and SPAWAR hire US folks. I can't speak for RPSC because I'm under a SPAWAR contract, and my pay is definitely taxed. RPSC runs everything around here. I'm with a different group, but had to do the physical/dental stuff via them for approval.
I guess we'd like to pretend we're not under US control, because we get away with some stuff, but our money definitely is.
There might be a sign that says "You must be 18 to enter the bar" but you gotta be 18 to get the job anyway, and who's going to check your ID, right?
There might be a sign that says speed limit 5 or 25, but who's gonna pull ya over, right?
There might be signs that say no misuse of internets, no Skype, etc, but these IT guys r clueless, right?
HEH
"Only Australian citizens, Australian residents with proof of eligibilty to work in Australia and New Zealand residents are eligble to apply."
Damn it. Why?
I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
It was -30 degrees celsius this morning on my way to work. It will be just as cold, if not colder tomorrow.
Antarctica, here I come! I'll be sure to pack my beach shorts!