The Future and Working in Antarctica

This time of the Austral Summer season everyone is thinking about the future. Despite our benefits we are, in fact, temporary seasonal employees (well, most of us). I've had to drastically change my travel plans in order to save money for work out west. As of now, I have my heart set on Zion, again, Grand Canyon doing Search and Rescue, or Alaska. I'm looking at the first two a lot more because it allows me to travel and visit friends and, more importantly, my daughter. I haven't heard anything yet as far as job offers in those areas (I've received one from the United States Forest Service as an Engine Operator in Wyoming) so I haven't made any concrete plans yet.

I'm constantly thinking about school in the Fall. For some reason, I've been second guessing my decisions a lot. I know this is something I want to do but will I really have the time in life to balance this and all the other things I want to do in life. I dunno. I'm going to go through it but I'm afraid I may my Nursing license lapse in favor for other jobs. We'll see.

For my shift at least, tension within the fire department is a little high. The Antarctic Fire Department is unique in the fact that it is managed by a coporate entity (Raytheon) versus a governmental entity (i.e. a County Board of Directors or a City Mayor's Office). For all of us, this is hard to adjust to. Corporate Goals versus Government goals are quite different. Without going into detail, a lot of things we try to get done in the way(s) we only know how are met with resistance with the upper echelon of the department and Raytheon. Because of that, the stress felt where the upper management meets the lower management is felt all the way down the chain to the lowest firefighter. On the positive side of all of that, that stress felt by all as brought us closer together....a lot closer than I/we were with anyone last year. I can say that I have yet to spend an evening alone this season because of what a tight knit group we have become as a fire department and not just separate A and B shifts.

I tell a lot of people I come down here for the people I meet more than the job I work. The fire department is fun but in the end it sometimes turns out to be another job with job-like hassles. This year and last, I've made some really good friends...hopefully friends for life. I've made friends from all over the country as well as other countries. In the end, we can say that we all share a common bond of surviving working in Antarctica which a vast majority of the world cannot.