pre-deployment nervousness

[u/sky_girl919]

I am leaving in a few days for my very first season on ice in McMurdo and while I am mostly very excited, I’m also starting to get a bit nervous. I have never even left the US before and I don’t know anyone who has deployed, so I’m going into this experience pretty blind. What would be some good advice for someone going into their first season who’s a bit nervous?

[u/mkayqa]

QUESTION: are you going for a year contract, or only summer season? Extra advice for winter, but here's general advice:

• NERVOUSNESS = EXCITEMENT ... feelings can be all up & down, but just trust yourself & enjoy the experience.
• A big cohort every season are folks on their 1st or 2nd contract, so you'll be in good company. Personally I've always found the vast majority of folks to be really friendly, no matter how many seasons they've been going. And I've always felt that a good contingent of folks on their 1st season always made the season better - the buzz of excitement & wow-this-is-awesome energy.
• You don't have to, but, if you bring some postcards, photos, or small prints of things you love plus some thumbtacks, you can "decorate" your dorm/bunk space with things that make you happy.
• In summer, you are going to have roommates. If you winter, I think you'll have your own room. In the future you could request specific roommates, but 1st season it's luck of the draw. Good luck on this... and remember to be considerate yourself.
• Not sure the size of the community you're coming from, but these bases are SMALL TOWNS... as in everyone knows most everyone else's business. At McMurdo in the summer, the population is a bit bigger, but still "small town" enough.
• Generally support staff are there for the whole season, while grantees / NSF / "distinguished visitors" are in for a few days / weeks.
• Take your time to see how people interact & get a sense of their character. Once you're "on Ice" you'll see some social dynamics you wouldn't have enough context to see until you see people within the full community.
• Don't drink to the point of being out-of-control / blackout drunk. Don't try to smuggle in anything you shouldn't. Don't mess up your season before it begins.
• Focus on figuring out your job / department / supervisor, and then once you've got that dialed in, then there are so many cool opportunities all around.

Have an amazing season! This is definitely a lifetime highlight!

p.s. If you can afford to, bank as much as you can in the company 401k, and then, after the season's up, roll it all over into a Roth IRA (highly recommend the S&P500 Index Fund option). And pay the taxes from your checking account, instead of having any of the 401k money used to cover the taxes due for a Roth conversion.

Especially for those doing winter contracts without any (or major) monthly expenses, you can save up the 401k annual contributions limits ($24,500 or more if age 50+). A couple of seasons of that can really set "future you" up for your retirement.

[u/PDX_ICG_AC → u/mkayqa]

When do you set this up? Does that happen when you get on the ice?