[b_emery]

But what about that elusive 7th continent? Here's one possible way to check that off your list. Find a research lab that is doing Antarctic Research and apply to join them as a volunteer. There are often positions for volunteers. As you can imagine, these are quite popular so it may be a difficult route, but it seems like there is always a need for people with electronics and computer skills. There are also job openings, eg http://www.usap.gov/jobsAndOpportunities/.

It may cost you your time, but possibly not much else. I went to Palmer Station as a volunteer on an oceanographic research cruise and was able to use my travel stipend to stay in Chile for a few weeks afterward. For all my hard work I also received the Antarctic Service Medal [1]. (Not exactly sure why since I was not affiliated with the Military!). Definitely one of the best deals of my life.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica_Service_Medal

[DavidAdams]

My friend Phil Jacobsen has worked for several years in Antarctica at McMurdo, starting as a dishwasher, and moving up to better jobs in subsequent years. He wrote a very interesting account of a side-trip to the South Pole here: http://www.salon.com/2003/01/23/bigchill/

[kqr2]

For those interested in working at Antarctica, check out the Big Dead Place:

http://www.bigdeadplace.com/welcome.html

From the old Antarctica FAQ on working there:

  First time is for the adventure, 
  Second time for the money, 
  And third because you can't work anywhere else 

http://antarctica.kulgun.net/Jobs/

[Samuel_Michon]

How many continents are there, really. The answer isn't necessarily 7.

“Remove the ice sheet that covers Antarctica and you reveal it for the archipelago it really is, not the single land mass it pretends to be. And, to complicate matters, the largest of these Antarctic Islands is smaller than Australia. So if you want to keep calling Antarctica a continent, then there’s a bunch of other islands that might want to be continents too. Islands like New Guinea, Borneo, Madagascar, Baffin Island, Sumatra, and Honshu.”

http://blog.cgpgrey.com/what-are-continents/

[zheng]

Would love to read a bit more about your experiences, that sounds like a ton of fun! Consider this a request for a blog post.

[iamdave]

Agreed, I would absolutely love to read this and share it with my mother. She's a huge nerd for expeditionary travel and research.

[peterhajas]

Seconded, this sounds like a fascinating read.

[rdl]

I was looking at the winterover Raytheon satellite engineer job for a while, too, at McMurdo. Unfortunately I can't justify taking a year off of my life now, but it would be really fun to do someday. (winterover would be more attractive than being part of a huge manned outpost in the austral summer, to me).