By seizing new career chances, financially strapped Brits might earn over £50,000, but there's a catch: they'll have to move to Antarctica.
For positions as carpenters, chefs, electricians, and plumbers, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is hiring for its research stations at the bottom of the planet. Those who secure employment will contribute to groundbreaking research that is essential to understanding the changes occurring on our world. With contracts beginning in May and ending in September, job searchers should monitor the individual advertisements for closing dates.
The starting salary, plus benefits, is £29,273 annually. The salary range for a health and safety adviser position is £51,242 to £56,366 per year.
All living costs are covered – a place to stay, food, travel, specialist gear, tools, and training. The first wave of positions – dive officer, weather watcher, and sea scientist – are now live on the BAS site.
Eloise Saville, who is currently at the Halley VI Research Station — the most remote BAS outpost — for her debut Antarctic season, said: "This job is unlike anything I’ve ever done before. I scrape ice off wood, drive skidoos and build things in one of the most extreme places on Earth yet it’s funny how quickly it all feels normal."
Ben Norrish, who's been with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) since 2001, couldn't contain his excitement about life in the extreme south. "The people here are some of the most interesting and adventurous that I’ve met and yet they’re normal too! If I’d known this was an option earlier I’d have been working my way down here all along," he exclaimed. "It’s not just cold, it’s cool!"
Living and working on the icy continent for 16 seasons, Ben is enchanted by the magic of the polar region. "There’s something special about Antarctica and the people that adventure there that gets under your skin. No matter how many times you go, when you step off the ship or aeroplane into Antarctica, you look up and take in where you are. That feeling of being in an amazing place is the same now as it was the first time.
"I would say to anyone who’s even a bit curious about what it’s like to live on the ice, take the leap and apply for the job of a lifetime – you won’t regret it and you don’t know where it might take you."
Meanwhile, Olivier Hubert swapped haute cuisine for hearty meals on the ice when he joined BAS. Leaving his role as a chef in a Michelin-starred restaurant for a unique culinary challenge, Olivier has spent time both over-wintering at Rothera Research Station and soaking up the summer at Halley VI Research Station.
Reflecting on his distinctive experience, he said: "Being a chef in Antarctica is a very different experience to anything I’ve ever done before. Meals are such an important part of life down south – they’re the anchors to the day so the pressure is on to create interesting and nutritious meals with limited supplies.
"But it's such a privilege to cook for the team that becomes your family while you’re there – plus the views from the kitchen are pretty epic."
BAS stands at the forefront of polar research and operations. This prestigious institution's work underscores the delicate nature of Earth's frozen frontiers and what this means for us and our planet.
It was BAS scientists who uncovered the ozone layer's hole and flagged up crucial indicators of climate change locked within ancient ice. By managing research stations, aircraft, and the Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough, BAS delivers the UK's national capabilities in polar exploration, propelling science forward at the poles and cementing the UK's influence in Antarctic treaties.
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