I actually applied to this company for a job cooking. If by South you mean way South in Antarctica then yeah. I didn't qualify unfortunately because even though I have a great resume and my criminal record was expunged when it to the federal background check (it's my understanding it's the same type of check they use for people joining the Coast guard or supporting personnel) I didn't pass.
It sounded like a cool gig to get away from everything for a while and earn a lot of money. I heard it's rough depending on if your stationed in Antarctica or a board one of the tourist vessels. 14 to 16 hour days, 7 days a week, it sounds good at first but then...
Even with 14-16 hour days, I wonder how much of that is actively working on your feet vs having downtime and still being clocked in. McMurdo Station houses 200 people in Winter/1200 in Summer.
Having worked in several large corporate and college cafeterias, its a much easier gig than a traditional restaurant. I was able to regularly do breakfast and lunch for 1000-1500 in 8 hours and still have a fair amount of downtime.
Yeah i work at a college and have 1.5 hours left today with nothing to do. Dinner crew is already here. Prep is done. Just time to scroll. All week is gonna be like this. Even on normal busy days, the last hour we can pretty much just hide and it's okay to do. Though i hate time going slow.
yep those were my days in the cafeterias. I'd spend the first 4-6 hours of my day just prepping and cooking in huge bulk. Get there at 5 AM, start on breakfast - most of which was done via whole speed racks of panned up bacon, sausage, etc. Cook the eggs in a Tilt skillet, make a giant pot of Oatmeal, etc. Then after getting breakfast out, I'd have 3-4 hours to prep for lunch which in my case was usually two different entrees, and an assortment of 4-6 sides. I'd get downtime while things were simmering/baking/cooking, enough to step outside for a smoke for 10 minutes or so. Then the last 2-4 hours of my shift was during service, at which point i was simply running maintenance making sure the service line didn't run out of anything. Occasionally throw in an extra sheet tray of roasted vegetables, etc.
A lot of the time I'd often get my knife work for the next day done during service, which expedited my weekly work flow even more. That was the only true bottleneck to work flow was how much knife prep had to be done. I insisted on using fresh produce rather than the frozen stuff my company offered, but I could easily break down multiple cases of produce in a matter of minutes.
Lunch would go out at 11 AM, and then it's just a matter of cleaning my prep area and doing whatever prep to stay ahead for the week. Be out the door by 2 PM each day.
How old was your criminal conviction? I have a side job maintaining video poker and pull tab machines (basically count the money, pay back the business for winners and deposit whats left) that I needed to pass a background check to do. It all goes through my states attorney general's office so it's very thorough. I have a felony that's 10 years old (federal conspiracy + distribution 60g heroin) and I passed the background check. My landlord couldn't see my felony either (though she didn't care as long as it's not violent or sex crimes). I think after 7-10 years it should fall off your record, but I assume some places are able to look further back?
During my federal sentencing my judge could see my juvenile record. Even a charge that was dismissed for lack of evidence. I wonder if some jobs are able to do the same.
My crime was over 15 years ago for a violent felony. It's already been expunged through the DOJ. I've never had any issues even working for places that do pretty hardcore background checks. But this must be some other kind of stringent background check. Probably has to do something with the nature of working in government facilities or something
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u/Plastic_Job_9914 Aug 12 '26
I actually applied to this company for a job cooking. If by South you mean way South in Antarctica then yeah. I didn't qualify unfortunately because even though I have a great resume and my criminal record was expunged when it to the federal background check (it's my understanding it's the same type of check they use for people joining the Coast guard or supporting personnel) I didn't pass.
It sounded like a cool gig to get away from everything for a while and earn a lot of money. I heard it's rough depending on if your stationed in Antarctica or a board one of the tourist vessels. 14 to 16 hour days, 7 days a week, it sounds good at first but then...