Frostbite and plague worker. 7 arctic jobs that will surprise you

1. Frostbite

You definitely won't get these people with jokes about how hard it is in the office. Frosters are the rarest and perhaps the most severe specialists in the world. In Russia they can meet in Yakutia, at the Lena United River Shipping Company (LORP). Ships are served here in winter, because so cheaper - no need to lift multi-ton colossus to special repair facilities. In autumn, tankers, bulk carriers and barges are driven into a shipyard and wait for the ice to completely cover the river. Then, so that the mechanics can get to the right parts, they carry out a freeze - cutting out tunnels around the underwater part of the ships. To release, say, the screws, it will take more than one day of labor - the thickness of the ice sometimes reaches 2-3 meters.

Frosters work with a pick (a pickaxe-like tool) and a chainsaw. The temperature in the region at this time drops to -50 ° C, but the specialists themselves usually glad: the better the river freezes, the less likely it is that the tunnels will flood and work will have to be started anew.

By the way, in LORP labors, perhaps the only woman in the world who owns the technology of freezing. In summer, she operates a crane at a shipyard, and in winter, she takes tools and goes to gouge ice blocks.

2. reindeer breeder

Reindeer herding remains the main occupation of the indigenous northern peoples of Russia. The largest herds bred on the Yamal and Taimyr Peninsulas, as well as in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. This direction of animal husbandry is very different from the cultivation of the usual livestock like goats and cows. Domestic reindeer live virtually the same as their wild counterparts. For example, they do not require separate rooms, but every week the animals need distill to a new pasture. Therefore, reindeer herders have to roam the tundra all year round.

If earlier the traditional craftsmanship of the northern peoples was passed down from generation to generation, now the reindeer herder is official profession. It can be learned in college. Good reindeer breeder must know everything about the types and characteristics of food, be able to treat animals, prevent diseases in the herd, lay nomadic routes and, if necessary, protect their wards from predators.

3. Plague worker

Yes, it is a worker, there is no male analogue for this profession. This is the name of women who roam with reindeer herders and help them with everyday life. By and large, plague workers are officially employed housewives. Most often - the wives of deer breeders.

With the recognition of the official status of a plague worker, everything is still difficult. Such women often have work books, but they register them as reindeer herders of the third category. The salary is paid, but very modest, at the level of the regional subsistence minimum - this is about 16 thousand rubles. Back in 2017, the authorities of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug reportedthat the plague workers were included in the official register of professions, but, apparently, then something went wrong. The next attempt was made in 2021, but the registry entry has not yet appeared.

The lack of legal recognition, however, does not detract from the merits of the plague workers. In the difficult conditions of the Far North, these women not only take care of life, but also often help reindeer herders manage the herd, dress skins and prepare antlers - young soft horns of animals. You can learn to become a plague worker only in practice; universities and colleges do not train such specialists. Although attempts to unify knowledge are still being made. For example, in 2020, the project "Academy of Young Plague Workers" in the village of Kyzym, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug received development grant.

4. Diamond Marker

Large deposits of precious stones in Russia are located mainly in the territory of Yakutia. Therefore, in the north, professions that are associated with the extraction and processing of diamonds are in great demand. There are sorters, cutters, markers. The latter are the same “diamond eye” of the jewelry industry. It is they decide, what shape and what size the future stone needs. Exists about 20 different shapes, and, as a rule, several diamonds can be obtained from one crystal. The fact is that the price of the finished jewelry often depends on the purity, and not on the size. A large stone, but with defective inclusions, may cost less than the purest, but small. Therefore, when making a decision, the markers evaluate everything: irregularities, roughness, the presence of inclusions of other minerals in the raw material. And only after that, the most profitable cutting option is calculated and a 3D model is prepared for processing.

In the past, scribers relied only on the power of a magnifying glass and on their visual acuity. Now technology is helping them: factories are equipped with microscopes, tomographs and scanners. As in other working specialties, there are professional categories, and you can grow up to a process engineer or production manager.

5. Nuclear icebreaker navigator

Or watch assistant - more in the civil fleet common is the name of the profession. This is a person who is engaged in navigation, gives commands to the helmsman and controls the movement of the vessel. Working in ice is different from what navigators do on the high seas or on a river. It is much easier for the ship to get damaged here, so the icebreaker account for constantly maneuver, and sometimes plot a course on the move, in order to safely guide other ships behind them.

To get this profession, you need to graduate from the Admiral Makarov State University of the Sea and River Fleet. This is the only university in the world that trains specialists to work in the civilian nuclear fleet. This, by the way, is only in Russia. The first Soviet nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" is still standing in Murmansk - there is a museum that attracts tourists. By the way, now students who dream of seeing the north can go there for free. To do this, you need to participate in the competition "Ticket to the Arctic». The winners will go on an expedition to the Kola Peninsula.

6. Snowcat operator

Ratrak is a machine that clears and compacts snow on the ski slopes. There are such at any winter resort, but work in the Arctic can surprise. For example, one of requirements for employment - possession of survival skills in extreme conditions. And you also need to be able to service your car even at very low temperatures.

By the way, in the Arctic, snowcat drivers work not only in tourist areas. Local residents are well aware that in winter it is unrealistic to drive a low passenger car even a couple of meters. Incidents can happen with all-wheel drive SUVs. Caterpillars of the snowcat do not get stuck in the snow, so they act as a tow truck if necessary.

7. Glaciologist

This is a specialist who studies ice. Today in glaciology there are some directions: work with glaciers, avalanche science, snow science and paleoglaciology - analysis of prehistoric glaciations.

These researchers can work in cities, studying samples in laboratories, but, as a rule, their whole life is continuous expeditions through the mountains and the Arctic. Working conditions are quite harsh. To get valuable information, sometimes you need to stay for several months at a scientific station or in a tent. Severe frost, lack of usual amenities and a very real chance to run into a bear - that's the romance of everyday life of glaciologists. Their work is needed to predict natural and climatic situations in different regions of the country, analyze the state of the world ocean and study the dangers associated with global warming. In the northern zones, research helps to develop industry: build large-scale production and establish mining.