# Just got a job on the North Slope. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 23, 2009, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609 "2009-01-23T08:05:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/1 "2009-01-23T08:05:12Z")
I own a seasonal restaurant and well I am a bit concerned about the tourism this summer. I also have a great crew that can handle it on their own. SO I decided to get a job. Partly to fund some future endeavors and get some new experiences And partly to safeguard against a really poor tourist season. It took some patience but I finally got hired on today as a head chef on the north slope oil fields. I don’t even know what camp I will be in. I think it is a new remote camp. I leave Monday for 4 weeks. 4 weeks on 2 weeks off. I chose that to start then I will opt for 2 on 2 off. 88 hrs hours a week with overtime and bennies. ---
**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/2 "2009-01-23T08:43:13Z")
Congratulations **fifty-six**! I can relate to your concerns with regard to the upcoming tourist season, I have my own reservations concerning the halibut and salmon fisheries. Have a great time on the Slope, stay warm and make some big bucks! ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/3 "2009-01-23T14:08:50Z")
Good luck with it **fifty-six**. How big of a camp is it? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/4 "2009-01-23T14:27:29Z")
How very awesome for you! What is the North Slope? ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/5 "2009-01-23T15:23:34Z")
Good for you. Personally I’ve never gotten farther north than Denali, but I hope to see that part of the world at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/6 "2009-01-23T16:19:43Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > How very awesome for you! > What is the North Slope? [The North Slope Borough](http://www.north-slope.org/). ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/7 "2009-01-23T16:35:48Z")
So is it a lot of money or an insanely large amount of money? ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/8 "2009-01-23T17:07:54Z")
Do you know if they are hiring geologists? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/9 "2009-01-23T17:08:28Z")
Cool. I spent every summer over a 5 year stretch up there. Usually we’d contract to have a tent complex set up at Happy Valley, really just a gravel pad off the haul road about 70 or so miles south of Prudhoe. 4 sleeping tents, a mess tent, a shitter and 2 or 3 Bell Long Rangers. Other times we’d stay at [Anaktuvuk Pass](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaktuvuk_Pass,_Alaska), Umiat, Kuparuk or the like. Hey, go check out the general store in Deadhorse. It’s a hoot. Have fun… I really, really miss being up there. The late day light in summer is simply breathtaking, same with sitting on a frost heave above a family of arctic fox watching the kits play, laying out among a herd of musk ox, etc. Aw man… I’m gonna tear up just thinkin’ about all that. ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/10 "2009-01-23T18:03:00Z")
> [@kaiwik](#): > > Congratulations **fifty-six**! I can relate to your concerns with regard to the upcoming tourist season, I have my own reservations concerning the halibut and salmon fisheries. Have a great time on the Slope, stay warm and make some big bucks! Yea, even if the economy picks up I think tourism will really be hit this summer all over the place. > [@NinetyWt](#): > > Good luck with it **fifty-six**. How big of a camp is it? From whati understand it will be about 50 people. I will have a staff of 5. > [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > How very awesome for you! > What is the North Slope? Thanks. As answered it is the northern region of Alaska were the vast amount of Alaska’s oil reserves are extracted. > [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > So is it a lot of money or an insanely large amount of money? Only a lot of money. I was hoping for insanely large I got hired on with a notoriously low paying outfit. I am resourceful and expect that insaine amount amount soon enough. For a chef it is quite good. Full medical, dental and vision regular time off. I will be opting for 4 weeks on 2 weeks of for a couple months to get caught up on some bills then I will move to a more normal 2 on 2 off. > [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > Do you know if they are hiring geologists? You will have to check with the many companies that work in the fields. > [@lieu](#): > > Cool. I spent every summer over a 5 year stretch up there. Usually we’d contract to have a tent complex set up at Happy Valley, really just a gravel pad off the haul road about 70 or so miles south of Prudhoe. 4 sleeping tents, a mess tent, a shitter and 2 or 3 Bell Long Rangers. Other times we’d stay at [Anaktuvuk Pass](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaktuvuk_Pass,_Alaska), Umiat, Kuparuk or the like. Hey, go check out the general store in Deadhorse. It’s a hoot. > > Have fun… I really, really miss being up there. The late day light in summer is simply breathtaking, same with sitting on a frost heave above a family of arctic fox watching the kits play, laying out among a herd of musk ox, etc. Aw man… I’m gonna tear up just thinkin’ about all that. YEs I am super excited. After a few long trips out to the Aleutians, The Pribs and Mathew I am excited to see soem more of Alaska. It is a wonderful land. My main goal is to get a few years experience and then get a 5 month stint in Antarctica. I finally learned the company I need to rub elbows with and they are a native Alaskan company I will be putign efforts to get on with them so I can be internally hired on for the Antarctic stint.. And write a book. THE BiPolar Cook ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/11 "2009-01-23T18:11:12Z")
