Wow, 100K? I think I chose the wrong career field.
Hi MechSoldier, welcome.
Most of the vehicle mechanics I know do not work outside that much, except for emergency repairs out in the field. As you might expect, it’s a lot easier to work on things back in the shop. Having said that, the jobs differ depending on the station and your duties, so it’s hard to give a complete answer unless you know where you’ll be.
And the question of liking the cold, IMO, is a non-issue. Yeah, it’s cold. Whee. But they give you decent clothes, and so long as you’re prepared it’s not too bad. We all get tired of the cold sooner or later (me: sooner) which makes the return home all that much sweeter.
If RPSC has asked you to throw in a resume, and if you want to go, I’d get right on top of it. (Did they give you a contact name or email address? Pester the heck out of them!)
You can do the medical/PQ where you live. The psych is only given for McMurdo or Pole winter-overs, and they fly you to Denver for it. The mail takes forever, longer if you’re at the Pole. But eventually it gets there. You’ll have enough room for everything; I would suggest packing light the first time around until you know the ‘lay of the land’.
>> Basically walk me through the process from the
>> time they say ok you have an interview.
1. They interview you over the phone.
2. You wait. (Sounds like the military, eh?)
3. They call back and say they want to hire you. Or not.
4. You wait.
5. A FedEx pack arrives with an offer letter. You sign it and fax it back. Or laugh hysterically at the pay and go on to something better.
6. You wait.
7. They send you a blood/urin test kit, and info about how to fulfill the PQ requirements. As of this year all the forms are downloaded via the Internet.
8. You send the forms back, do the PQ process.
9. You wait.
10. Wait some more.
11. Someday you get PQ’d. Or not.
12. Soon or later (probably later) they contact you with flight information. It’s mostly electronic now. You will probably be flown to Denver for a day-long sleeping session (oops! I meant orientation) before flying out the next day. They pay for all this.
13. Repeat the above forever, because you can’t function anywhere else after a couple seasons on the Ice.
Good luck, let us know how it goes.
glenn