Lots of questions, Surely asked before...

[TheAcrO]

Hello,

I have many questions about employment in Antarctica. I am sure many of the veterans have answered very similar posts in the past but I greatly hope everyone or anyone could impart some wisdom onto me.

I have recently found myself with an intense desire to go to Antarctica. It has always been a dream but I can now see it possibly materializing and the more I think about it the more excited I become. A week prior someone informed me about Raytheon Polar Services and I have become almost obsessed. I don't think I could explain my ambition to go, but I imagine it is something similar that everyone looking through here has felt.

I am relatively young, soon to be twenty, and have very few commitments at this time. Although I have every intention of going to college I intend to hold it off for a while so I can see and do all that I can before I am forever locked into student loan debt. Although a job in the 2006-2007 season would be perfect, I think this is a lifetime opportunity and I would work to make myself qualified and available for the '07-'08 season or later if that is what it takes to go. I am not trying to make this fit into my schedule, rather, I would do anything to let myself go. I have no problem waiting if that is what it takes.

I am a qualified firefighter and EMT and meet the requirements set forth on the RayJobs site for that position. I am currently undergoing training that would take me above and beyond the minimum requirements. Employment in that role would be absolutely fascinating but my true goal is just to go and I would be just as happy and willing to do another job or any job if I had the chance to make it down to Antarctica. Being a firefighter would likely be the best use of my current training and skills but it isn't conditional; I would work wherever there is an opening that I could be accepted into.


All of that being said- these are my questions:

What does the hiring process involve after you post your resume? Do they call you or let you know about your status? Do you have an interview? Then what happens?

How do you let them know you are interested in many positions? I am most qualified in one particular area but I would do almost anything to go.

How does one make it clear they would work any opportunity but that they aren't just looking for a free ride? I will work hard at whatever I do, I just want the opportunity.

Is it too late to apply for the '06-'07 season? I could have a decent valid resume by mid-June but that is the end of the hiring season, isn't it? Would it be better to apply now or wait 4 weeks until I have been better certified? (I'm in a lengthy firefighter training program now, I meet the minimum requirements but in 3.5 weeks I will have a much more professional education completed.)

Is it better to have it known that you would likely love to work many seasons? Is it possible to work many seasons?

Is there someone at RPSC that I can talk with for advice?

Is there a way to talk with or get in contact with someone from a specific department within the company for questions?

Having missed the hiring fairs (I would have gone had I known earlier), is there a way to make contacts and make yourself known other than just a faceless resume?

I know this is a bombshell of information and specific questions but whatever information or advice I could get would be appreciated. Every minute that I am not currently working on getting myself to Antarctica feels like an hour of torture. I don't know if I have ever had such a strong and enthusiastic aspiration to do something before.

Thank you greatly.

RJ