Job Fair

[Sciencetech]

Jeff, what job(s) are you applying for? And what are your skills?

glenn

[TheNomad]

Hey Glen,
 
I would do any job to get the opportunity to go. I currently work for an airline. I unload and load luggage/cargo, security checks, checking in people, and at night I do janitorial work as far as cleaning operations and the planes. This is more of a fun job for me right now with the travel benefits. I have a degree in Business Information Systems, I’m good on the computer, but I dont think I would qualify for a help desk job down there. I have skills in accounting and microsoft office. I worked for a bank for 3 years before I went to the airline. If you know of anything please let me know. I may go to the job fair on the 14th…but I will definately go to the main one on April 7th.
 
Thanks,
Jeff from Ohio

[Sciencetech]

Hi Jeff,

Interesting. Definitely apply for logistics positions, perhaps aircraft ground operations jobs too.

There are a few people at the Movement Control Center (MCC) in McMurdo who handle check-in and baggage as you’ve described; I’m not sure what their job title may be but I think they’re also in the logistics department. Mike might have more info about that.

There is one accountant during the summer months. I think it’s a very competitive position but why not apply…

My .02

glenn

[Big V]

hi Jeff
here’s the trick to getting a job….it doesn’t even really matter what your skills are for most of them.  the trick is to be persistant.  go to the job fair–dress decent (like new carharts, new jeans and a decent shirt would be totally appropriate).  talk to everyone there–even if you’re not qualified.  bring about 30 copies of your resume and pass it around.  if you’re not good at making a resume get some help. 
collect everyones business cards that you talk to.  smile.  spend all day at the job fair.
after you get home, wait a week and start calling everyone you talked to weekly–and maybe email them too.  don’t expect calls or emails back, it probably won’t happen for awhile.  leave messeges like “hi, this is Jeff, i met you at the job fair and i just wanted to call and let you know that if you have any questions i can be contacted at this number, email, etc.–im very interested in a position as a ________”. 
if you can, avoid being a D.A. do it, if you can’t, it’ll get you down here.
entry level jobs that would be good would be: Supply Materialsperson, Supply Materialsperson-Apprentice (Retro Team), Shuttles Driver, General Assistant, Janitor.  Most of the Trades have Helper positions too (Carpenter Helper, Plumber Helper, Electrician Helper)
and also keeping in touch with the folks on this message board–i know it helped me get my job and i’m down now for my 3rd winter in a row. 
good luck!
Big V
 

[brendanstamp05]

Thaings have been busy while I was away from the board. Jeff, make a few copies of your resume with different aspects of your experiences for each one. Make one with computer skills more prominent for the supply or IT positions and another resume where you write more on your vargo post for the MCC or loaders spots. Have a few and make it easy to know which is which, ask if you can copy one for them if need be and hand the more appropriate one to the manager in question.
 
Well, I was called and mailed yesterday, seems they may want me at the pole this year but shall wait and see how things progress until then. I will be at the job fair next month to introduce a few friends who are trying to head there this year as well as have a break from work so if you want to talk about the place Jeff, let me know and we can get together before or during the job fair.
 
Mike, I hope you and Lorrie and everyone else is having a good time there this winter, have you met Rebecca yet? The kid from here last year? I am looking forward to returning in August but have alreadt told them that I won’t work the power plant though.
 
All the best to everyone and I hope to see you all in Winfly.
 
Lucky.

[thepooles98]

I think the Job Fair is April 7th. I just looked all over the USAP.gov website and didn’t find anything as well. They changed the website last year and to be honest I’m surprised how hard it is to find the job fair info. I’m pretty sure it’s there.
What I did find was the address and phone number. I bet if you call you can get the date.
 
7400 South Tucson Way
Mail Stop 22
Centennial, Colorado
80112-3938 USA
720.890.8606 telephone
720.568.2400 fax
 
Mike
websupport@usap.gov&subject=Information About RPSC

[thepooles98]

Do everything exactly as Velvet says.   The most important part of the process is to get the cards and get permission to keep in touch. If they say yes then they mean yes and you should do it. Be prepared to leave at the last minute.Someone may flunk the physical and leave an opening for you. If you get either an alternate or first choice job, then get the medical done as soon as possible. The medical process can take months to go through. If you don’t do it right away, you may find yourself out of a job because a week before you are due to leave they are asking for retests.
 
DA. It’s for people who know all about working in kitchens. If you’ve done it before you know what you are getting into. There are good points and bad about the job. The bad is the low pay and the monotony of washing dishes while everyone else is off having fun. The good side is that you have time off when everyone else is working.With 1000 people here in the summer, quiet time with your friends is at a premium.  Lot’s of DAs get out on their days off to help with the divers and science groups. You have to ask, though, no one is going to twist your arm to help them.
 
Janitors have the same low pay jobs, but seem to enjoy themselves a lot. I’d pick that over a DA.
 
Another low pay but sometimes fun job is the Retro team. They find all the useless items around the station and package it up. Hardworking retro people often find jobs the following year. It’s a good intro job that because of the variety of work ,is not likely to burn you out.
 
Try for GA, but everyone else in the world is applying as well. Lots of competition there. Construction assistant is another avenue that few people know about. You only need a working knowledge to be an assistant.
 
Supply is a medium pay job. If you can sit on the floor for 4 days and count nuts and bolts then this is for you. It’s actually rather challenging as you’ll become an expert in the warehouses you belong to. You will more than likely learn to drive the loaders and forklifts as well. It requires a fair amount of computer work and oftentimes the dept is full of people with varied college degrees. You’ll probably work all over the station. The bad side- inbetween all the great stuff, be prepared for endless hours of counting.The job is primarily inventory control and if you can’t sit in a dingy dark room and count, you will hate this job.
 
