How important are connections?

[eiryie2]

Hi!

I’m new to the board and wanted to introduce myself first. My husband and I have been considering working on the Ice for a long time and we’ve finally decided to make the jump and start seriously preparing to apply. I’m currently a public sector management consultant and my husband is finishing his MSW. Neither of these is particularly relevant to working on the Ice – we know. However, we do both have somewhat more useful backgrounds. I was a “nature-expert” camp counselor and my husband mounted tires for NASCAR, including forklift driving etc, for years.

The big question for us right now is, are we just setting ourselves up for disappointment? From what we’ve read, it seems like you really need to know someone to actually get a job. We don’t “know people” and we don’t have the kind of professional backgrounds that make you a shoo-in, so, are we being unrealistic in hoping to both get jobs within the next season or two?

[Sciencetech]

Hello Eiryie,

Regarding connections, it’s not a requirement. It would be handy, of course, but many of the people working on the Ice were hired with no insider help.

As far as jobs, your husband could probably get a logistics or equipment operator position — there’s a lot of forklifts, dozers, and other heavy equipment that need operating. For yourself, there’s a lot of entry level positions that you could apply for, but I have to warn you: if you’re already a management consultant somewhere then most of the entry-level stuff will be a huge disappointment. Really, I’d recommend shooting high: go for a management position.

The tough part, as you probably know, would be getting hired at the same time. For new hires (who haven’t been to the Ice before) it can be difficult to arrange to deploy as a couple.

For more information, I’m going to refer you to a friend’s website that deals primarily with getting hired. Most of the people on it are young, single types, trying to wedge themselves into the program. The hiring season doesn’t start until Mar-Apr, so most of the conversations now are just idle chit-chat. But if you read back through earlier postings perhaps you might find some interesting info about the hiring process. See:
http://groups.msn.com/Antarcticmemories/leaveamessage.msnw?action=get_threads

Good luck,

glenn

[eiryie2]

Glenn,

Thanks for replying and providing the link. I’ve been going through the site and it looks like there is definitely a ton of good information there. I’ll hold off on most of my other million or so questions until I’ve read through more of the MSN board, but one quick question in response to your post:

I was thinking that an administrative/management-type position might fit best with my experience, but do you know how likely Raytheon is to fill a management position with a FNG?

Thanks,
Eiryie

[Been There]

There are several admin positions that you might be qualified to fill. Depending on your background and experience you could get selected for one of those positions, While a plus, previous experience in the program is not required.

Been There

[skua77]

Eiryie,
Been There is right…keep reading through the MSN posts…

The key to getting hired for an ice job as with any other is being the right person in the right place at the right time. Some jobs get thousands of applicants, some get none. Hopefully you’ll apply for the job that will get one applicant, YOU. So read through ALL the job descriptions and apply for whatever you think you can do.

As for administrative/management positions, remember (for an extreme example) that more than one Pole winter manager showed up on station as a FNG.

[eiryie2]

Been There and Bill,

Thanks for the advice. I’m trying to be practical and not get my hopes up too much (although, when contemplating giving up home and career for the Ice, how practical can you really be? 🙂 ), but it’s good to know that there are some real options out there.

~Eiryie

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