Young Scot goes from flipping burgers in McDonalds to working in the Antarctic

Jack Gordon was working in a busy city centre branch of McDonald’s when he saw a job ad for the South Pole role on Facebook.

More than 120 people applied for the position at the British Antarctic Survey base, but the lucky 21-year-old landed it and has been there since October.

He’s the youngest employee at the remote research post where he works as a night watchman and maintenance man.

“It’s the best job in the world by far,” said Jack, from Lenzie, East Dunbartonshire.

“I’ve gone from a busy McDonald’s to the quietest place on Earth.

“When you look at the sky on a freezing night it’s pitch black.

“The silence is deafening. When I do the night watch I am the only one awake in a base of more than 60 people.”

The fast-food chain supervisor went straight into his McDonald’s job from school.

“After five years I needed a change,” he said.

He travelled 10,000 miles to the base in October to begin a six-month stay.

“Aside from my family and friends, I don’t miss a thing about life back home. Not my mobile or TV,” he added.

“Here people don’t talk to you while staring at their phone.

“But I would love a can of Irn Bru. That’s what I miss most.”

He works 13 hours shifts and a six-day week for a £24,000 salary.

But with nothing to spend his money on he says he’s watching his wages stack up in his bank account.

Calls to his parents Heather and Colin and sister and brother are allowed weekly.

“If I miss one, mum messages me on Facebook,” he added. “She’s like all mums and probably worries about me.

“But I have told her we are under strict orders to stay safe because the terrain can be dangerous.

“There is a base doctor but the nearest hospital is four to five hours away by plane in Chile.”

Since arriving at the Rothera Research Station on Adelaide Island, some 1,155 miles south of the Falkland Islands, he has climbed polar mountains and gone scuba diving in the freezing sea.

Temperatures at the research base frequently reach -20C. The base is surrounded by penguin colonies, seals and humpback whales.

“To be honest, working in McDonald’s was great preparation for this, mainly because of the work ethic and the variety of customers I got in Glasgow!”