Antarctica Post Office Is Hiring

Port Lockroy, courtesy of Mike Merritt

Attention all Millennials looking for work! We may have the position for you, if you can stand the sometimes-brutal working conditions. Recently, those who applied to run the post office in Goudier, a micro island off the Antarctic Peninsula, were warned about some of the unusual job hazards they might face. These include extremes in temperature, a lack of running water, and the possibility of being ravaged by the island’s 2,000-plus penguins, described as “smelly” and intrusive.

The hiree will join three others for up to five months sorting the mail at Port Lockroy, previously a British scientific base. Former postmistress Jane Cooper from Gloucestershire told the UK Telegraph that this position was the “opportunity of a lifetime,” though the lack of fine dining left much to be desired. “If you slice spam really thinly, fry it and close your eyes, you can just about convince yourself it is bacon,” says Cooper. “There is a lot of wishful thinking involved.”

Interested parties should send an application to the Antarctic Heritage Trust by the February 27th deadline. Each year the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust employs four full-time seasonal staffers to run the post office, sorting more than 70,000 letters sent by visiting researchers and cruise ship passengers. While there are limited requirements, all who apply should be able to “carry a big heavy box over slippery rocks and slushy snow whilst dodging penguins.”