Seeking temporary work in the Gulf

[Tubesnout23]

Some friends of mine have told me that it is possible to apply for a temporary job in the Gulf to look for dead/sick animals that have been contaminated by the deep Horizon oil spill.

Is that true?

If yes is there anybody here who knows whom I should contact?

[Lonestar]

might start here

http://www.tonic.com/article/how-you-ca ... oil-spill/

[Tubesnout23]

might start here

http://www.tonic.com/article/how-you-ca ... oil-spill/

Thank you very much.

[Lonestar]

Youre welcome and good luck!

[Tangfish]

Hey, let us know what you find out. There may be others interested in helping.

[blackwater]

You should hurry. When EXXON had their spill in Valdez they hired many people for the cleanup. They used a company called VECO to do most of the contracts. Initially there was a lot of work, hoopla, and PR. When the oil slick was gone and the tar balls sank and couldn't be seen, the news stories slowed and then stopped, and all the jobs went away.

It will be interesting to watch how the BP cleanup goes.

[pensacoladiver]

I have not seen the direct oil damage, in Pensacola anyways. I spent 5 days there and didn't see any oil/tar/whatever. The biggest problem I have seen is keeping of fish caught in State and Federal waters has been closed. That puts quite a hurting on the local economy.

I would imagine there might be work to be found over west a bit.

[Tubesnout23]

You should hurry. When EXXON had their spill in Valdez they hired many people for the cleanup. They used a company called VECO to do most of the contracts. Initially there was a lot of work, hoopla, and PR. When the oil slick was gone and the tar balls sank and couldn't be seen, the news stories slowed and then stopped, and all the jobs went away.

It will be interesting to watch how the BP cleanup goes.

You are right. I talked to a guy from WA who works there. He is a firefighter who got the job through the Department of Fish and Wildlife. He told me that things are slowing down and it is not going to be easy to get one.

I looked at some of the Organizations listed in the link above. They seem to give priority to local people and people who have already experience in oil spills. I am not surprised.

[Lonestar]

The Emergency Management world has many assets, like USAR, that are in stand-by mode, WA State EMD has a similar type program (disaster reservist), so that initial resources are readily available when needed. When Exxon Valdez happened we had people from my CG reserve unit who went up to but they volunteered to go. Typically any government employee is going to be in an oversight/supervisory type position and locals are hired by the spiller for the clean up work. Logistically this is the only way it can work due to the resources needed and difficulties/costs in moving assets around. When Katrina happened King County considered sending a group of us down and the costs/logistics involved were immense. I think that in order to have success in being able to participate in something like this you have to be able to drop everything at the inception of the event and go to where it is. Being immediately deploy-able vs having to travel across country and find accommodations (the govt is going to already have every hotel/motel for miles around booked) makes you less likely to get on. If it is something that you truly want to participate in during your lifetime then you might look to volunteer at some type of organization that has a history of disaster response. I can tell you from personal experience though, the only reward will be a feeling of personal satisfaction. The work typically sucks as it is always hot/cold/dirty/bugs/snakes/long hours/lumpy cots/portapotties/not so great food and you won't receive much "recognition" for what you do. Then again, some times all you need is to know that you helped.

[Tubesnout23]

The Emergency Management world has many assets, like USAR, that are in stand-by mode, WA State EMD has a similar type program (disaster reservist), so that initial resources are readily available when needed. When Exxon Valdez happened we had people from my CG reserve unit who went up to but they volunteered to go. Typically any government employee is going to be in an oversight/supervisory type position and locals are hired by the spiller for the clean up work. Logistically this is the only way it can work due to the resources needed and difficulties/costs in moving assets around. When Katrina happened King County considered sending a group of us down and the costs/logistics involved were immense. I think that in order to have success in being able to participate in something like this you have to be able to drop everything at the inception of the event and go to where it is. Being immediately deploy-able vs having to travel across country and find accommodations (the govt is going to already have every hotel/motel for miles around booked) makes you less likely to get on. If it is something that you truly want to participate in during your lifetime then you might look to volunteer at some type of organization that has a history of disaster response. I can tell you from personal experience though, the only reward will be a feeling of personal satisfaction. The work typically sucks as it is always hot/cold/dirty/bugs/snakes/long hours/lumpy cots/portapotties/not so great food and you won't receive much "recognition" for what you do. Then again, some times all you need is to know that you helped.

Thank you very much for the useful info. I have been trying to contact a company via e-mail and my message came back to my mail box...Uuumm...It doesn't sound very promising...

(I am going to try to find temporary employment with the Forest Service too...working in a fire camp maybe?)

[Lonestar]

Pretty late in the season for wildland fire. Try Oregon Dept of Forestry, that's who my son heard back from They'll want you all the way through the end of Sept

[Tubesnout23]

Pretty late in the season for wildland fire. Try Oregon Dept of Forestry, that's who my son heard back from They'll want you all the way through the end of Sept

Thanks I will! leaving my options open...

[Tubesnout23]

Thank you very much for the useful info. I have been trying to contact a company via e-mail and my message came back to my mail box...Uuumm...It doesn't sound very promising...

I have just received a reply from the company that I have just mentioned: all the positions are on hold. Voila'!