

Java, Postgres developer job. Location? The South Pole - randliu
http://www.icecube.wisc.edu/jobs/java_developer.php

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kqr2
Best quote about working in Antarctica and it's psychological toll:

    
    
      The first time you come down for the adventure. 
      The second time for the money. 
      And the third time because you can't function anywhere else anymore.
    

<http://60south.com/about/faq.htm>

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sutro
I hear the South Pole is the Silicon Valley of Antarctica.

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FooBarWidget
The salary seems a little low for asking someone to work in the middle of
nowhere, away from family, friends and civilization. I know "regular"
developers who make more than that.

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timf
That is a typical UW "minimum" salary for listing and classification purposes.
Based on personal experience, the actual offer would be commensurate with
experience (modulo what a University can actually pay developers which goes
far above 55k but not as high as a Silicon Valley job).

Putting aside how this is such a unique opportunity and just looking at the
financial compensation aspects of being asked to live in a remote facility:
wouldn't this be an awesome way to save up money for a few years? All living
expenses are paid while you are down there and there is nowhere to spend
money.

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randliu
The unique location is the big plus, especially considering that the absence
of geostationary satellites over the poles means this is likely the ONLY
developer job on the planet that can't be done offsite, until they run fiber
to Antarctica.

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rbanffy
Were the Iridium/Globalstar satellites de-orbited? That would be such a shame:
to have a true global wireless communications network deployed and to let it
decay...

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jrockway
They are still alive and in-use. (See:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_(satellite)> )

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rbanffy
Thanks. That's great news. I heard something along the lines of de-orbiting
them, but wasn't sure if that was avoided.

I also couldn't check Wikipedia at that moment ;-) Now I can.

With a 86.4° inclination, Iridium satellites should be above the horizon. Some
data communication should then be possible (interestingly, the article says
they weren't designed for that). Neither Globalstar nor Orbcomm appear to
operate at those latitudes.

Anyway, it seems putting a clever human close to the equipment is a good idea.

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blahedo
Amusing: "Must be authorized to work in the United States."

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wisty
Very funny. The Australia Australian Antarctic Territory isn't recognized by
the USA. Something about the legitimacy of the claims, and possible mineral
rights.

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profquail
It'd be cool (no pun intended) to see a "Condition 1" storm there:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz2SeEzxMuE>

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jeduan
I wonder what they use in the North Pole

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fjabre
In midsummer ... high temperatures at the South Pole average around −25 °C
(−12 °F)... - wikipedia

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dlsspy
Well, it's too late to apply.

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navyrain
I am both an alumni of the UW and former employee, and have been keeping an
eye on the UW job posts for a long while now.

This gig, or gigs very similar, have been posted for years now. I believe the
expiration date of the job post is just a limitation of the UW's recruitment
system/process; you could quite likely still apply.

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jey
It's not at the south pole, but is a job providing support to research being
conducted there.

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randliu
> The successful candidate will need to be physically qualified and willing to
> work at Polar and high altitude sites during the Austral Summer.

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dutchflyboy
> and willing to work at...

Well, that depends. Inside or outside?

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vishaldpatel
TOO MANY QUESTIONS! NO JOB FOR YOU! =)

