Jobs in the Falklands

Re: Jobs in the Falklands

james herriot lied — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 22:10:38 GMT

[quote user="Simon Neuhoff"]

Stolen from another thread - is this what you had in mind? ;-)

www.youtube.com/watch

[/quote]

More like this - but without the benign tolerance

www.youtube.com/watch

Re: Jobs in the Falklands

james herriot lied — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 21:57:40 GMT

[quote user="Jo Jones"]

[/quote]

Plumbing - can do push-fittings (two houses and counting) and basic brazing (couple of radiators); sparky - not a ghostly; carpentry - oddly capable, particularly with hand tools.

Climbing. Total reason for wanting to go down. Astonishing landscapes - and glacial, wind-blasted 'north' faces abound.

[quote user="Jo Jones"]

He doesn't think we vets have the skills BAS requires

[/quote]

I agree. From experience.

Re: Jobs in the Falklands

Jo Cobbett — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:26:16 GMT

Apparently if you want a working trip to the Antarctic, you could try a job on a cruise ship? Or the ALE (Antarctic Logistics E...), who arrange tourists trips.

Re: Jobs in the Falklands

Jo Cobbett — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:23:23 GMT

[quote user="james herriot lied"]

Could you ask your partner what the chances of getting south from there actually are?

[/quote]

Neil reckons you're probably more likely to get to Antarctica from the UK than from the Falklands. There might be a possibility of getting to South Georgia, but the base there is BAS run, and their recruitment is done in the UK. The South Georgia government is based in the Falklands, but this probably doesn't help.

He reckons the best way to get south is to apply for a summer contract at BAS. These are mostly for trade staff (plumbers, electricians, carpenters etc), general assistants (need climbing experience), base general assistants ("antarctic binmen"). Apparently there is a vet working at the Rothera base at the moment who got fed up with being a vet and is now a radio operator.

The other jobs on base are overwintering contracts (18months), usually either trade contracts or engineering/science positions. He doesn't think we vets have the skills BAS requires! (and he had to very careful about how he said that, I have been known to remember any perceived slights and remind him of them (tongue in cheek) at later dates. I still haven't forgotten the time he (accidentally) called me bouncy!!)

I keep trying to persuade him that they should have a vet present to oversee any experiments involving penguins, and naturally I have volunteered myself for that job, but no luck so far!!

[quote user="james herriot lied"]

My only worry from that is that it's not sufficiently different from home to be worth going round the world for!

[/quote]

Neil describes it as being like a remote Scottish isle, so you could get similar far closer to home!

Re: Jobs in the Falklands

Simon Neuhoff — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 21:25:13 GMT

[quote user="Simon Neuhoff"]

[quote user="james herriot lied"]

[quote user="Simon Neuhoff"]

Not sure in what capacity you intend to go to the Antractic -

[/quote]

Was looking for something along the lines of Supreme Dictator For Life, but would settle for someone with vague government contacts who could blag a quick trip on a supply vessel.

[/quote]

Lol - I meant tourist vs working somehow. Supreme Dictator for Life is beyond my skillset ;-)

[/quote]

Stolen from another thread - is this what you had in mind? ;-)

www.youtube.com/watch

Re: Jobs in the Falklands

Simon Neuhoff — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 21:21:26 GMT

[quote user="james herriot lied"]

[quote user="Simon Neuhoff"]

Not sure in what capacity you intend to go to the Antractic -

[/quote]

Was looking for something along the lines of Supreme Dictator For Life, but would settle for someone with vague government contacts who could blag a quick trip on a supply vessel.

[/quote]

Lol - I meant tourist vs working somehow. Supreme Dictator for Life is beyond my skillset ;-)

Re: Jobs in the Falklands

james herriot lied — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 18:59:49 GMT

[quote user="Simon Neuhoff"]

Not sure in what capacity you intend to go to the Antractic -

[/quote]

Was looking for something along the lines of Supreme Dictator For Life, but would settle for someone with vague government contacts who could blag a quick trip on a supply vessel.

Re: Jobs in the Falklands

Simon Neuhoff — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:00:32 GMT

[quote user="james herriot lied"]

Perfect. Thanks, Jo.

My only worry from that is that it's not sufficiently different from home to be worth going round the world for! I think it's unlikely we'll go - my main attraction to the place is the chance to get down onto Antarctica (it came as a sobering shock, after years of being told how clever we all were to be vets, to find that my skillset for the BAS was of absolutely zero value).

Could you ask your partner what the chances of getting south from there actually are?

[/quote]

Not sure in what capacity you intend to go to the Antractic - but the cruise ships leave from Ushuaia - southern city on Tierra del Fuego. If you hang around there you can sometimes find last minute deals where they have an empty spot but they don't come up that often and there are normally loads of backpackers waiting for just that opportunity.

Re: Jobs in the Falklands

james herriot lied — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 06:13:09 GMT

Perfect. Thanks, Jo.

Could you ask your partner what the chances of getting south from there actually are?

Re: Jobs in the Falklands

Jo Cobbett — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 22:02:47 GMT

Not veterinary related, but...

My other half has worked in the Falklands for various short periods. He's an engineer with the British Antarctic Survey. I just asked him what it was like working in the Falklands, this is what he said (verbatim):

"it's windy, it's wet. You get four seasons in one day. It's very small world, where everyone knows everyone else and what they're doing. The roads are treacherous outside Stanley. They don't do vegetables [he tried to cook a curry last time he was there and had to spend about £1.50 to get hold of a pepper, which came presliced on a foam tray covered in clingfilm]. There's no culture (no fine dining, no cinema). Pubs are still very smoky."

I asked him if there were any good bits:

"There are some nice walks, some penguins, a bit of history with old ships shipwrecked in the bay. The people are friendly."

Don't know if that's of any help. If you've got any specific questions asked let me know and I'll ask him!

Re: Jobs in the Falklands

Gerry Henry — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 20:59:25 GMT

Looks like fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZircpEsbws