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."

Cooling is actually problematic there.

[the_other_chewey]

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.

Re:Don't need to move to be cold

[smitty777]

So, just to put it in perspective, the average winter is between -112 to -130 F. The coldest naturally occurring temperature on the face of the earth was recorded there, which was actually colder than dry ice.

Re:One plus about the cold:

[idontgno]

Personal effects transportation limit is 1 cubic meter and 250 kg. I hope your OCable gaming rig is pretty compact. (Yes, even a tower system with all accouterments would fit, but that would be pretty close to all you could take.)

Read "Big Dead Place" before going

[Required Snark]

Check out the blog http://www.bigdeadplace.com/ [bigdeadplace.com] before you go. The book of the same name is also a must read.

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.

The Supreme Court has ruled that Antarctica is "a foreign country". The IRS has emphasized recently that Antarctica is "not a foreign country". Does NSF consider Antarctica to be "a foreign country" or "not a foreign country"? Do American citizens legally have Constitutional rights in Antarctica? Does NSF voluntarily support the Constitutional rights of American citizens in Antarctica? What legal model is used by NSF to determine the rights of American citizens in Antarctica? Since NSF manages all facilities at the stations, which areas or facilities are considered "public" areas (guaranteed Constitutional protection)? If there are no "public" areas, then what policies does NSF have to ensure protection of "free speech" and "free press"? What policies does NSF have to keep its contractors from undermining these protections, if any? If there are no civil protections granted to Americans in Antarctica, are employees explicitly told this by NSF and its contractors?

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.

Must be Austrailian or New Zealand Resident

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Re:-30C? That's hot!

[Anonymous Coward]

Exactly what I was thinking. Although you got it much worse than I do (I am in Estonia and over the weekend it was -30C in the city) this isn't that bad. You just walk from bar to bar a bit quicker and try not to fall on the ice when walking and your fine. Its just cold, put on a sweater and some grandmother-made wool socks and you will survive. It was cold a few years ago when it was -45C but all that happened was they closed the elementary schools. Oh and large amounts of vodka helps.

Re:Don't need to move to be cold

[Anonymous Coward]

There is not enough atomospheric pressure for it to turn into a liquid. It would go straight into a solid if it were cold enough. It would probably look like regular snow, which would make it a bit difficult to spot.

Re:Alternatively...

[Anonymous Coward]

for the US-ians out there, the pay is tax-free since you're in international space

Wrong. In principle, kinda-sorta... In practice, no. The IRS no longer recognizes Antarctica as a foreign country for tax purposes, and this has been upheld in litigation.

http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/10/31/tax_ruling_leaves_150_raytheon_workers_out_in_cold/

http://www.bigdeadplace.com/taxes.html

Speaking from the slightly different experience of ~2 years on an RPSC-run ship around Antarctica, the experience is definitely worth it if you have the right constitution for the lifestyle and can handle the people/lack thereof. NZ is awesome!

One Big Catch

[Hoi Polloi]

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.

Re:Extra job perk

[xaxa]

ATMs in the UK don't charge fees (at least, they don't charge people with UK bank accounts) and the climate is much, much better.

Re:What if this was Mars?

[ztransform]

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.

You're asking the wrong crowd. A number of slashdotters would be quite happy in isolation from family, friends, bars, pubs, or any social interaction.

Re:Seen the movie?

[Anonymous Coward]

Being a chimney hasn't stopped the Natalie Portman meme here

Re:Did They Mention?

[Hatta]

125 people, that's 62.5 couples. With 16,500 condoms, that's 264 condoms per couple per year. 264/365*7~= 3x per week. That's about right, maybe a little on the low side. Certainly not indicative of any captivity induced orgies.

Re:Did They Mention?

[Anonymous Coward]

16,500 condoms, and 125 people. Even if that's a 50-50 gender split, that's 62.5 couples. That means the average couple has sex 264 times a year. Or more than 5 times a week. Talk about perks.

On the flip side, I bet there will end up being 62 couples, with the network engineer accounting for the remaining 0.5 "couple".

You need to be an AU or NZ citizen

[GameboyRMH]

Aussies and Kiwis only :-\

Re:Seen the movie?

[Anonymous Coward]

But...but...getting head from a smoker is like putting your cock in an ash tray!