The company I work for did a project on the North Slope. I wasn’t there at the time, though, but I’ve heard a lot about it. What everyone who was there tells me is that conditions are a bit rough and you work your backside off, but you get paid REALLY well. The way it was described to me, you basically eat, sleep, and work, and don’t have time for anything else. I don’t know what it’s like for a chef, though. It can get cold enough there that if you walk outside and throw your coffee up into the air, it freezes pretty much instantly: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfMBXVsjJYY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfMBXVsjJYY) I think it would be a fun experience to do once. I’m not sure I’d want to do it twice. Let us know how you feel about it when your season is over. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/12 "2009-01-23T20:48:32Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > The way it was described to me, you basically eat, sleep, and work, and don’t have time for anything else. I don’t know what it’s like for a chef, though. This is true and for that very reason the meal takes on added importance. It’s one of the few ways companies up there have to keep employees content and willing to stay up there for such long stretches. No one would if the food was bad so they feed you really, really well. All you can eat steaks, king crab legs, etc. and of course it’s all free. A good cook is without question necessary and very much appreciated up there. I almost had a mutiny among my crew when one year a new cook tried to serve us fish soup and a bunch of other silly fare. We had a talk with him, saw the situation was not going to improve and immediately brought in a replacement from Fairbanks. No kidding, good cooks are gold. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/13 "2009-01-23T21:50:14Z")
The downside to Slope work is that “summer” is really a sort of moderate winter, only with more daylight. Also, booze is not allowed, although it gets smuggled in. Drunkeness is a terminable offense up there, as they won’t tolerate troublemakers. People interested in jobs should check with Conoco-Philips, BP, and Native corporation websites, such as ASRC (Arctic Slope Regional Corporation). ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/14 "2009-01-24T07:14:10Z")
Can you see Russia? …sorry.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/15 "2009-01-24T14:06:33Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > This is true and for that very reason the meal takes on added importance. It’s one of the few ways companies up there have to keep employees content and willing to stay up there for such long stretches. No one would if the food was bad so they feed you really, really well. All you can eat steaks, king crab legs, etc. and of course it’s all free. A good cook is without question necessary and very much appreciated up there. I share your observations, though my experience was offshore, Gulf of Texaco. One of the first things I learned, don’t trust a skinny cook. Food has to fill the gaps of no women, alcohol and most forms of recreation. Sometimes, intelligent conversation. Most of the crew being fed were Coonasses and Okies, but if anyone wanted anything, the cook made it, and well. Something that really impressed me, they somehow knew birthdays and always made a cake. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/16 "2009-01-24T16:12:09Z")
Congratulations! I hope you get a chance to see more of Alaska, too. It’s breathtaking beyond words. ---
**Author:** ![maryanne72856](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@maryanne72856](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maryanne72856)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/17 "2010-08-15T19:20:27Z")
My hubby just got a job welding on north slope. Now, here’s some things they don’t tell you. First, the baggage fees on airlines 200 bucks and they don’t take cash. another 100 for fees on alaskian or ERA air going up to deadhorse with luggage. They paid for flight and hotel and you buy your own food. so, far the company and job is great. friendly people. two men to a room. I work days. they do have a night shift. doing 6/2 wks off. let you know how the first 6 weeks go. MB ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/18 "2010-08-15T20:18:16Z")
Watch out for the zombies! ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/19 "2010-08-15T21:40:37Z")
> [@maryanne72856](#): > > My hubby just got a job welding on north slope. Now, here’s some things they don’t tell you. First, the baggage fees on airlines 200 bucks and they don’t take cash. another 100 for fees on alaskian or ERA air going up to deadhorse with luggage. They paid for flight and hotel and you buy your own food. so, far the company and job is great. friendly people. two men to a room. **I work days. they do have a night shift. doing 6/2 wks off. let you know how the first 6 weeks go.** MB > [@Who's Been ( the most) Everywhere,Man?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-been-the-most-everywhere-man/447698/13): > > all states but **alaska** and wisconsin and NH and Vermont the rest I’ve seen. wonderful BBQ in decatur tx free rolls with it. good mexican food in tulsa the best I’ve had in US. el rio verde try the wet burrito best lasagna ft morgan outside of denver o sole mio the best. crap food in hawaii great food down south southern dishes. MB Hmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609/20 "2010-08-16T01:25:44Z")
My uncle did a stint way up in Alaska a long, long time ago. Before he left, they told him he was going to love it since there was a woman behind every tree. However… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-a-job-on-the-north-slope/482609.md?page=2)