Knowing that I am on my way down to Antarctica there are many questions of "How did you get that job in the first place?" In a much abridged description I will attempt to tell you everything required as well as the things people don't tell you about.
Being in the Loop It is important to know someone who's done this before. I suggest random strangers in hostels and bars that share stories of what a crazy experience it was, which of course will lead you to want to join in the fun. If crazy doesn't excite you then searching the web for stories of how beautiful the scenery was and the once in a life time experience to practice science might peak your interest.
Having Backup Having people that want to support crazy shenanigans is just as important as the drive to do them. Some examples of these would be boss's willing to write letters of recommendation just because it would be awesome, recruiters giving you a helping hand to represent your city, or family members who have given up trying to talk you out of such ventures either from acceptance or just fatigue.
Dumb Luck Sometimes you hit a home run with an interview and take the job with an iron fist. Other times you're on the wait list and told you'll be called once someone has to drop out. This sucks until you're called the next day because someone does something and drops out. At this point you take a breath and whisper an "amen" as you scramble to get tested for every health related thing under the sun to get PQ'd.
Patients Once you've established you have the job and are free of tooth decay, STD's, heart murmurs, and a list of other things you hope you haven't been exposed to because you've never heard of them and don't know what they do, you start the waiting game for departure. After life is shut down and the final days of work come to a close the ticket comes and the adventure begins.
At this point I am sitting in New Zealand in Christchurch catching up on emails. So far we have gone through safety training, travel briefings, and will be issued clothing tomorrow morning. It has been straight forward in terms of meeting the forty others flying down with me. All just crazy enough to work down there, and yet all very cool people.
I've even gotten a shout out by presidentcial hopeful Newt Gingrich in the LAX airport. We met Peter hanging out in the airport and when he got up to go to Starbucks he came back with a guy in tow and said "Hey guys this is Newt Gingrich..." Peter then b-lined for the bathroom and left poor Newt staring at three travelers sitting on the floor. He was a cool guy. I shook his hand from my seated possition and he thanked us for our work with the NSF. As he walked away we looked him up online to make sure we could remember which politician he was.
I'll let you all know how NZ turns out when I hit Antarctica.
Till later,
Chris
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