FIFO work

shadowcomplex

Has anyone here had experience of this type of work? Its the the nature of the rotations or even the remoteness that would put me off, I would just be weary being an Irish person of being bullied or being targeted by small minded racist minority, has anyone here had any experience of this?

catbear

shadowcomplex wrote: »

Has anyone here had experience of this type of work? Its the the nature of the rotations or even the remoteness that would put me off, I would just be weary being an Irish person of being bullied or being targeted by small minded racist minority, has anyone here had any experience of this?

Don't confuse racists with general assholes who'll use anything to start a fight. I don't blame you if you find the whole FIFO daunting but from I hear isolation and long hours are the real problem with that type of work.
It was those factors that put me off it, I'll stick with my average wage and shorter hours in the city.

irishmover

Worked in proper roughneck conditions for 7 weeks straight at one point. I enjoyed it. Really was a great experience. Was on a 4:2 weeks roster.

Left the roughneck conditions for 10:4 day roster in Emerald.

Worked with a lot of different people, mostly Aussie and got on well with most.

Doesnt matter if you're single or in a relationship. It's tough either way. As u can imagine spending a lot of time on a site with limited women means it'll be a lot harder to pull than in a city! Being in a relationship is tough, FIFO can split couples up fast. My cousin and fiancé have been doing it for a few years now and they're getting married. Depends on the couple I guess.

Isolation is a big thing, but with the right conditions it's not that bad. But u need to go into it with the right frame of mind. I took it as an adventure when I started and an adventure I got.

The hours stank at times, spending the evening with nobody but people you work with means inevitably there's one dominating discussion topic which can be annoying after a while.

Great way to save for that big thing you might want in a few years time.

I really enjoyed it, but can see how it's not for everyone.

shadowcomplex

irishmover wrote: »

Worked in proper roughneck conditions for 7 weeks straight at one point. I enjoyed it. Really was a great experience. Was on a 4:2 weeks roster.

Left the roughneck conditions for 10:4 day roster in Emerald.

Worked with a lot of different people, mostly Aussie and got on well with most.

Doesnt matter if you're single or in a relationship. It's tough either way. As u can imagine spending a lot of time on a site with limited women means it'll be a lot harder to pull than in a city! Being in a relationship is tough, FIFO can split couples up fast. My cousin and fiancé have been doing it for a few years now and they're getting married. Depends on the couple I guess.

Isolation is a big thing, but with the right conditions it's not that bad. But u need to go into it with the right frame of mind. I took it as an adventure when I started and an adventure I got.

The hours stank at times, spending the evening with nobody but people you work with means inevitably there's one dominating discussion topic which can be annoying after a while.

Great way to save for that big thing you might want in a few years time.

I really enjoyed it, but can see how it's not for everyone.

I think I could do it ,its just being bullied or having to talk my way out of fights that I dont like the thought of. 4:2, is that 4 weeks on 2 weeks off, that wouldnt be too bad at least you can go places on your timeoff, my friend is out there doing it at the moment, hes a geotechnical environmental engineer, hes 21 days on 9 days off, and hes done some amount of travelling on his days off, fiji, hong kong, new zewland etc, he says hes making an absolute bomb. Whats does the most common rota of days on/off tend to be?

irishmover

Yeh I was on 4 weeks on 2 off. But the last company would make me stay longer typically. Expect that!

It'll depend on the company u work for, all experiences are different. I guess it's luck of the draw. If u get into FIFO in the right frame of mind then I reckon you'll do fine.

The ideal roster is 7:7 or 8:6. That is once youve done your bit of travelling that you want to do. Have two mates on 8:6 and on similar money to me but work less and more time off. Can be a bit harder to get into those rosters.

I've not once seen a fight on a site I worked on but I know they're there. Not sure what advice I could give u.. There's going to be assholes on every site. Avoid them.

shadowcomplex

irishmover wrote: »

Yeh I was on 4 weeks on 2 off. But the last company would make me stay longer typically. Expect that!

It'll depend on the company u work for, all experiences are different. I guess it's luck of the draw. If u get into FIFO in the right frame of mind then I reckon you'll do fine.

The ideal roster is 7:7 or 8:6. That is once youve done your bit of travelling that you want to do. Have two mates on 8:6 and on similar money to me but work less and more time off. Can be a bit harder to get into those rosters.

I've not once seen a fight on a site I worked on but I know they're there. Not sure what advice I could give u.. There's going to be assholes on every site. Avoid them.

Do you mind telling me what type of work you do?

irishmover

Not at all. Surveying.

catbear

@shadowcomplex, I wouldn't be too worried about oddballs, generally assholes aren't disciplined enough to get jobs in mining. Besides I reckon half of western australia is of irish descent. Perth is very chilled, you can go to the beach with your beers and everything is fine unless you're an asshole who ruins it for everyone else.
Being Irish can be an issue if you want to make it an issue, otherwise anyone with brains is just getting on with making money and enjoying the sunshine.

markymark21

shadowcomplex wrote: »

Has anyone here had experience of this type of work? Its the the nature of the rotations or even the remoteness that would put me off, I would just be weary being an Irish person of being bullied or being targeted by small minded racist minority, has anyone here had any experience of this?

The camp sites are fairly well regulated from what I've been told. Some even do a 'one strike and your out' kind of policy. Kiwi bloke I know tells me they get breathalised ever morning, i you blow over your gone!

