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Laid off at 59 after 3 decades at HP, she found a new career in Antarctica: Her story. May Lee expected to retire from Hewlett-Packard after three decades at the company. But a layoff at 59, followed by an unsuccessful job search, prompted her to rethink her next move. She eventually took a lower-paying job at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Published 18 Sep 2026, 12:27 PM IST For three decades, May Lee had built her professional life around Hewlett-Packard (HP). She joined the technology company as an intern in 1987 and had expected to eventually retire from it, according to a report by Business Insider. Instead, a layoff at 59 forced her to rethink what came next. After struggling to find another job in the technology sector, Lee took a path far removed from her previous corporate career. In 2025, she travelled to Antarctica to work as a supply technician at McMurdo Station. Lee shared her experience in an as-told-to essay for Business Insider, describing how an unexpected career break eventually led her to a completely different working environment. A layoff ended a 30-year career. Lee had not planned to leave HP. She said she had deliberately chosen to build a long-term career at one company rather than continually move between employers. "As a graduate, I wanted to sign on for life with a good company that I knew I could be loyal to and would be as loyal as a company could be. I didn't want to climb the corporate ladder or jump from company to company. If I hadn't been downsized last February, I would never have left," she explained. There had been indications that the company was undergoing changes, including a hiring freeze and a temporary reduction in working hours. But the eventual layoff was still difficult for Lee after spending most of her working life at HP. "I felt a combination of disappointment and sadness. This was the company I've devoted my entire career to and had hoped to retire from," she added. Job hunt changed her thinking. Following the layoff, Lee initially tried to continue along the same career path. She applied to technology companies and reached out to people in her professional network. But despite her experience and referrals, she could not secure an offer. About a month into her job search, a friend suggested she look beyond finding another high-paying technology role and instead consider work she actually enjoyed. That suggestion mattered because Lee was in a different financial position than someone who needed to replace a salary immediately. She had already paid off her house and had savings. That gave her room to consider an unconventional option: Antarctica. From tourist to worker in Antarctica. Lee had already travelled to Antarctica twice as a tourist and had developed an interest in the continent. After her friend's suggestion, she began looking into whether there were opportunities to work at research stations. She eventually came across Amentum, a contractor that provides services to the United States Antarctic Progra, and applied for a supply technician position. The selection process included an application, background checks and physical examinations. Lee was ultimately selected. The move represented a significant financial trade-off. The position paid considerably less than her technology-sector roles had, but her financial circumstances meant she could make the change without worrying about a mortgage. "The only downside was the extremely low pay. However, my dad raised me to understand the importance of saving and not spending money you don't have. So, I had the luxury of having financial groundwork in place and did not have to worry about paying a mortgage or affording bills," Lee explained. Forklifts, cargo and a frozen workplace. Lee travelled to Antarctica in 2025, stopping in Auckland and Christchurch before boarding a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft to the continent. At McMurdo Station, her work is centred on an IT and communications warehouse. Her responsibilities include handling supplies, operating a forklift, moving cargo and checking deliveries against station records. The job was a stark departure from spending decades in the technology industry. Yet Lee finds aspects of her new workplace refreshing. "This was refreshing because it meant nobody was on their phones. Everybody sits and talks with each other at meal times," she said. Different kind of workplace. Life at McMurdo Station is not limited to work. Lee participates in art shows, line dancing, marathons and bingo. She also volunteers as a DJ and hosts a weekly 1980s-themed music show. The social environment has become an important part of her experience. Within a week of arriving, Lee realized she wanted to stay. Lee says her move to Antarctica has given her a different perspective on what a career can look like after spending decades in a corporate environment. 'You can always reinvent yourself' Lee said her experience in Antarctica has changed how she views her life and career. "I don't think I could ever approach my life in any other way, now that I've been there. The community is so supportive of each other. I've never seen that kind of camaraderie and inclusivity anywhere else...My life is not what I thought it would be when I first started my career, but I've learned that when something happens, I just kind of roll with it. You can always reinvent yourself."

Laid off by HP After 30 years, this 59-year-old found a new career in Antarctica. Reading Time: 9 mins read After spending more than three decades at Hewlett-Packard, May Lee thought she knew how her working life would end. She joined HP in 1987 as a software engineering intern and had expected to stay with the company until retirement. Instead, a layoff pushed the 59-year-old into an unexpected career change, one that eventually took her thousands of miles from Silicon Valley to one of the most remote workplaces on Earth. Today, Lee says losing her longtime job opened the door to an experience she never would have planned for herself: working in Antarctica. You May Like Her story, told in a recent Business Insider as-told-to essay, is less about leaving corporate America than about what can happen when a career built around stability suddenly disappears. Why did May Lee leave HP after 30 years? Lee began her career at Hewlett-Packard in 1987 and spent more than 30 years with the company. She had deliberately chosen stability over frequent career moves. In her account, she said she wanted to commit to a company she knew and expected that the company would remain loyal to her as well. That plan changed when she was laid off during a round of downsizing. There had been warning signs. Lee recalled a hiring freeze and a temporary reduction in her working hours, but she said the eventual layoff still came as a shock. She had expected to remain at HP for several more years. The emotional impact was significant.

PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) announced a definitive agreement to acquire key AI capabilities from Humane, including their AI-powered platform Cosmos, highly skilled technical talent, and intellectual property with more than 300 patents and patent applications. The acquisition advances HP’s transformation into a more experience-led company. "This investment will rapidly accelerate our ability to develop a new generation of devices that seamlessly orchestrate AI requests both locally and in the cloud," said Tuan Tran, President of Technology and Innovation at HP. "Humane’s AI platform Cosmos, backed by an incredible group of engineers, will help us create an intelligent ecosystem across all HP devices from AI PCs to smart printers and connected conference rooms. This will unlock new levels of functionality for our customers and deliver on the promises of AI." The acquisition brings a highly skilled group of Humane engineers, architects, and