Lucky, so far this is turning into a nice quiet benign winter. Everyone is helping everyone. Hope it continues.
 
Good luck on the job fair.
Mike
 

[Big V]

Big V here again….I think people who actually attend the job fair should have a pretty good chance of getting down here this year, given how difficult raytheon has made it for people to apply.  and mike’s right, i can’t find any info on the job fair either…nothing on where to stay, etc.   it’s always been a big deal before this year and easy to find info on.   they’ll probably be a ton of denver-ites looking for full-time year round in the office and hardly any people wanting to come down here.
and also–i know it’s polite to ask if you can call (the business cards you collect at the job fair), but i’m pretty sure all my contacts said “don’t call us, we’ll call you”.  and they never did.  i’d call them anyway….leaving a polite message is not harrassing and just keeping you in the front of their heads.
good luck–can’t wait to hear about it!
V

[anderson]

Hello Everyone,
 
I am new to the board here and wanted to know if anyone has information on IT positions. I booked my stay in Denver for the job fair next month and am really looking forward to it, but I am worried about my lack of a degree. I have been working in the IT industry for about 8 years now as the support operations manager for a small company here in Detroit. I have my Microsoft MCSE and Cisco CCNA certifications, and have many years of hands on experience designing, implementing, and supporting network solutions, but I do not have a college degree.
 
How competitive are the IT positions for Antarctica? Is it even possible to get a contract without one? I am very interested in going there for the summer and if I cannot get an IT position, I am willing to take pretty much any job that I can get. What types of positions are available for people without a degree?
 
Thanks For Your Advice
Eric

[thepooles98]

Well as with all jobs down here, you never know whether a super qualified person is going to apply for the job you want. History would probably show that most of the jobs are filled with persons like yourself with years of verifiable on hands experience. Granted the job descriptions may call for you have multiple phds and 48 years experience, but the truth is you may end up being the most qualified person applying, so go for it with gusto.
 
Read through all the posts on employment and see what everyone has to say on the subject of other jobs. There are lots of jobs. IT encompassas the radio and microwave links, the phone system, comms, and the hardware and software side of things. I’m not sure what the Cisco cert is that you have, but we have cisco systems here, so that may help. Outside of IT are all the support jobs from supply down to janitor.  We are all suspecting that the job fair info is so difficult to find this year that the number of people coming in from outside of Denver may be low. That enhances your chances.
 
As always, if you get an Alternate position, get the medical done as soon as possible. Often the alternates slide in when the more qualified flunks or took too long to get  medically qualified. For the rest read BigV’s post about pushing for the positions you want.
Good luck
Mike

[Big V]

that’s awesome!  those GA jobs can be really good–some of them you get to see alot of cool stuff here….cape royds, penguin ranch.  of course, some of them you don’t see much other than the end of a shovel but it’s worth the luck of the draw. 

when i was interviewed for my dishwasher position–i had a 45 minute phone interview and then i think i had another one after that even.  all about–strengths, weaknesses, why did i want to come, blah blah blah.  just let them know you’re willing to work really hard, you’re a non-complainer, strong, good attitude, easy to get along with, excited for the opportunity of a lifetime, etc. 

yay!  good for you!  getting the interview is most of the battle.

Big V

[thepooles98]

I can’t tell you what you will be asked, but we can tell you a little about what the GA jobs entail. In general they are low pay jobs. However, they are great entry level jobs. GA positions tend to get you around the station to places that others can see how well you work or don’t work. GAs do the work that nobody else wants to do. IE. shoveling snow, chipping ice, moving items, sometimes drudgery sometimes just hard work. The really great side of being a GA is that a large percentage get asked to do drudging work at places like penguin camps, or dive sites. Sometimes being helecoptered to places that I’ll never have a chance to visit. Yeah, once there you might be chipping urine barrels out of the ice, but it’s a trade off, isn’t it.
Go into it understanding that not all GA’s get out, but you will still be in a great position to find more substantial jobs the next season.
In general, a GA is a better job than a DA (dining attendant). The GA pool tends to be young educated workers, full of life and potential.
 
There are also GAs within the various workcenters. If you land a job there, you will most like get some pretty good experience at being a carpenter, or electricians helper etc.
 
Good luck on the phone interviews.
Mike

[CaseyObr]

Hey again everybody,
 
I’ll be coming to Denver next week for the job fair. I’m from Baltimore and I’ve never been to Colorado before, so I’m getting in the afternoon before, renting a car and kind of making a weekend vacation of it. I’m planning on going to the Rockies game the night before the fair (6:35pm start), and on Saturday I’ll probably just drive around through the mountains or go down to Colorado Springs or something. Then I leave Sunday morning. I just wanted to say that if anyone would like to join me in doing any of these things, I’d love to have some company. So if you want to get together, I guess either post something on here or drop me an email at CaseyObr at aol dot com. I’m really looking forward to the fair and to meeting those of you who will be there!
 
Casey

[thepooles98]

Casey, I can’t join you, but if you drive down to the springs, make a stop at Garden of the Gods. Cool place. The mountains are probably too snowed in to visit. Email me about people to see when you get there.
Mike

[will]

The job being mentioned in message 18 is air services, checking in the pax, etc.  part of MCC.
Sharon

[Author]

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