By all accounts it's long, repetitive, boring work where theres nothing to do after work except have a few mid strength beers or go gym or watch a movie on your laptop..

But if you could stick it out for a year or so you'd have some serious coin saved!

ellaq

I don't know why you would think you would be bullied on site. Because you are Irish??? There are people of all sorts of nationalities on site. To succeed in this type of work you need to be strong minded, not easily slighted and have the ability to get on with all sorts of people.
The questions you are asking is what potential employers are also concerned about. They don't want to spend all that money on inductions and have someone quit the job because they can't handle the remoteness, the heat, the flies and can't get on with their fellow workers.

d.pop

I'm on site, FIFO in the northwest. Depends what your definition of bullying is...if you think people sending you irish jokes all day and getting you to say turdy tree and a turd is bullying then you're going to struggle. Take it as what it is and you'll be fine, people having fun because they believe that all irish love a good joke and a laugh.
Drinking is quite controlled on many sites and pretty much every job has a breath testing every morning so people ususally have one or two and go home.
Fighting is a big no no, you lay a hand on someone you're gone, when people are on $150k to $300k a year they won't risk it all over a drunken arguement.
Come up with an open mind, on my job about 30% of people are non aussie, smile, have a laugh with your mates, give as good as you get and make some money.

Xavi6

Really interested to hear how the OP came up with the possibility of being bullied and started on because he's Irish.

big b

Don't believe there are no fights - there are. Not many, but some.

Unless you're the argumentative or gobsh1te type, it will most likely never happen to you

Fairly robust slagging is par for the course, and generally is good-natured if a bit spicy. PC hasn't really hit the camps yet, in many cases.

If you don't think you can take some heavy slagging without bursting into tears or throwing punches, FIFO really isn't for you.

But thousands of people do it every week without any issues, and chances are you'd be no different.
Like Xavi, I'm curious as to why you're asking the question.

Slidey

I'm on a 2:1 roster as well.

You do get some stick up here, I especially do as I have quite the thick accent and talk pretty fast. I just slag them right back.

I wouldn't like to do much more than 2 weeks at a time, counting down the days to fly out right now... 2 more sleeps \o/

the keen edge

Hey I'm really interested in the FIFO life as well.

I'm currently a Geology undergraduate and we are being by our Uni lecturers that the majority of graduates from the course head over to WA.

If what we are being told is true most Geology graduates are walking into very well paid jobs, crazy money tbh.

What do FIFO people do on the downtime?
Typically where do people go, do them rent a place in so Perth that they stay in during alternate weeks.

I guess the problem with the high paying FIFO job is that you end up having to finance two separate life styles.

irishmover

You barely spend a penny while on site. Accommodation, meals etc. are supplied on 99.9% of sites. Beer, cigarettes if you smoke and any other non essentials you'll be paying for but that's it.

You'll only really be paying for rent in the place you fly back to, which is most likely Perth if you're in WA. You'll definitely want to rent. Nothing like having a familiar place to come back to and not having to haul all your crap around!...

Spoken to a few Geoligists out here who say its just as difficult to crack the mining game as any other profession. Most of these were in Exploration but trying for a mining job. Not sure it'll be quite as rosy for yourself and your classmates out here but maybe I was just talking to a bad crop!

I guess it depends on what you focused on in Uni. Petroleum is probably going to stay big out here for a while.

SyntonFenix

Anyone have any recommendations or advice where to look for fifo work?

Looking to get into surveying, but will look at all job opportunities.

Sundy

Are you a surveyor or have any experience?

irishmover

Sundy wrote: »

Are you a surveyor or have any experience?

Would like to know this too! Company I work for are recruiting.

SyntonFenix

Sent you both a private message.

What recruiting agencies or companies would you recommend?

Sundy

All that really matters is if you have actual survey experience, especially setting out.

I'd recommend Geometric surveys or Land Surveys. With general survey know how you shouldnt have too much problem getting a job as an assistant surveyor.

Sundy

Oh and to add, dont go through a recruitment company for surveying. there is no need. Contact companies directly. You could have a job with a days, especially if you are out here.

SyntonFenix

What company do you work for Irishmover?

s.c

Sundy wrote: »

Oh and to add, dont go through a recruitment company for surveying. there is no need. Contact companies directly. You could have a job with a days, especially if you are out here.

As a matter of interest, what kind of money would a surveyor with 2 to 3 years construction experience be on? PM if you like.

Sundy

s.c wrote: »

Sundy wrote: »

Oh and to add, dont go through a recruitment company for surveying. there is no need. Contact companies directly. You could have a job with a days, especially if you are out here.

As a matter of interest, what kind of money would a surveyor with 2 to 3 years construction experience be on? PM if you like.

Somewhere between 100 and 140k depending on experience and your swing

SyntonFenix

From my experience so far, you need to know someone in the industry you're looking to get into. Otherwise you go into the CV pile like every other applicant. Agencies and companies are getting completely flooded with applications at the moment, they mention it in the job descriptions.

shadowcomplex

Is there much FIFO work there for Metallurgical Technicians?

SyntonFenix

Loads!

http://www.seek.com.au/JobSearch?DateRange=31&SearchFrom=quick&Keywords=Metallurgical&nation=3000

irishmover

Setup a LinkedIn account. Treat it like a CV. Join some groups. Mention you're available to discuss roles etc.

I've seen many employers use it. Had 3 offers the last 6 months (without applying for the job) via LinkedIn.