Before you trade your city digs for a hard hat and steel-toed boots, let’s look at good, the bad, and the downright ugly of working in the mining industry.
Pros
- Work half the year: You can work just half the year and make more money than if you were stuck in a regular 9-to-5 grind.
- Mates: The friendships you make in the mining industry can be lifelong. Working with a good team can make the job much more enjoyable.
- Toys: After a couple of swings, you could easily afford a new JetSki or two. Dreaming of a new boat? Mining wages can make those dreams a reality, filling your garage with all the toys you’ve ever wanted.
- Set yourself up for life: With smart financial planning, those hefty pay-checks can fast-track your financial goals – pay off the mortgage.
- Time off: The trade-off for long shifts is significant time off.
- Travel during R&R: The opportunity to travel during your R&R is a significant perk.
- Not having to cook or clean: Forget about shopping or scrubbing dishes Enjoy the luxury of meals prepared for you and someone else handling the cleaning duties. Ah, what bliss!
- Company-paid flights: Rack up those flight reward points with company-paid flights.
Cons
- Away from family: Being away for long periods means you’ll miss family events like birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, Christmas, kids school and sporting events. It’s challenging for both you and your family.
- Mental health: The isolation, long hours, and distance from loved ones can impact mental health. It’s essential to monitor your well-being and seek support when needed.
- Frequent travel: Working FIFO to remote sites means spending a lot of time in airports. Dealing with delayed flights, getting to the airport and waiting around can get old fast.
- Shift work: Working 12-hour shifts, including night shifts, means long, demanding hours that can be exhausting.
- Camp life: Life onsite isn’t exactly a luxury retreat. You’ll often deal with uncomfortable beds, noisy rooms and the camp food is not exactly fine dining.
- Financial instability: Job security is not always guaranteed. The financial comfort you enjoy can quickly vanish if your contract ends.
- Golden handcuffs: The high pay can trap you in the job, making it hard to leave even if you want to. You might accumulate debt and adjust your lifestyle to the mining income, making it difficult to switch to a lower-paying job without significant financial strain.
Weighing it Up
So, there you have it – the highs and lows of mining life. The money’s great, and you can snag some awesome toys and perks, but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. You’ll spend a lot of time away from home, and miss out on family moments. Before you dive in, weigh up what’s most important to you and your family. If you can handle the tough parts, the rewards can be pretty sweet. Good luck out there, mate!
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Get in, do your time and get out.
Have a plan B incase you find the FIFO lifestyle isn’t for you.
Keep your head down, work hard, stay out of the drama, and always make time to video call your family/wife.
Make sure your mental health is stable, consider the fact that your relationship may not survive it, it really is what you make it and it isn’t for everyone, so don’t feel disheartened if you dont feel like it is for you 🙂
Pro: Work 6 months a year and earn more than working 6 day weeks in town.
Cons: Airports, shit beds, camp food.
Pro – good money
Con – taxman loves you
Pro – you meet a lot of amazing people
Con – you miss out on a lot of family time
Pro – you can earn/work towards certificates
Con – there’s so much paperwork and rules and regulations to follow
Pro – you get a lot of alone time
Con – you get a lot of alone time
You are going to meet some amazing people and make lifelong friends. You will also meet some of the biggest flogs to ever walk the planet….don’t let said flogs dampen your spirits.